Escrow Services in San Bernardino, California

The city's housing ranges from early-1900s homes near downtown and the historic neighborhoods around Arrowhead Avenue to postwar tracts and newer homes in the north end near the foothills. Older properties can have liens, old deeds of trust that were paid but never reconveyed, or code enforcement items that title has to clear before closing. We order title right away so there is time to resolve them.

San Bernardino also sees probate and trust sales, bank-owned properties and short sales. Each needs different paperwork: court confirmation or trustee certifications, bank addenda, or written lender approval. We read the contract and any addenda closely so the escrow instructions match what the parties actually signed.

The county's main recorder office is here as well. Deeds, deeds of trust and reconveyances for San Bernardino properties are recorded by the San Bernardino County Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk, and we track recording until it is confirmed before releasing funds as instructed.

Homes near the foothills and along the mountain front can appear in mapped fire or earthquake fault zones, and properties near the airport may carry an airport influence disclosure. These come through the Natural Hazard Disclosure report. We make sure it is delivered and acknowledged on time.

The city covers a lot of ground, from the neighborhoods around Cal State San Bernardino in the north end to older areas near downtown and the airport on the east side. Prices, property types and loan programs vary widely across those areas, and so do the documents an escrow needs. A buyer using down-payment assistance may have a second lender with its own closing conditions; a seller of a small apartment building needs leases, rent rolls and deposit figures; a homeowner refinancing an older house may need an old loan reconveyed first. We set out each lender's and party's requirements in the escrow instructions so nothing is left for closing week.