Fran owned both Greenacre, a one-acre parcel with a small one-story single family residence located at the eastern edge of the property, and Blackacre, an adjacent one-acre parcel to the west of Greenacre. Fran used her road over Blackacre to get from the home on Greenacre to the main road because there were no other roads to which Greenacre had access. Fran prepared a deed granting to herself and her son, Sam, as joint tenants, a fee simple interest in Blackacre. Fran mailed the deed to Sam and he promptly recorded it.

In 2010, Fran passed away with a will leaving her estate to her best friend, Ellen. Sam was not interested in occupying Blackacre, but in 2011, he borrowed $50,000 from his friend, Mike, who required Sam to secure the loan by giving him a mortgage. Mike promptly recorded the mortgage.

In 2014, Sam secured the services of Ray, a real estate broker, to sell Blackacre for him. Ray quickly found a buyer for Blackacre and prepared a sales contract whereby Sam agreed to convey a fee simple interest in Blackacre to Betty, the Buyer, for $150,000. Included in the sales contract was the provision for "Time is of the Essence" with a closing date of Dec. 15, 2014. Betty was an out-of-town buyer and relied upon Ray to find a rural property on which she could build a house. Although Sam signed the sales contract, Betty did not because she was not available. Ray agreed to serve as the escrow agent for the deal and arranged for a title search. The title company found Mike's mortgage recorded against Blackacre, which Sam agreed to pay out of funds from escrow. Ray did not inspect Blackacre and Betty was out-of-town so no one knew about the highly visible road running from Greenacre to the main road. Sam did not prepare a general warranty deed granting Blackacre to Betty until Dec. 18, 2014.

If Betty is not required to complete the sale, is Ray entitled to a commission?