What Agency Means to You

Your Agent: Is she working with or for you?

The word “agency” describes the role "your" agent is actually playing in your transaction. As it turns out, she may not be yours at all. If the agent is listing your home, then she's automatically working for you, and all her duties of loyalty, confidentiality and working in your best interests, etc., are owed to you. Collectively these duties are called fiduciary duties.

On the other hand, if you are the buyer, the agent you choose to work with can either be working for you as a buyer’s agent, or she can be working with you, i.e., helping you, but still working for the seller as a sub‑agent. This distinction may seem trivial, but it’s not.

If she's a buyer’s agent she owes her fiduciary duties to you. Exclusively. Anything you tell your buyer’s agent stops with her. But if she is the seller’s sub‑agent, she owes her fiduciary duties to the seller. Exclusively. Anything you tell the sub‑agent she is free to relate to the seller. It's therefore critical to know who “your” agent is working for. And you can control this.

Exploring Agency: Should You Have a Buyer's Agent