Post reply

Who does escrow protect, the buyer, the seller, or both? (by Kari K.):

Mike 1536,

YOU said " Doesn't escrow, title searches, etc protect the buyer from an unscrupulous seller or a faulty title? "

ABSOLUTELY.

YOU said "IF the buyer wants to accept these risks, then that’s his prerogative"

Yes, indeed, but how will the buyer feel if the 'recorded deed" he received is not valid...the seller had already sold it years before but forgot. This may seem ridiculous to you but I can tell you that MANY people, especially the elderly, FORGET what they did years ago....I come across this allthe time. Recently, a woman wanted to sell her Kona timeshares, but guess what? She and her husband, many years before, transferred title to their children. Her husband died so she said she wouldn't be using the timeshares again and she could use the money so she may as well sell them. She was surprised when I told her that the timeshares were held in the names of XXXXXXX--- of course she said "those are my children". THEN she remembered that her husband did that some years before.......

Now, if this woman had of sold these and had some nonreputable company or individual do the deeds outside of escrow, the Bureau could have recorded them......erroneously.

These things happen. People forget. You need to do your due diligence. Seniors don't usually do any due diligence. They just trust good people [like me ;-) ] to do the work for them.

In any event, about the woman above; we got her grown kids to reconvey the timeshare back to her and she is still trying to sell them. She will call me when she finds a buyer and I will walk her thru the maze.