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3rd Party Service contract for Appraisers - CYA all the way

By
Real Estate Appraiser with Estimation Nation Corporation

I've been holding on to this agreement that a new client sent over.  Bare in mind that my prelimary client in this case will be a broker who should hold initial responsibility for the appraisal payment.  Perhaps you Appraiser's have received one of these letters:

 

"                                     THIRD PARTY SERVICE PROVIDER NOTIFICATION

The xxx State Department of Revenue requires that we enter into with you as a service provided a master service agreement for services performed in order to eliminate a business and operation tax as described in the attached Excise Tax Advisory.

xxx Bank is required to notify you that as a condition of the loan application process the applicant has agreed to be solely liable for payment of your services.

Additionally, xxx Bank will not be secondarily liable for payment as long as xxx Bank, acting as agent for the applicant for payment purposes only, has collected funds from the applicant either in advance or simultaneous to, ordering services and in fact delivers such funds to the service provider upon request for payment.

Please review, sign and return a copy of this letter by mail, fax, or email.        " 

 

Does the above letter holds any legal bearing at all?                

One satisfactory option that I can come up with is to accept these conditions as long as they will accept that I not complete any appraisal report until payment has cleared.  The other would be that the report always be in my client's name (the broker).

Robert Elfand
Oviedo, FL
RAA

Sara,

 

I'm no lawyer, so I'm not sure what legal ramifications there may be in signing an agreement like this.  Is this something that have appeared recently in your market?  Is there a law in Oregon that they are trying to adhere to?  Your option of not completing a report until the check clears has become a prudent business decision in today's market.  I will only bill a client that has shown goo payment history for at least a year, otherwise, I may finish the report...but I will not deliver it until the money is in my pocket.

Oct 03, 2007 02:43 AM
Sara Goodwin
Estimation Nation Corporation - Portland, OR
Portland, Oregon Appraiser
Yes, Robert I sadly agree.  At one time I was much more lenient about invoicing, but times are changing and even my solid clients are starting to slack on their APs.  It's nerve-racking to have any billing out there right now when banks are closing down left and right.
Oct 06, 2007 04:40 AM