In Georgia, your relationship with a real estate agent is either as a customer or a client.  I shall attempt to highlight some information found in Georgia law as it relates to brokerage relationships.   As you might have already guessed, I am not an attorney.  I am a real estate agent.  I make no attempt to interpret the law.  If you have legal questions regarding this topic, you should consult an attorney specializing in Georgia real estate law.  Visit http://www.lexis-nexis.com/hottopics/gacode/default.asp if you want to view the detail of the Georgia law concerning brokerage relationships in real estate transactions.  This section of law is often called BRRETA.  Most of the details are found under Title 10 in various sections of Chapter 6A.

The most common forms of brokerage relationships you find in the Lake Sinclair area are buyer's agent, listing agent and transaction agent(agents rarely refer to themselves as a transaction agents).  You also might encounter dual agent and designated agent.  If you do not have a written brokerage agreement with the agent you are working with, you should assume you are a customer and not a client.  As you will soon see, agents owe similar duties to both customers and clients, but they owe more to clients.   

The buyer's agent is supposed to represent the buyer in the real estate transaction and the buyer is the client.  In Georgia, buyer agency must be in writing.  The form that is most often used is called an Exclusive Buyer Brokerage Agreement.  Exclusive buyer brokerage agreements usually require buyers to work only with the agent listed in the agreement.  These agreements often call for the buyer to be ultimately responsible for paying the agent’s commission if the seller does not.  The commission rate and other terms are negotiated between the buyer and the agent. 

A listing agent is supposed to represent the seller in the real estate transaction and the seller is the client.  The seller's agent has essentially the same responsibilities to his/her client as a buyer’s agent.  The client relationship is usually established through a written agreement called an Exclusive Seller Listing Agreement.  The commission rate and other terms are negotiated between the seller and the agent. 

It is very common for buyers in the Lake Sinclair area and elsewhere to work with an agent that does not represent them.  Many buyers prefer this because they are free to work with any agent they choose and they don’t have to worry about the additional costs of paying a commission to a buyer’s agent if they find a great buying opportunity where the seller is not paying a commission.  The type of agent a buyer often works with is a listing agent, but it can also be a transaction agent.  Agents that don’t represent the buyer or seller in a particular real estate transaction are called transaction agents.  Any commission earned by a listing agent or a transaction agent working with a customer will be paid by the seller, unless otherwise specified in written agreements between the parties.

A dual agent is an agent who represents both the buyer and seller in a transaction and attempts to treat both like clients.  This type of agency relationship requires written consent of all parties.  An example of when dual agency can arise is when a listing agent sells his/her own listing to a buyer client or a customer who decides they want to be a client.   You will notice brokers usually do not advertise themselves as dual agent specialists.  Many brokers avoid this type of agency.  There is above average legal liability associated with this type of agency.  In an effort to avoid dual agency, brokers will often assign another agent within the same brokerage firm to act in a role similar to a buyer’s agent on behalf of the buying party.  This is called designated agency.

Customer vs. client duties are summarized below.  Agent duties to a customer are defined by the BRRETA law I mentioned in the first paragraph.  Agent duties to a client are generally defined by BRRETA, but specifically defined by any written brokerage agreement between agent and client.   

Customer ·         Exercise reasonable care ·         Comply with all applicable laws ·         Disclose adverse, material facts to all parties ·         Timely account for all monies received ·         Timely present all offers to and from parties ·         Honesty ·         Perform ministerial acts

Client ·         Perform the terms of the brokerage agreement ·         Promote the interest of the client ·         Confidentiality ·         Provide limited professional advice ·         Exercise ordinary skill & care ·         Comply with all applicable laws ·         Disclose adverse, material facts to all parties ·         Timely account for all monies received ·         Timely present all offers to and from all parties ·         Honesty ·         Perform ministerial acts

A key difference is agents can provide professional advice to clients, but they can’t provide professional advice to a customer.  A real world example of professional advice is a buyer’s agent assisting a buyer on the development of an offer price.  If you are a customer in this same example, the best an agent can do is arm you with lots of applicable real estate statistics and then you use your own judgment to develop a price.  You will notice all agents can perform ministerial acts.  Ministerial acts are activities performed by an agent that can benefit customers and clients, but don’t require the agent to utilize professional judgment or skill.  Examples include; identifying and showing properties, providing detailed information of specific properties including seller’s disclosure forms and plats, providing area real estate statistics, act as a scribe in the preparation of real estate form contracts, and providing other types of information as needed or point people to professionals in areas outside the expertise of the agent. 

It is up to you to decide if you want to be a client or a customer when you work with real estate agents on Lake Sinclair or elsewhere in Georgia.  I offer no opinion.  It seems any decision in life has pros and cons.  I would be happy to provide you with either level of service.  Regardless of the outcome of your decision to be a client or customer, please allow me to suggest: buyer/seller beware!  Customers and clients should always exercise common sense and due diligence.  Being a client certainly does not guarantee you are in no danger of making poor buying or selling decisions.  Some agents are considerably more competent than others and even the best agents can make mistakes.