Question 1
Which is NOT one of an agent's fiduciary duties to a client?
Agency and fiduciary duties
A client is owed fiduciary duties: obedience, loyalty, disclosure, confidentiality, accounting and reasonable care. A customer is owed honesty and disclosure of known material defects.
| Client | Owed fiduciary duties |
|---|---|
| Customer | Owed honesty and fair dealing |
| Listing agent | Usually a special agent |
| Property manager | Usually a general agent |
How agency starts and ends
- Starts by express agreement, implication from conduct, ratification or estoppel.
- Ends by completion, expiry, mutual agreement, or by law on death, incapacity, bankruptcy, destruction or condemnation.
Listings
- Exclusive right to sell: commission on any sale in the term.
- Exclusive agency: no commission if the owner sells herself.
- Open listing: only the procuring broker is paid.
- Net listing: illegal or discouraged in most states.
Your state's rules
States differ on representing both sides: Texas uses an intermediary, Florida bans dual agency and presumes transaction brokerage, and California and New York allow dual agency with disclosure and consent.
Try 3 questions
Question 2
A seller's agent is showing the listing to a buyer who has no agent. What does the seller's agent owe the buyer?
Question 3
A broker represents both the buyer and the seller in the same deal, where the state allows it. What must happen first?
Next step
Questions people ask
What does OLDCAR stand for?
Obedience, loyalty, disclosure, confidentiality, accounting and reasonable care: the fiduciary duties an agent owes a client.
Can an agent represent both buyer and seller?
Where the state allows dual agency, only with informed written consent from both. Florida bans it; Texas uses an intermediary role instead.