My experience is that you won't get paid back. Water bills are a lien here so I paid it. They refused to pay me back because they "only pay bills that are 21 or less days old". The company required me to do cash for keys and the people in the house had not paid the water bill. I paid it after they left and now an not able to get reimbursed. It was $96.00 and the commission I got was very low less than 2%.
You need to be a member of REO Pro Network to add comments!
Replies
Rebecca - I am an REO broker also and we have run up against this many times. This is how we handle it. As long as you have a master broker agreement and the client asks you to pay a bill then these are the steps:
1. Always get the request to pay in writing
2. The master agreement needs to state that you are responsible for paying the bills prior to reimbursement or an amendment or agent manual should state this.
3. Submit your expenses on time
4. If client refuses to pay when items 1, 2 & 3 are satisfied then take out a preliminary lien against the property if it has not closed. This only allows you to convert this to a mechanics lien and collect if they decide not to pay.
5. If the property closes and they refuse without a preliminary against the property then file in small claims court for the amount but I must refer back to the items 1, 2 & 3 must be properly addressed. The master broker agreement will be the main document here along with items 2 & 3 to support it.
Since you or your managing broker are representing the client and you are required to place the utilities in your name the listing agreement or master listing agreement should protect you against failures to pay.