Full Documentation of the Tidal Money Platform- from Requesting Earnest Money to Disbursing Funds!
Requesting Earnest Money
Within the Tidal Money platform, any user type can submit a request for Earnest Money so long as they have an executed Purchase & Sale Agreement (PSA). This flexibility accommodates the variety of ways in which a property can be sold. The process for requesting earnest money is the same regardless of the requester type. Sellers, Real Estate Agents, and Title Agents follow the same process.
After the request for the earnest money has been submitted, the different user types have specific tasks which need to be accomplished before the banking transaction can be completed. The Title Agent will review and approve the funding request. Once approved, the Buyer, or appropriate parties will review and submit the payment information. After the payment is submitted Tidal Money can complete the banking transaction and start a file for the close in the Title Company’s software system of record.
Submitting a Request for Funds
To submit a fund request for earnest money, follow the steps outlined below.
- From the Funding Request page, click on the “New” button.
- Drag & drop or upload a PDF of the executed PSA.
- Complete all the required information on the form.
- Verify the information being submitted is correct.
- Click the “Submit” button to submit the request.
- Funding Request Form
A. Address refers to the address of the property being sold
B. Primary Buyer Information is the name and email address of the person purchasing the property.
C. Add Secondary Buyer is an optional field and can be used if there is a secondary person purchasing the property.
D. Seller Information is the name and email address of the person selling the property.
E. Payment Information refers to the amount of Earnest Money being requested and the date that the earnest money is due to the title company.
F. Title Information is the name and location of the title company, as well as the Escrow Officer handling the purchase of the property.
G. Contract Information is information pertaining to the sale of the property. The Contract ID is an optional field.
H. The confirmation that the information being submitted is correct and must be checked in order to submit the form.
Reviewing a Fund Request
Once a funding request has been submitted, Title Agents are required to review the request. Once reviewed, the Title Agent can approve, reject, or void the request. Action on the request must be taken before the buyer is able to proceed with payment.
- Approving a funding request confirms that information in the request is accurate and initiates the notification to the buyer about the pending earnest money payment.
- Rejecting a funding request sends the request back to the person who submitted it.
- Voiding a fund request cancels the request and no notification will be sent to the buyer. This would normally occur if the purchase of the property falls through before the earnest money is due.
To review a Funding Request, locate the request on the Funding Request page and click the row to view the details.
Approving a Fund Request
To approve a funding request, click on the Approve button at the bottom of the Funding Request details. Once clicked, you will see the various Escrow details that are needed to create or update a file in the title software. If the fields existed in the funding request form, they will be prepopulated but are editable if needed.
A. The Location of the Title Office where the closing will take place.
B. The Team Lead is the Escrow Officer for the closing.
C. The Escrow Team associated with the closing.
D. Title Software Client is the equivalent of the Client field in your title software. This is a required field, and you will need to select one of the available items in the drop down.
E. Underwriter corresponds to the Underwriter fields in your title software. Select the Underwriter for the file from the available options.
F. Title Software Number should only be filled in if a File was already started for this property sale in the Title Software system.
G. Mark as Paid provides an option to enter payment details for the request when it is approved. If this box is checked, then two additional payment fields will be rendered to enter the payment information.
Once all required information is present for the approval, click submit. This will trigger a notification email to the buyer for the earnest money payment.
Rejecting a Funding Request
Funding Requests are normally rejected if there is something incorrect in the request. To reject a funding request, click on the Reject button on the of the funding request details. Once clicked, enter the reason for the request being rejected and click submit.
Rejecting a Funding Request will send an email notification to the person who submitted the request. The buyer will not be notified that the request was rejected or of any pending earnest money payment.
Voiding a Funding Request
To Void a Funding Request, click on the icon with the three dots at the bottom of the request details and then select Void. Once the Void request is confirmed, the Funding Request is considered cancelled.
Earnest Money Payments
Once a Funding Request has been approved, the next step is to have the buyer, or appropriate parties, submit the payment information for the earnest money. The application can be used to automate the earnest money payment providing a more streamlined process for the buyer. It also provides an extra layer of security as all information is kept within the application, ensuring that sensitive information is not sent out via email or provided over the phone.
The pending earnest money payment details are located within the Payments area of the application. Buyers are able to see who will be receiving the payment, the amount of earnest money, and when the money will need to be received by the title company.
Payments
To submit a payment, follow the steps below.
- From the Payments page, review the payment details that are rendered for the earnest money payment.
- Click on the Pay button.
- Select the payment method for the banking transaction.
- Select a stored bank account or a one-time payment.
- If selecting a one-time payment, enter your banking information.
- Click Submit.
Payment Types
The following payment types are available for earnest money payments.
Automated Clearing House (ACH)
ACH will automatically debit the earnest money from your account and transfer the money to the title company’s bank account. This process could take up to 3 to 5 business days.
Wire Transfers
Payments via Wire Transfers cannot be automated via the application. The Wire Transfer instructions are securely delivered via the application. If making an earnest money payment via a Wire Transfer, the transfer will need to be initiated from the buyer’s financial institution. Please note that the financial institution may apply additional fees for Wire Transfer.
Instant Payment
Instant Payments will automatically debit the earnest money from your account and transfer the money to the title company’s bank account. To debit the buyer’s account, the buyer will be sent a Request for Payment via their online banking portal or app. The Request for Payment will need to be approved before the banking transaction can occur. As the name indicates, this process is instantaneous once the Request for Payment has been approved.
Check
If paying the earnest money via check, the check should be dropped off at the location indicated in the payment information.
Payment Confirmation
Once the banking transaction has been completed, the payment confirmation can be found in the Completed tab on the Payments page. A receipt is available for download from the confirmation. An email notification will be sent to both the realtor and the buyer once the payment has been processed.