Questions and Answers on: WORKING WITH REAL ESTATE AGENTS
When buying or selling real estate, you may find it helpful to have a real estate agent assist you. Real estate agents can provide many useful services and work with you in different ways. In some real estate transactions, the agents work only for the seller. In other transactions, the seller and buyer may each have their own agents. And sometimes the same agent or firm works for both the buyer and the seller in the same transaction. It is important for you to know whether an agent is representing you as your agent or simply assisting you while acting as an agent of the other party. Do not share any confidential information with a real estate agent or assume that the agent is acting on your behalf until you have entered into a written agreement with the agent to represent you. Otherwise, the agent can share your confidential information with others and this could hurt your ability to negotiate the best deal for yourself. To assist buyers and sellers in understanding the roles of real estate agents, the Real Estate Commission requires agents in sales transactions to (1) review a “Working With Real Estate Agents Disclosure” with you at first substantial contact - before asking for or receiving your confidential information and (2) give you a copy of the Disclosure form after you sign it. The Disclosure form is for your education and protection and is not a contract. This Q&A brochure assumes that you are a prospective buyer or seller and answers common questions about the various types of agency relationships that may be available to you. It should help you: • decide which relationship you want to have with a real estate agent • give you useful information about the various services real estate agents can provide buyers and sellers • explain how real estate agents are paid IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT RACIAL EQUALITY AND FAIR HOUSING: The Commission is committed to the principles of excellence, fairness, and respect for all people. It is our goal to ensure that brokerage activities are conducted in fairness to all and to end discrimination in the sale or rental of all real estate. In residential sales and rental transactions, agents must comply with the Fair Housing Act which prohibits discrimination on the basis of the race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap, or familial status of any party or prospective party. For more information on the NC Fair Housing Act, you may visit https://www.oah.nc.gov/civil-rights-division/housing-discrimination.
Q: What does the word, "agency," mean? A: The relationship between a real estate agent and the buyer or seller who hires the agent is referred to as an agency relationship, because the real estate agent acts on behalf of (i.e. as an
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