PEGGY ALLEN, ABR, CRS, GRI 

Integrity, Innovation, Loyalty 

   YOUR REAL ESTATE CONSULTANT

 LICENSED IN IOWA AND ILLINOIS 

RE/MAX BI-STATE - 901 E KIMBERLY ROAD - OLD TOWN MALL  -  DAVENPORT, IOWA 

1-563-359-3898   Home        -       1-563-349-0100   Cell       -       1-563-388-0008   Office       -       1-563-388-0008   Fax  

Understanding Agency 

It’s important to understand what legal responsibilities your real estate salesperson has to you and to other parties in the transactions. Ask your salesperson to explain what type of agency relationship you have with him or her and with the brokerage company. 

1. Seller's representative (also known as a listing agent or seller's agent). A seller's agent is hired by and represents the seller. All fiduciary duties are owed to the seller. The agency relationship usually is created by a listing contract. I have the National Association of Realtor’s designation “CRS,” which means I am a Certified Residential Specialist. I also hold the National Association of Realtor’s designation “GRI,” which means I am a Graduate of the Realtor’s Institute. Call me to be YOUR Seller representative at (563) 349-0100 (cell) or toll-free at 1-866-388-0008 (office during business hours) and ask to be transferred to my cell phone.

2. Subagent. As a REALTOR^Ò and a licensed real estate salesperson in Iowa and Illinois, I do not offer sub-agency.

3. Buyer's representative (also known as a buyer’s agent). A real estate licensee who is hired by prospective buyers to represent them in a real estate transaction. The buyer's rep works in the buyer's best interest throughout the transaction and owes fiduciary duties to the buyer. The buyer can pay the licensee directly through a negotiated fee, or the buyer's rep may be paid by the seller or by a commission split with the listing broker. I have the National Association of Realtor’s designation of “ABR,” which means I am an Accredited Buyer Representative. Call me to be YOUR Buyer Representative at (563) 349-0100 (cell) or toll-free at 1-866-388-0008 (office during business hours) and ask to be transferred to my cell phone.

4. Disclosed dual agent. Dual agency is a relationship in which the brokerage firm represents both the buyer and the seller in the same real estate transaction. Dual agency relationships do not carry with them all of the traditional fiduciary duties to the clients. Instead, dual agents owe limited fiduciary duties. Because of the potential for conflicts of interest in a dual-agency relationship, it's vital that all parties give their informed consent. In many states, this consent must be in writing. Disclosed dual agency, in which both the buyer and the seller are told that the agent is representing both of them, is legal in most states.

5. Designated agent (also called, among other things, appointed agency). This is a brokerage practice that allows the managing broker to designate which licensees in the brokerage will act as an agent of the seller and which will act as an agent of the buyer. Designated agency avoids the problem of creating a dual-agency relationship for licensees at the brokerage. The designated agents give their clients full representation, with all of the attendant fiduciary duties. The broker still has the responsibility of supervising both groups of licensees.

6. Nonagency relationship (called, among other things, a transaction broker or facilitator). Some states permit a real estate licensee to have a type of nonagency relationship with a consumer. These relationships vary considerably from state to state, both as to the duties owed to the consumer and the name used to describe them. Very generally, the duties owed to the consumer in a nonagency relationship are less than the complete, traditional fiduciary duties of an agency relationship.

BACK TO MY ARTICLES            BACK TO MY LISTINGS PAGE           BACK TO FRONT PAGE              MY PERSONAL WEB SITE