Sterling West Escrow

OK everyone, first half tax bills are out. Make sure all of your estimated and final closing statements reflects them.

Have a safe and happy 4th of July from Sterling West Escrow!

To all the great Dads, Sterling West wishes you a Happy Father’s Day weekend!

Happy Friday Everyone!

Happy Easter and Passover

To our valued clients and friends: Thank you for your continued business and support. We realize that it's no longer "business as usual" as we all assess the current crisis facing our communities and we are taking the current climate and epidemic very seriously. Rest assured that our Sterling West Escrow team will still be working on your behalf. We've taken steps to ensure that there will be no interruption in the service we deliver to our clients. We are staying open a...nd available to our clients but continuing to disinfect the office after each client visit. We are taking every precaution to keep your clients safe and comfortable during this time. Thanks you for your support. Feel free to contact us at any time. We're here for you. Desirée Goodman, President . . . . #happiness#escrowlife#escrow#escrowofficer#santamonica#sunset#grind#ladyboss#humpday#realestate#theagency#lending#mortgage#mondaymotovation#banking#homeloans#weather#losangeles#sunny#workitout#getitdone#workplace#office#pandemic#coronavirus#coronavirusespaña

Effective January 9, 2020, Culver City Has A New Ordinance Requiring Installation of Earthquake Gas Shutoff Valves in New and Existing Buildings They require that an earthquake gas shutoff valve be... installed in all New Buildings, Existing Buildings (where additions are made exceeding $10,000 in valuation) and in all residential or commercial buildings or condominium which have entered into an agreement for sale. In addition, a Plumbing Permit is required for the valve installation. Permits can be obtained from Building Safety Division at Culver City Hall 2nd Floor.

It is election time in California!! The Los Angeles County Recorder has advised that elections are going to cause delays in recording turnaround times 2/24/2020 thru 3/6/2020. As you know, the County Clerk Recorder is responsible for the voting process and it requires for County Examiners to be pulled away from recordings to accommodate it. ... Please advise your Buyers and Sellers of this information. Any parties coming to record over-the-counter should give themselves extra time to arrive and find parking as well as be prepared for extended waiting time both in line at the Recorder’s office.

Don’t go to your next Listing appointment unprepared! We can assist you by providing an Estimated Closing Statement (AKA: a Net Sheet). This will help you explain, to your client, the financial aspects of the transaction. All you need to do is provide us with a sales price (or range of prices), the City where the property is located and the total commission amount. As a courtesy, we can assemble an Estimate Closing Statement to help consolidate all the potential costs associated with the transaction. I hope that this tool is helpful to you, and we look forward to assisting you in the closing of a successful sale.

PERSONAL PROPERTY ESCROWS Most escrow officers primarily handle real property escrows, be it residential or commercial. A smaller group also handle traditional non-real property, such as mobile/manufactured homes, Bulk Sales and Liquor License Transfers. A hardy few of us take on all the rest of the transactions, generally known as Personal Property and commonly mis-labeled Holding Escrows (all escrows are a form of holding). Personal property is anything that is not real e...state. Property under this category includes, but not limited to; funds held for various purposes from the sale of real property, corporate stock & asset sales, Litigation Settlement and other forms of contract fulfillment, landlord tenant relocation/disputes, intellectual property, vehicles, airplanes and more. For a DBO licensed company, these escrows require a separate Fidelity Bond and segregation from those escrows covered by the EAFC bond. Make sure that is in place before proceeding! Any escrow needs to have the basic elements of an escrow, which are consideration and more than one principal. As with any specialty, the devil is in the details. These transactions don’t typically benefit from well understood standard contracts. Lacking the same quantity of robust and well understood processes and procedural guidance, it is incumbent on the escrow practitioner to make sure they fully understand the transaction and who the principles and other participants are. Robust up-front due diligence on the participants and transaction are a must, especially as these transactions are a favorite tool of illegitimate actors. Sometimes, the parties are represented by Attorneys, who have prepared a transaction contract. Some attorneys don’t understand the scope of what an escrow holder can do. If the contract imposes duties that are against company policy or inappropriate, clarification must be obtained. It is important to clearly define in escrow instructions what the purpose and scope of the escrow is, and if property being transferred, a specific description of the property and what defines the transfer of title (eg: delivery of signed stock assignments or bill of sale, etc.). The close of escrow is also less well defined. Typically, closing is defined as when all the conditions of the escrow are met. It is especially important to clearly and concisely define not only the conditions, but how the satisfaction of each condition is to be evidenced to the escrow holder, and what happens if a condition cannot be met.

It’s a brand new year! 2020 here we come.

Happy Valentines Day from Sterling West Escrow!

Happy Chinese New Year from Sterling West Escrow. Wishing you and healthy and prosperous Year of the Pig.