Risk Management Toolkit v2.0
Presented by the Oregon Association of REALTORS
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696.810
696.810 Real estate licensee as buyer’s agent; obligations.
(1) A real estate
licensee other than the seller’s agent may agree with the buyer to
act as the buyer’s agent only. The buyer’s agent is not
representing the seller, even if the buyer’s agent is receiving
compensation for services rendered, either in full or in part,
from the seller or through the seller’s agent.
(2) A buyer’s agent
owes the buyer, other principals and the principals’ agents
involved in a real estate transaction the following affirmative
duties:
(a) To deal
honestly and in good faith;
(b) To present all
written offers, written notices and other written communications
to and from the parties in a timely manner without regard to
whether the property is subject to a contract for sale or the
buyer is already a party to a contract to purchase; and
(c) To disclose
material facts known by the buyer’s agent and not apparent or
readily ascertainable to a party.
(3) A buyer’s agent
owes the buyer involved in a real estate transaction the following
affirmative duties:
(a) To exercise
reasonable care and diligence;
(b) To account in a
timely manner for money and property received from or on behalf of
the buyer;
(c) To be loyal to
the buyer by not taking action that is adverse or detrimental to
the buyer’s interest in a transaction;
(d) To disclose in
a timely manner to the buyer any conflict of interest, existing or
contemplated;
(e) To advise the
buyer to seek expert advice on matters related to the transaction
that are beyond the agent’s expertise;
(f) To maintain
confidential information from or about the buyer except under
subpoena or court order, even after termination of the agency
relationship; and
(g) Unless agreed
otherwise in writing, to make a continuous, good faith effort to
find property for the buyer, except that a buyer’s agent is not
required to seek additional properties for the buyer while the
buyer is subject to a contract for purchase or to show properties
for which there is no written agreement to pay compensation to the
buyer’s agent.
(4) A buyer’s agent
may show properties in which the buyer is interested to other
prospective buyers without breaching an affirmative duty to the
buyer.
(5) Except as
provided in subsection
(3)(g) of this section,
an affirmative duty may not be waived.
(6) Nothing in this
section implies a duty to investigate matters that are outside the
scope of the real estate licensee’s expertise, including but not
limited to investigation of the condition of property, the legal
status of the title or the owner’s past conformance with law,
unless the licensee or the licensee’s agent agrees in writing to
investigate a matter. [1993 c.570 §4; 2001 c.300 §46;
2003 c.398 §12; 2005 c.393 §7]