It's many years ago since i used www.escrow.com although It was only a matter of setting up, with your own bank to recieve, the payment, when the money was released from Escrow...after the buyer had recieved the goods and was satisfied, Escrow then just transfered the money to my bank. Escrow services don't have agents that i know of.ctavakoli wrote:Sorry ksl, I don't quite understand what you're asking? I have a company and want to transact with our customers via an escrow account. In preparing for a product launch I need to identify and engage the services of an entity that can act as an Escrow Agent. Is 'Escrow' in your email referring to a particular firm?
ct
I fully understand the problem now, I think you will find OCRA can accommodate, your wish, in fact I really don't see why any large merchant bank, would refuse to do it, when there is no risk involved, you should try them too, for a cheaper solution, you could probably setup a joint account whereby the money is released, when the buyer is satisfied.ctavakoli wrote:hi ksl,
thanks once again for yor time in responding.
i'll start by answering as many of the questions you included in your post as i can about why we've made certain decisions. i'll summarize the following in bullet point form only for efficiency (please don't consider it to be 'bruntish' in connotation)
1. bali is a primary market for us / within 2 years we'll be operating (building homes) in other parts of s.e. asia
2. the very risk factors you described surrounding transactions taking place in indonesia are exactly the reason we've formed a singaporean company, why all our contracts and warranties are executed in singapore, why all the transactions take place in singapore - singapore alone.
3. one of the reasons (i discovered today) i believe i may be encountering dead ends is because those who i've spoken to thus far have not understood / been able to understand that we're not seeking an escrow agent to act in a conveyencing / settlement role. what you noted about this having to take place in bali would be correct if we were also expecting from the escrow agent to settle the transfer of a property with a land title office. for all intensive purposes - let's put aside the part of our business concerned with developments (where land transfer takes place) and just look at our construction services arm. here a client owns their own piece of land and they engage our services to build a property for them. the escrow agent will not be asked to verify any deliverables in indonesia - once the project is complete and the buyer signs off that the services have been provisioned in full, the signed 'reciept of goods received' will be presented to the escrow agent, which in accordance with the escrow agreement will allow the agent to release the funds to us. if the client doesn't sign-off the funds don't get released and arbitration is called to order as per the instructions set out in the escrow agreement.
4. we are essentially looking for a fiduciary service provider - i met one tonight on a one dayer to singapore and they understood what i outlined in point 3 - whether or not a hick-up will develop between now and next week when we next talk remains unknown.
5. it still appears to me as though www.escrow.com is primarily for online transactions and vehicles - neither of which are applicable to our model
6. actually, legally the escrow agent does not need to meet any licensing requirements - they are simply custodians of a trust account but their control over it is governed by the underlying escrow agreement - so technically you could fill the role with a 7-11 shop assistant. that being said, of course if one expects to gain transparency and customer faith through the employment of such services, the 7-11 clerk might not work out - in our case we need a reputable, established service provider
7. while i understand no firm would willingly want to engage with a company with a questionable background - (which i can assure ours doesn't have given it's 2 weeks old in singapore), i still don't think this is a factor of consideration, or at least it wouldn't be if they understood what we were asking. the escrow agreement outlines that we are only paid for goods / services provisioned after they've been provisioned - if the goods aren't provisioned or the buyer is not satisfied, then they don't sign the release and the funds don't get released from trust
8. our purchase agreements and payment structure ensure a client is protected under singaporean law - no one would take any comfort in an assurance of protection under indonesian law.
9. QUOTE - "I personally know expats, that have had villa's built in Bali, for there own holiday and retirement home, only to discover, the people paid to look after the property, actually took it over, and moved in. Getting them out was a very costly affair, so I'm sure you understand the difficulties at hand, and why Escrow Companies, may wish not to get involved. This is only from my own point of view." - Yes, I've heard similar stories - though this is more applicable to a scenario that might eventuate after a properties been built, and provided to a buyer - by this time, the escrow agent's role as per the agreement is well and truly over.
ksl again, please don't take the above points to be argumentative - i greatly appreciate your assistance on this - i just wanted to summarize it from our view point. any further help / views you can provide is greatly appreciated. by the same token, i will update this posting regarding the outcome from tonights meeting.
many thanks,
ct
ctavakoli wrote:thanks ksl - i appreciate the feedback - actually discussing it here made me realize what in my communication with these folks may have been confusing them - i.e. i wasn't explicitly saying, "i don't need you to do any conveyancing' - i thought it was clear that i didn't.. in any case, i'll keep the forum updated on our most recent engagement and how that pans out and will certainly be back asking for your help again if it falls apart (touch wood it won't)..
ct
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