Escrow isn’t the most euphonious word, but it’s important when you’re a homebuyer and homeowner. In real estate transactions, escrow is the process of keeping money in trust until certain conditions are met. There are a couple different ways that escrow might be used, so let’s look more closely at this important process.
Key Points
• Escrow involves a neutral third party holding money and documents during the home sale process to ensure both parties meet agreed terms.
• During home buying, the buyer’s earnest money is held in escrow until the sale is finalized.
• Post-purchase, escrow accounts help mortgage lenders ensure timely payment of property taxes and insurance.
• Escrow protects buyers, sellers, and lenders.
• Escrow costs typically range from 1% to 2% of the home’s sale price, varying by location.
What Is Escrow?
There are a couple of ways that escrow is used. The first time you might encounter it is during the home-buying process, when your good-faith deposit (also known as “earnest money”) is held in escrow until the sale is finalized.
The funds are kept in the care of an escrow agent, who ensures that the deal terms are met by both sides. This protects both the buyer and the seller during the homebuying journey, which can sometimes be bumpy.
After you purchase a home, an escrow account is often used again as a way to help the mortgage lender ensure that an owner pays property taxes and home insurance fees in a timely and consistent fashion (more on that later). In this scenario, your mortgage loan payments will include taxes and insurance. An escrow account set up by the lender or mortgage servicer will accrue that portion of your monthly payment and pay the tax and insurance bills when they’re due.
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When you make an offer on a home and the seller accepts it, you’ll typically submit some earnest money. This good-faith deposit shows the seller that you are serious about buying the property. Once the seller accepts your offer, the buyer’s or seller’s agent opens an escrow account with an escrow provider, often a title company. The earnest money, as well as the purchase agreement, the seller’s deed, and other documents are held there in escrow until the sale is final.
The earnest money deposit (typically 1% to 3% of the purchase price, though it can be more in a hot market) is verified by the escrow agent, and evidence is sent to the lender in writing.
Buyers who minimize contingencies in their purchase agreement risk forfeiting their earnest money deposit.
Common contingencies include the mortgage contingency, which allows either party to walk away from the deal if the buyers are unable to secure financing by the agreed-upon deadline, and the sale of current home contingency, when buyers need the proceeds from the sale of their existing home to afford the new home.
Others are appraisal and home inspection contingencies. These will all be written into the purchase contract.
As the process moves forward, the escrow agent is responsible for ordering a title search, and tracking and verifying the items laid out in the escrow instructions for the home sale.
The earnest money deposit is held in escrow and when the sale goes through it is used toward the down payment and closing costs.
Sometimes, funds are held in escrow beyond the closing. When this happens, it’s called an escrow holdback. It might occur if, for example, you and the seller make an arrangement that allows the seller to stay in the house for a month after the closing. Money would be held in escrow to pay the seller’s final utility bills. Or perhaps the seller has agreed to make a repair to the home but the work is not completed at the time of closing. Funds might be held in escrow to cover the cost until the repair is made.
What’s the Benefit of Escrow?
Escrow is designed to protect the buyer, seller, and lender until the transaction is complete. Having a neutral third party handle the paperwork and transfer of funds can benefit all parties in a real estate sale.
Escrow is required when you obtain financing, but it is used in cash sales as well. As a buyer, it can be comforting to know that all the transaction details are being handled by the appropriate parties.
As a seller, escrow provides a safeguard if anything goes wrong with the sale. For example, if the borrower backs out of the sale and breaks terms of the contract, the earnest money deposit may be forfeited by the buyer.
Recommended: Selling a House With a Mortgage
How Much Does Escrow Cost?
Escrow companies usually charge a base fee plus a percentage of the purchase price. That typically comes to 1% to 2% of a home’s sale price, but the cost varies by state and county.
For a $400,000 house, an escrow charge of 2% would be $8,000.
You may want to ask your real estate agent or mortgage lender to recommend a title company with low rates.
In many states, the buyer and seller split escrow fees or negotiate how they will be divided. The market temperature — buyer’s or seller’s market — can affect the negotiation.
Escrow After the Sale of the House
If you put less than 20% down on a conventional loan or take out a government-backed loan, your lender will typically establish an escrow account at closing where you will place money to pay homeowner’s insurance, property taxes, and, if necessary, private mortgage insurance (commonly called PMI). If your home is required to have flood insurance, then your lender is, in turn, required to escrow your insurance fees for this policy.
Once established, the account is maintained by monthly contributions that you make as part of your mortgage payment. When taxes and insurance are due, the lender or servicer pays them.
The escrow amount will be reflected on your mortgage statements. Once a year, your lender or loan servicer will examine your escrow account to make sure it is collecting the proper amount to cover your property taxes and insurance, and adjust your monthly payment as necessary.
If an excess of more than $50 is anticipated, you’ll receive an escrow refund. If the excess is less than $50, the loan servicer can choose whether to send you a refund or apply the overage to the following year. In the event of an escrow shortage, the homeowner might be asked to make an extra payment to escrow (this happens, for example, if there is an unexpected increase in property taxes). A loan servicer may also allow the homeowner to make up the shortage by adding to their monthly payments going forward. Either way, the monthly payment will be adjusted to ensure that, going forward, it reflects the true cost of the year’s taxes and insurance bills.
Using an escrow account for taxes and insurance helps protect you and your lender by ensuring that you maintain proper insurance coverage and pay your taxes on time. Consider what could happen if a property owner allows home insurance to lapse and then the home is damaged or destroyed: There would be no insurance funds to pay to repair or rebuild the home, and both the owner and lender would take a loss financially.
Recommended: What Is PMI and How to Avoid It
The Takeaway
What is escrow in real estate? It’s the holding of money and documents by an impartial third party during a home sale, or the lender’s collection of funds from a mortgage holder so that the lender can ensure that insurance fees and taxes are paid. Escrow is intended to protect buyer, seller, and lender and should bring peace of mind to all involved in a real estate transaction or mortgage.
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FAQ
What is an escrow balance?
The escrow balance is the money that is held in a mortgagor’s escrow account to pay taxes, insurance, and if applicable, private mortgage insurance and flood insurance.
What is an escrow agreement?
An escrow agreement is a contract that outlines the terms and conditions of a transaction for something of value, which a third party holds until all conditions have been met.
What does it mean to be in escrow?
It means that an escrow agent is holding the earnest money, loan funds, and property deed until an appraisal and title search are done and financing has been approved. The earnest money typically will be applied to the down payment or closing costs as the closing progresses.
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