How escrow works
Life of an escrow: 8 stops from acceptance to a recorded deed.
Most escrows close in 30 to 60 days. Here is a typical 30-day Los Angeles escrow, stop by stop: what happens, which documents move, who does what, and what can push the closing date.
Drag the sun through a 30-day escrow
Step through the eight stops to see what Cal West, the listing agent and the buyer’s agent each do. The full detail for every stop follows below.
Day 0 of a 30-day escrow
Open escrow
You have acceptance. Send us the fully executed purchase agreement, counters and addenda included. We sign the Escrow Holder Acknowledgment, issue your escrow number and order the preliminary title report.
- Listing agent
- Send the signed contract with every counter and addendum, plus your seller’s contact details.
- Buyer’s agent
- Get the escrow officer’s contact from the listing agent and call to introduce yourself.
- Cal West
- Opens the file, orders title, and sends wiring instructions directly to your buyer.
Day 3 of a 30-day escrow
Earnest money deposit
The buyer’s deposit is due by the contract deadline, often three business days after acceptance. We confirm receipt to everyone and send the lender its opening package.
- Listing agent
- Confirm the deposit landed on time.
- Buyer’s agent
- Have your buyer call us to verify wiring instructions before sending a dollar.
- Cal West
- Sends the lender the escrow instructions, contract, preliminary report and tax roll.
Day 7 of a 30-day escrow
Title, disclosures and instructions
We review the preliminary report for vesting, liens, taxes and easements, order the natural hazard report and HOA documents, and draft escrow instructions for agents and TCs to review before anyone signs.
- Listing agent
- Deliver seller disclosures and send HOA contact information so documents get ordered early.
- Buyer’s agent
- Review the prelim and disclosures with your buyer and get inspections on the calendar.
- Cal West
- Orders HOA documents and payoff demands, and collects the vesting details the title company needs. How to hold title is a question for the buyer’s attorney or CPA.
Day 17 of a 30-day escrow
Contingency removal
Inspection, appraisal and loan contingency periods, often 17 days, wind down. Repairs or credits get negotiated and contingencies are removed in writing.
- Listing agent
- Track every deadline and issue a Notice to Buyer to Perform when the contract allows.
- Buyer’s agent
- Check with the lender on underwriting before your buyer removes the loan contingency.
- Cal West
- Updates the instructions with any agreed repairs or credits.
Day 24 of a 30-day escrow
Loan approval and demands
Underwriting clears, the appraisal is reviewed, and we collect payoff demands, HOA demands and any termite or city reports.
- Listing agent
- Make sure required reports and repairs are finished and documented.
- Buyer’s agent
- Check in with the lender on remaining conditions and the closing disclosure.
- Cal West
- Prepares estimated settlement statements and the seller’s net sheet.
Day 27 of a 30-day escrow
Signing
Loan documents arrive. Buyer and seller sign at our downtown office or with a mobile notary, and the buyer wires closing funds after verifying our instructions by phone.
- Listing agent
- Make sure your seller has an estimated net sheet, and plan the key handoff.
- Buyer’s agent
- Schedule the final walk-through about five days before close.
- Cal West
- Schedules signings, reviews every document and balances the file.
Day 29 of a 30-day escrow
Funding
Signed loan documents go back to the lender, the lender funds, and we confirm every dollar is in before we authorize recording.
- Listing agent
- Keep your seller reachable for any last signatures.
- Buyer’s agent
- Have utilities, insurance and moving dates lined up.
- Cal West
- Coordinates funding with the lender and authorizes title to record.
Day 30 of a 30-day escrow
Recorded and closed
Title records the grant deed and deed of trust with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder. We disburse seller proceeds, payoffs and commissions, and send final statements. Keys change hands.
- Listing agent
- Hand over the keys and celebrate with your seller.
- Buyer’s agent
- Hand over the keys and celebrate with your buyer.
- Cal West
- Disburses every dollar and sends final documents to all parties.
Every stop, in detail
Day numbers follow a 30-day escrow under the standard California purchase agreement. Your contract’s dates control.
