Sending BLBQs, SDFs, and the FDD

I have spent the last few weeks studying for the Georgia one day attorneys exam, and therefore have neglected my blog. Yup, after 18 years of admission in Maryland, Georgia still wants me to take an exam. Now that the bar exam is over, and hopefully won’t have to be repeated :-), I can return to my regularly scheduled programming.

I will pick up where I left off, but a little behind schedule on the FDD updating process. Once each year, I circulate the Background/Litigation/Bankruptcy Questionnaire (“BLBQ”) to each person listed in Item 2, to make sure that no information has changed. I have each person review their questionnaire and sign and date if all information remains true. For any new person in Item 2, the BLBQ should have been sent out as soon as they were hired, so even they should have one to review.

I maintain my BLBQ form as a pdf form, so that I can email the blank form to each new hire that will be listed in Item 2. The new hire can then either type his or her responses in the form, before printing and then giving it back to me, or he or she can print the form and handwrite the requested information. When I receive a BLBQ from a new Item 2 person, I type the responses into the form and save it for use next year. In this manner, the Item 2 person does not have to provide the same information over and over again in later years. I simply email that person’s form to them already completed, so only changed information need be provided. The business people appreciate this time saving measure.

I also use the same process for the Seller Disclosure Form. In addition to circulating the Seller Disclosure Forms, I request that each salesperson also review and sign off on any form of policy that the company applies to the salespeople, such as an earnings claim policy or policy restricting investments in franchisees. This reinforces the company’s commitment to these policies.

Finally, I also circulate the disclosure portion of the FDD to each Item 2 person, requesting that each person review the FDD to determine if any information has changed. I generally allow 2 to 3 weeks to get comments back to me.

Next week, I’ll tackle the challenges of Item 20!