Sterling West Escrow, West Los Angeles, California.
We would like to take a moment to get personal. Today we are going to expose the mysterious topic of escrow fees and transactions costs from the mystical enchanted forest where they seem to live.
To shine light on the issue’s at hand we would like to use a common real estate transaction as the ‘case study’. All and any escrow fees are ‘work for service’ NOT ‘garbage fees.’
More often than not the escrow company that sellers and buyers use for a transaction are an afterthought rather than a forethought. It was never meant to be like this; especially since you (the buyer or seller) are footing the bill for this requisite ‘after thought’.
Getting accurate cost analysis and comparisons from escrow company to escrow company can be like trying to get the original Coca-Cola recipe from the heavily guarded Atlanta secret vault… until now. We would like to help!
A little disclaimer before we begin unmasking the myths and ‘half truths’ we’ve all been told to believe… The subject of todays blog is fees (not the professionals involved). A good escrow company is worth their weight in whatever currency you deem valuable (gold, diamonds, IN-N-Out burger gift certificates).
I would like to state that exposing fees and kick backs is not a common practice and most escrow companies actually try to avoid anyone and everyone from excavating this precious information.
First, you must understand that the escrow fees charged by (unmentioned) escrow companies vary all most as much as Kim Kardashian’s wardrobe closet. There are no referees wearing prison striped shirts protecting the customer from unfair blows so there are no pricing standards, set fees, or additional ‘extra topping’ fees that limit what (unmentioned) escrow companies can charge. It’s kind of like the Will Smith movie “Wild Wild West” only the movie sets are escrow offices across the nation and the actors are agents, sellers, and buyers like yourself.
Secondly, I would like to reiterate what I just talked about in the previous paragraph only this time in plain english. ESCROW COMPANIES CHARGE WHATEVER THEY WANT BECAUSE THEY CAN. I don’t want to come across as harsh, after all we are an escrow company!
Let’s start with ‘The Base Rate.’ Almost all escrow companies charge a base rate, that is generally generated on the final sales price of the property. At Sterling West Escrow we charge $1.75 per thousand of final sales price, plus $300.
For a $200,000 sales price, the base rate (paid by both the buyer and seller) will be 200 x $1.75 plus $300… for a grand total of $650. $1,300 to the escrow company will be split 50/50 by the buyer and seller.
The first thing you should look into when shopping for an escrow company is their base rate (as it will vary from company to company). Our research and 61 combined years of experience have found that whether it be the base escrow fee or processing fees, escrow comapanies a like will only vary $100-$200 more (or less) which is why it is important to hire an escrow company and or an escrow officer for their experience and level of service.