Driggs Title Agency

To Whom It May Concern:Driggs Title Agency closed the above referenced escrow file on November 14, This was arefinance transactionPart of the transaction involved paying off a recorded lien to [redacted] ***.Driggs Title Agency was in possession of a payoff statement from [redacted] showing the amount owedvalid through December 1, Those funds were wire transferred to [redacted] on November 17, 2014.The funds were not refused or returned to us by [redacted] and we did not receive any updated payoffstatement to notify us that the funds were insufficient to pay the loan in full.Driggs Title Agency is not responsible for issuing a ReconveyanceThe lienholder [redacted] isresponsible for issuing the ReconveyanceAccording to Arizona State Law they are obligated to issuethe Reconveyance within days of receipt of funds to pay the loan in fullWe provided those funds onNovember 17, 2014.December 8, Driggs Title was first notified by the mortgage broker that the homeowner had beencontacted by [redacted] stating there was still a balance due on his loanHe reported to us theinformation he received from [redacted] stated they had made a disbursement from his impound account tohis insurance company which caused a shortage in his account.December 9, Driggs Title contacted [redacted] at [redacted] ***She stated there was amiscalculation on the part of [redacted] and a disbursement had been made for hazard insuranceShe was in process of completing an internal payoff dispute and would contact Driggs Title by December 12,She also stated that the original date the payoff wire was received by [redacted] of November 17,would be honored as the final payoff date.December 16, the homeowner called Driggs Title on a conference call with [redacted] ***He hadreceived a refund from his insurance company and made a phone payment at that time to reimburse [redacted] for the insurance payment [redacted] was the representative on the phone and confirmed thatthe payment was the last item needed to close out the homeowners account.December 22, the homeowner called Driggs Title to state he was still receiving calls from ***stating there was still a balance due on his accountDriggs Title attempted to reach [redacted] at [redacted] but was transferred to [redacted] She stated the funds had still not been applied to hisaccount and she would escalate the issue and resubmit an internal payoff disputeThe process shouldtake a day or twoThe client could expect to continue receiving calls until at least January 1, Sheconfirmed that the payoff funds would be honored based on the date of receipt of November 17, 2014.January 5, the homeowner contacted Driggs Title again stating he was still receiving calls from [redacted] stating his account was not paid in fullDriggs Title attempted to contact both [redacted] and [redacted] but this time was transferred to [redacted] ***He stated that [redacted] would not honor theoriginal date of the receipt of payoff funds and instead interest would continue to accrue untilDecember 17, which was the date the homeowner returned the insurance payment to [redacted] ***.According to [redacted] the payoff as of January 5, still outstanding was $which includedinterest from November 17, to December 17, plus one month of PMI.January 7, the escrow officer at Driggs Title made a business decision, not to correct an error onour part but to try to save a business relationship with the homeowner's mortgage brokerThe escrowofficer contacted [redacted] to get the additional payoff amount they required to pay the loan in full[redacted] had once again increased the amount they needed to pay the loan in fullThe escrow officerpersonally paid $1,to [redacted] which according to the updated payoff statement wouldcomplete the payoff process.As previously stated Driggs Title Agency is not the lienholder and therefore can't issue a Reconveyance.This must be issued by the lienholder, [redacted] ***They are required by Arizona State Law to issue theReconveyance within days of receipt of payoff fundsThe homeowner will receive a letter directlyfrom [redacted] to confirm his account has been paid in full and that the Reconveyance document hasbeen sent to the county recorder to place it of public record

This is a horrible company to work with!! First they send over a notary who forgot to notarized all the documents, so the home closed days lateThen I continually asked for weeks for my Well AgreementMy contact at Driggs Title just kept ignoring meIt took my realtor to talk to the upper management of the company, to finally in hour receive my well agreementI would recommend never using this company because communication sucks!!

I signed my closing papers this morning at Driggs Title Agency and was pleased with the process Corine explained what each docwas and was very pleasant I feel very confident working with Driggs Title Agency

