REAL ESTATE

Escrow Hot Line: In an effort to promote its expertise in “alternative” methods of buying and selling real estate, Santa Ana-based Burrow Escrow has opened an escrow hot line to answer questions about creative sales transactions for buyers, sellers, developers and real estate agents.

Callers to the help line, at 800-287-7691 (it spells out Burrow-1, in case you wondered), get Burrow’s chief escrow officer, Judy Paine, who has been in the business for 30 years and specializes in property trades and exchanges and other forms of property transactions that don’t involve the usual cash down payment and new mortgage loan.

Burrow, which has eight offices in Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties, doesn’t charge for the service but does encourage prospective deal makers to use its escrow and property exchange service.