To earn or not to Earn? Procurring Cause case

I SOLD a home in North Miami Beach on February 10 2006. It was a normal sell, lots of hard work to get to the closing table. On April 28th my broker recieved a letter from an attorney representing a Realtor who made a claim on half the commission paid. She said that she was procurring cause in the transaction and that she wanted her side of the commission. This is where my story begins.

I was the listing agent. I first came in contact with the buyers on November 30, 2005 when the seller, telephoned me to say that a mother and daughter were at the door and wanted to see the property. The seller put me on the phone with the buyer and her mother and I set up an appointment to meet her on December 1, 2005 at 12:30 PM. When I asked, the buyer said she was not working with a real estate agent.

On the day of the appointment, I spoke on the telephone withthe Buyer's husband. He apologized but he had to cancel the appointment because things had come up and hewas too busy that day.

That same day, I received a contract from this agent. It was an extremely low offer with poor terms and a very small deposit. I presented the offer to the seller who advised me not to waste her time presenting such a unrealistic offer. I told her that I would speak with the Realtor to suggest that she obtain an offer closer to the property's real value with better terms. I called the Realtor the next day and told her my client's position. I never heard from her or spoke to her again.

One month later, on 01/02/06, I spoke with the buyers to set an appointment for 7:30 that evening. I again asked if he was working with a real estate person. He said no.

I showed the property to the buyers who said they were interested in buying the property and that they wanted to make an offer. I prepared the contract at a much higher, more realistic price with better terms and a larger deposit. It  wa accepted by Seller.

The buyers had some credit problems. I referred them to a mortgage brokers who had been successful in the past with borrowers with problematic credit. They chose Harold Brower.

I worked closely with Mr. Brower to clear credit, obtain documents and to move to a closing. I worked closely with the closing agent, Marty Patrick, Esq., to coordinate the closing. I worked closely with the buyers to answer all of their questions and to discuss all of their concerns. Not once during that time did I hear from the other Relator. Not once during that time did the buyers have any contact with the Realtor.

I was contacted by an attorney representing the Realtor claiming procurring cause two and a half months after the closing.

Much later I found that before she submitted her offer, The realtor had barged into the house without an appointment and without contacting me although my name and telephone number were on the For Sale Sign on the property. She had convinced someone who was staying in the house, not the seller, to let her in.

Factor # 4 on page 150 of The Code of Ethics and Arbitration Manual discusses Communications and contact- adandonment and estrangement.

I only spoke with the Realtor once. She never called me again. She never called her alleged clients back. For whatever reason, she lost interest in the transaction when the lowball offer she presented was immediately rejected. She had no part in the processes at all. She did not even know that the transaction closed.

I did not believe she was entitled to any commission.

I am very good at keeping records (which is very important) I use Top Producer and write all showing and any conversations that happen on all clients. I submitted that with letters from Buyers, Seller and the person that let this Realtor in to show property.

The ruling from the Grievance Committee of the perticular Board determined that the case should not be forwarded to the professional Standards Committee and a hearing arranged.

The complaint was rejected since the Grievance Committee determined that the supplied evidence was not sufficient to file the Aribitration.

I have learned alot after going through this process. Never give up, always keep good records and always ask questions to your clients about working with other Realtors.