Escrow

California Financial Code Section 17003 defines escrow as “any transaction wherein one person for the purpose of affecting the sale, transfer, encumbering, or leasing of real or personal property to another person, delivers any written instrument, money, evidence of title to real or personal property or any other thing of value to a third person to be held by such third person until the happening of a specified event or the performance of a prescribed condition, when it is then to be delivered by such third person to a grantee, grantor, promisee, promissor, obligee, obligor, bailee, bailor, or any agent or employee of any of the latter.”

Title insurance issues are normally part of this escrow process and are handled differently in Northern and Southern California. In Northern California, title insurance companies tend to handle all title and escrow services in the same transaction. In Southern California, the title and escrow transactions are separate with escrow being provided by banks, escrow companies, or title companies. Practices will vary from county to county so be sure you understand the dynamics of your individual transaction(s).