“In most cases, the contractor is the one responsible for anything that goes wrong with the home as long as it is under warranty”

Prepared for print by Faigy Peritzman

I reached out to my regular travel agent for tickets to Israel, and she quoted me a price on a certain flight. However, my husband checked Expedia and saw he can get that same flight for much cheaper. Am I obligated to the travel agent, even though we had not yet come to any commitment? 

In the case you described, when you merely reached out to the travel agent but did not finalize any deal, you have no obligation, not even lifnim mishuras hadin, to use the travel agent’s services. It would be, however, appropriate to let the travel agent know that if she can match Expedia’s price, you’ll gladly give her the business, since one should always prioritize supporting a fellow Jew.

My neighbor and I both appreciate the fact that we have cleaning help that we get from the same agency. The agency sets the prices and no one can “steal” another’s help. However, my neighbor is still upset with me because I often give my cleaning help little bonuses, or gifts that she feels is undermining the point of using an agency. I don’t see my gifts as competitive. Am I in essence “stealing” from my neighbor by upping the ante?

That would depend on the policy of the agency. If, according to their rules, you’re not supposed to add a bonus or a gift to the cleaning help, then your neighbor is correct in claiming that you’re inappropriately upping the ante. If, however, the agency has no rule about this, then your neighbor can have no claim against you for what you’ve been doing.

We recently finished renovations using a frum contractor, and he subcontracted the various workers such as plumbers, electricians, tiles, etc. Soon after we moved in we had major plumbing issues. We called our contractor assuming he would deal with this, but he just told us we needed to take it up with the plumber who did the job. Isn’t the contractor responsible since he hired the plumber?

In most cases, the contractor is the one responsible for anything that goes wrong with the home as long as it is under warranty. Sine you weren’t the one who hired the plumber, it’s the contractor’s responsibility to contact the plumber and arrange for the issue to be resolved.

I listed my house with a neighborhood real estate agent. But then someone in shul approached me on his own and offered me a good deal. The agent says I’m still obligated to pay his percentage. Who is correct?

This will depend on your location and on the laws of your state. In New Jersey, almost all realtor contracts are “exclusive right to sell,” which means that once you signed a deal with the agent, he has the exclusive right to sell your home. If you broke the contract and sold it through someone else, you’re still obligated to pay the realtor his commission. In other states or countries, the law may be different.

We’ve been in contact with several real estate agents looking for a new home, but no luck. Then a relative told us about a new house on the market. It’s perfect and we signed, but now my relative wants me to pay her an agent’s fee! 

Your relative has a legitimate claim since it is considered normal and customary to get paid for arranging the sale of a home. But this is only if at the time that she told you about the new house on the market, she was planning to charge you a fee or a commission, as would any agent. But in the more typical case, where the relative just thought of a good idea and was excited to share it with you for your benefit, but only later (usually after the deal went through) decided that she should be treated as an agent and receive a commission, she can’t claim she was your agent and you’re not obligated to pay her.

Our company was looking for several new hires, and we reached out to list them with a job-hunting agency. Then one of our employees suggested a friend who worked out well for one vacancy, and we hired her. Now the employee who suggested her is demanding the fee that we would have had to give to the job agency. Are we obligated to pay her? 

The answer to this question is similar to the previous question. Since it is considered normal and customary to get paid when arranging employment, then if the employee suggested her friend thinking that she would get paid a fee for making the connection, she may claim that fee. If, however, at the time she made the suggestion she was just doing a favor for her friend and only later realized that she can now charge a fee for doing so, her claim will be denied.

I’m a freelance photographer and appreciate it when friends and family send clients my way. However, I was very surprised when a close neighbor suggested me for a job that ended up being wonderful, but then she asked me for a referral fee! Is she correct?

In this case, your neighbor’s claim will be denied even if she was originally planning to charge a referral fee for her suggestion. This is because it isn’t considered normal and customary to charge a fee for suggesting a photographer. This type of referral is commonly done as a courtesy or a kind gesture between family and friends, not as a paid job, so her claim for a payment isn’t valid.

I redt a shidduch to my close friend’s daughter, but because of our relationship, we agreed that a different shadchan would handle the legwork. Baruch Hashem they got engaged, and now my friend wants to know how much she owes me. What should I say?

Halachically, you’re considered the initiator of the shidduch and your compensation would be a third of the customary fee for shadchanus in your community.

Someone redt my son a shidduch a half a year ago, and we said no. However, recently someone else redt the same shidduch and we reconsidered and they got engaged. Am I obligated to pay the original shadchan?  

It depends on how emphatic of a “no” you said to the original shadchan. If it was a flat no, nothing to think about or even consider, then he gets nothing. But if the negative response was because you just weren’t ready at the time and did not want to get into the details, it’s possible that the original shadchan has the status of an initiator of the shidduch and should be compensated. The exact details need to be presented to a rav for a ruling.  

(Originally featured in Family First, Issue 918)