Prior to the filing of this complaint [redacted] went to court over this situation with his ex-wife and received an Order from the Court to execute the Quit Claim Deed and have it recorded with the County Clerk Driggs Title has since been able to complete their transaction which was being held up by the need for the Quit Claim Deed.The following is the email sent by [redacted] to [redacted] on January 7, in an attempt to answer questions he asked during their phone conversation regarding his execution of the Quit Claim Deed and our requirement for a Notary Affidavit: "Pursuant to our telephone conversation today, please let me respond to your below email and reiterate our conversation Let me begin by first apologizing for the delay in responding to your email as we have had issues with our emails the past few days Some of us were effective and some of us were not! Again, we apologize for the incorrect information in which you were given By no means did our employee, [redacted] , who by the way is a very competent escrow officer, try and mislead you in anyway when you two were talking about the Notary AffidavitEven though she indicated this document was a requirement of State Banking, it is not It is however, a requirement of our Underwriter This form was created to protect not only you, the client but, to protect all parties involved in a transaction due to the fraud in our industry So again, we apologize as all she was doing was protecting you! Now your concerns regarding the Quit Claim Deed: As I explained to you the Exemption Code should have read; AA conveyance of real property that is executed pursuant to a court order(Divorce Decree) or sometimes people use; BA transfer of residential property between family members as defined below with only nominal actual consideration for the transfer The Exemption Code has always been in is [redacted] in our industry and you would be surprised if you only knew how many times the incorrect Exemption Code is used no matter what Title Company you choose!When we spoke about the Quit Claim Deed you indicated that you had executed one already The is [redacted] at hand is that Quit Claim Deed was not ever recorded and according to you the reason why, is that your x-wife didn’t refinance the property as stated in your divorce decree We understand the reasoning’s why spouses do not want to accommodate the other spouse in a divorce situation no matter how long ago the divorce took place and unfortunately, you made that quite clear during our conversation Never the less, we have an open escrow where your x-wife is trying to refinance and require a Quit Claim Deed to be executed by you in order for us to complete this transaction It is my understanding after communicating with [redacted] you have the necessary documents which have been corrected Pursuant to our conversation I offered to accommodate you by having you go into another Driggs Title office closest to you to have the Quit Claim Deed notarized If a Driggs Title employee does the notarization, we wouldn’t require the Notary Affidavit However, the issue now is you do not want to execute those documents due to a trust issue and feel you would be more comfortable by going to another title company to have the Quit Claim Deed prepared and recorded As I discussed with you, it doesn’t matter to us as long as the Quit Claim Deed is prepared properly and is recorded in the correct County Please keep in mind if you choose to go to another title company you most likely will be charged for this service If you do go to another title company, all we ask is once this has taken place we would appreciate being notified so we can continue with our transactions."Regarding the request for our regulatory agencies, we report to the [redacted] .Respectfully, [redacted] Escrow ManagerDriggs Title Agency, Inc

