Duties and Obligations of the Broker

Under the Rules of Professional Ethics of the ACAIQ, a member must avoid placing himself in a conflict of interest. Consequently, a real estate broker or agent should not accept to act as proxy for one of the parties to a transaction in which he is acting as intermediary, especially if the power of attorney allows him to negotiate, accept or refuse offers made as part of the transaction.

PRACTICES SERIES

It is increasingly common for franchised real estate brokers to have a sub-franchisee and to allow some of their agents to act on behalf of this sub-franchisee, including to carry out brokerage contracts or to present promises to purchase. These agents are then said to be “on loan”.

PRACTICES SERIES

From the very beginnings of the profession, brokers felt a need to work together to share information and adopt standards of practice and ways to collaborate to carry out transactions. In fact, collaboration is so crucial to the smooth functioning of the profession that the legislator has deemed it necessary to enshrine it in the Real Estate Brokerage Act and regulations to ensure the protection of the public as well as to promote harmony in the practice of real estate brokerage.

Sometimes, the buyer of an immovable does not take out a mortgage loan, preferring to pay cash for his purchase. In such cases, the real estate agent must take steps to protect himself, protect the seller and ensure a smooth transaction.