November 2016 Newsblog

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! HAZARDS OF RUNNING AN ESCROW DESK (Back by popular demand!) Setting the scene: Our Seller came from San Diego to Los Angeles to visit and while here, he went to a Notary Public at his Bank to sign the Grant Deed for the sale of the property. The signed documents were sent … Read more

October 2016 Newsblog

 HAPPY ONE YEAR BIRTHDAY, TRID (Oct. 3)!  DESPITE ALL, WE SURVIVED! (TRID – It is still “The Reason I Drink”) Ding! The first Clinton/Trump round is done, the Veeps round is done (thank goodness) and all are now recorded forever into the annals of history, perhaps to the dismay of the two main boxers. Not … Read more

September 2016 Newsblog

Is it UP? Is it DOWN? Maybe it is SIDEWAYS? Did July real estate sales go up? Or was it down? Confused? You Are Not Alone. The Truth Is Out There. I have been scratching my head at the daily number of articles from fore-casters, back-casters and pun-dits who are also scratching their heads trying … Read more

August 2016 Newsblog

GO! GO! GO! POKEMON GO!: Now I know why people call a craze a “craze”. It’s because people are crazy! I found out about Pokemon Go when my assistant Mario came back from lunch one day and said he had just walked all over Old Town Monrovia looking for Pokemon critters. My reaction was – … Read more

July 2016 Newsblog

BREXIT! REGREXIT?  This is the national equivalent of a “morning- after – what- the- heck- did- I -do -last -night?” scenario. A few hours of excitement and now you have to live with the morning after consequences. But we are all about US so how does this affect the U.S.? Initial reports say that it … Read more

June 2016 Newsblog

New location for Viva Escrow! Inc. 136 W. Walnut Ave., Monrovia, CA 91016 All staff numbers remain the same. I didn’t think the day would come, but our move is done, done, done! As we settle in, a serious question remains. What will I post on Facebook when there are no more screeching brakes, loud … Read more

May 2016 Newsblog

As I compose this edition of my newsblog I am in the midst of preparing to go to Washington D.C. Yep, it’s that time of the year again when I and my peers from EIC (Escrow  Institute of California) get to go and check out how our friends in high places are faring, what with … Read more

April 2016 Newsletter

HAVE YOU PAID YOUR PROPERTY TAXES YET? DUE BY APRIL 11TH!!!! (The regular due date of April 10th is a Sunday)  (This is my public service announcement for the month)  IT’S ALL ABOUT THE WIRE FRAUD (THAT’S TROUBLE!) It used to be that NO ONE knew what the heck we did; that you go into … Read more

March 2016 Newsletter

The first two months of the year are always the most sluggish part of the year, just picture all those bleary-eyed, hung-over, pudgy characters struggling back into their office cubicle. Yes, Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then New Years, followed by Chinese New Year, and now you want us to work? Added to this year is the … Read more

February 2016 Newsletter

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR! FEBRUARY 8, 2016 – YEAR OF THE MONKEY Interested in some background on this Year of the Monkey? Go to this site, one of many that you can Google up. By the way, the Year of the Monkey is apparently NOT a good year for the Monkey. FIRPTA CHANGES ARE GOING … Read more