Regardless if you're attending an open house or interviewing a Realtor to help you buy or sell a home, a Realtor who asks you to sign the Consumer Notice Form is doing his or her job and fulfilling the requirement of the new law. If you first contact a Realtor by phone, the Realtor is required to review the oral disclosure with you at that time. The Consumer Notice outlines your options for representation in a real estate transaction.

The form is not a contract (as the form boldly states) and does not commit the consumer to any relationship. It simply outlines the real estate services owed to the consumer by any real estate licensee. It also differentiates the five types of relationships a real estate licensee may have with a consumer.

1) Seller Agency - is a relationship where the licensee, upon entering into a written agreement, works only for a seller/landlord.

2) Buyer Agency - is a relationship where the licensee, upon entering into a written agreement, works only for the buyer/tenant.

3) Dual Agency - is a relationship where the licensee acts as the agent for both the seller/landlord and the buyer/tenant in the same transaction with the written consent of all parties. Should dual agency occur in your transaction, you will be informed. As a result, the same level of fiduciary responsibility could not apply.

4) Designated Agency - the employing broker may, with your consent, designate one or more licensees from their company to act exclusively as the agent for the seller/landlord and one or more licensees to act exclusively as the agent for the buyer/tenant. Other licensees in the company who are not designated may represent another party and should not be provided with any confidential information.

5) Transaction Licensee - is a broker or salesperson who provide communication or document preparation services or performs other acts for which a license is required WITHOUT being the agent or advocate for either the seller/landlord or the buyer/tenant. Upon entering into a written agreement or disclosure statement, the transaction licensee has the additional duty of limited confidentiality.

While this practice may seem alarming now, with time it will be seen as just one of the many forms to be completed to adhere to real estate laws in Pennsylvania. By having this Agency Law, Pennsylvania joins 47 other states in clarifying agency relationships between consumers and real estate practitioners.

CLICK HERE FOR A COPY OF THE CONSUMER NOTICE