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January 2004  |  Index of all Real Ethics columns
NAR Arbitration Worksheet

The National Association of REALTORS® has created a nifty Arbitration Worksheet for use by arbitration panels. It is also an important document for all REALTORS® to read and understand.

Please remember that this worksheet attempts to relate to all states. However, just like the Code of Ethics, some of the items will not apply to all states. Specifically, some items in the worksheet may not apply to Colorado (i.e. # 3 & 4). 

Questions on the worksheet are intended to assist hearing panels in identifying relevant issues and facts in determining questions of entitlement to disputed funds. The sheet is intended to supplement- not replace - the comprehensive list of questions found in the Ethics and Arbitration Manual 

Worksheet questions are not listed in order of priority and are not weighted equally. Some of them have subheadings to further explain the question. In the interest of space those subheadings have not been included below; if you would like to have them, visit the law and policy section of NAR’s website, www.Realtor.com.

Professional Standards-Procuring Cause-Arbitration Worksheet 

1. Was an offer of compensation made through the MLS or otherwise?
2. Is the claimant a party to whom the listing broker’s offer of compensation was extended?
3. What was the nature of any buyer representation agreement(s)? Was the agreement exclusive or non–exclusive? In what capacity was the cooperating broker functioning, e.g. agent, legally recognized non-agent, other?
4. Were any of the brokers acting as subagents? As buyer brokers? In another legally recognized capacity?
5. How was the first introduction to the property that was sold/leased made?
6. When was the first introduction to the property that was sold/leased made?
7. What efforts subsequent to the first introduction to the property were made by the broker introducing the property that was sold or leased?
8. If more than one cooperating broker was in involved, how and when did the second cooperating broker enter the transaction?
9. Did the broker who made the initial introduction to the property engage in conduct (or fail to take some action) which caused the purchaser or tenant to utilize the services of another broker? (estrangement)
10. Did the broker who made the initial introduction to the property maintain contact with the purchaser or tenant, or could the broker’s inaction have reasonably been viewed by the buyer or tenant as a withdrawal from the transaction? (abandonment)
11. Was the entry of any cooperating broker into the transaction an intrusion into an existing relationship between the purchaser and another broker, or was it the result of abandonment or estrangement of the purchaser?
12. Did the buyer make the decision to buy independent of the broker’s efforts/information?
13. Did the seller act in bad faith to deprive the broker of his/her commission?
14. Did the buyer seek to freeze out the broker?
15. Did the original introduction of the purchaser or tenant to the property start an uninterrupted series of events leading to the sale or lease, or was the series hindered or interrupted in any way?
16. If there was an interruption or break in the original series of events, how was it caused, and by whom?
17. Did the cooperating broker (or second cooperating broker) initiate a separate series of events, unrelated to and not dependent on any other broker’s efforts, which led to the successful transaction? That is, did the broker perform services which assisted the buyer in making the decision to purchase?

Please remember that the Arbitration panel is the ultimate authority as to what weight to give to any of these questions.

Each month, the Aurora Association of REALTORS® Web site features Real Ethics, a column by Steve Stazel devoted to explaining Code of Ethics issues for members. A REALTOR® since 1974, Stazel is a Professional Standards instructor and senior Ethics instructor for the Colorado Association of REALTORS®. 

If you have an ethical concern or an issue you would like to see addressed, please call Stazel at (303) 773-3333 or e-mail him at stazels@msn.com. The comments of this article reflect the understanding and opinions of the author and do not represent an official expression of policy by the National Association of REALTORS®.