Real estate professionals from all over the country who are owed monies from slow-pay or nonpaying asset managers may obtain some help with relief through a Texas attorney. Debra Parker, attorney at law, is representing broker Joe Gluckman to help him collect over $2,500 he says he is owed by Cartel Asset Management, an asset management company located in Colorado.

Ms. Parker has told Realty Times that she is willing to receive complaints by real estate professionals who have not been paid for work they have done - regardless of where they live or which companies owe them money. See Parker's contact information below.

Litigation is always a last resort, and relief from the courts typically depends on the amount of monies owed, and whether or not there was intent to defraud, and if the company being sued has assets.

According to Ms. Parker, a history of nonpayment may point to fraudulent intent. All she needs is a provable case. And that means collecting evidence from as many real estate professionals who have been stiffed by asset management companies as possible. First in line is Joe Gluckman who says he is more than willing to be lead plaintiff against Cartel.

Several attempts by Realty Times to contact Walt Coats, owner/principal of Cartel Asset Management, have been unsuccessful.

Gluckman says he has tried to collect $2,500 in BPOs for over a year. Like other Cartel subcontractors, Gluckman was promised via e-mail that his payment is scheduled for 'batch 144,' while the company is currently paying 'batch 108.' Other real estate professionals report that Cartel's 'batch 108' message has been used by the company for years. Further, Cartel refuses to give agents any indication as to when their batch will be paid.

Like other Realtors, Gluckman was reluctant to hire an attorney. "The amounts of money are too small until you aggregate it," he says. But now, his strategy is to get a default money judgment from small claims court and to file the judgment in Colorado where Cartel may have assets.

"A judgment may not do anything unless we discover that they have assets," says Gluckman.

Parker explains how judgments work in Texas. "By statute, you have to send a demand letter for payment, and in the letter you demand that you get paid within 30 days. At the end of the 30 days, if there is no resolution, then you can file a claim in small claims, county court or district court. Each court has its own jurisdictional money limits. Other states have their own court system. You serve the company, and if they have a defense you set it for a court hearing. If they don't show up for the hearing, you get a default judgment and you file that judgment in the county where the company holds assets. Once the judgment is filed, they cannot convey any property, cars, anything that has a title or is registered."

Parker, who just got the case, says she has not had a chance to research Cartel's possible assets, but 'you can put liens on property if they own any buildings, liens on any equipment they may own, and when these judgments go in, they won't be able to borrow capital, so if they have loans with banks, it will be on their record.' And, 'you might be able to go individually against the owners,' she says.

Real estate professionals are at a disadvantage when dealing with asset managers. One problem is that BPOs by brokers who don't hold appraiser's licenses may not be legal in some states. An appraiser's license is required to render an appraisal on a property, whether it is called a BPO or not. Most states allow real estate brokers to circumvent this rule if it can be proven that they are providing the broker price opinion in anticipation of listing the home. However, some brokers do enough BPOs that do not end up with listings that it could be argued that they are doing BPOs illegally. In that case, these brokers prefer not to take the risk of exposure, and simply refuse to do business with the nonpaying asset manager anymore.

But, in most cases, the asset managers promise listings to brokers. That's one way they keep the price of BPOs at less than half or better of a typical limited appraisal. In most cases, the amounts are so small that many brokers prefer to simply let it go when they aren't paid. Judgments are expensive. "The filing fee and getting the person served is over $100," says Parker. "That is recoverable in the judgment, but when you get the money is the big question."

Parker says that if brokers can come together, they can become a class and file a class action suit against companies which make a habit of stiffing them on BPOs and other services.

"You have to get the people together and get a federal court to identify that the class has been damaged," says Parker. "We start with that. Anyone can send me an e-mail regarding what happened in their situation and see if we have enough claims and the right elements to file a class action."

Meanwhile, what should real estate professionals do to get paid?

"They should talk to the attorney general in their state," advises Parker. "It sounds like these people (Cartel, et al.) are committing fraud, and the attorney general would be very interested in knowing about that."

"Keep a paper trail of any communications with the company and all the contracts that were in writing," says Parker. "This is an unsecured debt, so a faxed agreement works and so does the affidavit of the plaintiff. You don't need a work order to collect, but a work order is always best to have."

If you have filled an order for a BPO or other services for any asset manager and have not been paid, contact Debra Parker at debraparker@justice.com or call her at 210-867-5860.