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Good Funds Law

This new law, which took effect on October 1, 2009, states that a title company must have good (cleared) funds prior to the recording
of a deed. In other words, checks at the close of escrow, of just before, are no longer acceptable under this law. Some title companies
have seemingly misapplied this new law. Some of them have demanded that earnest money deposits come in the form of a bank
wire or bank check. While a title company certainly has the right to determine their own policies, do not be fooled into thinking that
this is a result of the new law. It is not.

The only exception would be if an earnest money personal check were to be deposited with less than 10-30 days until the close of
escrow. Other than that, in normal real estate transactions, there should be no problem at all using personal checks as earnest money.
Bank checks drawn on a Nevada bank are still accepted by many title companies, for earnest money deposits or for close of escrow.
But expect to deliver the checks at least 3-5 business days before COE (varies by title company), so there is ample time for the bank
to clear the checks. Likewise, bank checks drawn on out-of-state banks may take 10-14 business days to clear.

There has been a significant amount of fraud with bank checks, and title companies need to know that the checks are valid. Personal
checks are no longer accepted at many title companies within 30 days of close of escrow, for obvious reasons. In most transactions,
though, the period of time between the deposit of earnest money and the close of escrow exceeds 30 days. Wire transfers have
become increasingly popular as a way to fund real estate transactions, and for good reason. Bottom line: while it is perfectly
acceptable for earnest money to come in the form of a personal or bank check, you should try to persuade your clients to use a bank
wire for close of escrow whenever possible, to avoid unnecessary delays.

FOREIGN CHECKS: Driggs Title Agency does not accept foreign checks into escrow. This includes foreign checks paid through a
U.S. Bank. All money coming from outside the United States MUST be sent by wire transfer.

THIRD PARTY CHECKS: Driggs Title Agency does not accept any third party checks. These include any checks drawn on a non-
financial institution account, payable to a payee other than Driggs Title Agency and subsequently endorsed to Driggs Title Agency.

**CAUTION: Due to the length of time it takes to receive notice from the banks on NSF and returned items when disbursing
funds from escrow based on a deposit of a personal check, if 10 days have not elapsed since the funds were deposited, a written
verification from the customer’s bank that the check has paid is required.

We will NO longer accept Money Orders for closing funds!

The only exception would be if an earnest money personal check were to be deposited with less than 10-30 days until the close of
escrow. Other than that, in normal real estate transactions, there should be no problem at all using personal checks as earnest money.
Bank checks drawn on a Nevada bank are still accepted by many title companies, for earnest money deposits or for close of escrow.
But expect to deliver the checks at least 3-5 business days before COE (varies by title company), so there is ample time for the bank
to clear the checks. Likewise, bank checks drawn on out-of-state banks may take 10-14 business days to clear.
All availability dates are based on funds deposited in our bank. The following information outlines the availability of most common
types of deposited funds.
Business Day: Funds are potentially available on the *Business Day indicated above. A business day is defined as a calendar day
other than Saturday and Sunday, and excluding most major holidays. If January 1st, July 4th, November 11th, or December 25th fall
on a Sunday, the next Monday is excluded from the definition of a business day. Note that individual banks may require additional
“hold” periods longer than shown above.
Local: A Check is considered “local” when it is drawn against a bank located in the same processing region as the depository bank.
The check-processing region for the State of Arizona is the Los Angeles Region. Any check with a four-digit ABA Number beginning
with “12”or “32” is “local”.
On-US Checks: Next day availability is dependent on the check being drawn against the same bank or branch as the depository
bank and in the same check-processing region, meaning the ABA numbers must begin with “12” or “32”.

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