WHAT DOES AN ESCROW OFFICER DO?
Updated: Jun 11, 2025 - The Escrow Officer collaborates closely with lenders to generate accurate closing documents and schedules. Review title commitments and closing disclosures to ensure compliance and accurate fund disbursement. Maintains expertise in title industry regulations, aiding both buyers and sellers to facilitate smooth transactions.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Escrow Officer
1. Escrow Officer Duties
- Coordination: Work directly with lenders to produce closing documents and ensure closing occurs as scheduled.
- Accuracy: Review title commitments, sales agreements, and other applicable closing documents to ensure accuracy and compliance.
- Financial Review: Review and balance closing disclosure or HUD-1 settlement statement to ensure proper disbursement of closing funds.
- Documentation: Ensure all notaries are correctly filled out and documented.
- Preparation: Prepare closing disclosures/HUD-1 settlement statements necessary to complete the closing.
- Problem Solving: Review and assist with the clearing of Schedule C items.
- Document Management: Review and obtain all buyer documentation for closing.
- Support: Assist the seller with the closing transaction.
- Regulatory Knowledge: Maintain working knowledge of laws and regulations pertaining to the title industry.
- Assistance: Assist the title examiner periodically with the title abstract.
2. Escrow Officer Details
- Customer Service: Executes unparalleled customer service on a daily basis.
- Multitasking: Has the aptitude to balance workload while still providing exemplary customer service and maintaining client confidentiality.
- Review Skills: Review Title Commitment to determine exceptions that must be cleared prior to close and/or determine documentation necessary to waive exceptions.
- Document Retrieval: Requests documents necessary to close, i.e., prior policies, payoffs of mortgages or liens, deeds, surveys, LLC documents, trusts, hazard insurance, death certificates, affidavits, etc.
- Organization: Executes, obtains, and organizes all necessary documents needed to complete a closing.
- Analytical Skills: Interprets and prepares Closing Disclosures/Settlement Statements based on real estate contracts and lender loan closing instructions, understanding how to calculate tax prorations, payoffs, per diems, and interest.
- Quality Control: Quality checks all documents following closing for accuracy.
- Financial Management: Secures any payments due from buyer/seller/lender/broker in order to balance and disburse funds appropriately after all funds from all parties have been received.
- Follow-up: Maintains follow-up procedures for any transaction requiring the completion of items following the close.
- Communication: Acts as a liaison between parties, communicating efficiently and effectively.
3. Escrow Officer Responsibilities
- Pipeline Management: Manages day-to-day operations of a mortgage loan file pipeline.
- Preparation: Prepares HUD-1 settlement statements in accordance with lender closing instructions.
- Calculation: Calculates premiums, closing costs, mortgage tax, and recording fees in licensed states.
- Communication: Provides professional, timely communication (verbal and written) with borrowers and lenders regarding files in the pipeline.
- Financial Handling: Balances and disburses closed loan files.
- Document Preparation: Prepares mortgage documents for recording.
- Policy Preparation: Prepares short-form final title insurance policies.
- Process Management: Manages the entire real estate closing process, including compliance with lender instructions, title requirements, company requirements, and other written instructions.
- Customer Service: Responds to all questions and requests surrounding the transaction in a timely and helpful manner.
- Issue Resolution: Manages escalated issues to a successful resolution.
4. Escrow Officer Accountabilities
- Comprehensive Management: Manages all aspects of a real estate title company and closes transactions.
- Preparation and Review: Review lender instructions, prepare CDs/HUDs, and obtain lender approval.
- Document Preparation: Prepares all title company documents and readies the file for closing.
- Accuracy Check: Reviews final documents for accuracy.
- Financial Communication: Provides buyers with final figures.
- Closing Facilitation: Conducts closings with buyers, sellers, realtors, lenders, and attorneys.
- Document Delivery: Delivers signed and completed files to the lender for funding authorization.
- Communication: Notifies all parties (buyers, sellers, realtors, loan officers) upon funding.
- Document Review: Reviews and prepares estimated closing statements and closing documents.
- Title Review: Receives and reviews title commitments.
- Financial Balancing: Balances file prior to and after loan funding.
5. Senior Escrow Officer Functions
- Mediation: Acts as an intermediary between all parties to the transaction (homebuyer, builder, lender, realtor, etc.).
- Point of Contact: Serves as the point of contact for all parties involved in the transaction including the homebuyer, mortgage, accounting, and other areas within the Title & Settlement process.
- Transaction Management: Manages all aspects of settlement transactions, including preparing HUD statements, preparing and coordinating deeds, verifying the accuracy of loan documents, insurance documentation, and seller statements.
- Facilitation: Obtains signatures for closing transactions, explains all documents as needed, and facilitates question/answer sessions between parties to the transaction.
- Financial Oversight: Reviews and approves checks and/or wire transfers.
- Disbursement Review: Reviews the final disbursement summary and ledger upon completion of funding.
- Escrow Analysis: Reviews escrow accounting reports and resolves any outstanding check or open file balance issues.
- Information Flow Management: Ensures the timely and accurate flow of information and documentation from the settlement team to the Recording and Accounting departments.
- Problem Solving: Resolves complex problems and executes complex transactions.