1. Do I have to sign a written Buyer Agency Agreement if all I want is for a real estate agent to show me a home?
No. But if the agent is the listing agent on the home you want to see, you’ll be asked to sign the Working With Real Estate Agents Disclosure form for buyers. Before a real estate agent can legally show you a home – even their own listing – they must disclose to you in writing who they will be representing in case later on, you decide to make an offer on the home. This form is not an agreement for the listing agent to provide you with buyer agency services – signing the disclosure form only means that the listing agent has reviewed it with you and provided you with a copy of the form. If you want the listing agent (or any other real estate agent) to show you other homes in addition to their own listings, then you’ll need to sign either a Property Showing Agreement or a Buyer Agency Agreement.
The Property Showing Agreement lists the specific homes you want to see and states the amount of the fee that you’ll be paying the real estate agent to show you those homes. If you decide you also want to hire that agent to represent you on the purchase of one of the homes that she’ll be showing you, then you’ll need to sign a written Buyer Agency Agreement that states the amount of fee that you’ll be paying the listing agent to represent you and the expiration date of the Buyer Agency Agreement.
NC real estate firms offer consumers representation on the purchase of real estate for the following types of agency relationships:
- Buyer Agency – Their agent would represent buyers as their buyer-clients.
- Seller Agency – Their listing firm and all the agents in the firm would represent sellers as their seller-clients.
- Dual Agency – Their agent would represent their buyer-clients and their seller-clients at the same time.
- Designated Dual Agency – Their agent’s firm would represent their buyer-clients and their seller-clients at the same time. In this case, the agent’s firm would designate one of their agents to represent their seller-client and another one of their agents to represent their seller-client.
- Unrepresented Buyer – Their agent would be representing the seller only.
- Unrepresented Seller – Their agent would be representing the buyer only.
Before you start looking at homes, ask what kinds of agency relationships the listing firm offers. If their firm offers dual or designated agency, then a conflict of interests will arise if your agent has agreed to represent you as their buyer-client and later on, you become interested in making an offer on a home that is listed by your agent or your agent’s firm. In that case, if you still want to make an offer, your agent can only represent you as a dual or designated agent.
Have questions about the new rules that apply to real estate agents in light of the 2024 NAR settlement? It can get confusing, so please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 704-366-0542, and we’ll help you understand how they’d apply to you.
2. What’s the difference between a Carolina Buyer’s Agent listing agent and the listing agents at the other real estate firms in Charlotte?
Carolina Buyer’s Agent offers consumers representation on the purchase of real estate for two types of agency relationships only:
- Buyer Agency – The agent would represent buyers as their buyer-clients.
- Seller Agency – Our firm and all of the agents in our firm would represent sellers as their seller-clients.
Carolina Buyer’s Agent does not offer Dual or Designated Agency representation. We exclusively represent our clients’ best interests only – so you’ll never have to worry about a conflict-of-interests arising at any time during the home purchase or home sales process. We guarantee it!
3. What happens if I want Carolina Buyer’s Agent to show me one of their listings?
If you want to see a home that’s listed with Carolina Buyer’s Agent, we can still show you one of our listings as your exclusive buyer’s agent. But if you decide you want to make an offer on it, we would need to refer you to a buyer’s agent who is not affiliated with our firm (or a buyer’s agent you have selected from another firm) to make an offer on your behalf and represent your best interests for the rest of the home purchase transaction. In that case, the buyer’s agent who is not affiliated with our firm would pay Carolina Buyer’s Agent a 25% referral fee – but only if the contract purchase price and terms on the home you want to purchase are acceptable to both you and the home seller.
4. Do I have to sign any kind of agreement with a real estate agent if I’m selling my home FSBO and the buyer’s agent wants to show my home to their buyer-client?
Yes. You’ll be asked to sign the Working With Real Estate Agents Disclosure form where it applies for unrepresented (FSBO) sellers. Before a real estate agent can legally show any home to their buyer-client, even a FSBO home, they must disclose to you in writing who they will be representing in case their buyer-client later decides to make an offer on your home. This form is not an agreement for the agent to list your home or provide you with any additional services – signing the disclosure form only means that the agent has reviewed it with you and provided you with a copy of the form.
On the other hand, if you are interested in making an offer on a FSBO home, Carolina Buyer’s Agent will negotiate with the seller to either pay the buyer agency fee on your behalf or include the buyer agency fee in the purchase price so it can be paid from the proceeds of the sale.
5. Can I terminate my buyer agency agreement with Carolina Buyer’s Agent if I’m not satisfied with your buyer agency services and start working with another buyer’s agent?
Yes. We are working as a team. If you are not completely satisfied with our services we’ve agreed to provide to you in our Buyer Agency Agreement, both parties agree to discuss the situation to determine the reason that you are dissatisfied and work together over a period of three additional business days to resolve your concerns. At the end of this period, if your concerns have not been resolved to your satisfaction, then Carolina Buyer’s agent will refer you to any other buyer’s agent of your choice with 24 hours notice in writing from you. In this event, Carolina Buyer’s Agent would be requesting a 25% referral fee paid to Carolina Buyer’s Agent from the buyer’s agent we refer you to.