A prospective home buyer contacts an agent to receive assistance in the process of acquiring property and enters into a contract with the agent by signing a buyer agency agreement. The buyer then becomes the principal and is then known as the agent’s client. In turn, although the agent is obligated to act in fairness to all parties involved in the transaction process, he or she is strictly accountable to the buyer, adhering to state regulated license law and to fiduciary duty on behalf of the buyer exclusively.
Historically, buyers have represented themselves in real estate transactions, or they inadvertently concluded that selling agents also represented them. Where dual agency is legal and buyers have been informed as to the agent’s representation of sellers, buyers may be okay with the agent’s seller relationship. However, in those instances where buyers wish to avoid a bias risk while receiving buyer services, they may wish to acquire independent buyer representation.
Such interests may include, consultative advice on property values, how to make viable offers or how to interpret the terms of sale in a contractual buyer relationship.
It can be difficult for clients to comprehend the complexity of agency law. For instance, a home buyer may conclude that when she contacts a sales person to show her properties, the sales person becomes her agent, even though, under a listing contract, the salesperson may be formally representing a seller, and unbeknownst to the home buyer, a dual agency has been established.
Please allow us to explain Arizona’s agency law to you at the outset of our relationship and be willing to acknowledge that explanation using the standard Arizona Association of Realtors® agency disclosure and employment forms. Makes life easier for us all going forward!
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