Chapter 4 - Brokerage Relationships and Ethics Flashcards
What are the two types of law in regards to agency relationships?
Common law
Statutory law
What is common law?
Derives authority from customs rooted in the common law of England prior to the American Revolution and from the judgments and decrees of the courts (case law) that have since affirmed and enforced those customs
What is statutory law?
Includes the statutes and rules enacted by legislatures and other governing bodies
In addition to statutory law, what other laws directly affect and regulate the brokerage relationships among real estate licensees, buyers and sellers, and the public?
Real estate license law and the Florida Real Estate Commission rules
What is a principal?
A person who delegates authority to another
What is an agent?
A person entrusted with another’s business
What type of agency relationship is created with the principal?
A fiduciary relationship
What is a fiduciary?
A person who acts in a position of trust or confidence for another
The fiduciary owes complete allegiance to the __________________.
Principal
A fiduciary relationship _________ with the common public relationship that exists in normal trading transactions where people with adverse interests are said to be dealing at arm’s length with one another.
Contrasts
What are the three “degrees of authority” delegated to an agent in general business dealings?
Universal agent
General agent
Special agent
What is a universal agent?
A person authorized by the principal to perform all acts that the principal can personally perform and that may be lawfully delegated to another (ex. An attorney who manages the trust agreement of a mentally retarded adult; duties would include overseeing the principal’s financial affairs, medical care, employment opportunities, and living arrangements)
What is a general agent?
A person authorized by the principal to perform only acts related to a business or to employment of a particular nature (ex. A property manager who is authorized to show and rent apartments, collect rents, supervise maintenance and upkeep of the property, handle tenant relations, and perform bookkeeping duties)
What is a special agent?
A person authorized by the principal to handle only a specific business transaction or to perform only a specific act (ex. a CPA hired to prepare your tax return and, if necessary, answer any inquiries from the IRS concerning the tax return)
What is a dual agent?
A broker who represents as a fiduciary both the prospective buyer and the prospective seller in a real estate transaction
It is _____________ in Florida for a real estate licensee to operate as a dual agent.
Illegal
When a broker represents a buyer or a seller as a ____________, the broker is in a relationship of trust and confidence between the broker as ___________ and the seller as _____________ or the buyer as ________.
Fiduciary; agent; principal; principal
What is a residential sale?
The sale of improved (has a house) residential property of four or fewer units, the sale of unimproved (land with no house) residential property intended for use as four or fewer units, or the sale of agricultural property of ten or fewer acres
What is a transaction broker?
A broker who provides limited representation to a buyer, a seller, or both in a real estate transaction, but who does not represent either party in a fiduciary capacity or as a single agent
What are the seven duties of the transaction broker in this limited form of representation?
- Deal honestly and fairly
- Account for all funds
- Use skill, care, and diligence in the transaction
- Disclose all known facts that materially affect the value of residential real property and are not readily observable to the buyer
- Present all offers and counteroffers in a timely manner
- Exercise limited confidentiality, unless waived in writing by a party
- Perform any additional duties that are mutually agreed to with a party
In a transaction broker relationship, the seller (or the buyer) is considered to be a ____________ of the real estate broker and not a __________.
Customer; principal
What is a single agent?
A broker who represents, as a fiduciary, either the buyer or the seller, but not both, in the same transaction
In a single agent relationship, the seller (or the buyer) is the _____________ and the real estate broker is the ___________.
Principal; agent
What does the term “principal” mean in a single agent relationship?
The party with whom a real estate licensee has entered into a single agent relationship
What are the nine duties a real estate licensee owes to a buyer or seller who engage the real estate brokerage as a single agent?
- Deal honestly and fairly
- Loyalty
- Confidentiality
- Obedience
- Full disclosure
- Account for all funds
- Skill, care, and diligence in the transaction
- Present all offers and counteroffers in a timely manner
- Disclose all known facts that materially affect the value of residential real property and are not readily observable to the buyer