The transaction closed on April 5, 2013. On December 10, the ***/Department of Treasury issued their Withholding Certificate for Dispositions by Foreign Persons of U.SReal Property Interests for property at *** * *** *** *** ** The transferor of the property is
*** & *** *** and the transferee is *** & *** *** The certificate states: “This letter is your approved withholding certificate and your legal notification that the required withholding amount of $477,tax liability for the disposition of the U.Sreal property interest described above would exceed their maximum tax liability Therefore, we reduced the required withholding to $which the transferee must remit to the *** along with Form and 8288-A by the twentieth (20th) day following the date of this withholding certificate letter.” Driggs Title has the fax receipt from the *** confirming they received the 8288, 8288A and 8288B on December 6, This is proof positive that they received the required documents prior to the 20th day following the date of the withholding certificate letter. In February during the meeting between Mrs*** and myself I repeatedly stated that the Buyer needed to contact the Seller regarding any taxes or penalties due to the *** I tried to explain to her that it is a matter strictly between the Buyer, the Seller and the *** The escrow agent cannot negotiate with the *** We were in contact with them only because they needed our assistance to get the Seller to provide additional documentation The Buyer is responsible for following up to make sure the *** had accepted the 8288-B from the Seller but that did not happen Mrs*** insisted that the Seller had nothing to do with her issue with the *** and refused to make any effort to contact the Seller Documentation was provided to Mrs*** by our escrow officer showing her proof of the *** receiving all of the necessary documents which the transferee must remit to the *** along with Form and 8288-A by the twentieth (20th) day following the date of this withholding certificate letter. The documents signed by both the Buyer and the Seller at closing clearly state that they understand that all communication and follow up with the *** is the responsibility of the Buyer and the Seller The documents also indicate, as I explained to Mrs***, that the *** documents and funds only had to be remitted within days of the *** issuing their withholding certificate Mrs*** insisted that we were wrong and the *** had to receive the documents days after closing. The specific paragraphs below are from the closing documents signed by both Buyer and Seller and reinforce our position that any additional taxes, penalties or interest assessed by the *** are the sole responsibility of the Buyer and/or Seller These paragraphs also show that the Buyer and Seller agreed to be responsible for all follow up with the *** to insure all necessary items had been received. Documents signed for closing: Additional Escrow Instructions/Amendment to Purchase Contract This document states in part: FUNDS HELD PENDING RECEIPT OF *** WITHHOLDINGS CERTIFICATE: You are hereby directed to close escrow and hold $47,from the account of Seller representing 10% of gross sale price in accordance with Section of the *** *** *** (FIPRTA). Said funds are to be held in escrow trust account. CONDITIONS FOR RELEASE / PAYMENT OF FUNDS: Seller has applied to the Internal Revenue Service (***) for a Withholding Certificate (*** Form 8288-B) Funds will be held until Escrow Holder is in receipt of a Withholding Certificate from *** at which time Escrow Holder is irrevocably authorized and instructed to pay to the *** the amount due per the Withholding Certificate without any further notice to Seller and refund any balance held to Seller If Seller has any objection to the amount required to be paid to the ***, Seller hereby agrees that Escrow Holder will pay *** in accordance with the Withholding Certificate and Seller’s sole recourse will be directly with *** Seller agrees that this instruction to Escrow Holder is final and cannot be modified. Escrow Holder shall not be held liable for any taxes, interest, penalties or other *** charges in excess of the amount held If funds held total less that the amount due to ***, Escrow Holder shall notify the parties hereto that the amounts held were not sufficient Any amount remaining due will be the responsibility of the parties hereto and shall not be the responsibility of the Escrow Holder Said amount shall be paid in immediately available funds to escrow by Seller immediately upon notification by Escrow Holder. Each party has had an opportunity to consult with his/her own tax advisors, attorneys and agents regarding *** requirements, and each party acknowledges that Escrow Holder has not given them advice or made representations regarding *** or the tax liability thereunder. Holdback Instructions / *** Withholding Taxes Document states in part: Withholding Certificate Not Received Prior to Closing If no withholding certificate is deposited into escrow on or prior to the closing date, Driggs Title Agency is authorized to deduct and hold from the funds due the Seller, the amount of $47,which equals 10% of the gross sales price as required under section of the *** *** ***. Escrow Agents Responsibility Buyer and Seller are aware that sole responsibility of Driggs Title Agency is to: (1) notify Buyer and Seller of any additional documentation and/or taxes requested by ***, if and as any such request is received by Driggs Title Agency and/or (2) pay any taxes due upon receipt of said certificate and/or (3) and refund any amount remaining in escrow to the Seller, as set forth below. Buyer’s Responsibility for Taxes Buyer is aware that Section of the *** *** *** makes it the Buyer’s responsibility to withhold and pay *** Withholding taxes from the Seller’s gross sale proceeds The Buyer may also be held responsible for taxes and penalties if taxes are not timely paid when due. Responsibility of Buyer and Seller It shall be the sole responsibility of the Buyer and/or Seller to make sure that the *** responds to the Seller’s Form 8288-B, and to insure that the Seller provides any additional documentation and/or taxes requested by the ***. Time for Payment of Taxes *** Withholding Taxes are due and payable within days after the date on which the *** places its decision (withholding certificate) into the *** *** *** Therefore, Driggs Title Agency is authorized and instructed to proceed as set forth below immediately upon receipt of the *** Withholding Certificate, without any further notice to or approval from Buyer and/or Seller. Hold Harmless Buyer and Seller are aware that the holding of funds pending receipt of the *** Withholding Certificate, imposes additional responsibility and risk upon Driggs Title AgencyBuyer and Seller agree to hold Driggs Title Agency and its employees, harmless as to any liability whatsoever regarding *** withholding, including but not limited to the failure of the Seller and/or Buyer to cooperate with anything additionally needed to facilitate cooperation with the Internal Revenue Service for the payment, reduction or waiver of taxes. Buyer and Seller further agree to hold Driggs Title Agency and its employees, harmless from any matters that may arise by reason of compliance with these instructions, including but not limited to additional taxes, penalties, interest, court costs and attorney fees. Driggs Title Agency stands firm in their decision that we are not responsible for any taxes, penalties or interest assessed by the *** Further we stand behind the actions of our escrow officer in providing all necessary documentation to the *** within the time frame allowed
*** ***
Driggs Title Agency

To Whom It May Concern:Driggs Title Agency closed the above referenced escrow file on November 14, 2014. This was arefinance transaction. Part of the transaction involved paying off a recorded lien to [redacted].Driggs Title Agency was in possession of a payoff statement from [redacted] showing the...

