This is a question I am legally and ethically required to ask a potential buyer when I am called on a listing or emailed to set up a search on MLS. Sometimes buyers are a little taken aback by the question. Maybe they don't understand what it means or they feel like I am interfering in their business by asking, I do not know.
They might respond in the following ways:
1) I am but my agent is out of town/busy/etc. so I called you since you are the listing agent
2) I am but it is the weekend and I didn't want to bother him/her
3) I am but ....... you fill in the blank
There are several reasons why I ask this question. I don't want to step on any other agent's toes that has been working with you, that is interfering in a relationship that has been created by you contacting and having another agent show you a home. You may have signed a buyer broker agreement which states you are working with another agent and I may not act as if I am representing you since this is a conflict with that agreement. Once I show you a house, it can be presumed that I am your agent and representing you which comes with a laundry list of duties and responsibilities. Ask to see the document on representation which spells out our duties and responsibilities in our different roles as buyer/seller representatives.
The ethical agents out there will always ask this question, it is our duty. If your agent is on vacation or you don't want to bother them, they should have someone covering for them and it is their job to be "bothered" by their clients.
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