Under Virginia law, which of the following BEST describes the difference between a client and a customer in a real estate transaction?
Correct Answer
B) A client is owed full fiduciary duties by the licensee, while a customer is owed only honesty, fairness, and disclosure of material facts.
Under Virginia law (Va. Code § 54.1-2130), a client is a person who has entered into a brokerage relationship with a licensee and is owed full fiduciary duties including loyalty, confidentiality, disclosure, obedience, reasonable care, and accounting. A customer, by contrast, has not established an agency relationship and is owed only the duties of honesty, fairness, and disclosure of material facts — not full fiduciary obligations.
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Related Topics & Key Terms
Key Terms:
Related Concepts
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.
An agency relationship where the agent agrees to act on behalf of the principal without receiving compensation.
An agency relationship created by the conduct or actions of the parties rather than by a written or oral agreement.
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