Winter 2025

I hope the Holidays are treating everyone well and that the stress that can plague so many around this time of year does not trouble you. 

If you think experience counts for anything (and trust me, it does) here’s an interesting statistic I wanted to share. Over 50% of our employees and Investors Title Company have been with us for more than 10 years. I think that says a lot about our company, the people that work here, and the level of service and expertise we can bring to our customers.      

So, when can an Escrow be used to solve a problem and get a deal closed? An “after closing” Escrow where the transaction closes but the seller places funds in Escrow to be disbursed as agreed in an Escrow Agreement can be a life saver on deals where the parties want or need to close but there are items still to be done. The most common, of course, are when the seller has not completed the repairs agreed upon in time for closing. Another prime candidate for an Escrow is when a lien on the property is disputed or there is a delay in obtaining a payoff. For instance, many Mechanic’s Liens that are filed are contested by the seller. A sufficient Escrow can give the seller time to dispute the Mechanic’s Lien and also give the title company sufficient security that funds are available to pay the lien if necessary. The same thing can be done when there is a judgment or even a Deed of Trust under the right circumstances. Essentially, when there is a problem that money alone can solve, an Escrow can work. There are situations where an escrow won’t work. By far the most common is where there is a dispute between the seller and a buyer under a previous contract. This previous buyer doesn’t want just money, they also want the property or their claim can’t be reduced to a firm dollar figure, if that previous buyer files suit and claims that the seller defaulted and they want not just money damages but the actual property as well, then an Escrow alone won’t solve that problem.

One key theme to keep in mind when you have an Escrow situation is that a contract amendment needs to be done to outline the agreement between the parties for the Escrow. The amendment can then be used as a basis for an Escrow Agreement prepared by the title company that is in line with what the parties want. Without the amendment, the terms of the Escrow Agreement might work for the title company but could conflict or be different than what one or both parties understand the agreement to be. This of course, could result in a dispute (which we all want to avoid).

Have a great Holiday season and rest of 2025. We are looking forward to 2026 and think it will be a good year. Thank you to all of our terrific clients and all of our wonderful employees who have supported us in 2025.  See you next year!