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Day 0
Open escrow
The day Iris receives the signed contract
Escrow opens when Iris receives the fully executed purchase agreement. She signs the escrow holder acknowledgment in the contract, issues the escrow number, orders the preliminary title report from the title company named in the contract, and sends wiring instructions directly to the buyer.
Documents
- Fully executed purchase agreement, with every counter offer and addendum
- Escrow holder acknowledgment, signed by escrow
- Opening package, including a Statement of Information for buyer and seller
- Preliminary title report order
What can move the date
- A missing counter offer or addendum
- Pages without every signature and initial
- No title company named in the contract
Send the whole contract, every counter and every addendum, in one email to iris@calwestescrow.com.
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Day 3
Earnest money deposit
The buyer’s deposit reaches escrow
Under the standard California purchase agreement, the buyer’s deposit is due within three business days after acceptance, unless the contract sets another deadline. Iris confirms receipt to both agents and sends the buyer’s lender its opening package.
Documents
- The buyer’s deposit
- Receipt confirmation to both agents
- Lender opening package: the contract, the preliminary report and contacts
What can move the date
- A late deposit, which can lead to a Notice to Buyer to Perform
- A buyer who wires money without first calling to verify the instructions
Before any wire, buyers call Cal West at (323) 300-6122, using a number they look up themselves, to confirm the instructions by phone. Treat any email that changes wiring instructions as fraud until it is confirmed by phone.
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Day 7
Title, disclosures and instructions
The preliminary report arrives and the paperwork starts moving
With the preliminary report in hand, Iris reviews vesting, existing loans, liens, unpaid taxes and recorded easements. She orders the HOA documents and payoff demands, and drafts escrow instructions for both agents and their TCs to review before buyers and sellers sign. How a buyer should hold title is a question for the buyer’s attorney or CPA.
Documents
- Preliminary title report
- Seller disclosures, delivered by the listing agent
- Natural hazard disclosure report
- HOA documents, ordered from the HOA or its management company
- Draft escrow instructions
What can move the date
- Liens or judgments that need a payoff or a release
- An HOA management company that is slow to send documents
- Vesting questions, such as a seller holding title in a trust or an LLC
Send HOA and management company contacts on day one. HOA documents and payoff demands are usual reasons a closing date moves, so they get ordered in the first week.
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Day 17
Contingency removal
Inspections, appraisal and the loan, settled in writing
Inspection, appraisal and loan contingency periods often run 17 days from acceptance. Repairs or credits get negotiated, and the buyer removes contingencies in writing. When the parties agree on a credit or a repair, Iris amends the escrow instructions to match.
Documents
- Request for repairs and the seller’s response
- Contingency removal, signed by the buyer
- Amended escrow instructions for agreed credits or repairs
What can move the date
- An appraisal that comes in below the price
- Loan conditions still open at the deadline
- A missed deadline and a Notice to Buyer to Perform
Check with the lender on underwriting before a buyer removes the loan contingency.
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Day 24
Loan approval and demands
Final figures come together
Underwriting clears its conditions and the lender prepares the Closing Disclosure, which federal rules require the borrower to receive at least three business days before closing. Iris collects payoff demands, the HOA demand and any reports the contract requires, then prepares the estimated settlement statement and the seller’s net sheet.
Documents
- Closing Disclosure, from the lender
- Payoff demands and the HOA demand
- Termite or city reports, when the contract requires them
- Estimated settlement statement and seller net sheet
What can move the date
- A change to the loan that requires a new Closing Disclosure and a new waiting period
- A payoff demand that arrives late or expires before closing
Ask the lender when the Closing Disclosure will go out, and count three business days from when the borrower receives it.
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Day 27
Signing
Loan documents, the grant deed and closing funds
Loan documents usually arrive two to four business days before closing. Buyer and seller sign at our office at 888 S. Figueroa St. or with a mobile notary, and the buyer wires closing funds after confirming Cal West’s instructions by phone. The standard contract sets the buyer’s final walk-through about five days before close.
Documents
- Loan documents, signed by the buyer
- Grant deed, signed by the seller before a notary
- Escrow instructions and closing statements
- The buyer’s closing funds
What can move the date
- Loan documents that arrive late
- A signer who is traveling and needs a notary somewhere else
- Closing funds sent after the bank’s wire cutoff
Book signing appointments as soon as the lender gives a document date. When loan documents are ready to sign.
