Lesson 1: Your Duties to your Clients 

• Basic Duties Owed to Clients

When a licensee begins working with a buyer or seller, they take on a few basic duties. They are legally obligated to fulfill these duties on behalf of their client. Licensees must, however, ensure that in doing so they do not breach any other obligations to an existing or past client.

• Definition of a ‘Client’

Your clients are those persons (buyers or sellers) with whom you have a written brokerage agreement stipulating your relationship. If no brokerage agreement currently exists (or one is in place with a different brokerage) then that customer is referred to as a “non-client.”

• Your Duties

As an agent, you are responsible for performing the following duties while working with your client:

•  Treat all participants in the transaction with honesty and fairness; answer any questions truthfully.
• Account for any money or property (including documents) entrusted to your care and ensure that it is delivered or returned on time.
• Follow the terms of your brokerage agreement.
• Exercise reasonable care and diligence to your client and maintain the standard of a competent real estate professional.
• Disclose to the client any and all material facts in your possession that concern their purchase/sale of a property, to the extent required by law.

In addition to the above duties, you must also act in accordance with:

• The Real Estate Brokers Act, Title 17, and COMAR 09.11.

• Any fair housing laws and regulations on the federal, state, and local levels.

• Other regulations or laws applying to real estate.

• Confidentiality

Agents owe a duty of confidentiality to their clients. At all times (even after your brokerage agreement has terminated) you must keep confidential the following information:

• Your client’s pricing and terms, regardless of whether they are selling or buying.

• Your client's reasons and motivation behind buying/selling.

• Facts that convinced a client to buy, sell or lease property

• Your client’s negotiating strategy

• Prospective Clients

As a licensee, you will have many conversations and consultations with non-clients. Although they have not yet entered into a brokerage agreement with you, you must still keep confidential information of these prospective clients.  

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Check for understanding!

What duties does an agent owe to his or her clients?

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