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Association of Saskatchewan REALTORS®

Agent Duties - Representation

Agent Duties >  Complaints > Representation


Buying a home is probably the largest financial investment you’ll ever make. Whether you are a first time buyer or moving up, knowing exactly what a real estate professional can and can’t do for you will help you make the best decision about a home purchase.

When you authorize a REALTOR® to work for you in buying or selling a property and the REALTOR® agrees, you and the REALTOR® are in an agency relationship. At law, agency is a specific relationship between two or more people. One person must authorize the other person to act on his/her behalf, and the other person must consent to do so. The agency relationship is actually between you and the REALTOR’S® brokerage. The brokerage is the real estate company, its branch offices and all of its salespeople. Therefore, when you hire your REALTOR®, the law of agency says that you hire the entire brokerage.

There are specific fiduciary duties that a REALTOR® is obligated to provide to their client, they include: accountability, confidentiality, disclosure, competence, obedience and loyalty.

In Saskatchewan, REALTORS® practise three different forms of agency depending on whom they are representing:
- Seller’s Agency
- Buyer’s Agency
- Limited Dual Agency

Real estate salespeople can provide you with a variety of valuable market information and assistance for your decision-making process. For example, a salesperson can show you available properties and describe them in detail. He or she can provide you with facts about zoning, property taxes, utility costs and comparative values. A salesperson has access to information about sources of financing and can also help you to review your financial situation so you don’t spend time looking at properties you can’t afford.

If you find a home you want to purchase, a salesperson can help you to understand the standard “offer to purchase” form and assist you in completing it. Salespeople must present all written offers to the seller promptly, respond honestly and accurately to your questions concerning a home, and disclose material facts they know - or should know - about a home.

Salespeople are very interested in helping you get the home you want. Buyer satisfaction is important to them because it means repeat and referral business - the key to a successful real estate career. Salespeople want you to think of them the next time you, a friend or relative sell a home.

You can contract a real estate professional to act as your agent and represent you personally in negotiations and other aspects of buying a property. If you do, you should have a written and signed contract that clearly establishes the obligations you and the agent have to each other and specifies how your agent will be paid.

Remember, a real estate salesperson representing the seller must treat you, the buyer, fairly and honestly. If you have any questions about how these relationships work, contact a REALTOR® or the Association of Saskatchewan REALTORS®.