Real Estate Agent Disclosures to the Rental Owner
A real estate agent can reduce the time it takes to find a tenant for your property and help you negotiate a higher monthly rental fee. Before you hire an agent, the agent must provide several disclosures on your agreement. The agent must disclose the agent-client relationship, his responsibilities as a real estate agent and his total commissions.
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Relationship to Landlord
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Your real estate agent must provide a written disclosure of her relationship to you as an agent. The agency disclosure states the agent's responsibilities as a fiduciary. As a fiduciary, the agent is responsible for your interests and must demonstrate honesty, loyalty and utmost care in her work with you. This disclosure also states the agent's responsibility to be fair and honest with tenants inspecting the property, even if the tenants have not hired the agent.
Relationship to Renter
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If your real estate agent has also been hired by a potential tenant, the agent must provide you with an additional disclosure stating his relationship to the tenant. This additional disclosure places limits on his sharing information between yourself and the tenant. The agent cannot share information regarding price. He cannot tell you if the tenant is willing to pay a higher price or tell the tenant that you are willing to reduce your price. Even with this disclosure, be careful with sharing information with a shared agent, as this could hurt your bargaining position.
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Visual Inspection
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Before an agent can represent your rental property, she must visually inspect the condition of your property. The agent inspects your property so she can put together a description of the property's condition and value for potential buyers. The agent must disclose the results of her inspection to you and potential buyers. If your property is damaged or creates health hazards, the agent must include these problems in her visual inspection disclosure to meet her responsibilities under the agency agreement.
Commissions
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Your real estate agent must also disclose his total commissions for renting your property. The agent must list whether he receives a fixed fee for renting your property or charges a percentage of the total rent. The commissions disclosure must also state that commissions are negotiable and not set by the government. You are entitled to know all information regarding the costs of hiring a real estate agent to represent your rental property.
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References
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