SOP – Community Care

500: Escrow

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  • Call Screening
  • Call Transferring Instructions
  • Requests for Appraisal Information
  • Pending Litigation Questions
  • FHA/VA Approval Questions
  • How to Request and Pay for Docs & Check Status (Lender’s Certification, CC&R’s, etc.)
  • Requests For General Info & Account Balances
  • Refunds after the Close of Escrow
  • W-9 Requests (Action’s W-9 or a W-9 for a specific HOA)
  • Certificate of Insurance Requests
  • New Homeowner Management App Account Set Up

CALL SCREENING

If a caller asks to speak to someone in the Escrow Department or asks for one of the Department Reps by name ask: “May I please have the address you are calling about?”  Then follow up with, “May I ask what your call is regarding in case I may be of assistance?” This question will open a dialog and should reveal the purpose of the call and confirm they need they do in fact need to speak with Escrow. 

CALL TRANSFERRING INSTRUCTIONS

If Community Care receive a call that needs to be routed to Escrow, transfer them back to the main call menu so they can select the proper Escrow prompt and speak to someone. 

The caller may of course also email escrow@actionlife.com. 

REQUESTS FOR APPRAISAL INFORMATION

If a you receive a request for an Appraiser Report, direct them to email Appraisalrequests@actionlife.com where they may request the report. You may give them “general information” about the community such as the number of unit (if that information is on the profile) and the amount of the monthly dues (not the amount due on a specific account – just the typical monthly charge).

The Appraiser Report will provide information such as:

  • Date Construction began
  • Control Transfer Date
  • Project Type
  • Total Units in the Project
  • Offsite and onsite Addresses (Or Number of Renters)
  • Assessment Delinquency Rates

PENDING LITIGATION QUESTIONS

  1. If a caller wants to know if there is any pending litigation against an association, they must email escrow@actionlife.com.
  2. If they have already received the litigation disclosure(s)  and still have further questions, transfer the call to the property manager or provide the property manager’s email address.

FHA/VA APPROVAL QUESTIONS

  1. The Escrow Department is not able to verify if any association if FHA approved. Check the profile to see if it is FHA approved.  If there is nothing on the profile, please tell callers that they should refer their question to the escrow/title company or the community manager. They may also go to the government website: https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/condlook.cfm. Further questions go to the Mgr.
  2. The Escrow Department does not track VA approval. Check the profile.  If there is no information on the profile, transfer the call to the manager.

HOW TO REQUEST & PAY FOR DOCUMENTS & CHECK STATUS (LENDER’S CERT, CC&R’S, ETC.)

  1. All escrow documents/services must be paid for up-front through the company called CondoCerts (they cannot be paid at the close of escrow). They must go to actionlife.condocerts.com or on the Action website at actionlife.com and click on Escrow towards the top right corner to be routed to CondoCerts order page. 
  2. If they require any assistance with placing an order or they have questions about their existing order or wish to follow up on the status, they can log into their CondoCerts account or they can also contact CondoCerts directly on their Customer Support line (800) 310-6552. 
  3. If they have already contacted CondoCerts and would like to speak to someone in our Escrow Team, they can email escrow@actionlife.com or you may transfer their call back to the main menu so they can select the proper Escrow prompt. 

REQUESTS FOR GENERAL INFO AND ACCOUNT BALANCES

  1. The Escrow Department’s email address for general questions and information is Escrow@actionlife.com (estimated turn time for response is 2-3 business days).
  2. Requests for account balances (needed at the close of escrow) must be emailed to – Escrow@actionlife.com . BALANCES ARE NOT TO BE GIVEN VERBALLY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.  Closing account balance is usually requested by the escrow company on the day that they close escrow.
    • NOTE:  We routinely give the amount owed on an account to the homeowner and can provide the homeowner with the current amount owed on their account (or email them a ledger sheet).  The situation being referred to here is a non-homeowner (usually an escrow company) calling for the amount owed on an account.
  3. The Escrow Department’s email address for any questions specifically relating to the close of escrow (ex. Someone asking if we have received the closing docs) is EscrowClosings@actionlife.com. (Estimated response time is 2-3 business days)

REFUNDS AFTER THE CLOSE OF ESCROW

  1. If the selling homeowner sent in a payment after the close of escrow or believes that for any reason they are entitled to a refund, ask them to email EscrowClosings@actionlife.com and provide their current mailing address and reason for their request. Do not attempt to determine if they are entitled to a refund.  The escrow department will research and respond to their request.
  2. When our Escrow Department is notified of a pending sale, the homeowner’s Escrow Company is asked (in writing) to tell the homeowner that they must cancel auto payment.  If the selling owner failed to cancel their auto payments and we withdraw the money after the close of escrow the owner may request a refund by emailing EscrowClosings@actionlife.com. If the homeowner’s name is still in Management App as the current owner, they should also be instructed to cancel their auto payment immediately by going on the Resident Portal.

W-9 REQUESTS

When someone calls requesting a W-9 for Action Property or for an individual HOA, please have them email escrow@actionlife.com.

CERTIFICATE OF INSURANCE REQUESTS

Lenders often require homeowners to provide a Certificate of Insurance outlining the HOA’s insurance coverage. 

If owners call asking for a certificate of Insurance or the “Master Policy,” or “Master Insurance Policy,” tell them that it may be available on the Resident Portal, and if it is not they can contact the insurance agent for the association (provide phone # per instructions below).

If a non-owner (escrow companies/ lenders, etc.) ask for a Certificate of Insurance, provide them with the contact information for the association’s insurance agent that carries “Property Coverage” (see screen shot below).  If you can’t find “Property Coverage” check to see if the same agent carries all of the insurance or choose the coverage that sounds like the most general. If you cannot figure out which one to give, please ask for assistance.   

IMPORTANT: As mentioned above, sometimes callers refer to the Certificate of Insurance as the “master insurance policy” (or they use some similar wording). This does not mean that they need insurance information for the Master association.  If there is a sub and a master association, give the insurance information for the sub association.

IMPORTANT: Also, be certain that you are giving the insurance broker’s number, not the phone number for the insurance company – see screen shot below).  The agent will provide the document The agent’s contact information is located in Management App.  Check the expiration date.  If Management App has not been updated, you check with the manager and also ask the manager to have their  Assistant  update  Jenark.

NEW HOMEOWNER ACCOUNT SET UP

If the caller is a new owner and the account is showing up in Management App under the previous owner’s name, let them know that our Escrow Department will need the following items to set up the new account:

    1. Closing letter on the escrow company’s letterhead
    2. Copy of the recorded deed (title) OR
    3. Trustees Deed (mainly for bank owned properties)
    4. Any official documentation the new owner can provide to show the change in ownership

The information should be emailed to EscrowClosings@actionlife.com. Once we receive the information allow approximately 1-2 weeks for processing. The accounts are usually updated about 4-5 weeks from the closing of escrow. The new owner is responsible for the first full month after they close escrow. Our Escrow Dept always requests that the new owner pre-pay 2 month’s dues during escrow, so they will not receive late charges while the account is being set up.

Once a new owner is set up with an account in SnapHOA Management App, a Welcome Letter gets mailed with their account information. 

NOTE: There is no Welcome Packet that gets mailed anymore. It is only a Welcome Letter with their information. Any Governing Documents would have been received through their Escrow company or they can access them once they are set up with a Resident Portal Account.