Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This is the language spelled out in state law. I've noticed that some brokerages tweak it a bit, but those disclosure forms are substantially the same. The Agency Disclosure pertains to the sale of 1-4 residential dwelling units, or a lot being sold for residential purposes.
The SC Real Estate License Law, in Section 40- 57-139 (A) (1) and (2), requires a real estate licensee to provide you this brochure and a meaningful explanation of agency relationships offered by the licensee’s Company. This must be done at the first practical opportunity when you and the licensee have substantive contact. Before you begin to work with a real estate licensee, it is important for you to know the difference between a broker-in-charge and associated licensees. The broker-in-charge is the person in charge of a real estate Company. Associated licensees may work only through a broker-in-charge. In other words, when you choose to work with any real estate licensee, your business relationship is legally with the Company and not with the associated licensee.
... Now You Are a Customer of the Company
South Carolina license law defines customers as buyers or sellers who choose NOT to establish an agency relationship. The law requires real estate licensees to perform the following basic duties when dealing with any real estate buyer or seller as customers:
• Present all offers in a timely manner
• Account for money or other property received on your behalf
• Provide an explanation of the scope of services to be provided
• Be fair and honest and provide accurate information
• Disclose “adverse material facts” about the property or the transaction which are within the licensee’s knowledge Unless or until you enter into a written agreement with the Company for agency representation, you are considered a “Customer” of the Company, and the Company will not act as your agent. As a Customer, you should not expect the Company or its licensees to promote your best interest, or to keep your bargaining information confidential.
... You Can Become a Client Clients receive more services than customers. If client status is offered by the real estate Company, you become a client by entering into a written agency agreement requiring the Company and its associated licensees to act as an agent on your behalf & promote your best interests. If you choose to become a client, you will be asked to confirm in your written representation agreement that you received this brochure in a timely manner.
A seller becomes a client of a real estate company by signing a formal listing agreement with the Company. For a seller to become a client, this agreement must be in writing and must clearly establish the terms of the agreement and the obligations of both the seller and the Company which becomes the agent for the seller.
A buyer becomes a client of a real estate Company by signing a formal buyer agency agreement with the Company. For a buyer to become a client, this agreement must be in writing and must clearly establish the terms of the agreement and the obligations of both the buyer and the Company which becomes the agent for the buyer.
If you enter into a written agency agreement, as a Client, you can expect the real estate Company to provide the following client-level services: obedience, loyalty, disclosure, confidentiality, accounting, reasonable care and skill.
Client-level services also include advice, counsel and assistance in negotiations.
...
Now I see why you have so much talk about "Customers" and "Clients". That's not a distinction we see up here.
Now I see why you have so much talk about "Customers" and "Clients". That's not a distinction we see up here.
I really like how SC spells it out, client vs. customer. We have the distinction here, but it is not spelled out in our WWREA brochures.
I have used it when discussing agency with people, but I like the discussion Brandon posted.
Hey, Jack, you have "None Of The Above." Did you have to bring Presidential politics into the conversation?
Now I see why you have so much talk about "Customers" and "Clients". That's not a distinction we see up here.
Yes, the LLR doesn't understand why anyone would want to be a "customer". They believe that nobody is foolish enough to remain a customer so anytime they do so the agent didn't explain it properly and must be up to something shady.
Yes, it's violated frequently by agents, but technically an agent isn't supposed to even show homes to customers as it could be considered a client level service. I adhere to it pretty strictly. That way I don't waste time with lookey loo's. It's a great way to qualify a buyer, even if it's only signed for a specific home or one day.
There are some things I don't care for about our local policies but I do like how they clearly spelled out agency.
The form really deals with the duties owed to all and to clients with a brief mention of designated agency aand a brief option on dual agency.
It has to be presented prior to signing any other documents and most agents are very careful to make sure it is date and times before anything else.
The other required document is the Residential Disclosure Guide which is a 28 page brochure publlished by the State Real Estate Division which is provided in the first transaction.
The only document that deals any further with agency is the consent to act which must be signed by both clients prior to acting as a dual agent and makes it clear that such an agent has a conflict of interest.
In Southern Nevada Buyer Broker Agreements are rarely used. They exist but are not the custom nor are they required. Basically an agency relationship to a buyer is presumed from first contact.
Sorry about that. "None of the Above" was the last check box in the specific roles disclosed for an agent in your Disclosure form,
"I hereby disclose that the agency status of the licensee named below is:
__Seller’s Agent
__Seller’s Agent - Limited Service Agreement
__Buyer’s Agent
__Buyer’s Agent - Limited Service Agreement
__Dual Agent
__None of the above"
and a check box that many people will wish they had on their ballots.
Kinda dry, I know....
Okay...now I follow what you were referring to. Yeah, in today's politics, "None of the Above" would almost always win, if that were a choice.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Nevada
