§ 87-15.8.  Application for reimbursement.

(a) The Board shall prepare a form to be used to apply for reimbursement from the Fund.  Only a person whom the Board determines to meet all of the following requirements may be reimbursed from the Fund:

(1) Has suffered a reimbursable loss in the construction or alteration of a single-family residential dwelling unit owned or previously owned by that person.

(2) Did not, directly or indirectly, obtain the building permit in the person's own name or did use a general contractor.

(3) Has exhausted all civil remedies against the general contractor whose conduct caused the loss and, if applicable, the general contractor's estate, and has obtained a judgment against the general contractor that remains unsatisfied.  This requirement is waived if the person is prevented from filing suit or obtaining a judgment against the contractor due to the automatic stay provision of section 362 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

(4) Has complied with the applicable rules of the Board.

(b) The Board shall investigate all applications for reimbursement and may reject or allow part or all of a claim based on the amount of money in the Fund.  The Board shall have complete discretion to determine the order, amount, and manner of payment of approved applications.  All payments are a matter of privilege and not of right and no person has a right to reimbursement from the Fund as a third party beneficiary or otherwise.  No attorney shall be compensated by the Board for prosecuting an application before it. (1991, c. 547, s. 1.)