Sale of Land and Commission

If you help your friend to find a buyer for a piece of property that he wants to sell.He puts up a note saying that you will be entitled to 2% commission of the sale price.You are not a full-time broker,you just help him for friend's sake. Are you legally entitled to the commission? After the sale could your friend turn around and say that you are not entitled since you are not a licensed estate agent? What follows is a case in point.
In this case a few co-owners who were related instructed their nephew to sell a few pieces of lands on their behalf.A brokerare contract was drawn out where they agreed to pay their nephew 2% of the sale price.This nephew of theirs was not a broker.He did not earn a living by doing brokerage job.
The nephew did get a buyer for them and the sale was completed. Now they turned around refusing to pay the nephew 2% of the purchase price solely on the ground that the nephew 's claim was illegal since he had no license for doing brokerage job.Their lawyers based their argument on the provisions of the Valuers,Appraisers and Estate Agents Act 1981.
The nephew brought the matter to Court and won.The uncles appealed to the higher Court.The Court of Appeal dismissed their appeal.
The Court held that as long as you do not act or practise as an estate agent,which means the business of selling and leasing of properties, occasionally acts as a middleman in the sale of property will not make you an estate agent , you are therefore entitled to the commisssion. You will not be entitled to the commission if all along you have been acting as a broker, and it is your full time job and you do not possess an estate agent license.