I frequently receive questions from my readers in my personal e-mail, and I make it a point to respond to every question. It just occurred to me that some questions repeatedly pop up, and sometimes the answer is universal enough that it will be of interest to a broader audience. In that spirit, I’m going to devote this column to escrow practices in Nevada.

What is an escrow company, you might ask? Okay, you might not—but some of my Canadian readers have. Apparently escrow companies do not exist in Canada; at least not in Moose Jaw. Escrow involves setting up an account where a neutral third party (the escrow company) holds a buyer’s funds and all pertinent documents until the instructions of both the buyer and the seller are carried out, allowing the transaction to close.

In Nevada the buyer generally selects the escrow (or title) company; however, the current trend is for the banks holding foreclosure properties to select their preferred escrow officer. Since the buyer doesn’t usually know an escrow officer, the buyer’s agent will usually select a title company at the time the offer is written. The earnest money deposit check is then made out to that title company, and held in escrow with other funds, invoices and documents.

Realtors develop close working relationships with their preferred title officer over time, and will deal with someone they know is knowledgeable and accessible. Investors may have escrow officers that they prefer to work with, but more often it is the real estate agent that makes the decision. After all, even though escrow agents are completely neutral, the agent wants to work with an escrow officer that returns their calls quickly, is proactive, and possesses good troubleshooting skills.

Escrow officers can be a great source of information on a range of complex real estate matters. Trish Gladd, LandAmerica Commonwealth Title, gave me this handy publication to share with my readers. It’s an educational publication written for real estate agents, but it’s a very handy reference guide to the escrow process in Nevada, California and Arizona. And since these are all community property states, it’s wise to be familiar with your choices for holding title to property in Nevada. This guide has a helpful chart that details vesting options on pages 22-24.

Escrow practices vary widely in many states. Since many of my readers are from California, Nevada, Canada, and the eastern United States it really would not make sense to compare the practices of so many different areas. But if you are reading this blog, your interest is in Nevada real estate. I trust this publication will help you to understand escrow in Nevada.

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