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Realtors have a fiduciary responsibility to act in the interest of their principal, even when it is against the interest of the agent. "This duty obligates a r

Realtors have a fiduciary responsibility to act in the interest of their principal, even when it is against the interest of the agent. "This duty obligates a real estate broker to act at all times solely in the best interests of his principal to the exclusion of all other interests, including the broker’s own self-interest." https://www.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/handouts-and-brochures/2014/nar-fiduciary-duty-032213.pdf https://www.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/handouts-and-bro...

scarface74 8y ago
Yeah and people are completely honest when they swear to tell the truth in court too... Good luck proving that the real estate agent just didn’t know about the house they didn’t show you.
TomMckenny 8y ago
In principle. But do you have an example of that fiduciary responsibility being enforced to any real degree?
josaka 8y ago
At least from the perspective of the legal profession, the scope of "fiduciary duties" of realtors seems relatively constrained. Buyer's and their agent's interests appear to be misaligned. I can't think of other examples of fiduciaries where, the more the principle pays, the more the agent is compensated, like on the buy side of a standard realtor agreement. Fixed fee or hourly comp. would eliminate the misalignment, but my sense is it's disfavored in the industry.
diggernet 8y ago
Please note: That is for a "real estate broker". Most buyers and sellers are dealing with a "real estate agent". Agent is a lower level license, for which that duty does not apply.
- dragonwriter 8y ago
  In California, at least, a real estate agent has both common law and statutory fiduciary and fiduciary-like duties.
- kbutler 8y ago
  That differences in fiduciary duty does not appear to be the case. For example "Agents who represent clients under single agency owe a fiduciary responsibility to the client" https://www.thebalance.com/agency-relationships-in-real-estate-1798890 https://www.thebalance.com/agency-relationships-in-real-esta...
Justin_K 8y ago
This is so meaningless I don't even know how to respond. Banks have the same responsibility and look how they've treated customers.
donavanm 8y ago
In practice, no. The broker != agent distinction is key here. And the insulation between actuons of the agent and responsibility of the broker. Additionally the standard paperwork (AFAICT) routinely has the principal waive the brokers duty of representation as well.

scarface74 8y ago

Yeah and people are completely honest when they swear to tell the truth in court too... Good luck proving that the real estate agent just didn’t know about the house they didn’t show you.

TomMckenny 8y ago

In principle. But do you have an example of that fiduciary responsibility being enforced to any real degree?

josaka 8y ago

At least from the perspective of the legal profession, the scope of "fiduciary duties" of realtors seems relatively constrained. Buyer's and their agent's interests appear to be misaligned. I can't think of other examples of fiduciaries where, the more the principle pays, the more the agent is compensated, like on the buy side of a standard realtor agreement. Fixed fee or hourly comp. would eliminate the misalignment, but my sense is it's disfavored in the industry.

diggernet 8y ago

Please note: That is for a "real estate broker". Most buyers and sellers are dealing with a "real estate agent". Agent is a lower level license, for which that duty does not apply.

dragonwriter 8y ago
In California, at least, a real estate agent has both common law and statutory fiduciary and fiduciary-like duties.
kbutler 8y ago
That differences in fiduciary duty does not appear to be the case. For example "Agents who represent clients under single agency owe a fiduciary responsibility to the client" https://www.thebalance.com/agency-relationships-in-real-estate-1798890 https://www.thebalance.com/agency-relationships-in-real-esta...

Justin_K 8y ago

This is so meaningless I don't even know how to respond. Banks have the same responsibility and look how they've treated customers.

donavanm 8y ago

In practice, no. The broker != agent distinction is key here. And the insulation between actuons of the agent and responsibility of the broker. Additionally the standard paperwork (AFAICT) routinely has the principal waive the brokers duty of representation as well.