amount owedvalid through December 1, 2014. Those funds were wire transferred to [redacted] on November 17, 2014.The funds were not refused or returned to us by [redacted] and we did not receive any updated payoffstatement to notify us that the funds were insufficient to pay the loan in full.Driggs Title Agency is not responsible for issuing a Reconveyance. The lienholder [redacted] isresponsible for issuing the Reconveyance. According to Arizona State Law they are obligated to issuethe Reconveyance within 30 days of receipt of funds to pay the loan in full. We provided those funds onNovember 17, 2014.December 8, 2014 Driggs Title was first notified by the mortgage broker that the homeowner had beencontacted by [redacted] stating there was still a balance due on his loan. He reported to us theinformation he received from [redacted] stated they had made a disbursement from his impound account tohis insurance company which caused a shortage in his account.December 9, 2014 Driggs Title contacted [redacted] at [redacted]. She stated there was amiscalculation on the part of [redacted] and a disbursement had been made for hazard insurance. She was in process of completing an internal payoff dispute and would contact Driggs Title by December 12,2014. She also stated that the original date the payoff wire was received by [redacted] of November 17,2014 would be honored as the final payoff date.December 16, 2014 the homeowner called Driggs Title on a conference call with [redacted]. He hadreceived a refund from his insurance company and made a phone payment at that time to reimburse[redacted] for the insurance payment. [redacted] was the representative on the phone and confirmed thatthe payment was the last item needed to close out the homeowners account.December 22, 2014 the homeowner called Driggs Title to state he was still receiving calls from [redacted]stating there was still a balance due on his account. Driggs Title attempted to reach [redacted] at[redacted] but was transferred to [redacted]. She stated the funds had still not been applied to hisaccount and she would escalate the issue and resubmit an internal payoff dispute. The process shouldtake a day or two. The client could expect to continue receiving calls until at least January 1, 2015. Sheconfirmed that the payoff funds would be honored based on the date of receipt of November 17, 2014.January 5, 2015 the homeowner contacted Driggs Title again stating he was still receiving calls from[redacted] stating his account was not paid in full. Driggs Title attempted to contact both [redacted] and[redacted] but this time was transferred to [redacted]. He stated that [redacted] would not honor theoriginal date of the receipt of payoff funds and instead interest would continue to accrue untilDecember 17, 2014 which was the date the homeowner returned the insurance payment to [redacted].According to [redacted] the payoff as of January 5, 2015 still outstanding was $755.98 which includedinterest from November 17, 2014 to December 17, 2014 plus one month of PMI.January 7, 2015 the escrow officer at Driggs Title made a business decision, not to correct an error onour part but to try to save a business relationship with the homeowner's mortgage broker. The escrowofficer contacted [redacted] to get the additional payoff amount they required to pay the loan in full.[redacted] had once again increased the amount they needed to pay the loan in full. The escrow officerpersonally paid $1,366.87 to [redacted] which according to the updated payoff statement wouldcomplete the payoff process.As previously stated Driggs Title Agency is not the lienholder and therefore can't issue a Reconveyance.This must be issued by the lienholder, [redacted]. They are required by Arizona State Law to issue theReconveyance within 30 days of receipt of payoff funds. The homeowner will receive a letter directlyfrom [redacted] to confirm his account has been paid in full and that the Reconveyance document hasbeen sent to the county recorder to place it of public record.

I have been a a full time Licensed AZ Realtor in Scottsdale AZ for 16 years, as well as a Native from Scottsdale.
My Name is [redacted].
I was sending business to Driggs Title for the past 2 years and time after time, their employees would make a mistake or two which is not uncommon. I would give them the benefit of the doubt as I actually felt sorry for one of their escrow Officers named Sherry [redacted] who wanted my business. I'd send them another Contract from my Buyer or Seller to open escrows but things started to change for the worse this past 6 months at Driggs Title Agency.
In July thru August the Drigg's Title employees I worked with, who call themselves Senior Escrow Officers, were named Sherry [redacted], Jerry C[redacted] and Elizabeth D[redacted].
Here is just the latest experience I've had with 'giving them my business' to Driggs Title Agency. I can swear and attest to the things I mention following are True and accurate experiences I have personally had with Driggs Title Agency this year alone.
They don't answer their phones 99% of the time, nor do they answer you emails until days later. When you send them an escrow to open they may not open escrow for a full day later! If you sent them an executed Contract that states earnest funds shall be deposited by bank wire or certified funds only, Driggs Title will take the Buyer's personal check and deposit it into escrow anyway! This was insane! If you instruct the Title Officer that one of your escrows are going to cancel, they will act like they are Realtor's and speak with your clients and actually instruct your clients to keep the escrow opened and let Driggs Title make revisions to the contract! If they promise to send a runner to pick up an earnest check- they may (they did) leave your Buyer's money hanging on a door [redacted] in a public apt building, front door, for a full day and then they misplaced the funds for another full day while they hunt for the money. (Yes this happened) If you have a question about their enormous fees, they will respond in writing to you like a smart alleck and ask you, " Is YOUR commission negotiable?" Yes, Liz D[redacted] actually sent me that email just today! Instead of answering the question they turn into bullies and sophmoric children with power. Then they stop all communications with you. There is no one to complain to as I have called Adam D[redacted] several times in the past few months as he claims in his advertising he is there to help, and he NEVER ever has returned my calls.
If you open up and escrow in Scottsdale, they will transfer it at thier own discretion, without asking you to another CITY!
They did that! Then they will charge your clients fees to sign docs at the original location the opened up escrow at.. Driggs Title needs to change their ways. Their employees are dangerous and at the very least disrespectful and inconsiderate to our community of Realtors, Buyer and Sellers. Driggs Title Agency makes HUGE mistakes and takes our community of Buyers and sellers for granted. I witnessed Driggs Title employees lately treat me, my Buyers and Sellers like they are stupid and rape them with high fees or no explanation of fees, and or simply lack of care with handling the buyer's and seller's files. I don't like to complain about my industry, but I feel it is necessary to get Driggs Title Agency to change their ways or move out of town.

