This may seem like an extreme example, but similar situations occur when buyers ask the listing agent to help them write their offer. The listing agent is required to deal with you in a professional and ethical manner, but wouldn’t you rather have a dedicated Buyer’s Agent who owes you alone the duties of loyalty, confidentiality and full disclosure?

I. The problems of buying and selling Real Estate and doing it safely
II. What is Buyer Agency?
III. Fiduciary duties of a Buyer’s Agent
IV. Who uses a Buyer Agency?
V. OK, so what does it cost me?

I. The problems of buying and selling Real Estate and doing it safely.
Provincial legislatures across Canada have created consumer protection laws that include Real Estate Agency as a profession, and describe the methods of operation and guidelines for agent behaviour. These laws are designed to work in the best interests of buyers and sellers and with few exceptions these work as planned. A professional Real Estate Agent (or Realtor® advocates for the best interests of his or her clients. 

Buying and selling without a Realtor® There are numerous operations who sell kits to help consumers sell their own homes and who portray agency fees as being outrageous. Sometimes they indicate that they do not wish to deal with buyers who are represented by an Agent. These organizations have a sole purpose in portraying Professional Agents and Realtors® in this light: to protect their own profits. Agents represent your best interests, protect your time and rights and ensure that you get the best value for your money. 

Additionally, there are no ethical guidelines for people who sell their homes privately. Caveat Emptor (let the Buyer beware) applies! The seller may feel he has no obligation to reveal whether a property was formerly a grow-op, if there are hidden structural damages or any other factors that might affect your decision to purchase. TOP

II. What is Buyer Agency?
All Realtors® work within the legal relationship called agency. The agency relationship exists between you, the Client, and your chosen real estate brokerage (and by extension, to your Real Estate Agent). The essence of agency is that your Agent has the authority to represent you in dealings with others. 

Under the Law of Agency: 

1. The individual or entity who uses an Agent to represent his/her interests is the Principal, commonly referred to by the Agent as the Client.
2. An Agent is the individual or entity who works on behalf of a specific Principal or Client.
3. A Third Party is any individual or entity who is unrepresented by an Agent or is represented by a different Agent. See Unrepresented Parties

A Buyer’s Agent is engaged by a Buyer to represent the interests of that Buyer.
A Seller’s Agent is engaged by a Seller to represent the interests of that Seller.
A Dual Agent represents both the Seller and the Buyer, or more than one buyer in a transaction. TOP

III. Fiduciary Duties of the Buyer’s Agent
The Buyer’s Agent owes the following fiduciary duties to his or her Client:

1. Loyalty. The Agent must protect the Client’s negotiating position at all times and work in the best interests of the Client.
2. Obedience. The Agent must carry out all lawful instructions of the Client.
3. Confidentiality. The Agent has an obligation to keep the confidences of the Client.
4. Reasonable care and skill in performing all assigned duties.
5. Full disclosure of all relevant information that is known by the Agent and that may influence the Client’s decision or affect the value of the property.
6. Full accounting for all money and property placed in the Agent’s hands while acting for the Client.
7. Non-Delegation of the Agent’s assigned duties without prior permission of the Client. TOP

IV. Who uses a Buyer’s Agent? 
Of the 100,000 property transactions in Alberta each year, only 20% are not agent-assisted, and of those that are agent-assisted only 1% annually are contested. This does not mean that there are no bad apples, but it does mean that if you choose your agent carefully you will receive the services you paid for and have a smooth transaction with as little effort as possible on your part. TOP

V. Benefits and costs of using a Buyer’s Agent
The biggest reason to use a Buyer's Agent is that it costs you nothing! The very nature of the Calgary Board MLS is one of cooperation amongst REALTORS®. If your Agent helps you purchase an MLS property, his or her commission is paid by the Seller's Agent. So you get the benefit of ha TOP

You can expect competent service from your Agent, knowing that the brokerage is bound by ethics and the law to be honest and thorough in every real estate transaction. This approach is reflected in the standard real estate contracts produced by the Alberta Real Estate Association. Please feel free to ask Frank or your agent to show you the contracts appropriate to your real estate transaction.

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