Broker Duties
By Jim Palmer Jr.

There seems to be some confusion among consumers regarding their understanding of real estate agent duties.  Many complaints that come to the Department of Licensing have to do with the opinion that a broker didn’t fulfill their legal duty because of their assessment of lack of service.  The crux of that perception may be that some people mistakenly think that the broker has fallen short of their legal duties, when in fact much of what real estate brokers do in behalf of their clients far exceeds the statutory legal minimums. 

 In 1996 the State of Washington passed a landmark statute that defined and clarified agency law for real estate brokers.  This law spells out clearly the specific duties owed to their buyers and sellers.  A reading of the summary of this law (available at any real estate office) allows consumers to clearly understand an agent’s role and legal responsibilities.
A recent court case challenged this law, stating that an agent had fiduciary duties to their client, but that court decision  refuted that claim and clarified that duties of real estate agents in Washington State are statutorily and specifically defined.  In other words, broker duties are specifically NOT fiduciary.

The concept of fiduciary duty is more nebulous than statutory duty.  Fiduciary duties are part of common law and are subject to a different interpretation by the legal system. The new law eliminated the need for courts to define an agent’s responsibility and liability on a case-by-case basis. 

While the duties of a fiduciary are similar to the statutory duties of a real estate agent in terms of a level of loyalty and reasonable care, the statutory duties are not subject to interpretation.  Rather, the duties that they owe the general public and their clients are clearly defined by what they have to do to meet that standard and what they are not expected to do unless they agree to additional duties in writing. 

For example, agency legal duties end when a purchase and sale agreement indicates mutual acceptance, yet most brokers continue to offer a variety of services during the escrow process and even after the transaction is closed.  A level of service above and beyond the legal duty is what makes some agents stand out as exceptional.  Since the competition is intense, this exceptional level of extra service is more often the norm than the exception.  What is being interpreted by consumers as legally required may really be a market driven expectation.