I closed an escrow the week before Thanksgiving. 

My commission (pay)check is sent to me by escrow with the seller’s closing statement.  I cashed my check and reviewed the seller’s closing statement, which is escrow’s itemization of all of the fees that were paid by the seller through escrow.  The escrow company in this transaction was not the company that I prefer to use.  And yes, this is why your Realtor prefers specific escrow companies; a good escrow company makes everyone's life easier.

When I first listed this condominium, I contacted the Homeowner’s Association to inquiry as to which termite company they used.  Many associations have a contract with a termite company; if there is work recommended, often the association’s termite company will take care of it at no additional cost to the seller.   The termite report received from the Association's termite company was one of the most poorly written I had ever seen.  The buyer wanted a second opinion; which was ordered by the buyer’s Realtor.  Apparently the buyer's termite company didn’t check the garage, first time out, so they inspected the property twice; issued two reports and charged for two reports (instead of one).

Escrow charged the seller for three termite reports; an additional $145.00 – I think escrow should have noticed that it was unusual to have three termite report fees for one transaction and rather than just paying the bill and charging the seller, they should have questioned it (picked up the phone and called one of the Realtors).  In any event, after three weeks of me haranguing escrow (haranguing, which should be added to my job description  is 25% of a Realtor’s job) the seller is getting their refund.