Duties to Seller:
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.
Once you have signed the listing
agreement, the firm and it's agents may not give any confidential
information about you to prospective buyers or their agents without
your permission. But until you sign the listing agreement, you should
avoid telling the listing agent anything you would not want a buyer
to know.
Services and Compensation:
To help you sell your property, the listing firm and it's agents
will offer to perform a number of services for you. These may include--helping
you price your property--advertising and marketing your property--giving
you all required property disclosure forms for you to complete--negotiating
for you the best possible price and terms--reviewing all written
offers with you and otherwise promoting your interest.
For representing you and helping you sell your property, you will
pay the listing firm a sales commission or fee. The listing agreement
must state the amount or method for determining the commission or
fee and whether you will allow the firm to share it's commission
with agents representing the buyer.
Dual Agent:
You may even permit the listing firm and it's agents
to represent you and a buyer at the same time. The "dual
agency relationship" is most likely to happen if an agent with
your listing firm is working as a buyer's agent with someone who
wants to purchase your property. If this occurs and you have not
already agreed to a dual agency relationship in your listing agreement,
your listing agent will ask you to sign a separate agreement or
document permitting the agent to act as agent for both you and the
buyer.
It may be difficult for a dual agent to advance the
interest of both the buyer and seller. Nevertheless, a dual agent
must treat buyers and sellers fairly and equally. Although the dual
agent owes them the same duties, buyers and sellers can prohibit
dual agents from divulging certain confidential information about
them to the other party.
Some firms also offer a form of dual agency called "designated
agency" where one agent in the firm represents the seller and
another agent represents the buyer. This option (when available)
may allow each "designated agent" to more fully represent
each party.
If you choose the "dual agency" option,
remember that since a dual agent's loyalty is divided between parties
with competing interests, it is especially important that you have
a clear understanding of--what your relationship is with the dual
agent and--what the agent will be doing for you in the transaction.
|
