Figure 1
Broker Disclosure to Customers
You are a customer of the broker. The broker is either an agent of
another party in the transaction or a subagent of another broker who is
the agent of another party in the transaction. The broker, or a
salesperson acting on behalf of the broker, may provide brokerage
services to you. Whenever the broker is providing brokerage services to
you, the broker owes you, the customer, the following duties:
The duty to provide brokerage services to you fairly and
honestly.
The duty to exercise reasonable skill and care in providing brokerage
services to you.
The duty to provide you with accurate information about market
conditions within a reasonable time if you request it, unless disclosure
of the information is prohibited by law.
The duty to disclose to you in writing certain material adverse facts
about a property, unless disclosure of the information is prohibited by
law.
The duty to protect your confidentiality. Unless the law requires it,
the broker will not disclose your confidential information or the
confidential information of other parties.
The duty to safeguard trust funds and other property the broker
holds.
The duty, when negotiating, to present contract proposals in an
objective and unbiased manner and disclose the advantages and
disadvantages of the proposals.
Please review this information carefully. A broker or salesperson can
answer your questions about brokerage services, but if you need legal
advice, tax advice, or a professional home inspection, contact an
attorney, tax advisor, or home inspector.
[Excerpt from Wis. Stat. section 452.135(1)(a) (2006).]
Figure 2
Broker Disclosure to Clients
Because you have entered into an agency agreement with a broker, you
are the broker's client. A broker owes additional duties to a
client.
The broker will provide, at your request, information and advice on
real estate matters that affect your transaction, unless you release the
broker from this duty. The broker must provide you with all material
facts affecting the transaction, not just adverse facts.
The broker will fulfill the broker's obligations under the agency
agreement and fulfill your lawful requests that are within the scope of
the agency agreement.
The broker will negotiate for you, unless you release the broker from
this duty.
The broker will not place the broker's interests ahead of your
interests. The broker will not, unless required by law, give information
or advice to other parties who are not the broker's clients, if giving
the information or advice is contrary to your interests.
[Excerpt from Wis. Stat. section 452.135(2)(a) (2006).]
Glossary
Wis. Stat. chapter 452 defines the following terms:
Client: A party to a real estate transaction who has an agency
agreement with a broker for brokerage services.
Customer: A party to a real estate transaction who is provided
brokerage services by a broker but who is not a client.
Party: A person seeking to engage in a real estate
transaction.
Broker: Persons not excluded by ch. 452 sub. (3) who do any of
the following:
• For another person, and for commission, money, or other thing
of value, negotiates or offers or attempts to negotiate a sale,
exchange, purchase, or rental of, or the granting or acceptance of an
option to sell, exchange, purchase, or rent, an interest or estate in
real estate, a time share, or a business or its goodwill, inventory, or
fixtures, whether or not the business includes real property.
• Is engaged wholly or in part in the business of selling or
exchanging interests or estates in real estate or businesses, including
businesses' goodwill, inventory, or fixtures, whether or not the
business includes real property, to the extent that a pattern of sales
or exchanges is established, whether or not the person owns the real
estate or businesses. Five sales or exchanges in one year or 10 sales or
exchanges in five years is presumptive evidence of a pattern of sales or
exchanges.
• For another person, and for commission, money, or other thing
of value shows real estate or a business or its inventory or fixtures,
whether or not the business includes real property, except that this
paragraph does not include showing a property that is offered
exclusively for rent.
• For another person, and for commission, money, or other thing
of value, promotes the sale, exchange, purchase, option, rental, or
leasing of real estate, a time share, or a business or its goodwill,
inventory, or fixtures, whether or not the business includes real
property. This paragraph does not apply to a person who only publishes
or disseminates verbatim information provided by another person.
Brokerage service: Any service described above provided by a
broker to another person.
Negotiate: To provide to a party assistance within the scope
of the knowledge, skills, and training required under chapter 452 in
developing a proposal or agreement relating to a transaction, including
doing any of the following:
- Acting as an intermediary by facilitating or participating in
communications between parties related to the parties' interests in a
transaction. In this paragraph, providing advice or opinions on matters
that are material to a transaction in which a person is engaged or
intends to engage or showing a party real estate does not, in and of
itself, constitute acting as an intermediary by facilitating or
participating in communications between parties.
- Completing when requested by a party, appropriate
department-approved forms or other writings to document the party's
proposal consistent with the party's intent.
- Presenting to a party the proposals of other parties to the
transaction and giving the party a general explanation of the provisions
of the proposal.
Designated agency: A multiple representation relationship in
which each client of the broker in the multiple representation
relationship receives negotiation services from the broker or only from
employees of the broker who are not providing negotiation services to
any other client of the broker in the transaction.
Subagent: A broker who is engaged by another broker to provide
brokerage services in a transaction, but who is not the other broker's
employee.
Figure 3
Multiple Representation Relationships and Designated Agency
A multiple representation relationship exists if a broker has an
agency agreement with more than one client who is a party in the same
transaction. In a multiple representation relationship, if all of the
broker's clients in the transaction consent, the broker may provide
services to the clients through designated agency.
Designated agency means that different salespersons employed by the
broker will negotiate on behalf of you and the other client or clients
in the transaction, and the broker's duties will remain the same. Each
salesperson will provide information, opinions, and advice to the client
for whom the salesperson is negotiating, to assist the client in the
negotiations. Each client will be able to receive information, opinions,
and advice that will assist the client, even if the information,
opinions, or advice gives the client advantages in the negotiations over
the broker's other clients.
A salesperson will not reveal any of your confidential information to
another party unless required to do so by law.
If a designated agency relationship is not in effect you may
authorize or reject a multiple representation relationship. If you
authorize a multiple representation relationship the broker may provide
brokerage services to more than one client in a transaction but neither
the broker nor any of the broker's salespersons may assist any client
with information, opinions, and advice which may favor the interests of
one client over any other client. If you do not consent to a multiple
representation relationship the broker will not be allowed to provide
brokerage services to more than one client in the transaction.
[Excerpt from Wis. Stat. section 452.135(2)(a) (2006).]
Figure 4
Subagency
The broker may, with your authorization in the agency agreement,
engage other brokers who assist your broker by providing brokerage
services for your benefit. A subagent will not put the subagent's own
interests ahead of your interests. A subagent will not, unless required
by law, provide advice or opinions to other parties if doing so is
contrary to your interests.
Please review this information carefully. A broker or salesperson can
answer your questions about brokerage services, but if you need legal
advice, tax advice, or a professional home inspection, contact an
attorney, tax advisor, or home inspector.
[Excerpt from Wis. Stat. section 452.135(2)(a) (2006).]
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