Under a written listing agreement to sell property, an agent represents only the seller unless the
seller agrees in writing to allow the agent to also
represent the buyer.
An agent who represents only the seller owes
the following affirmative duties to the seller, the
other parties and the other parties’ agents involved
in a real estate transaction:
1. To deal honestly and in good faith;
2. To present all written offers, notices and other
communications to and from the parties in a
timely manner without regard to whether the
property is subject to a contract for sale or the
buyer is already a party to a contract to purchase; and
3. To disclose material facts known by the agent
and not apparent or readily ascertainable to a
party.
A seller’s agent owes the seller the following affirmative duties:
1. To exercise reasonable care and diligence;
2. To account in a timely manner for money
and property received from or on behalf of
the seller;
3. To be loyal to the seller by not taking action
that is adverse or detrimental to the seller’s
interest in a transaction;
4. To disclose in a timely manner to the seller
any conflict of interest, existing or contemplated;
5. To advise the seller to seek expert advice on
matters related to the transaction that are
beyond the agent’s expertise; 6. To maintain confidential information from
or about the seller except under subpoena
or court order, even after termination of the
agency relationship; and
7. Unless agreed otherwise in writing, to make
a continuous, good faith effort to find a buyer
for the property, except that a seller’s agent
is not required to seek additional offers to
purchase the property while the property is
subject to a contract for sale.
None of these affirmative duties of an agent may be waived, except (7). The affirmative duty listed
in (7) can only be waived by written agreement
between seller and agent.
Under Oregon law, a seller’s agent may show
properties owned by another seller to a prospective buyer and may list competing properties for
sale without breaching any affirmative duty to the
seller.
Unless agreed to in writing, an agent has no duty
to investigate matters that are outside the scope of
the agent’s expertise, including but not limited to
investigation of the condition of property, the legal
status of the title or the seller’s past conformance
with law.
