I have done some work in Ohio for the federal government on properties that they have seized.  I actually did the whole thing... search, title insurance, closing, etc.  I routinely did the searches when they initiated their federal forfeiture suit and I didn't get paid on anything until they closed.  Some of them took more than three years!

Since these were scattered all over the state, I used contacts on Source of Title to do many of the searches for me.  Even though I didn't get paid until the closing, I still paid the examiner when I got their bill (within 30 days). 

It is certainly not the examiner's fault that these files take so long to close, nor is it the examiner's fault that their client agreed to take the work knowing that they wouldn't be paid until the closing.  Paying for the searches is a cost of doing business - if they have to wait until they get paid to pay you, then they are under capitalized and should not be doing the work to begin with.

In my opinion, that is no excuse to not pay the examiner in a timely manner.  They took the work knowing the situation, they ordered the searches knowing the examiner's billing terms.  Now it would be different if they offered a substantially higher fee and the examiner agreed to wait for the closing to get it.  After all, that is why I took those jobs that I knew I wouldn't get paid on for three years - I was able to charge what I felt was a good enough fee to make it worth while.

Best,
Robert A. Franco
SOURCE OF TITLE