Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

RCW 18.86.050

Buyer's agent—Duties.

Applied in 4 court decisions — leading case Jackowski v. Borchelt (2012)

Most recently applied in Jackowski v. Borchelt (June 2012)

2023 c 318 s 5; 2013 c 58 s 6; 1997 c 217 s 3; 1996 c 179 s 5.

How often courts cite this section

20092010201220
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(1) Unless additional duties are agreed to in writing signed by a buyer's agent, the duties of a buyer's agent are limited to those set forth in RCW 18.86.030 and the following, which may not be waived except as expressly set forth in (e) of this subsection:

(a) To be loyal to the buyer by taking no action that is adverse or detrimental to the buyer's interest in a transaction;

(b) To timely disclose to the buyer any conflicts of interest;

(c) To advise the buyer to seek expert advice on matters relating to the transaction that are beyond the agent's expertise;

(d) To not disclose any confidential information from or about the buyer, except under subpoena or court order, even after termination of the agency relationship; and

(e) Unless otherwise agreed to in writing after the buyer's agent has complied with RCW 18.86.030(1)(f), to make a good faith and continuous effort to find a property for the buyer; except that a buyer's agent is not obligated to seek additional properties to purchase while the buyer is a party to an existing contract to purchase.

(2)(a) The showing of property in which a buyer is interested to other prospective buyers by a buyer's agent does not in and of itself breach the duty of loyalty to the buyer or create a conflict of interest.

(b) The representation of more than one buyer by different brokers affiliated with the same firm in competing transactions involving the same property does not in and of itself breach the duty of loyalty to the buyer or create a conflict of interest.

Official source: Washington State Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Washington statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.