Massachusetts Mandatory Real Estate Licensee-Consumer Relationship Disclosure
Always ask any real estate licensee you come in contact with to provide you with a copy of the Massachusetts Mandatory Real Estate Licensee-Consumer Relationship Disclosure filled in before you provide any information to them or see any homes with them. Do this at your first contact with them. You need to know if they are going to operate as a True Loyal Agent™ or a dual or designated agent. You are not required to sign the disclosure and even if you do it is not a contract. A copy of the disclosure can be found here “expert-homebuying-help.com/disclosure”.
As the disclosure states, it is not a contract and even if the licensee/salesperson checks off the box, designated agent, you are not agreeing to it. That takes place when they provide you with what is generally referred to as “Exclusive Buyer Agency Agreement”. Please don’t confuse this with true exclusive buyer agency. As noted above true exclusive buyer agency is the practice of representing home buyers only and never taking listings or representing sellers. The traditional real estate industry uses the term to apparently confuse home buyers into thinking they are being exclusively represented when they aren’t. A listing contract with a seller is called an “exclusive right of sale agreement” not an “exclusive seller agency agreement”.
You should not trust your licensee/salesperson because if they really had your best interest at heart they would not ask you to accept designated or dual agency in the first place and instead they should agree to, just as a true single party agency does, refer you to a True Loyal Agent™ with another company so that you can get true representation. If you decide to go ahead anyway, at least cross out that section or truly understand the consequences of you ending up using a designated or dual agent.
