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Important!
At your first meeting, prior to viewing properties, the agent who is working with you must provide you with, sign, and have you sign the
MA Mandatory Licensee Consumer Relationship Disclosure Form
If the real estate agent does not do that, he or she is in violation of the law. The Commonwealth of MA wants you to know what type of relationship you are entering. By the way, it is not a contract. It is just disclosure. Unless you sign an actual contract with the buyer agent, there is no obligation on your part.
What is Buyer Agency?
This is the relationship formed between consumer and an agent who represents him/her in a real estate transaction. This is called a fiduciary relationship. The agent represents you and only you.
Here are some of the ways the buyer agent is legally obligated to you, the buyer:
- Loyalty:
It is my duty to advocate for you and you alone. It is my duty to help you find the correct property for you, and not advocate for any other entity. It is my duty to negotiate in your best interest. - Diligence:
It is my duty to be diligent in helping you find the right property; To be diligent in researching any available information that could be helpful in your search (from any source) and/or negotiations; To be diligent and proactive in assisting you with your own due diligence process; To be diligent in recommending the proper team members (i.e. attorneys, inspectors, etc.---see loyalty); To be diligent in informing you of any problems I might have become aware of or have found on my own, and helping, to the best of my ability, to solve them. - Confidentiality:
As your buyer agent, it is my duty to never reveal any information to the seller regarding your motivation, financial position, personal information, willingness to spend a particular amount of money, or anything else that would compromise your ability to reach the desired conclusion in a negotiation. - Reasonable Care:
To ensure that this transaction is in your best interest, and to recommend expert help in areas that I am not expert in.
The agent owes his/her allegiance to the client and only the client. This costs you nothing. The seller pays the commission.
Why does all this stuff matter?
It matters because finding and transacting real estate in Boston or anywhere else, is a complex process with serious potential pitfalls at every level. An experienced, professional buyer agent has a legal fiduciary obligation to guide you through this process to the best of his or her ability, and to always remember who he or she is working for: You. And you have a right to the best help available.
Designated Buyer Agency:
This is a common occurrence. If I, as a Sotheby's agent show another Sotheby's agent's property, I will still owe you all the fiduciary obligations I otherwise would, as would the listing (seller's) agent, to his or her seller (including loyalty and confidentiality). This makes sense because, among other things, we are independent contractors.
Dual Agency:
This occurs when one agent has both the listing and the buyer client. In that case, confidentiality and accounting still apply, but the agent becomes more of a facilitator otherwise.
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