The Business Dictionary defines an agent as: Party that has express (oral or written) or implied authority to act for another (the principal) so as to bring the principal into contractual relationships with other parties. If that cleared everything up for you, I will be back next week with some exciting photos of my new bathroom. If you are more confused than ever, read on.
Seller's Agent
The most straight forward agency relationship in real estate is that of a seller who has a signed listing agreement with a real estate agent. If Sarah Seller signs a listing agreement with Anton Agent to sell her condo, Sarah is the principal and Anton is her agent. That is simple enough, but since nothing can be that easy, let's say Anton, like most agents, works for a real estate agency. Even though only Sarah and Anton are sitting in her living room signing the papers, she has actually signed an agreement with Anton's entire agency. Every single agent that works for that company now represents Sarah. If Anton dies in a tragic rhinoplasty gone bad, Sarah is still in a listing agreement with his company, and his broker-in charge will send over a substitute named Gerald to take his place.
Once you have signed a listing agreement, the listing firm and its agents must • promote your best interests • be loyal to you • follow your
lawful instructions • provide you with all material facts that could influence your decisions • use reasonable skill, care
and diligence, and • account for all monies they handle for you. The firm and
its agents may not give any confidential information about you to prospective buyers or their agents without your
permission so long as they represent you.
Caution: Remember last time when we talked about Anything you say can and will be used against you? This comes into play here because until you have signed the listing agreement, you are not in an agency agreement and the loyalties in the above paragraph do not apply. If you interview three agents before signing a listing agreement with one, the other two owe you no loyalty at all, so do not mention any confidential information in the interviewing process that can be used against you later. For example do not say I'd be willing to re-sod the entire yard, paint the outside purple and install a swimming pool to get the asking price, because you better believe if one of the agents you did not hire ends up representing a buyer, she will tell him to ask for all of that in the contract.
Caution: Remember last time when we talked about Anything you say can and will be used against you? This comes into play here because until you have signed the listing agreement, you are not in an agency agreement and the loyalties in the above paragraph do not apply. If you interview three agents before signing a listing agreement with one, the other two owe you no loyalty at all, so do not mention any confidential information in the interviewing process that can be used against you later. For example do not say I'd be willing to re-sod the entire yard, paint the outside purple and install a swimming pool to get the asking price, because you better believe if one of the agents you did not hire ends up representing a buyer, she will tell him to ask for all of that in the contract.
It is late and I really need to get back to my binge watching of Fringe (Fauxlivia just found out she is got pregnant with Peter's baby while she was on assignment in our universe). I will be back tomorrow to talk about buyer's agents.
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