Expert: Dick Dennis - 10/14/2011

Question
which one is correct.realtors normally work for seller.realtor may never meet seller but seller will pay them and their loyalty rests with the seller.or realtor owes loyalty to you even if seller side pays them.only the listing realtor owes their loyalty to seller. or realtor works for me,i pay the they owe loyalty to me.or when i hire realtor to buy house they become a buyers broker and owe loyalty to me.

Answer
Ordinarily, Lori, Realtors who have the listing represent the seller, at least until and if another Realtor enters the picture. Plus, the listing Realtor belongs to a local multiple listing service with which they agree to share the commission with another Realtor who brings a successful buyer who purchases the listing. In that case, those two Realtors will share the commission as dictated by the listing agent.

In that case also, BOTH agents owe a fiduciary allegiance (loyalty) to BOTH buyer and seller.

When a buyer hires a Realtor to represent him to find a home, in most cases the buyer agrees to pay the buyer's broker his commission, exclusively. In that case, the buyer's broker DOES NOT share in the commission of the sale of the house. The buyer's Realtor owes his allegiance to the BUYER ONLY and does not participate in the commission from the sale of the house.

However, most real estate transactions in which there are two Realtors involved, they share the commission as in the first paragraph above. Both Realtors MUST show a fiduciary relationship to both buyer and seller. If you as the buyer do not sign a BUYER'S LISTING then YOUR Realtor will be paid his share of the commission by the seller.

A real estate agent is only a real estate agent if he/she does not join the local Board of Realtors (which is part of the National Association of Realtors) and abide by the Code of Ethics. Therefore, one that does join the Realtors must be square with buyer and seller as long as he/she is aware of all information offered.

In actual practice in most cases, Lori, Realtors share in the sale of a property. A buyer in most cases (unfortunately) is reluctant to sign a Buyer's listing. Many problems arise from such a situation, which is why you as the buyer OR the seller should expect loyalty from either agent. Any time the buyer wants to know something about the property he/she is buying, they should ask their agent and that agent SHOULD be able to obtain that information.

I could go on and on about this, Lori, but I believe you now have your questions answered. I do wish you well.

Dick Dennis
dixiedee13@aol.com