Mediation, or as it's formally known, the Dispute Resolution System, has served as an alternative to going to court to resolve issues between buyers and sellers. Section 22 of the sales contract has a provision regarding litigation/mediation/arbitration. A mediation packet is sent free of charge to anyone who requests it from the Greater Gateway Board of Realtors. The packet explains how mediation works and contains a list of Association approved mediators. The person initiating the complaint generally contacts one or more mediators from the list to discuss the problem and mediation fees. Both parties participate in the cost of mediation. Participation by REALTORS and third parteis is not mandatory.
Mediation does help resolve buyer-seller problems, and mediation is cheaper and quicker than going to court and generally, 8 out of 10 mediations can be resolved.
While the Association has not had any opportunities to date, mediation could extend to agencies who have a commission dispute. Submitting a commission dispute to mediation before arbitration could help resolve the issues quicker.
Mediation is between a buyer and seller (and could be used to address agency to agency commission disputes), and the process of arbitration is always between REALTOR agencies. Recommending mediation to your clients is an effective way of resolving issues quickly and cheaply.