Revised Buyer-Broker Exclusive Employment Agreement To Be Released
On February 1st, following approval by the Arizona REALTORS® Risk Management Committee and Executive Committee, a revised Buyer-Broker Exclusive Employment Agreement (BBEEA) will be released for use by all members.
The revised form will contain one substantive change, found on line seven, which will now appear as follows:
The purpose of this change is to allow the buyer and their agent to insert a geographical limitation, should they choose to do so, meaning that the Buyer-Broker’s exclusive employment will be limited to that specific area.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q1: Must the buyer and their agent insert a geographical limitation on line seven?
A1. No. The insertion of a geographical limitation is not mandatory and line seven should be completed only if the buyer and their agent mutually agree to limit the geographic scope of the exclusive representation.
Q2. What if line seven is left blank?
A2. If line seven is left blank, the form will function as it previously did, meaning that there will be no express geographic limit to the scope of the exclusive representation.
Q3. What are some examples of “geographical area(s)” that could be written on line seven?
A3. Any well-defined geographical area agreed to by the buyer and their agent is acceptable. Examples would be the State of Arizona, a specific county, a specific city or town, or even a specific neighborhood or housing development.
Q4. The buyer and their agent mutually agree to limit the geographic scope of the exclusive representation to Maricopa County and therefore write in “Maricopa County” on line seven of the form. Thereafter, the buyer purchases a home in Tucson using a different agent. Does the buyer owe a commission to the agent with whom they executed the BBEEA that limited the scope of the Agreement to Maricopa County?
A4. No. Using the BBEEA, the buyer and their agent mutually agreed to limit the scope of the exclusive representation to Maricopa County. Because the buyer purchased a home in Pima County, no compensation is owed to the Maricopa County agent.
Q5. Because the revised BBEEA allows the buyer and their agent to choose the geographic scope of the representation, can the agent practice in a location in which they are unfamiliar and lack expertise?
A5. A.A.C. R4-28-1101(H) prohibits salespersons and brokers from providing professional services concerning a type of property or service that is outside the salesperson’s or broker’s field of competence without engaging the assistance of a person who is competent to provide those services, unless the salesperson’s or broker’s lack of expertise is first disclosed to the client in writing and the client subsequently employs them. Similarly, Article 11 of the National Association of REALTORS® Code of Ethics states that “REALTORS® shall not undertake to provide specialized professional services concerning a type of property or service that is outside their field of competence unless they engage the assistance of one who is competent on such types of property or service, or unless the facts are fully disclosed to the client.”