What is Fund Control?     The Contractor enters into an escrow agreement with COP whereby the contractor agrees to direct the Obligee to send all earned contract funds directly to COP.  COP works with the Contractor to issue and disburse proper payments on each draw. COP is essentially providing back-office support to the contractor on a job specific basis with the ultimate goal of utilizing all earned/paid contract proceeds for costs on the job for which they were intended thereby minimizing the surety’s liability under the payment bond. 

What do I need to do to start the process?   First you will need to fill out and return a Project Fact Sheet. This worksheet will provide us with the information needed to prepare your escrow agreement. Once the escrow agreement is prepared it can be sent to you with via email, fax, overnight service or regular mail.

 How much will it cost?       COP charges a set up fee of $750.00 and an escrow processing fee of 1% (one percent) of the final contract price.  The set-up fee is to be submitted with the signed escrow agreement and is non-refundable.  The processing fee can either be paid directly from the contractor or will be automatically taken from the first contract draw.

 How quickly can an escrow be established?     In as little as 24 hours. All documents can be emailed; however, the escrow will not be considered “in place” until such time as COP has received the required signed documents AND payment of the set-up fee.

 What is the expected “turn-a-round” time?     It depends on how payments are received from the respective Obligees/Owners. For deposits made by wire transfer or ACH – checks can be turned around within 48 hours. If the Owner/Obligee pays by check, COP will issue all payments within 5-7 business days.  With the changes in the banking industry, checks take a little longer to clear the account. Therefore, COP must be sure to verify that the deposit is valid before issuing checks against it. All turn-a-round times are contingent upon receipt of the required draw paperwork. 

How are the escrow funds protected? All escrow funds are segregated. COP opens and maintains a separate bank for each project in the contractor’s name.  As contract funds are received, they are deposited to the project specific account. If interest accrues on the account, it is paid to the contractor when the account is closed. The contractor will receive bank statements showing all account activity.