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Review 11/22/2010
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I have bought and sold several homes in California and I have never experienced the level of incompetence and lack of helpfulness as with Ms. McGee at Peninsula Escrow. At a minimum, the escrow officer's job is to guide buyers and sellers through the closing process, to prepare final paperwork, communicate status of escrow among the transaction parties and ensure that the transaction is executed properly and legally. Jackie McGee of Peninsula escrow was my escrow officer for the purchase of a home and closing on Nov. 22, 2010. She was chosen as the escrow officer by the sellers, as is customary in the South Bay, and Pensisula Escrow has "a strong working relationship" with sellers' agent, ReMax.
Below I list examples of Ms. McGee's poor service and incompetence:
1. Initially charged significantly above market rates for services even though the paperwork in this transaction was below typical due to private party financing. She eventually agreed to lower fees, apparently near market rates. I asked for title and escrow rate sheets, which she refused to provide.
2. She made numerous typographical and conceptual errors in writing up the escrow instructions and the deed of trust. She was sloppy and disorganized in preparing paperwork. I pointed out the errors and she was slow to respond to these.
3. She consistently failed to communicate the status of escrow or alert me to missing documents.
4. She seemed to confused my escrow with another. She erroneously claimed that only a portion of my funds were received, when in fact my bank had clearly made the full transfer. She erroneously said we would close a day later than what was clearly scheduled, agreed upon and feasible.
5. She failed to return calls and respond to important e-mails in a timely manner.
6. She asked me to sign incomplete documents and became upset when I refused to do so. In particular, the note and deed of trust did not include important dates (such as start and end of loan period) and included several typos.
It is troubling that a buyer is asked to pay excessive escrow fees when the escrow officer, chosen by the seller and "friend" of the escrow company, has no incentive to provide minimal, reliable services. In a competitive market, Ms. McGee would be out of business.
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