5 Tips for Avoiding Escrow Delays When Selling Your Home

Escrow delays are common in many, if not most, real estate transactions. This is understandable, as buying and selling a property is an expensive process that requires a lot of careful planning and documenting to ensure that both buyer and sellers’ interest are met.

By undergoing escrow, both parties have the opportunity to ensure there are no issues regarding the property’s condition, the buyer’s finances, and all the other important aspects involved in a real estate transaction.

Should a few problems arise, then escrow is going to be delayed. This helps ensure that all parties’ needs are met before signing on the dotted line on closing day.

So, while escrow is often tedious, especially when there are delays in place, it is generally for the long-term benefit of both buyer and seller. Thankfully, there are some steps that you can take as the seller to ensure the escrow process:

Stay Local During Escrow
It may sound odd to leave town during an estate transaction, yet many people like to enjoy some downtime during escrow, as a real estate transaction is an understandable stressful process for all involved.

However, going out of town, even if just a for a weekend vacation or visiting a relative, may lead to unexpected delays if your estate or escrow agent cannot reach you. So, make sure to stay local once you enter escrow so that you are always available should any problems arise.

Request Weekly Communication with Your Agent
Once you enter escrow, you’ll want to ensure that your estate agent is in regular communication with both you and the buyer. Make sure you hear from them once or twice per week throughout the escrow process, as this will ensure you are fully aware of any problems as soon as they arise, minimize any possible delays they might cause.

Review All Paperwork to Avoid Document Errors
Document errors, such as misspellings or incorrect information, are surprisingly common during the escrow process. Countless documents are being sent and received from both parties, and even just the slightest error can cause delays.

So, to avoid these issues you’ll want to inspect all documents you are signing with your agent. The best escrow agents will have a document management system that is fast and efficient, allowing any errors to be quickly spotted to help avoid further delays.

Make Sure You Complete Statement of Information
As the seller, you will need to sign a complete Statement of Information for the escrow officer before escrow can close. This is vital document that must be fully completed by the seller, so make sure that you take the time to do this – the earlier in escrow you start this the sooner you can expect to close without delays.

Not taking the time to thoroughly complete this document may lead to a lack of information required to close, resulting in further delays that would have been avoidable.

Check the Closing Document Early
Ask to see the closing document 24 hours before signing it, as this lets you do a quick review to check for any possible errors before the planned closing date. Delays can occur as late in the transaction as the closing date, so by inspecting it in advance you can minimize the chances of this happening.

Inland Empire Escrow  provides escrow services for a diverse variety of real estate transactions.  With offices in Chino CA and San Bernardino CA, we quickly and professionally service all the surrounding cities such as Chino Hills, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Riverside, Redlands, Colton, Grand Terrace, Yucaipa, and more.  To hear more about our escrow services for residential, mobile home, short sale, REO, bulk/business sale, 1031 Exchange, or agricultural escrow, contact us today at (800) 917-9387.