Prior to the filing of this complaint [redacted] went to court over this situation with his ex-wife and received an Order from the Court to execute the Quit Claim Deed and have it recorded with the County Clerk.  Driggs Title has since been able to complete their transaction which was being held...

up by the need for the Quit Claim Deed.The following is the email sent by [redacted] to [redacted] on January 7, 2015 in an attempt to answer questions he asked during their phone conversation regarding his execution of the Quit Claim Deed and our requirement for a Notary Affidavit:    "Pursuant to our telephone conversation today, please let me respond to your below email and reiterate our conversation.     Let me begin by first apologizing for the delay in responding to your email as we have had issues with our emails the past few days.  Some  of us were effective and some of us were not!       Again, we apologize for the incorrect information in which you were given.  By no means did our employee, [redacted], who by the way is a very competent escrow officer, try and mislead you in anyway when you two were talking about the Notary Affidavit. Even though she indicated this document was a requirement of State Banking, it is not.  It is however, a requirement of our Underwriter.  This form was created to protect not only you, the client but, to protect all parties involved in a transaction due to the fraud in our industry.  So again, we apologize as all she was doing was protecting you!     Now your concerns regarding the Quit Claim Deed:     As I explained to you the Exemption Code should have read; A5. A conveyance of real property that is executed pursuant to a court order. (Divorce Decree) or sometimes people use; B3. A transfer of residential property between family members as defined below with only nominal actual consideration for the transfer.     The Exemption Code has always been in is[redacted] in our industry and you would be surprised if you only knew how many times the incorrect Exemption Code is used no matter what Title Company you choose!When we spoke about the Quit Claim Deed you indicated that you had executed one already.  The is[redacted] at hand is that Quit Claim Deed was not ever recorded and according to you the reason why, is that your x-wife didn’t refinance the property as stated in your divorce decree.       We understand the reasoning’s why spouses do not want to accommodate the other spouse in a divorce situation no matter how long ago the divorce took place and unfortunately, you made that quite clear during our conversation.  Never the less, we have an open escrow where your x-wife is trying to refinance and require a Quit Claim Deed to be executed by you in order for us to complete this transaction.     It is my understanding after communicating with [redacted] you have the necessary documents which have been corrected.       Pursuant to our conversation I offered to accommodate you by having you go into another Driggs Title office closest to you to have the Quit Claim Deed notarized.  If a Driggs Title employee does the notarization, we wouldn’t require the Notary Affidavit.      However, the issue now is you do not want to execute those documents due to a trust issue and feel you would be more comfortable by going to another title company to have the Quit Claim Deed prepared and recorded.  As I discussed with you, it doesn’t matter to us as long as the Quit Claim Deed is prepared properly and is recorded in the correct County.  Please keep in mind if you choose to go to another title company you most likely will be charged for this service.  If you do go to another title company, all we ask is once this has taken place we would appreciate being notified so we can continue with our transactions."Regarding the request for our regulatory agencies, we report to the [redacted].Respectfully,[redacted]Escrow ManagerDriggs Title Agency, Inc.

I signed my closing papers this morning at Driggs Title Agency and was pleased with the process. Corine explained what each doc. was and was very pleasant. I feel very confident working with Driggs Title Agency.

I have been a a full time Licensed AZ Realtor in Scottsdale AZ for 16 years, as well as a Native from Scottsdale.

My Name is [redacted].

I was sending business to Driggs Title for the past 2 years and time after time, their employees would make a mistake or two which is not uncommon. I would give them the benefit of the doubt as I actually felt sorry for one of their escrow Officers named Sherry [redacted] who wanted my business. I'd send them another Contract from my Buyer or Seller to open escrows but things started to change for the worse this past 6 months at Driggs Title Agency.

In July thru August the Drigg's Title employees I worked with, who call themselves Senior Escrow Officers, were named Sherry [redacted], Jerry C[redacted] and Elizabeth D[redacted].

Here is just the latest experience I've had with 'giving them my business' to Driggs Title Agency. I can swear and attest to the things I mention following are True and accurate experiences I have personally had with Driggs Title Agency this year alone.

They don't answer their phones 99% of the time, nor do they answer you emails until days later. When you send them an escrow to open they may not open escrow for a full day later! If you sent them an executed Contract that states earnest funds shall be deposited by bank wire or certified funds only, Driggs Title will take the Buyer's personal check and deposit it into escrow anyway! This was insane! If you instruct the Title Officer that one of your escrows are going to cancel, they will act like they are Realtor's and speak with your clients and actually instruct your clients to keep the escrow opened and let Driggs Title make revisions to the contract! If they promise to send a runner to pick up an earnest check- they may (they did) leave your Buyer's money hanging on a door [redacted] in a public apt building, front door, for a full day and then they misplaced the funds for another full day while they hunt for the money. (Yes this happened) If you have a question about their enormous fees, they will respond in writing to you like a smart alleck and ask you, " Is YOUR commission negotiable?" Yes, Liz D[redacted] actually sent me that email just today! Instead of answering the question they turn into bullies and sophmoric children with power. Then they stop all communications with you. There is no one to complain to as I have called Adam D[redacted] several times in the past few months as he claims in his advertising he is there to help, and he NEVER ever has returned my calls.

