What is the correct answer to: A Florida transaction broker owes limited confidentiality. This means:

The correct answer is Must keep price and motivation confidential unless authorized to disclose. Answer B is correct because Florida Statute § 475.278(2)(b) explicitly lists 'limited confidentiality' as one of the duties of a transaction broker, specifically requiring the broker to keep confidential any information that a party indicates is confidential, including the price a party is willing to pay or accept and the party's motivation for buying or selling, unless that party authorizes disclosure. This targeted protection preserves basic fairness without imposing the full fiduciary duty of loyalty that would characterize a single-agent relationship.

What background knowledge is needed for this Authorized Relationships Disclosures question?

Florida enacted the Brokerage Relationship Disclosure Act in 1997 to address widespread confusion about broker loyalty in a state where dual agency was common but poorly understood by consumers. Prior to this legislation, Florida brokers often worked as undisclosed dual agents, creating significant legal liability and consumer harm. The transaction broker concept was created as a Florida-specific innovation that acknowledged the practical reality of facilitated transactions while building in minimum consumer protections like limited confidentiality. Florida remains one of the few states with such a detailed statutory framework for non-fiduciary brokerage relationships.

What is a good way to remember the answer to this Authorized Relationships Disclosures question?

Use the acronym 'PM Lock' to remember what a Florida transaction broker keeps confidential: Price and Motivation are Locked unless authorized. Visualize a padlock with 'P' and 'M' engraved on it sitting on a transaction file — the broker holds the key but can only unlock it if the party hands over written permission. This image reinforces that the protection is real but conditional. Visualize a door with a window when answering transaction brokerage questions. The window represents what can be disclosed, while the closed door represents what must remain confidential.

What exam tip applies to this Authorized Relationships Disclosures question?

Florida exam questions on transaction broker confidentiality almost always test whether you know the specific items protected — price and motivation — so if an answer choice mentions both of these elements and adds 'unless authorized to disclose,' it is almost certainly correct. Be careful not to select answers that describe full fiduciary confidentiality, which belongs to the single-agent relationship, not the transaction broker.

How does this Authorized Relationships Disclosures concept apply in real world practice?

Consider a transaction where a seller tells her transaction broker, 'I'm going through a divorce and need to sell within 60 days no matter what — I'll take $30,000 below asking price if I have to.' Under Florida's limited confidentiality rule, the transaction broker cannot volunteer this information to the buyer, because it reveals both the seller's motivation and her price flexibility. However, if the seller later signs a written authorization allowing the broker to share this information to attract serious offers quickly, the broker may then disclose it. This protection ensures the seller is not disadvantaged by her own candor with the broker.

Authorized Relationships DisclosuresTransaction_brokerMEDIUM

A Florida transaction broker owes limited confidentiality. This means:

Correct Answer

B) Must keep price and motivation confidential unless authorized to disclose

Transaction brokers must keep a party's price and motivation confidential unless authorized to disclose.

Answer Options

No confidentiality at all

Must keep price and motivation confidential unless authorized to disclose

Same as single agent confidentiality

Only written information is confidential

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