AGENCY RELATIONSHIPS
Agency & Client Representation
Brokerage Relationships
The Brokerage Relationships in Real Estate Transactions Act (BRRETA), O.C.G.A. Chapter 10-6A, governs brokerage relationships between real estate brokers and their clients and customers in Georgia.
Agents must accurately identify and disclose the brokerage relationship applicable to each party in a real estate transaction.
Client Representation
A Client is a person who has entered into a brokerage engagement with the Broker.
Depending on the transaction, a brokerage engagement may include an applicable:
- Listing Agreement;
- Buyer Brokerage Agreement;
- Tenant Brokerage Agreement;
- Property Management Agreement; or
- Other written brokerage engagement authorized by the Company.
When a Buyer, Seller, Landlord, or Tenant has entered into an applicable brokerage engagement with CRIM Realty, the Agent must accurately disclose the representation relationship in all contracts, leases, disclosures, and other transaction documents as required.
Customers
A Customer is a person who has not entered into a brokerage engagement with the Broker but for whom the Broker or Agent may perform certain ministerial acts permitted by Georgia law.
Ministerial acts may include activities such as:
- Providing factual property information;
- Identifying properties for sale or lease;
- Providing preprinted real estate forms;
- Acting as a scribe in completing real estate forms at the direction of a party;
- Providing information regarding professionals such as lenders, inspectors, attorneys, or insurance agents; and
- Providing factual information regarding schools, shopping, and other community resources.
An Agent working with a Customer must not provide advice, counsel, or representation that would require an agency relationship.
Customer Acknowledgment
When CRIM Realty is working with a party as a Customer rather than as a Client, the Company strongly recommends obtaining a signed Customer Acknowledgment/Agreement or other Company-approved documentation confirming the relationship.
Agents must maintain appropriate documentation of brokerage relationships and submit required agency and representation documents to CRIM Realty as part of the transaction file.
When in Doubt
Agents must clearly understand whether they are working with a Client or Customer and the duties permitted under each relationship.
Do not provide representation, advice, or exercise discretion or judgment on behalf of a Customer when doing so would create duties associated with an agency relationship.
If an Agent is uncertain about the appropriate brokerage relationship, disclosure, or form to use, the Agent should consult the Broker before proceeding.
Disclosure of Representation
Agents must accurately disclose the applicable brokerage relationship in the Purchase and Sale Agreement, lease, or other applicable transaction documents.
If a party has not entered into a brokerage engagement with CRIM Realty, the Agent must not represent or imply that the party is a Client of CRIM Realty.
Where applicable, the Agent must accurately identify the party as a Customer or otherwise disclose the non-agency relationship in accordance with the applicable contract, form, BRRETA, and Company policy.