- In Texas, attorneys can work with title companies as fee attorneys to help the parties to a transaction get it closed.
- This includes providing escrow services to the parties.
- A good, honest escrow agent is essential to make sure that a transaction is closed according to the terms of the purchase agreement.
I want to start this week’s article by hoping everyone was able to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy on Monday. He was truly an American hero and I was thankful to be able to take some time to reflect on what he did for our country. Its humbling to think of the sacrifices he and others made to make this country a better place for all of its citizens. Thank you, Dr. King.
Ok back to the far less important world of commercial real estate. If you are like me, you have probably noticed there have been a lot of closings lately in Texas. If you read the business journals or some other real estate site, you cannot go a day without seeing an article on a new closing.
And that, of course, got me thinking about the closing process. And how vital different parts of it are. For example, sometimes I think people can just take escrow for granted. But you should not. Its very important.
I’ve written before how Bukowski Law Firm is a title fee attorney. That means we are intimately involved in the closing and escrow process. This week, therefore, we are going to discuss the importance of escrow in more detail.
A Title Fee Attorney can Work with a Title Company to Provide Escrow Services
As a quick recap, a title fee attorney is a statutory position under Texas law that allows attorneys and title companies to work together to close a transaction. As a result, at Bukowski Law Firm, we work with Stewart Title to help commercial buyers and sellers get a transaction closed.
When you hire us as the fee attorney, we act as the primary contact on the transaction. We will help communicate with title and the underwriter to make sure the deal is moving forward to completion and gets closed.
The real benefit to the buyer and seller is that – on other transactions – we also work on the side of the buyer or seller. We know, therefore, how important it is to take a transaction to completion. As a result, we are going to do everything in our power – everything that is allowed under the Texas Department of Insurance rules – to get your deal closed. We will push the title company and underwriter to work within the confines of the rules to close the deal.
In Addition to Closing Services, We can Provide Escrow Services
As a title fee attorney, we are also responsible – with the title company – to provide escrow services. Often the lender requires the title company to actually hold the escrow deposit and then we or the title company holds the signed documents in escrow.
I have found in a commercial transaction escrow services are often taken for granted – just an additional piece of title services that the parties do not usually consider. But I think its more than that. When we are entrusted with escrow duties, that is a huge responsibility. Its our obligation to make sure we protect the money and documents and strictly adhere to the rules that everyone has agreed on prior to the relationship being set up.
That is why it is so important to make sure you choose the right escrow officer. You need to pick someone you can trust. Someone who has the utmost integrity and can be absolutely counted on to follow the escrow rules as the parties agreed. As an escrow agent, you are truly a neutral party – just holding money and documents until the parties tell you what to do with them. That’s a big responsibility and one that should not be taken lightly.
As a buyer or seller, you again also want someone who understands that everyone’s goal is to get the transaction closed. The escrow officer, therefore, should be available to go above and beyond to help achieve that goal.
At Bukowski Law Firm, we pride ourselves on both our integrity and our business understanding. We know the goal of the parties – and we want to do everything in our power to help them achieve that goal. So next time you are closing a deal, give us a call.
