Foreclosure Cleanup: 2 Things You Should Know about Cleaning Bank-owned (REO) Properties
Dealing with banks can be a whole other ball of wax when it comes to foreclosure cleanup jobs. That’s because it’s heavily regulated – everything from how you submit invoices to when you get paid is pretty much pre-determined. There is no wiggle room.
As they are lucrative foreclosure cleaning jobs though, if you own a foreclosure cleanup business, you want the business. Following are two things you should be aware of going in though. It will make your life so much easier – especially when it comes to getting paid.
1. Invoicing Banks for Foreclosure Clean Up Jobs: Quite simply, if your invoice is not done right, you will delay getting paid. You may be thinking, “But I have an invoicing system. It’s official, professional and has never presented a problem before.”
But banks are different. They have their own guidelines that you must follow. For example, you will almost always be required to submit dated and time-stamped photos with the invoice. Some will want the photos submitted as part of the invoice; others will want the photos submitted separately.
While things like this may seem minor (or a royal pain in the toukas), it must be done to the banks satisfaction before you will be paid. You see, the invoice may go to one department inside the bank, while the photos of the foreclosed property may go to another department.
Whoever your bank contact is will tell you how to submit your invoice. And, even when you follow their advice to to the letter, there may still be revisions. So, just work with them until you get it right.
2. How Long the Bank Takes to Pay for Foreclosure Clean Up Jobs: This varies from bank to bank and state to state, but a normal lag time is 60 days. Sometimes, the broker or person who hired you to do the job may pay you after say, 30 days, and wait for the bank to reimburse them.
Don’t count on this though. Be prepared to wait up to 90 days to be paid by the bank for foreclosure cleaning jobs. Build this timeframe into your budget (operating capital) before you decide to take on a job. This way, if you have to hire outside help to do a job, you can either negotiate with them to wait to be paid (most workers won’t accept this), or be able to “float” the cost of the job yourself.
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Copyright © 2009 Yuwanda Black for Foreclosure Business News