Allied Escrow

Allied Escrow was selected by the listing agent as his choice of escrow company. Given that most escrows are pretty similar, my buyers and I had no objection to using their services. The transaction was incredibly long and arduous, truly one of the worst short sales in which I have been involved. After numerous different hurdles, including starting all over twice, we finally had both loan approved and loan documents at escrow. Upon arriving to sign loan docs, my buyers were presented with a HUD-1 (Closing statement) for signature that was more than $7,500 higher than anything they had seen. In addition, this was not the one that was presented to their lender in order to obtain the loan approval. The owner of the company proceeded to yell at the escrow officer right in front of my buyers, who very quickly excused themselves from the office. After learning the full breadth of this Orange County escrow's incompetence, and discovering that we were faced with the possibility of having to redraw loan documents and possibly lose the deal entirely, the listing agent and I came to an understanding. We would request that the escrow company reduce their fees, seek discounts from the other service providers and make up the difference ourselves. Given the fact that the presentation of the HUD was a violation of federal law, we felt that they would be happy to dramatically reduce their fee in order to accommodate. We thought wrong! After an insulting $250 concession, the listing agent and I were left having to make up over $2,800 each out of our commission in order to close the deal. If you are a Realtor who likes getting professional, intelligent service from your escrow company and are faced with having to work with Allied Escrow in Irvine, do not allow the listing agent to force this decision on you and your buyer. Realtors are obligated to do what is in the best interest of their clients. This escrow is partially owned by the broker of the Keller Williams office next door, and is recommended based upon financial benefit to the broker. DO NOT USE ALLIED ESCROW, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!!! Virtually any other escrow company in Orange County will do a better job for your clients.