One of the most confusing things for most people to understand is who exactly a real estate agent is working for when they are buying or selling a home. Each state has their own particular rules regarding real estate transactions. For instance, I am licensed in the states of Kansas and Missouri. (For those of you not intimately familiar with the area the city is split in two by a road called State Line. On one side is Kansas. The other Missouri. Kind of like Western & Eastern Avenues in Washington, DC and Maryland.) Both states have their own set of rules and I have to adapt as I move from one state to the other.
The buyer’s agent represents the buyer only, so the seller may be either unrepresented or represented by another agent.
The buyer’s agent is responsible for performing the following duties:
· promoting the interests of the buyer with the utmost good faith, loyalty and fidelity
· protecting the buyer’s confidences, unless disclosure is required
· presenting all offers in a timely manner
· advising the buyer to obtain expert advice
· accounting for all money and property received
· disclosing to the buyer all adverse material facts that the agency knows
· disclosing to the seller all adverse material facts actually known by the agent, including all material facts concerning the buyer’s financial ability to perform the terms of the transaction.
The buyer’s agent has no duty to:
· conduct an independent investigation of the buyer’s financial condition for the benefit of the seller
· independently verify the accuracy or completeness of statements made by the buyer or any qualified third party.
- Write the offer for $99,000 because he will get a slightly higher commission?
- Keep the Seller’s $97,500 number private since the Seller told him in confidence?
- Advise the Buyer that the Seller confided in him that he/she would sell the home for $97,500?
I’ll await your answers… You can contact me by clicking on “comments” below or through the new feature of the IM by Meebo on the right column. The IM is already proving to be very popular.
BBQ Capital | Kansas City Real Estate Investing 
Hi Chris…I have been working my way through your posts from the beginning and have to know. Which is it? I would say 3, but wonder if it is a trick question.
You got it!