The Real Estate Buyer's Agent Council has distributed to its members a personal survey asking them about any involvement they've had in Realtor board arbitrations in the past year, trying to figure out whether buyer reps are inordinately coming out on the short end of rulings regarding procuring cause.

REBAC sent out the questionnaire in the September issue of "Today's Buyer's Rep," the organization's newsletter.

"There have been discussions out there about whether the arbitration process is equally fair to buyer agents and seller agents," said Janet Branton, REBAC's managing director in Chicago.

"We really don't know how the survey will turn out. Maybe there isn't a problem at all. But there have been enough questions raised that we thought we'd ask."

The questionnaire asks such things as who brought the arbitration, the buyer's agent or another party in the transaction, such as a listing agent, transaction broker, a duel agent or even a sub agent.

It also asks what written contracts were involved - such as buyer agent agreements. The form also goes into some detail on how money flowed through the deal and who was paid by who.

"The simple questions are designed to give us general information that we will use to help us improve our understanding of the evolving dynamics of compensation issues and define them for you," the form states.

Branton said that, depending on the results of the survey, the 36,000-member REBAC may propose some changes to the NAR Code of Ethics.

"We're part of NAR and the Code of Ethics," Branton said. "If there is something to address, we'll address it. There is a process. We'd go through the committees to see what can be done."

She emphasized, however, that the survey was largely a "fishing expedition - and we'll see if we catch any fish."

In the past dozen years of buyer agency procuring cause issues have been a constant thorn.

Listing agents who show buyers property - only to disclose late in the transaction they cannot represent those buyers, losing them to buyer agents - sometimes claim they are procuring cause of a deal and therefore do not have to split a commission.

More often, an agent will lose a customer to another agent. When that customer buys a house shown by the first agent, that agent will attempt to claim compensation.

Historically, buyer agents have argued that the only legitimate way to decide who gets paid in a deal is to look at who brought in a signed purchase agreement.

Branton said the survey is due in mid-October but it was doubtful the results would be known by the NAR meetings in November.

Published: September 26, 2000

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.