Princeton Town Topics – Let’s Talk Real Estate – January 31, 2007
IS THE REAL ESTATE CLIENT THE BUYER OR SELLER?
Whom does the Realtor represent in a transaction, the buyer or the seller?
Until recently that question was never asked because the answer was always the same. Traditionally all the marketing professionals involved in real estate transactions were legally and ethically obligated to conduct business on behalf of the seller. They may have aided the buyer, but their client was the seller. Today that is not necessarily the case.
In a time of increasing specialization, a real estate agent can represent the homebuyer, functioning solely as the buyer’s broker. In this case, the sales professional helps the buyer locate a home, negotiates the price and the terms of the sales agreement, and is responsible to the buyer only, for an agreed-upon fee or a percentage commission.
In any real estate transaction, all parties have the right to know whether the Realtor is representing the buyer or the seller or both! Dual Agency is permitted in New Jersey, by mutual agreement, and must be disclosed.
