... but they may have lots of customers. In FL, the distinction is important. Transaction brokers provide limited representation to a buyer, a seller, or both in a single transaction, but it is NOT a fiduciary relationship and buyers/sellers are called customer, not client or principal. The state guidelines help clarify the role so that the agent doesn't unwittingly create an implied agency, resulting in a serious violation of license law known as undisclosed dual agency, which is illegal in FL.
Transaction Broker is the most common form of brokerage relationship in FL and is assumed unless the agent has established a different agreement in writing with their buyer/seller. The Transaction Broker facilitates the transaction without representing one party to the detriment to the other. Once a firm's broker (or any agent in the firm) establishes a Transaction Broker or Single Agent relationship with a seller/buyer, all agents in the firm are required to have the same relationship with that seller/buyer.
Regardless of the relationship and even if there is no brokerage relationship, a broker/agent must
- Deal Honestly and Fairly,
- Disclose all known facts that affect value of residential property,
- Account for all funds.
In addition, the Transaction Broker owes the following duties to their customers:
- Use skill, care, and diligence
- Present all offers and counteroffers
- Exercise limited confidentiality
- Perform additional duties that are mutually agreed to
The advantages to the customer in a Transaction Broker relationship are:
- All agents in the firm may show property listed by the real estate firm to their buyers. If the property is listed as a single agent, none of the firm's agents can show that property.
- Reduced liability for the customer - they are not responsible for anything that may be incorrect or misleading that any agent in the firm may say about that property
The Transaction Broker relationship seems to work well in FL and allows the broker/agent to provide impartial assistance and good service to both parties to a transaction.
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