Homestead Escrow

I have been working with Katie for about 6 months now as my preferred escrow office at Homestead. Katie and her escrow officers are a great addition to my team and are always there when my clients or I need something done.(even on Super Bowl Sunday at 8:45pm) if you need someone that is going to work hard to EARN your business, then I recommend you give Katie the opportunity to do just that. Whether you need an escrow company for your income condo, or your beach front estate, they will handle it.

Best employees and a trustworthy, honest owner who demands the same from the people she employs. Such a rare and special place!

As a realtor working in South Orange County, I have used Homestead Escrow to be a part of my team for the past 12 years. They have continuously gone out of their way for my clients and deliver 5 star service. They allow me to focus on my areas of expertise in sales along with the details and negotiations throughout an escrow period, without concerns of escrow fulfilling their duties. I like to work with a company that is professional, pro-​active and always paying attention to detail, Homestead offers this for me and my clients consistently. I would highly recommend Homestead Escrow to any buyer, seller and/​or agent in the industry looking for quality service!

I have been selling residential real estate for 14 years now and have used numerous escrow companies over the years. Homestead Escrow is unparalleled in their ability to communicate. The escrow officer that I use is Gale, and she is on top of EVERYTHING! She goes above and beyond with my clients and I have never had a complaint in working with her. Katie and George are the managers and marketing directors and they are amazingly helpful whenever my clients or I need something. They are truly a phone call away.
If you have escrow questions or are wondering about fees or anything, this is who I would call and voluntarily choose to work with. My clients have always been very satisfied with every aspect of escrow. As for the review that states the «hold harmless» agreement, that is standard on ANY escrow company paperwork because in California, escrow companies are required to be the neutral third party.

Homestead Escrow did a good job of closing my loan on time and forwarding the funds quickly to my purchase escrow. I was impressed they sent a mobile notary to me for free to get the documents signed and cleared at the beginning of escrow. I really liked that touch. The process was simple, easy and convenient.

I worked with Heather Clearwater at Homestead Escrow for the sell of my home. She was fast, friendly and efficient. She made the process a breeze. If you are selecting an escrow company I would definitely recommend Homestead Escrow and specifically Heather!

Unfortunately we were not able to choose the escrow company to work with. If we had to, this would definitely not be the first choice on our list (or be a choice at all for that matter).
From the beginning, there was a lack of communication from our Sr. Loan Officer Joanie. I still till this day have not heard what her voice sounds like over the phone. We completed the whole transaction while being in a different state. You would think communication would thus be extremely important. The list goes on about how many negative experiences I had with this company. Not only that, my escrow close date was pushed almost a week past its original date. In addition, they screwed up on our vesting information which caused a whole different issue I then had to deal with, with the lender.
I attempted to resolve the issue with Kate/​Katie the office manager. She was nice and understanding over the phone and was able to negotiate a small reduction of fees for the inconvenience we went through but even SHE failed to call me back after our long discussion to remedy the situation. After our phone call, I received an email from the Sr. Loan Officer’s assistant explaining the reduction of fees.
One would think that after a lengthy conversation with a disgruntled customer that the manager would call back/​follow up (like they had said they would) and explain what had happened, review her findings of the issues, and explain the reduction of fees. This never occurred. I guess the overall interactions I had with this company probably reflects the way the manager handles her business.
My rating is based on the following errors: Lack of communication, lack of attention to detail, and the lack of being able to follow through/​follow up.
Overall, if you had a choice, you should definitely avoid this company at all costs.

***** WARNING ***** BE WARE ***** CAUTION *****
Homestead includes the following in their instructions and require the buyer and seller to sign:
«Buyer and seller agree to INDEMNIFY, defend and hold Escrow Holder, its employees and officers of the corporation, real estate agents and/​or brokers harmless from ANY LIABILITY OR LOSS in connection with this instruction.»
They ARE NOT a «neutral third party» in any sense of the word. They are selling out both the buyer and seller.
If you sign this you will lose any recourse and assume an unlimited liability for an indefinite number of players for an unbounded length of time.
You need to consult your attorney before proceeding.

Buying a home and moving is never a fun transaction. Jennifer Davidson and Cindy Cope helped make this big part my families life as stress free as possible. We never had any delays and she was always upfront and honest with us along the way. This company has service that is second to none and they will always do everything they can to get the job done. I would recommend this company to anyone who was looking for the best Escrow company to work with.

I was supposed to get my escrow closed on April 2. Then changed to the 3^rd. Today we find out we have to wait until Monday. We are a family of 4 with a dog that had been patiently waiting for our home for 40 days in motels. Now I find out we will have to spend Easter weekend in a motel also and wait till Monday. Monday is a great day to get your new house. It’s great because then we get to go to work and to school and THEN come to our new house and try to move in Monday through Friday. After work. After school. When no one will be available to help until the following Saturday. I hope everyone working at Homestead Escrow enjoys this lovely holiday weekend in their lovely homes.

Great transaction! Heather was quick and always responsive, the staff was charming and the transaction was easy… Good service!

Homestead escrow is the top escrow in South Orange County in my opinion! What sets them apart from others is not their top ranked productivity but most importantly their top notch service! They have the best service and its in huge part because of Katie DiCaprio and Heather Clearwater.

Debbie Etell, Eddie Tanamachi and the entire support staff are truly as good as it gets. They even moved offices in the middle of my escrow and didn’t miss a beat. I changed from a under performing company and had high expectations, which they met and then some. I highly recommend this company if you want to sleep well at night.

Joan Hively and her staff were fantastic in handling two escrows for me. They did a great deal of coordination to get things done.

Horrible service! Watch out for your escrow dollars! Not only do they have HUGE attitudes!!! They also try to keep monies after all parties agree to return money set aside for escrow. Horrible business people! Everyone needs to know what they do! I rate them negative stars if there were negative stars to input!