What is an Escrow Agent?
An escrow agent is an entity that has fiduciary responsibilities in the transfer of real estate property from one party to another party. Typically associated with selling or buying a home or other property, the escrow agent will secure the property and examine documents to make sure that the terms of the sale are met on each end, serving both the buyer and seller in the transaction.
An escrow agent may be a title company such as Go Title! Inc when it comes to a home; the title company will hold the deed in escrow until all of the terms of both the buyer and seller are met. The buyer may deposit the money for the purchase with the escrow agent, which serves to "validate" the transaction prior to last-minute closing terms.
The purpose the escrow agent serves is that of a neutral, trusted third party to transactions that may involve persons who never end up meeting each other.