Settlement & Commissions

When and how commissions are paid out

Commissions are paid within 24–48 hours after AARE receives the funds via wire from the settlement/escrow company and your file has approval. If a check is mailed rather than wired, there may be a delay in payment. Therefore, it is extremely important to have the escrow company wire the commission upon the close of escrow.

If you are using our Transaction Coordinator, they will submit the wiring instructions to escrow for you. If you wish to use your own Transaction Coordinator, you must check with the Broker first. Any new Transaction Coordinator to AARE must be trained on our systems and protocol. If you are completing the transaction paperwork yourself, you must have the file reviewed by AARE's auditor prior to closing. As a reminder, your first transaction with AARE shall be completed with an approved Transaction Coordinator. Any files thereafter can then be completed on your own, as long as the files are in compliance. In these cases, you will need to submit our wiring instructions to escrow. These can be accessed through the Working Documents section of SkySlope.

The fastest way to get paid is through a bank-to-bank transfer. The fee for this delivery is $15 for wire or $5 for ACH. Please note that ACH takes an additional 24 hours for delivery. If you are choosing ACH, please provide AARE with your bank account information and allow 7–10 business days for the accounts to link. A wire transfer can be sent in one day. Either way, please provide your bank name, account type (checking or savings), routing number, and account number. If you uploaded a voided check during onboarding, then we already have your banking information. If you need to update your banking information at any time, please email Rochelle Chandler at rochelle.chandler@aare.com.

Commissions are released upon form submission, file completion, and final Auditor approval.

Transaction Coordinator's checklist

All checklists can be found in SkySlope. A PDF can be downloaded from the Working Documents section of SkySlope.

Risk management

Avoiding risk and adhering to regulations are both vital to the health of any real estate agent's business and any real estate company. To help mitigate risk and stay in compliance with state regulators, please let us know any time you submit an offer, take a listing, go to escrow, or close an escrow by uploading all initial documentation into SkySlope within 2 days.

Entering into escrow

All commission authorizations are signed by Tiffany Mohler for the state of California and by Andrew Arroyo for all other states. Make sure you or your TC sends commission wiring instructions to escrow along with your signed commission instruction. All contracts must be uploaded into SkySlope within 48 hours of execution, and all documents should be uploaded on a weekly basis for review. For the fastest response, send all documents requiring a signature via electronic signature (i.e., DigiSign). For Tiffany, please use tiffany@aare.com. For Andrew, please use info@aare.com.

Closing an escrow

Please let us know when you have successfully closed your escrow. This helps us ensure a quick turnaround time on your payment. A few days prior to closing escrow, please make sure to fill out the Close of Escrow Review Form. This form verifies commission information and asks risk management questions regarding your escrow. A copy of this form is kept in the file.

Issues during an escrow

If an issue arises during your transaction, please contact Transaction Support or your local Managing Broker right away. This can include an unhappy client, disclosure questions, help getting documents to complete a file, or any type of situation that may arise during a transaction. If there is a small dispute that you have handled on your own, please make sure to let them know of the situation and how it was resolved. Please do not wait until an escrow has been canceled to alert us that there was a problem. Sometimes canceling escrow is the best option, but that is not always the case. Please call the Transaction Support Hotline at 760.621.4701 at the first sign of an issue; they may have a creative solution to save the transaction.

Billing for business materials

AARE uses iTransact to process billing. Any company materials or benefits that you participate in will be billed via iTransact. We will keep your credit card on file and send receipts after each purchase. Make sure to save a copy of these receipts so you can deduct these expenses on your taxes. All services rendered or supplies purchased are due and payable at the time of service/purchase. In the event an invoice is delinquent, a reminder will be sent. If the payment is not made within 24 hours after the reminder has been sent, AARE reserves the right to withhold the delinquent funds from the agent's next commission, including a $50 delinquent/administrative service fee. Collecting in this manner is not desirable, as it causes a delay in collecting monies owed and creates a lot of extra work for the bookkeeper. Your attention to avoiding this method of payment is greatly appreciated.