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Day 29
Funding
The lender sends the loan money
The signed loan package goes back to the lender for review, and the lender funds. Iris confirms every dollar and every condition is in before she authorizes the title company to record.
Documents
- Lender funding
- Final figures, balanced
- Authorization to record
What can move the date
- Lender conditions that come up in the review of signed documents
- Funds that arrive after the day’s recording cutoff
Keep your client reachable on funding day in case the lender needs one more signature.
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Day 30
Recorded and closed
The deed records and money is disbursed
The title company records the grant deed and the new deed of trust with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. Once the deed records, Iris disburses seller proceeds, loan payoffs and commissions, and sends final settlement statements to everyone.
Documents
- Recorded grant deed and deed of trust
- Preliminary Change of Ownership Report, filed with the deed (LA County form)
- Final settlement statements
- Disbursements to the seller, lenders and brokerages
What can move the date
- Recording happens only on days the Recorder is open, so a weekend or county holiday moves it to the next business day
Pick a closing date that falls on a business day. The free 2026-27 Escrow Closing Calendar lists every Recorder closure.
After the deed records
Escrow is closed, but a few things still arrive in the mail. None of them need escrow to reopen.
The recorded deed
The county mails the original recorded grant deed to the new owner after recording.
Supplemental property tax bills
Los Angeles County reassesses the property as of the date ownership changed and sends supplemental bills for the difference, separate from the regular property tax bill.
Homeowners’ exemption
An owner who lives in the home can file for the homeowners’ exemption with the Los Angeles County Assessor.
The seller’s old loan
After payoff, the seller’s lender reconveys its deed of trust, which clears it from the property’s record.
Form 1099-S
Escrow reports the sale to the IRS on Form 1099-S when the law requires it.
Plan your own escrow dates
Enter an acceptance date and the contract’s deadlines, and the timeline flags weekends, federal holidays and LA County Recorder closures.
- Escrow timeline calculatorDeposit, contingency, walk-through and closing dates from your contract
- Day-One Escrow ChecklistFree PDF: what to send escrow the day you get acceptance
- 2026-27 Escrow Closing CalendarFree PDF: every weekday the Recorder or the Federal Reserve is closed
- How long escrow takes30 to 60 days, and what sets the date
Escrow timeline: 6 questions
Have a date that won’t work? Call Iris before you calendar it.
Call (323) 300-6122How long does escrow take in Los Angeles?
Most escrows close in 30 to 60 days. A 30-day escrow is common for financed purchases, and cash purchases can close sooner. The loan, the appraisal, HOA documents and payoff demands usually decide where a closing lands.
What happens on the day escrow opens?
Iris receives the fully executed purchase agreement, signs the escrow holder acknowledgment, issues an escrow number, orders the preliminary title report and sends wiring instructions directly to the buyer.
When is the buyer’s deposit due?
Under the standard California purchase agreement, within three business days after acceptance, unless the contract sets a different deadline. Buyers should call (323) 300-6122, using a number they look up themselves, to verify wiring instructions before sending any money.
Why does the Closing Disclosure matter for the closing date?
Federal rules require a borrower to receive the lender’s Closing Disclosure at least three business days before closing. Certain changes to the loan require a new disclosure and a new waiting period, which can move the date.
Can a deed record on a weekend or holiday?
No. The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder records only on business days, so when a closing date falls on a weekend or a county holiday, recording happens on the next business day. Check your contract for how it treats those dates.
When does the seller get paid?
After the deed records. Iris then disburses the seller’s proceeds by the method set up in escrow, along with loan payoffs and commissions.
This page is general information about California real estate transactions as of October 2026. It is not legal or tax advice, and laws and figures change. Talk with your attorney, CPA or real estate broker about your situation.
Got acceptance? Send Iris the signed contract.
Email the fully executed purchase agreement, with every counter and addendum, to iris@calwestescrow.com, or use this form. Iris opens the file, issues the escrow number and orders the preliminary title report.
- Iris, office line(323) 300-6122
- Text Iris(213) 500-9875
- Fax(323) 300-5996
- HoursMonday to Friday, 9am to 5pm