There is nothing worse than assisting one of your clients securing an apartment rental only to find out that the owner of the property decides not to pay you for a referral. Apartment locating is a huge business in the state of Texas. Houston and Dallas, TX pay out some of the biggest referral fees as they both have extremely large apartment markets.
In fact its a very profitable business as there are minimal start up costs and no inventory to keep in stock. Most apartment owners and management companies will dispense the appropriate commissions in a timely fashion, but sometimes there are those that just refuse to pay. Many locators simply don't know what to do as this point.
However, we have have laid out some specific instructions which will aid in the process of you getting your monies owed to you. And in the future, try not to send any of your prospects to those specific communities.
Read on to find out what you can do
Start With a Demand Letter
This is where the entire process becomes more serious. If you have been making phone calls or emails to collect and have not received a serious response, a demand letter is an escalation.
The letter should state who you are, what you want, and what you will do if you don't receive the commissions that are owed. You can find several types of demand letters online.
In most cases this will get the ball rolling in your direction. You probably will receive a phone call from upper management or the owner himself.
Small Claims Court
In Texas anyone can sue for under $100. And you can sue for up to $10,000. Before you do so, make sure that you are absolutely owed the commissions. You will pay the filing fee and then a constable will serve the defendant you named.
In almost 100% of the cases you will be paid the commissions immediately. If you must go to court you most likely will win.