Mediator Rules & Responsibilities

C.A.R. Mediation Center panel mediators meet or exceed the below standards to help ensure professionalism, neutrality, and fairness for all parties using our program.

1. Mediator Requirements (More details available here). 

1. Experienced mediators with significant real estate expertise
2. Either an attorney in good standing or real estate licensee with a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university or college.
3. 32 hours of general mediation training and attend C.A.R. real estate focused training.
4. Maintain professional liability insurance coverage.
5. Participate in additional training as requested by the Center.

2. Acceptance of Cases

1. Perform conflict check and timely communicate accept/decline a mediation (within two business days of the referral).
2. Communicate with the parties within 3 business days of accepting the matter.
3. Good faith effort to schedule the mediation within 20 days.
4. With the cooperation of all parties, mediations should generally be held within 60 days of the assignment to the mediator.

3. Scheduling & Communications

1. Coordinate scheduling the mediation with all participants.
2. Provide written confirmation of the session.
3. Communicate professionally and promptly throughout the process.
4. Secure a suitable facility to host the mediation for in-person mediations.
5. Ability to conduct online (e.g., Zoom) mediations in a suitable environment.
6. Mediators should provide any notices, forms and policies beyond those provided by the Center (templates are provided as a courtesy, but mediators may use their own substantively equivalent forms).

4. Fees & Payments

1. Mediators manage their own billing and collection of fees, including required deposits.
2. There is a non-refundable $500 filing fee paid directly to the Center by the filing party to initiate the process. Mediators should reduce the deposit due from the initiating party by $250 and increase the deposit due from the responding party by $250 to offset the initiating party's advance payment of the filing fee.
3. First two hours: $200 per hour. Thereafter at mediator’s standard hourly rate.
4. Parties are required to commit to four hours of mediation time, except as noted in the mediator’s profile.