Am I locked into an agent if I sign a buyer's agreement?

We are required to have an agency agreement with all potential Buyers before touring properties. This agreement can be property specific, day specific or time frame. Check the terms of the agreement you signed or contact the agent and ask. If you are not happy with the representation you received and are under a time frame buyer agency relationship -- ask to be released. As long as you do not purchase any properties you toured when you met with the agent -- you are under no obligation to continue if its not a good fit. Most agents do not want to work with clients that do not want to work with them. Buying real estate is a relationship and all parties must be onboard the same ship for the most successful outcome.

Hi David; YES, these are agents are correct, however the agreement can be just for 1 day or even 1 property. Another great option for you is to visit open houses in your target area. You are likely to meet agent that know the area which would help you to decide who you might want to work with. More info on this new and very important topic can be found at FACTS. REALTOR. they have a number of great FREE resources including: CONSUMER GUIDE:
WHY AM I BEING ASKED TO SIGN A WRITTEN BUYER AGREEMENT?; TEN QUESTIONS TO ASK A SELLER’S AGENT; CONSUMER GUIDE: NEGOTIATING WRITTEN BUYER AGREEMENTS and many more! Information is POWER!!

You can have them only represent you for a specific property for just that day.

Hi David, as per the new mandated regulations nationwide following a settlement referred to as the NAR settlement, we as Realtors are no longer able to show and tour homes without a written agreement. However, each state and brokerage has different versions of said agreements from showing agreements that are property speciifc to exclusive buyer agency agreements. The agreements are for the purpose of full transparency and to protect you as the consumer. I would encourage you to reach out to the agent and ask for a more detailed explanation.

yes that is the new Rule in the US as of August 17 2024, Agents must have a Buyers Agreement before any showing.

It depends on the agreement. An exclusive buyer brokerage agreement typically commits you to that agent for the term stated. Look for term length, cancellation clauses, and how to end the agreement in writing. If you want flexibility, ask for a shorter term or property-specific agreement before signing.

I agree with the other agent with regards to how the agreement can be structured, in terms of the time commitment, but I disagree that the agreement only applies to houses the agent walks the buyer into.

If you sign a buyer-broker agreement and have never met the agent in person, and you close on a real estate transaction during the term of the agreement, anywhere in the State that agreement is applicable to- you owe the commission regardless of whether you met the agent or not. Whether the agent “showed” you real estate in-person, virtually, through email, MLS search subscription or maybe they showed you nothing at all. Maybe you only communicated via a few texts and email- doesn’t matter. You could have inquired about a mobile home but ended up buying land or a strip mall- again, doesn’t matter.

Here’s a scenario to illustrate my point:
You submit an inquiry to see a house via Zillow, RedFin, whatever site or you found the agent number via some other means, it can be off Facebook, Google search- it doesn’t matter. The agent doesn’t work for any of those companies, they are an independent contractor.

You speak to the agent and request a tour. Agent tells you they require a buyer-broker agreement. Agent send you agreement and you sign (let’s say Docusign/Authentisign whatever).

Agent then gets a call/text from the listing agent who refuses to approve showing request because they already have 5 offers that just came in that day.

Agent informs client and offers to show comparable properties but the client declined.

A couple days later the client goes into an open house, meets with an agent, signs a purchase contract that closes escrow 30 days later.

During the escrow period, the agent with the signed buyer-broker agreement is sending emails, texting, calling and is being ghosted by the client. (But for the sake of this example- let’s say it’s a bad agent that didn’t make one follow-up attempt).

Prior to the expiration of the buyer broker agreement, ghosted agent decides to do some discovery and the agent discovers the buyer purchased a house (there are many ways to find out- easiest way is via your search history on Zillow, Redfin or whatever site you submitted the inquiry). An agent could also have a Title Officer run a search as well. However they find out, they found out. Ok moving on…

At that point, the agent could sue the client for their split of the commission, even if the broker elects not to enforce the buyer-broker agreement for the broker’s portion of the commission.

Now once the agreement has expired, it’s a little grey area. But while there is a valid, signed contract, it is black and white and it is enforceable. Ignorance of the law is NOT a defense.

Btw, I’m not signed up on this site to receive any leads and don’t care to be. I just saw the question as I was scrolling through Google looking for something else. I’m only saying this so you know I have no skin in the game and don’t care to get any business off this website.

Hope that helps.