Many of you, like me, have probably thought for years that in order to collect a commission, you had to have a written agreement. After all, North Carolina Administrative Code, Title 21, Regulation 58A.0104(a) clearly provides that:

Every agreement for brokerage services between a broker and an owner of the property to be the subject of a transaction must be in writing and signed by the parties from the time of its formation. Every agreement for brokerage services between a broker and a buyer or tenant shall be express and shall be reduced to writing and signed by the parties thereto not later than the time one of the parties makes an offer to purchase, sell, rent, lease, or exchange real estate to another.

A trial judge in Haywood County even thought the same way, throwing out a broker’s claim for commission last year because the broker had no written agreement.

Our Court of Appeals, however, just overruled that judge, stating that agreements to compensate a broker do not have to be in writing. The case, Scheerer v. Fisher, provides a nice new safety net for brokers who, for whatever reason, are unable to get their client to sign a brokerage agreement. Like all safety nets, though, let’s hope you never have to use it.