Two Buyers, One Area: Is Dual Agency Disclosure Required?

Q: Do I need to disclose the existence of dual agency if I have two buyers looking for a similar property in the same area?

A: Under Oregon law, a buyer’s agent may show properties which their buyer may be interested in to other prospective buyers without breaching an affirmative duty to the buyer (see ORS 696.810(4)).

It becomes more complicated if two buyers are seriously interested in the same property. When an agent is representing more than one buyer in separate offers to purchase the same property, the agent is a disclosed limited agent. Agents who serve as disclosed limited agents must fulfill the duties owed to their clients under ORS 696.815 and as agreed in a disclosed limited agency agreement. The duties of agents under ORS 696.815, which covers the representation of more than one party, include the obligation to disclose conflicts of interest. An agent representing both buyer and seller will inevitably disclose the dual representation, whether in marketing materials, during a conversation, or on the Final Agency Acknowledgment at the beginning of the Sale Agreement. However, the representation of two buyers doesn’t come up in those ways, so the agent must disclose the dual representation, and the best way to disclose it is in writing, signed by both buyers.

As a reminder, all buyers and sellers should be given the Initial Agency Disclosure Pamphlet (OREF-042) upon first contact, so they understand agents’ roles.

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