Posted by BossLadyMD on 1/27/10 2:21pm
Msg #319800

January - National Payment Collection Month

i, unfortunately, have found a way to 'work' this slow month. i am spending time collecting money from companies who promised that checks would be cut the 15th of the upcoming month. why is it so hard to pay people for their services? i have only been doing this about 5 yrs and it is so frustrating to have to send countless invoices because they keep getting lost. its just not humane. its not fair. the last signing i did on 12/23 funded on 12/29. in fact all 18 loans from december funded. we are at the end of january and the excuses are rolling in (we lost your invoice, sent it to the wrong address, sorry-we thought we mailed it to blah blah! thanks for reading my vent.

Reply by garland/CA on 1/27/10 2:26pm
Msg #319802

Getting paid seems to be getting harder and is more work, even with some SS that were much better before. I think the SS are hurting and they are not paying us. It is aggravating, time consuming and costs us more money.

Reply by Luana Lonergan on 1/27/10 2:54pm
Msg #319810

Good reason to stick with Title Co's that you know or have recent good ratings on Signing Central

Reply by LKT/CA on 1/27/10 4:15pm
Msg #319826

<<< in fact all 18 loans from december funded.>>>

You have 18 outstanding invoices? Yikes!! That's a lot and gives the impression that you failed to properly screen (using Signing Central and/or the orange search button) the companies that called you for loan signings.

Reply by BossLadyMD on 1/27/10 5:48pm
Msg #319846

i actually got 2 checks today. and one company had computer problems so i should have 3 more by week's end. that's still 12 outstanding. i do my best to carefully screen and i'm not cheap so i like to think of myself as selective but this is ridiculous.

Reply by Moneyman/TX on 1/27/10 9:03pm
Msg #319897

Due to slow payments, shorted payments, and non-payments increasing over the last 10-12 months, I now have all new ss companies sign a payment terms agreement form. If they say they pay net30, I spell it out for them; Net30 means I am to receive payment within 30 days of services rendered. If not paid as agreed, I stipulate late charges will be added. I charge another late charge if payment is still not received within 45 days of payment and for every 15 days thereafter.

My quoted fees are for true Net30, not they cut the check after 30 days then I wait another 7-10 days to receive it. If the company pays "Net45" (which to them means they cut the check after 45 days), true Net45 or Net60, I charge more to begin with and also state that late payments will warrant late fees to be added to the balance. I require someone from the company to sign a statement that they have the authority to agree to these payment terms and return it to me prior to me booking the job. Until the company can prove a good track record with me, they must sign one of these for each and every closing I perform for them. So far, I have not lost any signings because of this new policy. If I do, I will not be crying. To me, it would mean that I have avoided a company that does not stand behind their word in regards to paying for services as agreed.

It is a little more paperwork on my end, however, should I need to file on a company for non-payment, I can now charge late fees.

Reply by bagger on 1/28/10 5:11pm
Msg #320040

Great idea moneyman. Let's look at what the business standard is. When you get any utility bill, what are the terms - usually something less than 30 days. Why do we continue to run our business at terms of 45 days, or 30 days after funding? It takes a group effort, but if we ALL establish net 30, maybe we can force the SS's to deliver.
I suggest we all follow Moneyman's lead.