And this is correct, there really is no deal. The seller already thinks that having a trustee hold title is “weird.”
In a case like this I just don’t understand how the service of an escrow agent can be justified. Ok, a $10 deed can be prepared and handed to the buyer, then the money that the agent is holding is then handed to the seller. And this costs roughly $175, not including the recording fee or insurance??
Either this is robbery or these people have some strange policies where they must process a bunch of other paperwork which would otherwise be unnecessary in a simple private contract.
I’ll be purchasing a piece of land with cash, and the land is paid off. The seller desires to complicate the deal and use escrow service which I think is totally unnecessary. It should be rather simple, I give the cash and the seller then gives me a warranty deed. I then record the deed. Kinda like a land contract when full payment is received. I don’t understand what the big problem is. I have no issue with a title company doing the title search and providing insurance, as long as they don’t demand irrelevant personal information. My main concern with escrow services is their anti-privacy policies which I cannot agree to.
It’s largely about trust and comfort. You may have it but your seller doesn’t have it. Insisting on doing a deal without an escrow isn’t likely to happen if you can’t agree on this basic matter.
If your issue is really about privacy, and there’s no seller financing involved, then agree that you’ll take title in a THT with a trustee of your choosing.
Then, offer to compromise by using a title company’s sub-escrow to handle money and docs.