The House is Almost Yours

First, a little about "escrow". To close the sale of a home, a neutral, third party (the escrow agent) is employed to assure the process will close properly and on time. A place is said to be in escrow when in the closing transaction, funds is secured by a third party on behalf of two parties when the exchange of money takes place. An everyday way to think of what an escrow company does is to compare it to PayPal for Internet purchases.

The escrow holder makes sure that the terms and conditions of the agreement between the seller and buyer are completed prior to the sale being finalized.

Closing on the home happens when the steps of the escrow are complete. All payments owed and fees are taken and paid off at this time (covering expenses such as title insurance, inspections, real estate commissions). You'll then get the title to the house and the title insurance gets issued as stated in the escrow instructions.

When closing is finished, you'll make a payment to the escrow company. As your real estate agent, I'll let you know what is an acceptable way of paying.

Mortgage Escrow Account

Often, to pay recurring costs while there's a loan on the house, a Mortgage Escrow Account is created. Usually, the home buyer makes a payment at closing and also makes regular deposits through their monthly mortgage payment to fund the Escrow Account.

This is a simple outline of the escrow process. Your particular process might be different based on your bank and your escrow agent.