Legally speaking
Please note we are not attorneys and cannot provide legal advice. This article is only meant to be an informational resource and you should contact an attorney if you have any questions.
Procuring cause is a legal term in real estate. Whoever is the procuring cause of some outcome is the person who set that outcome in motion. If, as a Realtor®, I show a buyer a home and then they decide to buy that home through another agent, I may still be entitled to the commission the other agent received.
Interpretations of procuring cause vary state to state, but here is roughly how we interpret it for our flex seller program:
Procuring the Buyer
Your marketing ability can be used in a unique way to help get your home the most exposure. Even when a home is listed with an agent, it is not uncommon for a homeowner to find the buyer.
While the typical real estate listing contract (with an “Exclusive Right to Sell”) does not allow for the seller to receive a discount if they find the buyer themselves, our flex seller program is unique in that the seller pays only 2% when they procure the buyer through their own efforts.
Your 2PC agent will support you with following up on buyer leads, contacting buyers who have come through your open houses, help buyers to connect with lenders, explain to the buyers the process of purchasing your home required from writing an offer to attending closing on settlement day.
Approximately 32% of the buyers today are first time home buyers. These buyers require more assistance than seasoned home buyers. Regardless of whether or not the agent or the seller procures the buyer, your agent will assist the homebuyer with support throughout the home buying process.
When you’re the procuring cause
The seller is entitled to pay only 2% commission as long as the buyer does not already have a written binding buyer agent agreement with a real estate agent and the seller is the procuring cause for the transaction taking place. If any licensed real estate agent accompanies the buyer on the first visit or has a written buyer agency agreement with the buyer then the seller will not be considered the procuring cause for this program.
