The Non-Depository Division of the Office of Financial Institutions regulates the licensing of Bond for Deed escrow agents operating within the state of Louisiana. A “Bond for Deed escrow agent” is defined as a person designated by the parties to a Bond for Deed transaction who distributes payments made by the buyer, on behalf of a seller, to the holder of a mortgage or privilege (if any) in the real property subject to the Bond for Deed in accordance with a written Bond for Deed escrow agent agreement.  A “Bond for Deed” is a contract to sell real property in which the purchase price is to be paid by the buyer to the seller in installments and in which the seller, after payment of a stipulated sum, agrees to deliver title to the buyer.  The term includes a “contract for deed” or any other transaction operating as a conditional sale of real property however labeled.

Requirements for licensure as a Bond for Deed escrow agent include: 

  1. A surety bond or a deposit in trust in the amount of $10,000 for the initial licensure with said bond or deposit to be adjusted annually based upon the business activity of the preceding calendar year.  
  2. A net worth of at least $25,000.  
  3. An initial license fee of $150 with and annual renewal fee of $100.  Penalties are provided for delinquent renewals.

Records must be maintained at the licensed location for three years unless otherwise permitted in writing by the commissioner.  A complaint file must be maintained.