In the Coachella Valley, we often handle real estate escrows for property that is located on Indian Leased Land. The Bureau of Indian Affairs-Palm Springs Agency, has federal jurisdiction over the land on the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation. This reservation encompasses approximately 28,000 acres in the western Coachella Valley, including portions of Palm Springs, [...]

When you’re dealing with a Seller who is not a U.S. citizen and is considered by the government as a non-resident alien for purposes of United States income taxation,  you can avoid escrow delays and minimize the Seller’s frustrations by knowing and understanding the basic process that all Foreign Sellers have to go through when [...]

Across California, as we process escrows for same-sex buyers and non-married couples over the age of 62 who are buying permanent residences or vacation homes, the topic of registered domestic partnerships arises. It’s important when choosing how to hold title to know how California law defines a Domestic Partnership, as outlined below. Buyers who meet [...]

For years here in California, the Lennar Charitable Housing Endowment (part of the Lennar Family of Homebuilders) has been helping the transitionally homeless – those made homeless because of domestic violence, unemployment, a catastrophic illness – by supporting charities that help people get back on their feet.
Each time a Lennar home is purchased and resold, [...]

In a recent post, the nuts-and-bolts differences between REO (Real Estate Owned) escrows and standard escrows were discussed.  This post is designed to highlight a significant psychological difference that can help you and your clients successfully navigate the REO terrain:  patience.
For a number of reasons, the process for an REO escrow can take longer than [...]

The typical real estate escrow requires the buyer to sign 70 – 120 pages of documents, several of which require notarization.  The seller also will have to notarize, at the minimum, the grant deed.  Notarization, or the act of an uninvolved witness (the Notary) verifying that the signor (the buyer or seller) is indeed who [...]

A probate sale is defined as the sale of a property where the owner is deceased and the sale is being conduced by the deceased estate.  An Administrator or Executor signs on behalf of the deceased person with either full or limited authority. Sometimes the deceased has a will. Sometimes they don’t.  Although the escrow [...]

What day should you negotiate to close escrow in order to meet the needs of the buyer and seller?  When negotiating a contract, the actual day of the week that the close is on is not often considered.  More typically, contracts call for 30 or 45 or “x” day escrows.  But, considering that:

Most buyers [...]

There are many implications of loans that are either “Assumptive,” or “Subject To.” Here is a general overview of some of the definitional differences between the two and how the differences affect the escrow process.
Let’s define Assumption Loans:
The term “assumption” is used when a buyer incurs personal liability for an existing deed of trust.  If [...]

The term REO stands for Real Estate Owned properties.  These are properties that are owned by a bank or lender and are for sale to the public. These properties were reverted back to the bank after the homeowner was foreclosed upon.  If the home fails to sell at auction, the bank will put up the [...]