Know your Rights! Duties your Real Estate Agent owes You!

Know your Rights! Duties your Real Estate Agent owes You!
Written by Bill McNally and Lia McNally
Sales Representatives, Johnson Associates Ltd. Brokerage

When you sign a representation agreement with your local realtor he or she is obligated to provide you with the following 6 fiduciary duties. Please note that if you haven’t signed a representation agreement, your real estate agent does not owe you these specific duties, but other ones which we will discuss at the end of this article.

Accounting: Your agent, upon request, must provide you with details of all money handled and placed in trust on your behalf. Your brokerage must maintain accurate records to make sure all transactions comply with provincial regulatory requirements.

 Confidentiality: Your agent must keep your personal information in strict confidence. This duty does not extend to concealing things about your home that may affect someone’s decision to buy it. For instance, if your roof is crumbling you can not tell your agent to keep that fact to his/herself.  

 Competence: Your agent must have sufficient knowledge and skills necessary to carry out all duties that you would normally expect of a salesperson. This applies to discovering fact in order to avoid error, misrepresentation or concealment of pertinent facts.

 Good Faith/Full Disclosure: Your real estate agent must not take advantage of another person, including you. Your agent must not allow personal interests to conflict with duty and your agent must not make a secret profit from your transaction. Your agent must also disclose any known and relevant facts to you in regards to your transaction and always protect and promote your best interests. 

 Loyalty: Arguably the most important duty owed to you. Your agent must place your interests above all else besides, of course, the law. This means that your agent must reveal any conflict or potential conflict of interests between him/herself and you. For instance, if the agent’s relative decides to put an offer in on your home, your agent must reveal their relationship with the third party to you, in writing and get your consent. Also, your agent isn’t permitted to represent the other side in a transaction without your written consent.

 Obedience: Your agent must follow you directions, as long as they are lawful, whether he/she agrees with them or not. Your agent must not ignore your specific orders. 


Before entering into an agreement your agent will give you the opportunity to select either “representation” or “customer service”. If you chose to receive customer service you will not be owed the above fiduciary duties above but you still must be dealt with fairly, honestly and with integrity. 

Bill and Lia McNally make up a highly productive spousal team committed to building their Halton Hill’s based business through the referrals of satisfied clients. Long time Halton Hill’s residents, Bill and Lia McNally have been a success story from the very beginning. Bill won a performance based award just 4 months in the industry. Bill and Lia later won “Rookie of the Year” in 2009 and a coveted spot in Johnson Associates’ “Performance Group,” reserved for the top ten performing agents. Their strong work ethic, determination, marketing ideas, and sharp negotiating skills have made them invaluable to their clients. Bill and Lia McNally are pleased to personally answer any real estate question you may have and can arrange for a FREE market evaluation on your home. Contact them by calling (905) 877-5165 or by email at b_mcnally@sympatico.ca. You can also visit their website at www.willsell.ca.