Broker lead-ownership disputes stop when the rule for who owns a buyer is written down before launch and applied by the system, not argued case by case. The rule that works for most builders: the first broker to register a buyer with you owns that buyer for a fixed window, such as 90 days, and only a recorded site visit or meeting extends it.
Disputes cost more than the brokerage. A channel partner who feels cheated stops bringing buyers to your project, and tells others. The policy below is short enough to print on one page and share with every partner at empanelment.
Why do lead disputes happen?
Nearly all of them trace back to one of four gaps:
- No timestamp. Brokers send leads on WhatsApp to a sales manager’s phone, so nobody can prove who sent the buyer first.
- No expiry. A broker who registered a buyer a year ago claims a booking made last week.
- No visit record. The buyer came to site with a broker, but the visit was not logged, or was logged as a walk-in.
- Identity mismatch. One broker registered the husband’s mobile number, another the wife’s.
The registration policy, in seven rules
- Register before the visit. A lead counts only once it is registered with the builder through the agreed channel, with the buyer’s name and mobile number. Messages to a salesperson’s phone do not count.
- The builder’s clock decides. Ownership goes to the earliest valid registration as recorded by the builder, to the minute.
- One validity window. A registration is valid for 90 days (or the period you choose). Say it in the empanelment letter.
- Activity extends it. A logged site visit or meeting with the broker present restarts the window. Calls and messages do not.
- Match on any contact. A buyer is the same buyer if any registered mobile number or email matches, including a spouse or co-applicant named at booking.
- Walk-ins check first. Before treating a walk-in as direct, the sales desk checks for a valid registration. If one exists, the broker is told the same day.
- Brokerage follows the booking record. Brokerage is due to the broker linked to the booking when it is made, under the scheme in force that day, and only after the conditions in the scheme (for example, a set share of the price received) are met.
What to do in common disputes
| Situation | Who owns the lead |
|---|---|
| Broker A registered on 2 Mar, broker B on 5 Mar, both valid | Broker A |
| Broker A registered 120 days ago, no visit since; B registered | Broker B (A’s registration lapsed at 90 days) |
| Broker A registered; buyer walks in alone within the window | Broker A, informed the same day |
| A registered the husband; B registered the wife 10 days later | Broker A, if both are on the booking |
| Buyer was a direct lead before any broker registered them | Direct; no brokerage |
| Buyer books a different tower in the same project | Same owner; the registration is per project |
Decide in advance whether a registration covers one project or all your projects, and write it down. Per project is simpler and causes fewer arguments.
Who decides when the rules do not settle it?
Name one person, usually the head of sales, who rules on disputes the table does not cover, within a fixed time such as seven days, and record the decision with reasons against the booking. A second person should approve any change to brokerage on a booking that has already been made, so a decision cannot be quietly reversed later.
How LoftRay supports the policy
In LoftRay, brokers submit leads through the broker portal, and each lead keeps its activities and site visits, so the history is on record when a dispute comes up. Channel partners have brokerage schemes, see their leads, bookings and brokerage in the portal, and see live availability through share links you can revoke. Configurable approval chains can send a change to a second person, and the audit log keeps every change; no one can edit or delete it.