The Checklist Your Agent Didn’t Hand You
Seven things your agent is required to know — and has zero reason to bring up first.
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- Rights you already have, that no one explained
- Straight from the industry’s own rulebook, not opinion
- Questions that put you back in the driver’s seat
What’s inside
- Ask directly whose side your agent is legally on.Agents owe their legal duty to whoever signed them, not automatically to you. Ask point blank whether they're your representative or a “facilitator” working the deal for both sides: the difference determines whose interests they're required to protect.
- Ask if the commission is actually fixed.There's no law or industry standard that sets the number. Commission is a negotiated fee between you and your agent, full stop. If yours quoted a rate like it's fixed, that's a sales tactic, not a rule.
- Don’t assume “no major issues” means “no issues”.Known defects can't be legally hidden, even behind a confidentiality clause, but “no major issues” is often just what nobody happened to mention out loud. It's not a substitute for asking pointed questions or ordering your own inspection.
“Your agent didn’t hide this from you. They just weren’t going to bring it up first — that’s not an accident, it’s the business model. Seven questions in, and it’s not their meeting anymore.”
Questions buyers ask
Does my real estate agent represent me, or the seller?
It depends on who signed them. The National Association of Realtors' Code of Ethics, Article 1, says agents who represent you as a client “pledge themselves to protect and promote the interests” of that client, but that pledge only applies once an agency relationship exists in writing. Without it, you may only be a “customer” owed honesty, not advocacy.
Is real estate agent commission negotiable?
Yes. Since the NAR settlement took effect on August 17, 2024, every written buyer broker agreement must include a “conspicuous statement that agent fees and commissions are fully negotiable and not set by law.” That's a required disclosure, not a suggestion. If yours hasn't shown you that language, ask to see it.
“No major issues”, does that mean a home has no problems?
No. NAR's Code of Ethics, Article 2, bars agents from “exaggeration, misrepresentation, or concealment of pertinent facts relating to the property,” but it also says they're not obligated to discover latent defects nobody told them about. So “no major issues” can mean nothing was concealed, not that nothing is wrong.
What is dual agency in a real estate deal?
Dual agency is when one agent, or one brokerage, represents both the buyer and the seller in the same transaction. Because the agent owes duties to two parties with opposing financial interests, their ability to negotiate aggressively on your behalf is limited. Ask upfront whether dual agency applies to your deal.
Sources
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One click to download. The full Home Buyer Course is also free if you want to go deeper.