The term escrow is one you will hear frequently when you are buying a new home. The escrow account is where all of the documents and monies associated with the sale of the property are kept until closing. The escrow account is in place until the closing process, and after closing, the escrow account is kept in place to hold the money necessary to pay property taxes. A house that has yet to be transferred from seller to buyer is considered "in escrow". When the seller of a property accepts an offer from a buyer, the process of escrow begins. This process includes depositing necessary funds, documents, and any special instructions into the escrow account for safekeeping until the closing occurs. The closing cannot occur until both the buyer and seller have met whatever obligations are required of them. This ensures no funds are distributed until everything regarding the sale of the home is in order. An escrow agent is in charge of monitoring progress of the things that need to be done, and facilitating the closing when all obligations have been fulfilled.
