Florida Real Estate agents usually represent the transaction, not the customer. Here is how YOU can be represented by your agent in one easy step.

When you sign an agreement to work with a Real Estate Agency, are you under the impression that they have a responsibility to represent YOU with YOUR best interests in mind? Do you expect them to keep complete confidentiality throughout the process and beyond?  Do you expect their loyalty to YOU as their client? Do you come from a state where all Real Estate Brokers have a fiduciary responsibility to their clients and that is what you want in Florida as well?

If you answered YES to any of those questions, then you need to understand the following about Florida:

1. By default, Real Estate Brokerages in Florida represent the transaction. Therefore, no fiduciary representation is in play unless you take one easy step to create it.
2. You must sign a Single Agency Brokerage agreement before you sign any other agreement with your Agent or Brokerage of choice. This is from the Florida Real Estate Broker’s Course Material: “The single agent disclosure must be made before, or at the time of, entering into a listing agreement or an agreement for representation, or before the showing of property, whichever occurs first.
3. It is YOUR responsibility to ask the right questions before signing with an agent. As Florida Real Estate Agents we have zero legal obligation to disclose the representation options that you have available to you.  Our only obligation regarding this is to have you sign a document that states you are in a “Transaction Brokerage Relationship” with the brokerage you chose.
4. The recent mass implementation of “Showing Agreements” includes this Transaction Brokerage representation.  To explain how this would affect a buyer, I’ll provide a likely scenario.

Buyer Bob meets Agent Abigail.  Bob desires to see 3 active listings.  Abigail has Bob sign a Showing Agreement for those 3 properties before she can legally take Bob to view them.  The basics of this agreement states that Abigail will write the offer for Bob on any or all of these 3 properties if Bob desires to purchase one of them within the date range stated on the Showing Agreement.  The date range could possibly be negotiated between Bob and Abigail.

As a side note… I did see one of these showing agreements the other day for 6 months, but for this scenario let’s imagine it was only 30 days. 

So now, Bob and Abigail have a signed Showing Agreement and Abigail takes Bob to view the homes.  While Bob is with Abigail in the last of the 3 homes, he asks a question that causes him to wonder about the level of professional representation he is receiving. As he prods a little deeper, he begins to realize that things are not as he thought they were. The next day Bob does more research about Florida Real Estate Representation. That’s when he discovers that Abigail is only representing the transaction. As he asks his agent about this, he learns that Abigail’s broker does not allow her to sign a Single Agency agreement with either buyers or sellers.   Even if he would, it would be legally too late at this point.

If Buyer Bob wants to put an offer in on one of the homes that Agent Abigail showed him, he has 3 options.

1. Have Abigail write the offer and accept the fact that Abigail and her Broker represent the transaction and have no fiduciary responsibility to Bob.
2. Sign a Single Agency Agreement with a different brokerage and wait 31 days until the Showing Agreement expires to make an offer IF the home is still available.
3. Seek the advice of an attorney to see how it could play out if Bob signed a Single Agency Agreement with a different brokerage and made the offer now.

In case you were wondering, the code of ethics for REALTORS® also does not address this topic. 

The moral of the story is… if you want your Florida Real Estate Agent to represent you, you must sign a Single Agent or Single Agency agreement. That is the "one easy step". If those words are not on the document, the agent you are trusting only represents the transaction.

Don't miss this 60 second Coaching Tip on YouTube about Showing Agreements.

If you would like legal advice before taking the next step in your real estate transaction, we can refer you to a competent and experienced real estate attorney who will have an initial call with you at no charge.

Written by Steve Martin Smith

Florida Broker/Sales License BK3314515

Residential Real Estate Professional

Coaching for Florida Sellers & Buyers

Co-Owner of Little Black Dress Home Staging & Detailing

#1 in Successful Closings 2020-2023 with RE/MAX Platinum Realty

RE/MAX Chairman and Platinum Award Winners

Member of the RE/MAX Hall Of Fame

Over $100,000,000 Sold