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April 3, 2008 |
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| Welcome to Wilshire Escrow |
President Larry Shewfelt and President Emeritus
Don Shewfelt with Councilman John Ferraro, celebrating Wilshire Escrow's 50th
anniversary in 1994.
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With its genesis in 1944, Wilshire Escrow Company is the oldest
independent escrow company in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area. Wilshire Escrow
was founded by Roy Shewfelt and is currently owned and operated by the second
and third generations of the Shewfelt family.
Wilshire Escrow processes some 175 to 200 escrows per month. One of the
secrets to the company's success is the low employee turnover ratio. An escrow
officer's service tenure averages in excess of ten years with the
company.
Experience is important at Wilshire Escrow. Past Presidents have
served in numerous Escrow associations. Don Shewfelt (President Emeritus) has
served on the advisory board of the California Dept. of Corporations, has been
president and treasurer of the Escrow Institute of California and served on the
Escrow Agents Fidelity Corp. board of directors. Current President, Lawrence
Shewfelt, likewise served on the advisor board of the California Dept of
Corporations, was President of the Escrow Institute of California in 1989 and
Legislative Chair in 1990, serving on its Board of Directors for 11 years, and
as Chair of its Bulk Sale Education committee for ten years; served as the Bulk
Sale Program Coordinator and instructor for the Orange County School of Escrow
from 1992-1996; participated as a member of the Citizens Advisory Committee to
the Los Angeles County Assessor in 2004 & 2005; and has performed duties as
an expert witness in Escrow standard of care matters continuously since 1989.
“We prepare the escrow instructions in a language which is readily
understandable-without the ‘whereas' and ‘wherefore'” says Don Shewfelt.
Over the past 60 years the company's business has not been
limited to real estate, although residential, commercial, and income real estate
still represent the majority of its transactions. The company also provides
services in the area of Bulk Sale Escrows, Liquor License Transfers, Trustee
Sales, Refinance Escrows, Stock Transfers, and Holding Escrows.
With its
affiliated companies, Windsor Exchange Corp and Freeman Exchange Inc., it
provides easy access for 1031 Tax Deferred Exchanges, including reverse
exchanges.
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FAQ's
What an Escrow Holder Does
- Holds buyer’s and good
faith deposit in trust account
- Prepares escrow
instructions, which direct the escrow holder as to the terms and
conditions that must be met before the transaction may be closed
- Orders a title search of
the property being sold
- Clears liens, trust
deeds, and other encumbrances revealed on the title search by ordering
demands (payoff statements) from the appropriate creditors
- Obtains transfer document
from seller (usually a grant deed for real property)
- Obtains a title insurance
policy for the buyer (which insures that the buyer owns property free
from liens and encumbrances, other than those agreed upon by buyer.
- Performs loan escrow for
buyer’s lender (when buyer obtains financing to purchase the
property). This entails obtaining a lender’s policy of title insurance
for buyer’s lender, obtaining buyer’s signature on loan documents,
processing loan documents for lender, following lender’s instructions,
preparing HUD-1 closing statement.
- Order funding from
buyer’s lender
- Obtain buyer’s closing
funds
- Preparing closing
statements
- Escrow operates according
to mutually agreeable instructions by a set of rules that one can anticipate.
An experienced principal can easily foretell an escrow holder’s
actions in any event, even a dispute.
What
an Escrow Holder Does Not Do.
- Escrow Holders do not
have any bias to either Buyer’s, Seller’s, or Lender’s interests.
Escrow holders are neutral to a transaction.
- An escrow holder does not
withhold information. Knowledge to an escrow officer is knowledge to
all parties involved. Information cannot be withheld from a lender,
buyer, or seller if there is knowledge of it.
- An escrow holder does not
act on behalf of any party. They are not real estate agents. They
cannot order physical inspections, termite inspections, prepare loan
applications, order credit reports, order repair work needed on
property, or provide tax advice.
- Escrow Holders cannot
negotiate short pays with a seller’s existing lender. Although an
estimated closing statement and copies of instructions to assist in a
“short-pay” may be provided, an escrow holder’s involvement ends here.
A lien holder is an interested party in an escrow transaction,
negotiating a short-pay would be showing bias toward the seller over
the lien holder.
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