During an open house in St. Louis, Missouri, a visitor named Carl tells the listing agent, Brenda, that he is very interested in the property and asks her several questions about the neighborhood and the seller's motivation for selling. Brenda has not entered into any buyer representation agreement with Carl. Which of the following best describes Carl's status and Brenda's obligations to him?
Correct Answer
A) Carl is a customer, and Brenda owes him honest and fair dealing but no fiduciary duties
Under Missouri agency law, a person who has not entered into a representation agreement with a licensee is a customer, not a client. Brenda is the listing agent representing the seller and owes fiduciary duties only to the seller. To Carl, as a customer, Brenda owes duties of honest and fair dealing—she must not misrepresent material facts—but she does not owe him loyalty, confidentiality, or other fiduciary duties. She should also disclose her agency relationship with the seller to Carl.
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Related Topics & Key Terms
Key Terms:
Related Concepts
The fiduciary obligations owed by a listing agent to the seller, including marketing the property, presenting all offers, and protecting the seller's confidential information.
A practice where the agent or brokerage represents only one party in a transaction — either the buyer or the seller, but never both.
A relationship where a listing broker authorizes other brokers to act as agents of the seller, extending the seller's agency relationship to cooperating brokers.
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