The Role Performed By Escrow CompaniesEscrow is an agreement where an intermediary takes money on the behalf of a buyer and releases it to a seller upon completion of the transaction by the latter. There are a number of Authorized Escrow Companies which render Escrow as a service. It is necessary for an Escrow Company to be fully licensed and accredited. State Government agencies perform the job of accreditation. The agencies then monitor the operations of the Escrow Company to make sure that it complies with escrow statutes and regulations. Escrow Company is also an Escrow Agent. It is an Escrow Company's job to provide on line or off line Escrow Services. You should check with the authority in your state to determine if a company is a legitimate company. If you need to select an Escrow Company then is a good idea to go to the company's web site and check the terms & conditions. The Escrow Company should have a physical address. It is desirable to ring up their customer support persons and talk to them personally. Escrow Companies offer a wide range of different escrow services ranging from real estate and property escrow, on line auction escrow to technology and source code escrow. The Escrow Company is a neutral entity which performs a role of a custodian of funds. Quite a few Escrow Companies cover international sales and purchases. Escrow Companies offer services such as inspection of the material being purchased by the buyer. The buyer usually has from 1 to 30 days to inspect he item. This may differ from one company to another. Another interesting service which some Escrow Services provide is IP Archives. Escrow Companies store subject matter which may be in the nature of technologies, software, inventions, works of products, authorship and data. The subject matter may be part of contracts that may become the subject of litigation in the future. In the event of such litigation, the IP archives of an Escrow Company may provide evidence of such material. Escrow Companies even go to the extent of protecting the interests of a company when it wants to purchase another company. The buying company wants to be sure that the profits forecast are achieved. The buyer pays part of the purchase price directly to the seller and puts the remaining part into escrow with an escrow company. If the forecast profits are achieved then the Escrow Company goes ahead and releases the funds to the seller. The buyer is protected against under performance and the seller receives the full payment when the actual profits match the forecasts. Two renowned escrow companies are Fortis Escrow and Escrow.com. Escrow as a function is a very important one. Escrow Companies performing this function are contributing to mitigate losses and to ensure that interests of both the buyer and seller are well protected. |