What background knowledge is needed for this Oh Agency question?

Prior to the buyer agency reforms of the 1990s, most real estate transactions operated under a seller-agency model in which all agents in a transaction — including those working with buyers — were legally considered agents of the seller. This created a deeply problematic situation where buyers received no fiduciary protection and often unknowingly disclosed confidential information to agents who were legally obligated to pass it to the seller. Ohio, like most states, responded by enacting statutory buyer agency provisions in ORC Chapter 4735, giving buyers the right to their own representation and establishing the signed agency agreement as the trigger for fiduciary duty.

What is a good way to remember the answer to this Oh Agency question?

Use the phrase 'The paper points the arrow' — the signed buyer agency agreement is the paper, and it points the arrow of fiduciary duty directly at the buyer's name on that document. Visualize an arrow drawn from the agent's signature on the agreement, traveling across the page, and landing on the buyer's name. Whoever's name is on the agreement as the client is the target of all fiduciary obligations.

What exam tip applies to this Oh Agency question?

When an exam question asks about the direction of fiduciary duties, always look for the signed agency agreement as the controlling document — it determines the client, and the client receives the duties. Eliminate any answer that points fiduciary duties toward the seller in a buyer agency context, or that suggests duties are shared without an explicit dual agency disclosure and consent. ORC 4735.62 is the statutory anchor for this concept.

How does this Oh Agency concept apply in real world practice?

A buyer's agent signs a buyer agency agreement with first-time homebuyer Carlos. During the transaction, the listing agent offers the buyer's agent a bonus commission if Carlos closes quickly. Because Carlos — not the seller, not the listing brokerage — is the client under the signed agreement, the buyer's agent must disclose this bonus offer to Carlos and evaluate whether accepting it creates a conflict of interest. The fiduciary duty of loyalty to Carlos requires that his interests come first, regardless of where compensation originates.

Oh AgencyBuyer_agent_ohEASY

Under Ohio law, when a licensee enters into a signed buyer agency agreement, to whom are the resulting fiduciary duties primarily owed?

Correct Answer

C) The buyer named in the agency agreement

Under ORC 4735.62, a licensee acting as a buyer's agent owes statutory fiduciary duties — including loyalty, confidentiality, disclosure, obedience, and reasonable care — exclusively to the buyer identified in the signed agency agreement. The agency agreement establishes the buyer as the client, and all fiduciary obligations flow from that relationship.

Answer Options

The seller, because the seller's proceeds ultimately fund the transaction

The listing brokerage, because it controls access to the listed property

The buyer named in the agency agreement

Both the buyer and seller equally, as in a dual agency relationship

Why This Is the Correct Answer

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

Deep Analysis of This Oh Agency Question

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Related Concepts

Express Agency

An agency relationship created by a clear, explicit agreement between the principal and agent, either orally or in writing.

Fiduciary Duty

The highest legal obligation of trust and confidence owed by an agent to their principal, requiring the agent to act solely in the principal's best interest.

Gratuitous Agency

An agency relationship where the agent agrees to act on behalf of the principal without receiving compensation.

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Previous Question

Under Ohio law, buyer's agent Rachel is showing properties to her client David. David mentions he only wants to see homes in neighborhoods that are predominantly of one racial group. Under Ohio agency law and the Ohio Civil Rights Act, what should Rachel do?

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Buyer's agent Kevin represents Sarah in a purchase negotiation. The listing agent voluntarily discloses to Kevin that the seller has already purchased a new home and must close quickly. Under Ohio agency law, how should Kevin handle this information?

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