Demotech's report on defalcation aka escrow theft

Several years ago I went to Harrisburg and met with representatives of the insurance department.  There were a few things on the agenda.  High on my list was a warning about a potential tsunami of defalcations as the mortgage credit crisis, then just beginning, evolved.

I knew from my experience in continuing education classes and that full reconciliation of escrow and other important controls were being ignored by agencies.  It was obvious to me that things looked normal to the outside world only because so much money ran through the accounts. Deficits by theft or mismanagement were covered by the constant flow of new money.  Once the flow of funds slowed or stopped with the expected steep decline in business, we would see widespread defalcations.

This is a problem in the title insurance industry.  It's one more thing for real estate agents, lenders, and consumers to keep in mind when choosing to work with a title insurance agency.  With that in mind I tried to come up with some observations that could be made from the outside looking in to try to determine if you are working with a title agent who responsibly manages their escrow funds.  This is pretty hard because from the outside I think you can only observe a philosophy or structure controlling the collection and disbursement of funds.

So, you want to be working with a title agency who requires "good funds" coming into escrow.  That means they want a cashiers check or wire for all but nominal amounts.  You also want to be working with a title agency who verifies that they have all funds in hand before disbursing a transaction.  For instance, let's say a buyer's mortgage company hasn't yet funded the transaction and the parties are sitting at the closing table.  The pressure is high, they want to move, the real estate agent wants their commission.  All eyes are on the title agent.  Does the title agent hold their ground and say they cannot disburse until they have the lender's funds or do they take a chance and disburse?

The "easy" title agency, the one who takes a check that isn't "good funds" or goes ahead with a disbursement when they do not have funds in hand, is the title agency who also probably doesn't fully reconcile their escrow account.  They don't take the responsibility of guarding other people's money seriously.  They may even be living off of the escrow.  So be careful.

Here's the Demotech report.

query: must escrow accounts of title companies be interest bearing in PA

The answer is no. If you have funds that will be held after closing, you can request that it be placed in a separate interest bearing account. Keep in mind that this is extra work for the title agent and there may be a service charge. Any escrow set-up in PA does carry a mandatory $25 escrow set-up fee - even non-interest bearing escrow.

query: what does one do when your bank sells your mortgage to another bank

The best course of action is to watch all transactions very carefully. Most of these servicing transfers happen without incident, so don't be too nervous. The terms of your mortgage will not change.

Potential problems are payments in transit during the time the file is being setup with the new servicer. Also, there can be some confusion with property taxes or homeowners insurance if you have an escrow. So, keep an eye on due dates and check in to make certain your account has made the transition without incident.

Federal rules govern the procedures the banks must follow when they sell your loan. You should expect to receive a "hello" letter from the new bank and a "goodbye" letter from the old bank. Each of these letters must provide a toll free customer service number for your use and most importantly, a very special address for written correspondence.

This very special address is different than a payment address. Federal rules require that any written correspondence you mail to this address be logged and tracked. Use of this address helps the consumer get a prompt response to any inquiry concerning the servicing of their mortgage loan.

It happens to most of us, so you're not alone. ;)