Texas Real Estate: About Brokerage Services
When I bought my first house in the mid 1990s, Texas was
kind of a "Buyer Beware" state. In fact, a Buyer could spend
weeks looking for a home with a real estate agent, telling
her secret information (like how much you were willing to
pay for a house), not knowing that everything you told that
real estate agent would be told to the Seller because the
real estate agent was actually representing the Seller--not
you (the Buyer)!
Nowadays things have changed for the better. Thanks to
the Texas Real Estate Commission, real estate agents are
required to explain brokerage services up front before they
show you the first house (read
TREC's
Information About Brokerage Services).
This is important because Texas is a dual-agency
state...meaning that a real estate broker (such as Keller
Williams Southwest) can represent both the Buyer (you) and
the Seller (them) in a the same transaction. This is called
"intermediary agency." These visual aids will help you to
understand...
In this case, you are represented by Keller Williams
Southwest (KWSW) while buying a house listed by another
broker, such as a RE/MAX or a Coldwell Banker. This is not
an intermediary agency since KWSW is only representing you.
In this case, KWSW is representing both you and the
Seller...because the house that you are buying is listed
with KWSW but with a different agent. However, you have an
appointed agent (Sheila Cox) and the Seller has an appointed
agent (Unknown) and both agents have to maintain their duty
of confidentiality. So I am not allowed to share your
private information with the other agent. This situation may
occur frequently with large brokerages who have lots of
listings, such as KWSW.
This situation may only occur if both the Seller and the
Buyer agree to it in writing. In this situation, you are
buying a house that I have listed for one of my other
clients. I would be representing both you and the Seller, so
my fiduciary responsibilities would be limited. Frankly, I
don't work these types of deals. If you wanted to buy one of
my listings, then I would step back and find another real
estate agent to be your appointed agent...so you would still
have full representation.
Now you need to
understand two more important things:
Who
Pays Real Estate Commissions in Texas?
How To Get
Dedicated Buyer Representation in Texas?
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