Commercial Buyer/Tenant Agency Contract (PAR Form CBAC)
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Pennsylvania Association of Realtors® Commercial Buyer/Tenant Agency Contract (PAR Form CBAC) Guidelines for Preparation & Use Updated April 2018 Table of Contents Note to PAR Form Users ................................................................................................................................. 4 General Notes on Usage ................................................................................................................................... 3 Exclusive Buyer/Tenant Agency ..................................................................................................................... 3 Parties .................................................................................................................................................................. 4 Paragraph 1: STARTING & ENDING DATES OF CONTRACT ........................................................ 5 Paragraph 2: SCOPE OF REPRESENTATION ........................................................................................ 6 Paragraph 3: PROPERTY CRITERIA .......................................................................................................... 6 Paragraph 4: BROKER’S FEE ........................................................................................................................ 7 Paragraph 5: PAYMENT OF BROKER’S FEE .......................................................................................... 8 Paragraph 6: BROKER’S FEE IF TENANT BUYS PROPERTY ........................................................ 10 Paragraph 7: DUAL AGENCY ..................................................................................................................... 10 Paragraph 8: DESIGNATED AGENCY ................................................................................................... 10 Paragraph 9: CONFLICT OF INTEREST ................................................................................................. 10 Paragraph 10: BROKER’S SERVICES TO OTHER PARTIES ............................................................ 10 Paragraph 11: OTHER CLIENTS ................................................................................................................ 10 Paragraph 12: ENTIRE CONTRACT ......................................................................................................... 10 Paragraph 13: CHANGES TO THIS CONTRACT ................................................................................. 11 Paragraph 14: TRANSFER OF THIS CONTRACT ................................................................................ 11 Paragraph 15: DEPOSIT MONEY (FOR PURCHASES) ....................................................................... 11 Paragraph 16: CONFIDENTIALITY ......................................................................................................... 11 Paragraph 17: CIVIL RIGHTS ACT ............................................................................................................ 11 Paragraph 18: EXPERTISE OF REAL ESTATE AGENTS .................................................................. 11 Paragraph 19: DUE DILIGENCE ............................................................................................................... 12 Paragraph 20: CHOICE OF LAW ............................................................................................................... 12 Paragraph 21: SPECIAL CLAUSES ............................................................................................................. 12 Acknowledgments and Signatures ................................................................................................................. 13 2 Commercial Buyer/Tenant Agency Contract Guidelines for Preparation & Use 4/18 Note to PAR Form Users As stated in the title, this document is only a guideline for the proper use of PAR Form CBAC. The suggestions presented here should be used in conjunction with, and as a supplement to, your professional education; they are not meant as a substitute for proper professional education. Any purchase of real estate is a complicated transaction, and no set of instructions, no matter how complete, could possibly cover all the issues and nuances that appear in any individual transaction. Seek guidance from your Broker and/or your legal counsel if you have any questions regarding the proper manner of filling out any contract during the course of a transaction. To make these Guidelines more useful there are numerous “extras” added to the main text. Many of the “Note” or “Practice Tip” items you will see are based, in part, on the experiences of PAR members, staff and legal counsel, and are designed to point out some of the more practical items to consider when filling out the Agreement. General Notes on Usage Pennsylvania Association of Realtors® Standard Forms are developed by the PAR Standard Forms Committee for use in a wide variety of transactions and market areas. To provide maximum flexibility to the parties, many provisions contain blank spaces that can be filled in as appropriate. Except where restricted by law, the pre-printed language that is not agreeable to the parties can be crossed out and/or modified, with the parties dating and initialing the change in the margins. As a general rule, text added by the parties that changes pre-printed text, or pre-printed text altered by the parties, will prevail over pre-printed language should a dispute arise. This Contract has been drafted using the term “client” as opposed to “buyer,” “tenant,” or “lessee.” The word “client” will address both corporate entities and individuals, as well as covering all types of transactions. Your client can switch objectives during the term of the Contract without you having to revise it. Exclusive Buyer/Tenant Agency This form establishes that you are working with the Client as an exclusive buyer agent, whether they are looking to purchase or lease a property. Form CBAC is designed to be a binding agreement for both the Broker and the Client. Neither party has an automatic right to terminate and walk away from the contract unless both sides negotiate that sort of term in writing. Practice Tip: If you aren’t entirely sure about locking the Client into a long-term agreement, or the Client doesn’t seem sure about wanting to be in a long-term agreement, there are a number of ways to handle it: (1) sign the Contract for a short period of time, perhaps a few weeks; (2) provide a cancellation provision in the Special Clauses paragraph where one or the other can cancel after a certain time period; (3) use PAR Form NBA, the Non-Exclusive Buyer Agency agreement, the establish the Broker as a Buyer Agent for any properties shown by the Broker without requiring the parties to work together on any other properties if they don’t want to; or (4) establish an oral non-exclusive agreement with the Client, using Form NBA as a “written memorandum” of your discussion. 3 Commercial Buyer/Tenant Agency Contract Guidelines for Preparation & Use 4/18 Definitely DO NOT avoid an uncomfortable situation and simply decide not to develop any buyer agency agreement. While the Real Estate Licensing and Registration Act (RELRA) does permit brokers to provide services prior to getting a signed agreement, it also states that the broker isn’t entitled to collect a fee without a written agreement. Don’t get caught trying to get your representation agreement signed at the same time as the Agreement of Sale or lease. That probably is not the best time to first bring up that a client might owe a fee of some sort. Note: Form NBA has not been drafted specifically for commercial use. Be sure that any additional information you require for a commercial transaction is appended to the form. Remember to never create an agency relationship that is prohibited by broker policy. Check with your broker about whether non-exclusive agency is permitted in your brokerage. If you are working as a transaction licensee, you would want to produce a written agreement stating what services you are providing to the Client and what your fee for those services will be. PAR publishes a Transaction Licensee Contract (Form TLC) for this purpose. Again, Form TLC was not drafted specifically for commercial use, so include any additional information needed. Parties BROKER (COMPANY): Starting on the first line, insert the name and contact information of the Broker including the mailing address, telephone number, and fax number. Practice Tip: When filling out this form, keep in mind that only the legal name and address of Pennsylvania licensed real estate offices should appear on these lines. Don’t use office nicknames or home addresses if they are not approved by and registered with the State Real Estate Commission. LICENSEE(s) (NAME): Starting on the first line insert the name or names of the Licensee(s) who will be working with the Client, as well as their telephone numbers, fax number, and email address. Note: All agreements are between the Client and the Broker, not the individual Licensee. Even though the Licensee’s name is on the agreement, he or she is not a party to the agreement. When moving from one broker to another, remember that individual licensees do not have a right to “carry” clients with them. This is an issue that must be negotiated between a broker and an agent. CLIENT: Fill in the name of the Client, whether it is an individual or a corporate entity. If the Client is a corporate entity (corporation, partnership, etc.), put the company name where