What type of fees may NOT be placed into an Indiana broker's trust account?

In Indiana, a broker's trust account is used to hold client funds that are meant to be safeguarded and properly managed until they are disbursed according to the terms of the transaction. The key point here is that the trust account is intended for funds that belong to clients or customers.

MLS fees from associated agents are not funds that belong to clients in the context of a real estate transaction. Instead, these fees are operational costs incurred by the broker, typically paid to a multiple listing service for the ability to list properties. Since these fees are considered the broker's income or an operating expense rather than client funds, they cannot be placed in a trust account designed for managing client funds like earnest money deposits or property management fees.

On the other hand, commissions from sales, buyer earnest money deposits, and property management fees are all types of funds that would be appropriate to manage within a trust account because they involve money that is held on behalf of clients or involves trust responsibilities.