What exactly about Procuring Cause Do you Not Understand?
Realtors, this is something about which each and everyone of us needs to know inside and out. It is my hope that by posting this blog and providing the requisite information on just what it means to have "procuring cause," that no more will agents unwittingly go into a home with a buyer that has:
***been working with a Realtor on a regular basis, the Realtor providing information on the property you are showing him/or her, as well as maintaining an unbroken and continual relationship with that buyer with either email or in person
True story, and I suspect many of you have been in this unpleasant situation as well:
1. You've been working with a buyer on a regular basis, and you go out of town. Your buyer then decides to have "another" look at a home you have shown them, and the new agent writes an offer. When you follow up with your buyer, they tell you they've found a home, and appreciate all you have done for them (of course not disclosing to you which home.) Somehow they know that's not cool.
2. You've been working with a buyer, you've shown them the homes in the neighborhood you farm, and they have their friend, or relative, or???? write, "unseen" an offer to purchase one of the homes you have shown them - telling the selling agent: "Some guy by the name of Fred showed this home already to my buyer."
Question I would ask all of you:
Would either one of the foregoing scenarios constitute procuring cause?
Since this story is a familiar one to many of us, one of my plans for the new year is this: MAKE sure that the buyer isn't working with another agent, has NOT seen the home that they want "YOU" to write an offer on. All I can do, I suppose, is have them sign a Buyer Broker Agreement, and on the login section of my MLS option, ask "are you working with another agent."
I've included some "on point" information. I like how Black's Law Dictionary so succinctly explains:
"A broker will be regarded as the "procuring cause" of a sale, so as to be entitled to commission, if his efforts are the foundation on which the negotiations resulting in a sale are begun. A cause originating a series of events which, without break in their continuity, result in accomplishment of prime objective of the employment of the broker who is producing a purchaser ready, willing, and able to buy real estate on the owner's terms." Mohamed v. Robbins, 23 Ariz. App. 195, 531 p.2d 928, 930.
I've also included a link on a detailed explanation of just what Procuring Cause is presented by Alice Martin - "Ten Ways To Avoid Disputes" this is a National Association of Realtor's Issue - not just Arizona!
Mesa, Arizona Real Estate. Call me at: 480.382-8711 for information on purchasing or selling a home in Mesa, Arizona or surrounding towns. OR email me: Teri@TeriEllis.com. Feel free to visit my website: HomesAzRE.com, or stop by my blogs at: MesaAzRealEstateVoice and AzLadyInRed!