If you open up and escrow in Scottsdale, they will transfer it at thier own discretion, without asking you to another CITY!

They did that! Then they will charge your clients fees to sign docs at the original location the opened up escrow at.. Driggs Title needs to change their ways. Their employees are dangerous and at the very least disrespectful and inconsiderate to our community of Realtors, Buyer and Sellers. Driggs Title Agency makes HUGE mistakes and takes our community of Buyers and sellers for granted. I witnessed Driggs Title employees lately treat me, my Buyers and Sellers like they are stupid and rape them with high fees or no explanation of fees, and or simply lack of care with handling the buyer's and seller's files. I don't like to complain about my industry, but I feel it is necessary to get Driggs Title Agency to change their ways or move out of town.

This is a horrible company to work with!! First they send over a notary who forgot to notarized all the documents, so the home closed 3 days late. Then I continually asked for 3 weeks for my Well Agreement. My contact at Driggs Title just kept ignoring me. It took my realtor to talk to the upper management of the company, to finally in 1 hour receive my well agreement. I would recommend never using this company because communication sucks!!

The transaction closed on April 5, 2013. On December 10, 2013 the [redacted]/Department of Treasury issued their Withholding Certificate for Dispositions by Foreign Persons of U.S. Real Property Interests for property at [redacted].  The transferor of the property is...

[redacted] & [redacted] and the transferee is [redacted] & [redacted].  The certificate states: “This letter is your approved withholding certificate and your legal notification that the required withholding amount of $477,500.00 tax liability for the disposition of the U.S. real property interest described above would exceed their maximum tax liability.  Therefore, we reduced the required withholding to $0.00 which the transferee must remit to the [redacted] along with Form 8288 and 8288-A by the twentieth (20th) day following the date of this withholding certificate letter.” Driggs Title has the fax receipt from the [redacted] confirming they received the 8288, 8288A and 8288B on December 6, 2013.  This is proof positive that they received the required documents prior to the 20th day following the date of the withholding certificate letter. In February 2014 during the meeting between Mrs. [redacted] and myself I repeatedly stated that the Buyer needed to contact the Seller regarding any taxes or penalties due to the [redacted].  I tried to explain to her that it is a matter strictly between the Buyer, the Seller and the [redacted].  The escrow agent cannot negotiate with the [redacted].  We were in contact with them only because they needed our assistance to get the Seller to provide additional documentation.  The Buyer is responsible for following up to make sure the [redacted] had accepted the 8288-B from the Seller but that did not happen.  Mrs. [redacted] insisted that the Seller had nothing to do with her issue with the [redacted] and refused to make any effort to contact the Seller.  Documentation was provided to Mrs. [redacted] by our escrow officer showing her proof of the [redacted] receiving all of the necessary documents which the transferee must remit to the [redacted] along with Form 8288 and 8288-A by the twentieth (20th) day following the date of this withholding certificate letter. The documents signed by both the Buyer and the Seller at closing clearly state that they understand that all communication and follow up with the [redacted] is the responsibility of the Buyer and the Seller.  The documents also indicate, as I explained to Mrs. [redacted], that the [redacted] documents and funds only had to be remitted within 20 days of the [redacted] issuing their withholding certificate.  Mrs. [redacted] insisted that we were wrong and the [redacted] had to receive the documents 20 days after closing. The specific paragraphs below are from the closing documents signed by both Buyer and Seller and reinforce our position that any additional taxes, penalties or interest assessed by the [redacted] are the sole responsibility of the Buyer and/or Seller.  These paragraphs also show that the Buyer and Seller agreed to be responsible for all follow up with the [redacted] to insure all necessary items had been received. Documents signed for closing: Additional Escrow Instructions/Amendment to Purchase Contract.  This document states in part: FUNDS HELD PENDING RECEIPT OF [redacted] WITHHOLDINGS CERTIFICATE:  You are hereby directed to close escrow and hold $47,750.00 from the account of Seller representing 10% of gross sale price in accordance with Section 1445 of the [redacted] (FIPRTA). Said funds are to be held in escrow trust account. CONDITIONS FOR RELEASE / PAYMENT OF FUNDS:  Seller has applied to the Internal Revenue Service ([redacted]) for a Withholding Certificate ([redacted] Form 8288-B).  Funds will be held until Escrow Holder is in receipt of a Withholding Certificate from [redacted] at which time Escrow Holder is irrevocably authorized and instructed to pay to the [redacted] the amount due per the Withholding Certificate without any further notice to Seller and refund any balance held to Seller.  If Seller has any objection to the amount required to be paid to the [redacted], Seller hereby agrees that Escrow Holder will pay [redacted] in accordance with the Withholding Certificate and Seller’s sole recourse will be directly with [redacted].  Seller agrees that this instruction to Escrow Holder is final and cannot be modified. Escrow Holder shall not be held liable for any taxes, interest, penalties or other [redacted] charges in excess of the amount held.  If funds held total less that the amount due to [redacted], Escrow Holder shall notify the parties hereto that the amounts held were not sufficient.  Any amount remaining due will be the responsibility of the parties hereto and shall not be the responsibility of the Escrow Holder.  Said amount shall be paid in immediately available funds to escrow by Seller immediately upon notification by Escrow Holder. Each party has had an opportunity to consult with his/her own tax advisors, attorneys and agents regarding [redacted] requirements, and each party acknowledges that Escrow Holder has not given them advice or made representations regarding [redacted] or the tax liability thereunder. Holdback Instructions / [redacted] Withholding Taxes.  Document states in part: Withholding Certificate Not Received Prior to Closing.  If no withholding certificate is deposited into escrow on or prior to the closing date, Driggs Title Agency is authorized to deduct and hold from the funds due the Seller, the amount of $47,750.00 which equals 10% of the gross sales price as required under section 1445 of the [redacted]. Escrow Agents Responsibility.  Buyer and Seller are aware that sole responsibility of Driggs Title Agency is to:  (1) notify Buyer and Seller of any additional documentation and/or taxes requested by [redacted], if and as any such request is received by Driggs Title Agency and/or (2) pay any taxes due upon receipt of said certificate and/or (3) and refund any amount remaining in escrow to the Seller, as set forth below. Buyer’s Responsibility for Taxes.  Buyer is aware that Section 1445 of the [redacted] makes it the Buyer’s responsibility to withhold and pay [redacted] Withholding taxes from the Seller’s gross sale proceeds.  The Buyer may also be held responsible for taxes and penalties if taxes are not timely paid when due. Responsibility of Buyer and Seller.  It shall be the sole responsibility of the Buyer and/or Seller to make sure that the [redacted] responds to the Seller’s Form 8288-B, and to insure that the Seller provides any additional documentation and/or taxes requested by the [redacted]. Time for Payment of Taxes.  [redacted] Withholding Taxes are due and payable within 20 days after the date on which the [redacted] places its decision (withholding certificate) into the [redacted].  Therefore,  Driggs Title Agency is authorized and instructed to proceed as set forth below immediately upon receipt of the [redacted] Withholding Certificate, without any further notice to or approval from Buyer and/or Seller. Hold Harmless.  Buyer and Seller are aware that the holding of funds pending receipt of the [redacted] Withholding Certificate, imposes additional responsibility and risk upon Driggs Title Agency. Buyer and Seller agree to hold Driggs Title Agency and its employees,  harmless as to any liability whatsoever regarding [redacted] withholding, including but not limited to the failure of the Seller and/or Buyer to cooperate with anything additionally needed to facilitate cooperation with the Internal Revenue Service for the payment, reduction or waiver of taxes. Buyer and Seller further agree to hold Driggs Title Agency and its employees, harmless from any matters that may arise by reason of compliance with these instructions, including but not limited to additional taxes, penalties, interest, court costs and attorney fees. Driggs Title Agency stands firm in their decision that we are not responsible for any taxes, penalties or interest assessed by the [redacted].  Further we stand behind the actions of our escrow officer in providing all necessary documentation to the [redacted] within the time frame allowed.

