Report Abuse

[Q=birthdayboy] Escrow: When posting a rental on redweek, do you use their escrow service; First American Title Insurance Co.? If so, have you had a good experience with them? Did you offer the renter an option of using escorw serice or not? For example)use the escrow service for a fee vs. paying direclty with no fee[/Q] I have not used First American Title. It's a great service for the renter, but IMO it doesn't offer any protection for the owner. If someone insisted on using escrow, I would ask that they pay the entire fee. As an owner, my biggest issue with escrow is the renter can cancel up to 60 days prior to the check-in date, but I only get the 50% deposit. My rental rates are not high and getting the deposit would not even cover my maintenance fees. With only 60 days left, my chances to re-rent the unit get slimmer. If the renter never completes the transaction, I would still get the deposit, BUT it would take an additional 5-10 days since First American Title has to contact the renter. This give me LESS chance to re-rent the unit. In addition, First American Title doesn't release the money until 10 days or so after the rental period. This might be several months after the contract was initiated. Many owners need the cash up front to pay the upcoming MFs. I would probably consider using escrow if the check-in date was within the 60 day window since the renter has to pay the entire amount, vs a 50% deposit.