Referral Agreements - Are they with the Broker or Agent?

[Joshua Kaufman]

Here's the scenario:

I'm a licensed real estate salesperson in NJ. I also have a real estate investing company where we purchase a small 2-unit apartment building and partner with a contractor to convert them into 2 condo units. "We" is an LLC that has 2-3 members, of which I am one.

The contractor handles all the permits, drawings, work, etc. and then chooses the listing agent when the units are ready for sale. Another one of our LLC members signs off on the listing and I send a Referral Agreement to be signed. I receive it back from the agent with his signature only - no broker signature. This is my first referral agreement, so I don't know any better.

Fast forward a few months later and one of the units sells. I email the agent that I had the Agreement with and he tells me he's no longer the listing agent but another agent in the same office made the sale. I contact the broker, who is different from when the agreement was made, and she says that the Referral Agreement terminates with the listing agent and since it wasn't the original agent that sold the property, I'm not due any money. 

It's my understanding that the Referral Agreement is with the broker since it's their listing, not the agent's and that the agreement should be honored even though it wasn't signed by the broker in the first place (oversight on my part for not catching that). If it were a few hundred dollars, I wouldn't be chasing it, but this is quite a bit more that would be landing in my pocket.

Your thoughts? Thanks!