Who should sign the contract? 2

[SLTA]

I have my first official investigation tomorrow for a realtor, where the current owner is the actual client. The realtor is meeting me there tomorrow - the owner won't be there. If you do this type of work, do you have the realtor sign the contract as a representative of the owner? Or do you mail the owner the contract?

 

[MiketheEngineer]

The owner obviously owns the building and most likely is paying you.
The Realtor is just doing a favor.

BTW - I usually demand at least half up front. I am guessing the "owner" wants to buy the building. So - while he is your client - he isn't the actual owner.

If your report comes back "bad" in the sense he no longer wants to purchase the property - you might not get paid.

 

[SLTA]

Mike, in this case the client is the current owner of the home. I will see how this one goes with getting paid and am considering asking for the check up front, to be cashed only after delivery of the report.

 

[MiketheEngineer]

I see....

Then I would ask for 1/2 up front and the remainder on completion of report.

If you need to - you could always file in small claims and put a lien on the house.

BUT if you can get most up front - more power to you.

 

[IRstuff]

Holding a check is equivalent to not getting a check until the end. Either way, a stop payment order nullifies your apparent payment.

I would tend to think that 50% in cash up front is significantly better than a check in full not cashed until the end. If nothing else, your 50% could be earning some interest while you're creating the report.

TTFN

FAQ731-376
Chinese prisoner wins Nobel Peace Prize

 

[Ron]

Back to your first question...unless the Realtor has authority to act as the Owner's agent (in the legal sense of "agency", not as a real estate "agent"), then you need to have the owner sign your contract. As others have noted, a retainer would be in order for such work.

Keep in mind that you might not have any lien rights. Our lien rights as professionals is not always the same as the typical "mechanic's lien". Check your state law on the subject. In some cases, for a professional to have lien rights, there must be improvement of the property.

You might want to consider using a standard retainer agreement for such work. I use one for most litigation or investigative work.

Are you doing a property condition assessment as in ASTM E2018 or are you doing a "home inspection"?

 

[SLTA]

The home has been inspected by an official home inspector, who asked for a PE to review a few items. I'm there to provide my professional opinion as to the condition. Should be interesting ... the house is from the early 1900s.

Ron, do you have a favorite retainer agreement you could point me to? I'll do a google search as well.

 

[Ron]

L....

Attached is the retainer agreement I use. Following will be two additional attachments...1st is a corresponding contract with general conditions and the 2nd is my booklet on contract review. Hope you find them all useful....

Ron

 

[Ron]

Here's the 2nd attachment....

 

[Ron]

....and the final one....

 

[SLTA]

Cheers, Ron! Super helpful as always!