Driggs Title Agency

I signed my closing papers this morning at Driggs Title Agency and was pleased with the process. Corine explained what each doc. was and was very pleasant. I feel very confident working with Driggs Title Agency.

Prior to the filing of this complaint [redacted] went to court over this situation with his ex-wife and received an Order from the Court to execute the Quit Claim Deed and have it recorded with the County Clerk.  Driggs Title has since been able to complete their transaction which was being held...

up by the need for the Quit Claim Deed.The following is the email sent by [redacted] to [redacted] on January 7, 2015 in an attempt to answer questions he asked during their phone conversation regarding his execution of the Quit Claim Deed and our requirement for a Notary Affidavit:    "Pursuant to our telephone conversation today, please let me respond to your below email and reiterate our conversation.     Let me begin by first apologizing for the delay in responding to your email as we have had issues with our emails the past few days.  Some  of us were effective and some of us were not!       Again, we apologize for the incorrect information in which you were given.  By no means did our employee, [redacted], who by the way is a very competent escrow officer, try and mislead you in anyway when you two were talking about the Notary Affidavit. Even though she indicated this document was a requirement of State Banking, it is not.  It is however, a requirement of our Underwriter.  This form was created to protect not only you, the client but, to protect all parties involved in a transaction due to the fraud in our industry.  So again, we apologize as all she was doing was protecting you!     Now your concerns regarding the Quit Claim Deed:     As I explained to you the Exemption Code should have read; A5. A conveyance of real property that is executed pursuant to a court order. (Divorce Decree) or sometimes people use; B3. A transfer of residential property between family members as defined below with only nominal actual consideration for the transfer.     The Exemption Code has always been in is[redacted] in our industry and you would be surprised if you only knew how many times the incorrect Exemption Code is used no matter what Title Company you choose!When we spoke about the Quit Claim Deed you indicated that you had executed one already.  The is[redacted] at hand is that Quit Claim Deed was not ever recorded and according to you the reason why, is that your x-wife didn’t refinance the property as stated in your divorce decree.       We understand the reasoning’s why spouses do not want to accommodate the other spouse in a divorce situation no matter how long ago the divorce took place and unfortunately, you made that quite clear during our conversation.  Never the less, we have an open escrow where your x-wife is trying to refinance and require a Quit Claim Deed to be executed by you in order for us to complete this transaction.     It is my understanding after communicating with [redacted] you have the necessary documents which have been corrected.       Pursuant to our conversation I offered to accommodate you by having you go into another Driggs Title office closest to you to have the Quit Claim Deed notarized.  If a Driggs Title employee does the notarization, we wouldn’t require the Notary Affidavit.      However, the issue now is you do not want to execute those documents due to a trust issue and feel you would be more comfortable by going to another title company to have the Quit Claim Deed prepared and recorded.  As I discussed with you, it doesn’t matter to us as long as the Quit Claim Deed is prepared properly and is recorded in the correct County.  Please keep in mind if you choose to go to another title company you most likely will be charged for this service.  If you do go to another title company, all we ask is once this has taken place we would appreciate being notified so we can continue with our transactions."Regarding the request for our regulatory agencies, we report to the [redacted].Respectfully,[redacted]Escrow ManagerDriggs Title Agency, Inc.

