Downtown LA escrow, run by Iris Chae.

Escrow is the neutral third party in a sale. We hold the buyer’s deposit and closing funds, collect signed documents, follow the written instructions of buyer and seller, coordinate with the lender and title company, and release money and documents only when every condition is met.

Most escrows close in 30 to 60 days. A 30-day escrow is common for financed purchases, and cash deals can close faster. Loan approval, appraisals, HOA documents and payoff demands are the usual reasons a closing date moves.

Escrow fees are set by each escrow company and usually scale with the price and type of transaction. In Southern California, buyer and seller customarily split the escrow fee, but the purchase contract can say otherwise. Call Iris at (323) 300-6122 for a quote on your deal.

Buyer and seller agree on the escrow holder in the purchase agreement. Either side can propose Cal West, and agents often recommend an escrow officer they trust.

Yes. This escrow company holds California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation Escrow License No. 96DBO-108128. MEMBER OF ESCROW AGENTS’ FIDELITY CORPORATION (EAFC). EAFC PROVIDES FIDELITY COVERAGE TO ITS MEMBERS. EAFC IS NOT A GOVERNMENT AGENCY, AND THERE IS NO GUARANTEE OF A PAYMENT OF ANY CLAIM BY THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.

California’s Escrow Law requires a company that holds escrows to be licensed unless it is exempt. Exempt holders include banks, credit unions, insurance and title companies, attorneys handling an escrow for their own client, and real estate brokers handling escrow in a deal where they are an agent or a party. Licensed escrow companies must meet the Escrow Law’s requirements for experienced staff on site, fingerprint background checks for each person they hire, minimum net worth and a yearly independent audit, and they must belong to Escrow Agents’ Fidelity Corporation (EAFC). Exempt holders follow the rules for their own industries instead. MEMBER OF ESCROW AGENTS’ FIDELITY CORPORATION (EAFC). EAFC PROVIDES FIDELITY COVERAGE TO ITS MEMBERS. EAFC IS NOT A GOVERNMENT AGENCY, AND THERE IS NO GUARANTEE OF A PAYMENT OF ANY CLAIM BY THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.

Measure ULA is a City of Los Angeles transfer tax on high-value sales. For sales closing from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, it adds 4% of the entire price when a property sells for more than $5.4 million and less than $10.9 million, and 5.5% at $10.9 million or more. That is on top of the city’s 0.45% base tax and the county’s $1.10 per $1,000. In Los Angeles the seller usually pays it, though the contract decides. A measure on the November 3, 2026 City of Los Angeles ballot would create a one-time ULA exemption for homes damaged or destroyed in the January 2025 Palisades Fire and sold within five years of the fire. Check the certified result before quoting ULA on a Palisades sale.

Measure ULA applies to the entire sale price, not just the amount over the threshold. In the City of Los Angeles, a seller who accepts $5.45 million nets about $168,000 less than at $5.4 million, after county, city and ULA taxes. The higher price only comes out ahead above roughly $5.63 million. The same cliff appears at $10.9 million, where the rate rises to 5.5% and the break-even point is roughly $11.07 million.

We send wiring instructions directly to the buyer rather than through the agents. Before you send any money, call our office at (323) 300-6920 to confirm the account details. Use a number you find on your own, such as on calwestescrow.com typed into your browser, not one from an email or text. Treat any email that changes wiring instructions as fraud until you have confirmed it by phone. If you think money went to the wrong account, call your bank right away, then call us and report it at ic3.gov.

The fully executed purchase agreement with all counters and addenda; contact details for the buyer, seller, lender and any HOA; the title company and home warranty choices; commission instructions; and anything special we should know about your clients.

Yes. We handle the escrow for both the sale of the relinquished property and the purchase of the replacement property, and coordinate with your qualified intermediary, who holds the exchange funds between the two closings.

Our office is at 888 South Figueroa Street, Suite 2030, Los Angeles, CA 90017, open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. We close escrows throughout Los Angeles County and across Southern California, from Malibu to the Inland Empire and down to San Diego.