Coral Beach Realty

[GOD]

"With the way real estate works down here as there is really no such thing as an escrow account"  Completely False!

Ambergris Seaside Real Estate has such an account (as do most real estate companies) where funds are held and governed by the agreements for which the deposits or funds were deposited.  The account is dedicated and exclusive to holding funds for contracted transactions.

Simply put any account can be an escrow account as long as it is dedicated to holding only funds that are in place based on a contract.  The parties involve (Buyer, Seller and Escrow Agent) must agree to the terms.

[peterbj7]

What legal security is there here over escrow accounts?  Leaving aside honesty, what if the agent simply goes bust?

[Inplub]

I believe none, most people do not realise the accounts are in the USA and not in Belize. The property is in Belize the money is held in the USA and the new owners could come from a different county. Where do you go if and when something goes wrong?

[ragman]

Chris Allnatt held my money and there wasn't a problem. In that deal I was not overly concerned about a problem. However, in the USA I've had many Real Estate transactions (although not in years) and escrow money was always held by one of the attorney's.  That is really the only way I can see that you have good protection.  It the attorney misuses the funds, actions including the possible lost of his accreditation is possible.  With a realtor if they go bust your more or less screwed.

A lot of deals I've done would not have been done if I wanted to protect myself 100%. At least once I over ruled my attorney, he made the deal so complicated to protect me that it would have been very difficult to go forward. Sometimes you have to put some trust in other people and hope for the best.  Of course some asking around and knowing who you are dealing with is needed first.

[bethieb]

Having a well crafted, written, and signed escrow agreement adds some protection as it will provide the concrete terms for the release and disbursement of the funds in any event.   If one or more parties refuse to sign it, move on.  I would not simply give funds to an agent, title company or attorney without first having a satisfactory agreement executed.  It may go perfectly smoothly, but I prefer to deal under worst case scenario from the get go to protect my interests in high dollar transactions.  In the US, Europe or Belize. 

[GOD]

Obviously if you are dealing with someone who is dishonest they can always take the funds, even an attorney.  The funds held in escrow are governed by the agreement so there can be no issue.  In general the agreement is very simple and identifies how and when the disbursement of the funds to either party will occur.

I would say that a substantial portion of real estate transactions on Ambergris Caye occur without the use of an attorney (using paralegals) and in my 8 years or so involved in real estate here I have not heard of an issue with any of them.  Buyers and Sellers need to focus on doing business with reputable agents and brokers who have the ability to provide references (from buyers and sellers) for transactions done here in Belize.

You can't do a transaction anywhere without trusting someone so develop a relationship.

[pedro]

Josh

I admittedly have never used an attorney and have bought properties from Southwind,Pelican,Regent and Casa Cayo .However I would advise anyway to use an attorney that is insured and then the monies,if stolen,will be repaid-I do not believe realtors would be able to get a a professional indemnity like this.

[peterbj7]

My question hasn't been answered.  What if (say) an agent is horribly overdrawn at a bank and also holds an escrow account holding client funds.  If the bank decides to pull the plug on the guy do they have access to the escrow funds?  If not, what legally prevents them from taking those funds?

[pedro]

my guess is of course the money can be seized by the bank

[bethieb]

In Belize the money can be seized by the bank and sorted out ... later LOL.  At least with an escrow agreement signed by the realtor, buyer and seller designating the purpose, amount, and release and disbursement of the funds, the claim to the funds would be supported and acknowledged and the court would have something to work with if it got down to litigation.  Good news is there are some very trustworthy realtors in SP. 

[peterbj7]

Sounds as if funds held in escrow are secure depending on the whim and business worth of the agent.  Pedro's initial assertion sounds right then - there is no true "escrow" as it would be understood in the UK (and probably also the US/Canada).  Funds are not truly secure.

[Sunshine]

The British Caribbean Bank International offers true escrow accounts as do the other banks in that operate in Belize.  The real estate agreement and escrow agreement are submitted to the bank.  The bank's attorneys offer this service.  Cost is a few percentage points or a minimum fee whichever is greater.

[Sunshine]

There have been rare instances of self declared real estate brokers taking off with "escrow funds" - Be very sure that the people you do business with are reputable, established and have "real" property holdings in Belize. The more vested a person is in Belize the less likely he is going to hop on a plane to Brazil or Mexico tomorrow.

Rented golf carts and leased apartments aren't "real" holdings in my opinion.

[pedro]

I have just talked to Glen Godrey's partner and they are going to offer a one time fee -probably around 800usd per transaction-they put all monies in a trust account which cannot be touched by any bank-it remains the clients money until they pay it to the seller,and the realtor's percentage-and also out of this the transfer taxes

[Sunshine]

Most of the attorney offices offer this service - and it works well.