Once again, Arizona courts have required strict compliance with Arizona statutes for real estate compensation: they must be in writing, signed by the parties and set forth the date of expiration. A.R.S. §32-2151.02(A). In January, the Arizona Court of Appeals decided D/AQ Corp. v. Intravest 2851 Kathleen, LLC, 1 CA-CV 16-0620 (App. 2018). To push a sale to contract, the real estate broker offered to the Buyer in the first transaction to reduce the real estate commission by .5% ($95,000!). In exchange, the real estate broker was to receive an exclusive listing to later sell the property in a subsequent transaction, with the purported promise to “make up” the reduced commission from the first sale in the subsequent transaction. The client responded with an email stating “Confirmed.” The first sale closed in September 2012 and a re-sale closed in August 2014, with the same real estate broker representing the then-Seller. However, the Seller refused to authorize the additional .5% commission to “make up” from the prior transaction, so the broker sued. Although the trial court held for the broker, the Arizona Court of Appeals reversed, finding that the agreement for the .5% “make up” commission did not comply with Arizona’s strict statutory requirements, and, therefore, was unenforceable. While the result is harsh, “real estate brokers are presumed to know the law.” (D/AQ Corp. ¶19.) For an in-depth review of Arizona cases on this statute, see our Spring 2017 newsletter, Real Estate Agents: The Essentials of a Written Contract for Compensation, http://tucsonazrealestateattorneys.com/MMBM-Newsletter-Spring-2017.pdf