A dual agent can not disclose confidential information to either party and must be neutral toward both parties. What is Dual Agency?ĭefinition: Dual agency occurs when one real estate agent represents both the buyer and seller in a transaction. Within it, we will discuss whether or not dual agency is legal in your state and whether or not it’s worth the risk. This article is the ultimate guide on dual agency. In most states, though, dual agency is legal, but state laws have measures in place to protect parties that use it. While it may seem ideal from an agent’s perspective, it can lead to some significant risks, which is why it is illegal in eight states. Dual agency is when one real estate agent represents both the buyer and seller in a transaction. If you have questions and are looking for answers to legal issues in Miami-Dade or Broward County, contact ESQ.title at 30 or visit us at wonder what it would be like to represent a buyer and a seller in a transaction? Well, dual agency is just that. Moreover, in marked contrast to a transactional realtor’s obligations, real estate lawyers are always required to act as your fiduciary and have your best interests in mind. For a nominal charge, an experienced real estate lawyer can review your purchase and sale contract, investigate zoning and land use issues, and negotiate your best price. While it is possible to buy or sell real estate in Miami-Dade and Broward County without a real estate lawyer, it is always advisable to hire an experienced real estate lawyer before entering into your transaction. If you are like most people, the purchase or sale of a home is one the biggest transactions that you will ever enter into. The Value of Engaging an Experienced Real Estate Lawyer A “no brokerage” relationship must be established in writing to avoid the statutory presumption of transaction broker. In that case, the realtor is only licensee must deal honestly and fairly with the customer, disclose all known facts that materially affect the value of the residential property if they are not readily observable, and account for all funds entrusted to the licensee. The third relationship you may have with a realtor is a “no brokerage relationship”. Realtors Without A Brokerage Relationship During this fiduciary relationship, the broker is under a duty to avoid becoming interested in the transaction and to avoid taking a position adverse to the principal. The single agent status can only be created in writing. In addition, the transaction broker is prohibited from disclosing either party’s true “bottom line” regarding price negotiations or financing terms, the motivation of either party, and other matters that either party requests be kept confidential.Ī single agent realtor is a broker who represents either the buyer or the seller, but not both, and is a fiduciary to either the buyer or seller. Nonetheless, the transaction broker must, among other things, account for all funds, use skill, care, and diligence in the transaction, deal honestly and fairly with the parties, and disclose all known facts that materially affect the value of residential property that are not readily observable to the buyer. Pursuant to statute, a transaction broker provides “limited representation to a buyer, a seller, or both … but does not represent either in a fiduciary capacity or as a single agent.” The transaction broker is working as a facilitator between the buyer and seller to close the transaction and does not owe an undivided loyalty to either party. “Fiduciary” means that the broker is “in a relationship of trust and confidence” with the buyer or seller, has the duty of loyalty, confidentiality, obedience, full disclosure, and accounting, and also the duty to use skill, care, and diligence. A transaction broker is in essence working to close the transaction and is not in a fiduciary relationship with their client. In fact, and while it may come as a surprise, it is presumed that your realtor is acting as a transaction broker unless agreed to in writing otherwise. Most realtors in Miami-Dade and Broward County are acting as transaction brokers. In Florida, a realtor may act as a single agent, a transaction broker, or maintain a “no representation status”. Whether you are buying or selling home, it is important to understand what capacity your realtor is acting in. By Florida Statute, there are three different roles that a realtor may play in a real estate deal. A rarely investigated subject by most buyers and sellers of residential real estate in South Florida is what role their realtor is playing in the transaction.
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