Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Real Estate (Commercial)

It isn't really the property that is in escrow. It is the proposed transaction affecting the property.

The main purpose of an escrow is to have a trustworthy and neutral third party hold all the signed papers, money deposits, deeds, contracts, etc. so that no party can cheat the other or jump the gun by recording a deed before the purchase money is received and counted.

You might think of the escrow holder as the person who holds the stakes in an old Western saloon poker game, so that no one will kick over the lantern and grab the antes and bets and run off in the darkness.

Whether the property that is the subject of an escrow has been appraised or not cannot be told, one way or another, from the mere fact that it is in escrow. Probably more often than not, the property is appraised during escrow, so that at first it isn't appraised, then later on, it is appraised. However, there would also be occasions where the property was appraised before escrow was opened, and in other cases, escrow is opened and closed and no appraisal is ever made. This might happen in a deal where the buyer was paying all cash and didn't need to get a loan.