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What Are Fiduciary Responsibilities and How Do They Relate to
The Home Buying Process?
We can explain! When purchasing a new home, it’s typical to hire a real estate agent who can provide representation and counsel with fiduciary responsibility to you throughout the home buying process.
Fiduciary responsibility means that your agent acts as a trusted advisor for you, and will fulfill their legally mandated duties.
- The formal definition is as follows: a real estate licensee that may represent you as the seller’s agent or represent you as the buyer’s agent or act as a facilitator. Your real estate agent is required by law to present properties honestly and accurately and disclose known material defects.
Keep in mind that having a real estate licensee help you through the home buying process does not absolve the consumer of all responsibility. The consumer is still responsible for protecting their own interests in terms of legal matters, tax, insurance, zoning, permitted use and land surveying matters.
- Activities such as home inspections, insect inspections, or environmental evaluations are outside of a real estate agent’s job expertise, and you will need to bring in additional professionals for those aspects of the home buying process.
Most real estate licensees have multiple clients, so don’t assume your agent is working solely for you unless that is something you specifically discuss.
