What Is Buyer’s Escrow?

Buyers Escrow

1. Within 7 days of your offer being accepted you need to have your home inspection if you choose to have one. We strongly suggest you do. Team Lally can make recommendations for inspectors. If this is a bank owned or short sale property, check withyour buyer specialist to see if Utilities are on. If they are not on, you might have to turn them on in your name if the bank is not willing to do so. This is not unusual.

2. If you are satisfied with the inspection, you will notify your lender and tell him to order your appraisal if he/she has not done so yet. If you are not satisfied, your buyer specialist can help you to renegotiate with the seller for a credit or repairs. Or at this point you can simply cancel.

3. It usually takes 3-5 days from the date your lender orders the appraisal for the appraiser to schedule and conduct the appraisal.

4. The appraisal takes 3-10 days for the results to be revealed. With VA appraisals expect 2-3 weeks.

5. During this time your lender should have all of the required documents. It’s best to check with your lender to confirm he/she has everything they need.

6. You should call to get homeowners insurance quotes at this time. It’s best you send your insurance agent the MLS info sheet. If you don’t have one, ask our Closing Coordinator for the “MLS Info Sheet”. This will prevent your insurance agent from asking you a million questions about the home. *If you need a recommendation for an insurance agent let us know. We have a great one that we work with.

7. When you’re about 3 days away from closing you should call the Gas, Electric and Water Company and ask to “Transfer Utilities” for the date of your closing. Here is the contact info: The Gas Company: 808.535.5933 Hawaiian Electric Company: 808.548.7311 Board of Water Supply: 808.748.5000

8. You should do a “Final Walkthrough” of the property you are purchasing within 24 hours before closing to confirm the property is in the same condition that it was in when you agreed to purchase the property. If for some reason your Realtor doesn’t contact you, please reach out to them to get this scheduled.

9. For the day of closing you will need your driver’s license for all signers and a Cashiers Check for the amount you are required to bring to closing. Your lender will be the one to give you the amount you will need to bring to closing. The Cashiers Check should be made out to the title company. This is very important. It must be a Bank Cashiers Check and it must be made out to the title company.

10. If your name is on the purchase agreement, you will need to be present at the closing or have signed a power of attorney for someone to sign on your behalf. If you are doing a power of attorney, you will need to notify our closing department and your lender at least seven days prior to closing.

11. The day before closing or sometimes even the day of, you should be in communication with your lender because they will tell you exactly how much you need to bring to closing. Don’t be alarmed or upset if you get this number the day of closing or even an hour or two before closing. This is very common. For whatever reason, the banks wait until the last minute to gather final numbers. It’s not your lenders fault; there is a lot of coordination in the final hours between Title Company and lender preparing all of the documentation and HUD 1 Closing Statement.

12. Closings are typically done Monday through Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 P.M. The closing should take 1 to 3 hours depending on if everyone is on time and whether or not the loan funds right away. If this is a late closing say 3:00 or later, there is a very good chance it will not fund until the next day. In Hawaii the recording of property or official title transfer typically will be completed 2 days after signing.

Buyer F.A.Q.’s

1. If I find items during the inspection that are broken or need to be repaired can I ask the seller to repair or replace?

Yes, you can ask for the items to be repaired, replaced or you can ask for a credit towards closing costs or a price reduction for an estimated amount and then you will assume the repairs and work needed to be done.

2. If I get denied on my loan will I get my earnest money deposit back?

Yes you will, assuming your purchase agreement has a mortgage contingency. Most do.

3. What if the home doesn’t appraise for what we offered them?

If the home doesn’t appraise you are back to the negotiating table trying to find a price that everyone agrees to.

4. Can I pay over the appraised value if I want to?

Yes you can, more times than not, it is a compromise between the buyer and seller. However anything you pay over the appraised value is that much more than your required down payment that you will need to bring to the closing.