Escrow Services for Lenders

As a lender, you want the assurance that no funds or property will change hands until ALL of the instructions in the transaction have been followed. It is also in your best interest to have all transactions go through escrow quickly and efficiently. At Sterling West, we are dedicated and experienced in making sure that happens, as well as providing excellent escrow services for lenders. We happen to have an incredible relationship with many loan officers and processors. Because of your large role in handling the money involved in real estate transactions, it is crucial for you to have the utmost confidence in your escrow service provider to allow you to remain focused on your tasks at hand. That’s where we come in.

New Loan Process

The first step in the new loan process for lenders and Sterling West is for one of our escrow officers to provide you with the instructions, the preliminary title report, upfront fees and any other documents we can supply.  We will comply with all of your instructions during the processing and closing of the escrow and provide them in a timely fashion.

It has become a practice of some lenders to forward their loan documents to escrow for signing. You should be aware that these papers are your documents and CANNOT be explained or interpreted by the escrow officer. We greatly appreciate when lenders explain these documents to their clients and/or meet with clients so they can understand everything they are signing.

Among a myriad of other things, here are some of the escrow services for lenders provided by the escrow officer:

1. Works with the Loan Originator (either the Mortgage Broker or Lender) to help them in preparing their new Loan Estimate (LE) disclosure to the Borrower according to guidelines
2. Submits certified copies of ALL Escrow instructions and amendments to the new Lender(s)
3. Coordinates submission of the Preliminary Title Report and copies of the covenants, conditions, and restrictions, as well as the appropriate supplemental title reports to all new Lender(s)
4. Corresponds with the Lender(s) to obtain the status and possible new Loan Estimate tolerance issues during the approval process and takes appropriate action, as directed by Lender(s)
5. Receives, identifies, and responds to all Escrow related PRIOR to document conditions imposed by the Lender
6. Receives new Lender’s minimum fire insurance requirements and organizes changes necessary from Borrower’s insurance agent; coordinates the delivery of the same to Escrow
7. Receives, processes, and packages Lender’s new loan documents for Borrower’s signature
8. Arranges for Borrower’s appointment to sign loan documents at a time convenient for Borrower either with Escrow Holder or using a qualified Traveling/Signing Notary service
9. Oversees the in-office new loan document signing process (a time period ranging from 30-45 minutes to over 3 hours), depending on:

               A. Borrower’s familiarity with the loan documents, loan program, Closing Disclosure, and

               B. Loan Originator’s accurate representations of the “requested” new loan to the “actual”

10. Compiles loan documents in accordance with new Lender’s requirements, including one or more certified copies of all escrow instructions, amendments, receipt(s) for deposit into escrow, etc. and arranges for delivery to the Lender
11. Advises Title Company of all new Lender’s title insurance requirements and any necessary special endorsements
12. Verifies new Lender’s timely funding of their new loan and arranges for confirmation of receipt of wired new loan funds transfer
13. Confirms recordation with the new Lender and processes the Lender-required final Settlement Statement
14. Ensures that the new Lender’s Title Insurance requirements have been satisfied after the close of escrow
15. Issues revised Settlement Statement and provides same to Loan Originator if any tolerance issues arise after the close of escrow

Though this list is comprehensive, it is not at all all-inclusive; we feel it is a fairly accurate representation of the additional liability, exposure, time, effort, experience, and expenses required for the Escrow Holder to facilitate a successful close of an escrow where a Borrower will be applying to a lender(s) for a brand new loan.

If you have further questions about escrow services for lenders we provide here at Sterling West, do not hesitate to contact us. We pride ourselves on the exceptional service we provide to everyone we work with. We look forward to hearing from you!