Who works for Who in a Real Estate Transaction? The FOCUS on NoVA Real Estate Team breaks it down for you to make sure you get the representation you want when buying or selling your home.
In a real estate transaction there are two sides: there’s the buyer and the seller. The seller works with a listing agent who is going to list their home on the market and help them through the process of getting their home sold. A buyer’s agent, or selling agent, is that real estate agent who works with the purchaser of the home.
One thing to keep in mind is when you sign a contract with a real estate agent to either buy or sell your home you are not actually signing a contract with that specific agent, you are signing a contract with that agent’s brokerage firm. For instance, the FOCUS on NoVA Real Estate agents work under Century 21 Redwood Realty. When a client signs a contract with one of our agents, they are actually signing it with Century 21 Redwood Realty. Agents are independent contractors with the brokerage firm.
When you sign your contract initially to work with a real estate agent there is a section of the contract that your real estate agent should go over with you in-depth, focusing on what type of agency you are allowing them to have. In Virginia, dual agency is allowed. You need to check your state’s law to find out if your state allows for dual agency. So what is dual agency? Dual agency is where a real estate agent can represent both the buyer and the seller in the same transaction. At the FOCUS on NoVA Real Estate team we do not practice dual agency; however, there are other real estate agents who do so make sure to ask when signing a contract.
Second item your real estate agent should go over in the contract is designated agency. Since you are signing a contract with the brokerage, designated agency allows real estate agents from the same brokerage to work on a transaction together. For instance, FOCUS on NoVA agents work with Century 21 Redwood Realty. If one of our agents is the listing agent another agent who is representing a buyer who also works with Century 21 Redwood Realty could work on the same transaction. This is designated agency. Since the contracts are written with the brokerage firm what would happen is the brokerage has a form that’s filled out so everybody is in agreement and understanding that the listing agent represents the seller and the selling agent represents the buyer; two different agents, same brokerage working on the same transaction.
The last thing that sometimes comes up is if a listing agent is in an open house and a buyer comes in and want to put an offer down on the home but
they are not working with a real estate agent and they do not want to work with a real estate agent. The listing agent can do administrative tasks for that buyer. What does that mean? That means the listing agent can give the nonrepresented buyer the paperwork needed for them to fill out for the transaction. They are not negotiating on behalf of that buyer. They are not giving any opinions to that buyer to get the transaction done. They are simply giving them the paperwork that needs to be filled out for the transaction to go to close. The same goes on the buyer side. If a buyer finds a home that they would like to purchase but it’s a for sale by owner, that for sale by owner does not have a real estate agent involved. The buyer’s agent could again just move the paperwork around to make sure the transaction gets done.
When it comes to who works for you in a real estate transaction you want to make sure you understand very clearly as to who is representing who. Since Virginia allows for dual agency, these are the questions you want to go over with a fine-tooth comb before you sign your contract to make sure you are getting the representation that you want in your transaction.
If you have any questions about Northern Virginia real estate, reach out as we are happy to help.