To Whom It May Concern:Driggs Title Agency closed the above referenced escrow file on November 14, 2014. This was arefinance transaction. Part of the transaction involved paying off a recorded lien to [redacted].Driggs Title Agency was in possession of a payoff statement from [redacted] showing the...

amount owedvalid through December 1, 2014. Those funds were wire transferred to [redacted] on November 17, 2014.The funds were not refused or returned to us by [redacted] and we did not receive any updated payoffstatement to notify us that the funds were insufficient to pay the loan in full.Driggs Title Agency is not responsible for issuing a Reconveyance. The lienholder [redacted] isresponsible for issuing the Reconveyance. According to Arizona State Law they are obligated to issuethe Reconveyance within 30 days of receipt of funds to pay the loan in full. We provided those funds onNovember 17, 2014.December 8, 2014 Driggs Title was first notified by the mortgage broker that the homeowner had beencontacted by [redacted] stating there was still a balance due on his loan. He reported to us theinformation he received from [redacted] stated they had made a disbursement from his impound account tohis insurance company which caused a shortage in his account.December 9, 2014 Driggs Title contacted [redacted] at [redacted]. She stated there was amiscalculation on the part of [redacted] and a disbursement had been made for hazard insurance. She was in process of completing an internal payoff dispute and would contact Driggs Title by December 12,2014. She also stated that the original date the payoff wire was received by [redacted] of November 17,2014 would be honored as the final payoff date.December 16, 2014 the homeowner called Driggs Title on a conference call with [redacted]. He hadreceived a refund from his insurance company and made a phone payment at that time to reimburse[redacted] for the insurance payment. [redacted] was the representative on the phone and confirmed thatthe payment was the last item needed to close out the homeowners account.December 22, 2014 the homeowner called Driggs Title to state he was still receiving calls from [redacted]stating there was still a balance due on his account. Driggs Title attempted to reach [redacted] at[redacted] but was transferred to [redacted]. She stated the funds had still not been applied to hisaccount and she would escalate the issue and resubmit an internal payoff dispute. The process shouldtake a day or two. The client could expect to continue receiving calls until at least January 1, 2015. Sheconfirmed that the payoff funds would be honored based on the date of receipt of November 17, 2014.January 5, 2015 the homeowner contacted Driggs Title again stating he was still receiving calls from[redacted] stating his account was not paid in full. Driggs Title attempted to contact both [redacted] and[redacted] but this time was transferred to [redacted]. He stated that [redacted] would not honor theoriginal date of the receipt of payoff funds and instead interest would continue to accrue untilDecember 17, 2014 which was the date the homeowner returned the insurance payment to [redacted].According to [redacted] the payoff as of January 5, 2015 still outstanding was $755.98 which includedinterest from November 17, 2014 to December 17, 2014 plus one month of PMI.January 7, 2015 the escrow officer at Driggs Title made a business decision, not to correct an error onour part but to try to save a business relationship with the homeowner's mortgage broker. The escrowofficer contacted [redacted] to get the additional payoff amount they required to pay the loan in full.[redacted] had once again increased the amount they needed to pay the loan in full. The escrow officerpersonally paid $1,366.87 to [redacted] which according to the updated payoff statement wouldcomplete the payoff process.As previously stated Driggs Title Agency is not the lienholder and therefore can't issue a Reconveyance.This must be issued by the lienholder, [redacted]. They are required by Arizona State Law to issue theReconveyance within 30 days of receipt of payoff funds. The homeowner will receive a letter directlyfrom [redacted] to confirm his account has been paid in full and that the Reconveyance document hasbeen sent to the county recorder to place it of public record.