Before discussing duties and responsibilities of a real estate agents and realtors, it needs to know the difference between an agent and a realtor:

A real estate agent is a licensed professional who helps people buy (buyer’s agent) or sell (listing agent) properties and lead all negotiations.  A realtor, who is obliged to perform not only the regular agent duties and responsibilities but also uphold the Code of Ethics and have regular trainings and requires annual fee. 

Real estate agents go through real estate transactions on behalf of a seller or buyer. They follow the process step by step. At first, a real estate agent starts by finding a property for a buyer or a buyer for a seller. An agent should be available to inform a buyer or seller every detail about a property but in a careful manner to protect confidentiality and not to violate anyone’s rights. Negotiating is also done by a real estate agent. They analyze all the information from a buyer or a seller about their needs and the property itself and then advise customers to take particular steps. Making a final decision is not an agent’s duty.

A realtor is a member of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), a trade association. Both agents and brokers can be realtors, along with property managers, appraisers, and other real estate industry professionals. Realtors are expected to be experts in their field and must follow the NAR’s code of ethics, which requires agents to uphold specific duties to clients and customers, the public, and other realtors. In addition to NAR, realtors must belong to a state or local real estate association or board.

All realtors are real estate agents or brokers (or something related), but not all agents or brokers are realtors. As of July 2020, NAR reported that it had nearly 1.4 million members. Roughly two-thirds of them held real estate agent licenses.

A real estate agent and a realtor owe specific duties to their clients as well. These duties involve:

 Confidentiality

Real estate agent owns all the necessary information about a client’s wish, financial state or even private details, he/she is obliged not to violate fundamental rights of a client and not to disclose any information to other parties that can have a negative effect on transaction process.

Disclosure

A real estate agent should share the knowledge to the customer if it is necessary for transaction process without violating the confidentiality duty. It includes sharing all offers, facts that affect the property value, and any other issues that can prevent a buyer from purchasing the property at a low price or a seller from selling the property at a high price.

Loyalty

A real estate agent should be loyal to the customer at any place and time. An agent is obliged to keep the client’s interest ahead of any other parties and act accordingly.

Reasonable Care and Diligence

The duty of reasonable care and diligence implies using all the knowledge and skills a real estate agent has to keep the client’s interest and succeed in the real estate transaction. It is the duty all professionals owe towards their clients. Real estate agents are obliged to do their best to show and use expertise in the field and not to make harsh mistakes or avoid their duties.

Obedience

A real estate agent is obliged to follow all lawful instructions of their customers. Even if an agent does not agree with a client, he/she should do whatever the client decides. Yet, if a decision is against the law, an agent is free not to follow the instructions.

Accounting

An agent should account all documents, money or property involved in the transaction process. Accounting should be precise.

There are three kinds of agency relationships in Maryland: seller agency, buyer agency and dual agency.

When working with buyers, real estate agents must handle buyers as either a customer or a client, and the difference is:

• A client is a buyer or seller who has entered into a written agency agreement and is represented by an agent. The agent provides advice and also owes the client duties of reasonable care, loyalty, disclosure, confidentiality, diligence and accounting.
• A customer is a buyer or seller who has not entered into a written agency agreement and is not represented by an agent. A customer must be treated honestly and fairly and agents must disclose material adverse facts known to the agent.

Seller agency is the traditional agency relationship where the listing agent represents the seller under a written listing agreement and owes the seller duties of reasonable care, loyalty, disclosure, confidentiality, diligence and accounting.

As specified above, buyer agency is created through a written buyer representation agreement, and the buyer agent owes the buyer the duties of reasonable care, loyalty, disclosure, confidentiality, diligence and accounting.

Additionally, the buyer agent should disclose any material facts or information about the property, which are reasonably known to the buyer agent.

Dual agency is a relationship in which the real estate broker or the broker’s designee assigns one real estate agent affiliated with the broker to represent the seller and another agent affiliated with the broker to represent the buyer

The Realtor Code of Ethics

Realtor’s duties to clients and customers imply to promote and protect their interests, but do not violate the rights of people involved in the process. All realtors have to meet competency standards and give appropriate and equal service to clients regardless their national origin, race, color, religion, sex or sexual orientation. All realtors should respect their colleagues. They must be objective towards them and refrain from making wrong comments on their colleagues.

If a realtor violates any of standards, usually at first it is discussed at a local level. Step by step, different bodies, such as the association’s Grievance Committee, the Professional Standards Committee or the Board of Directors might be involved in this process. In case of proving a violation, sanctions can be a reprimand, a fine or attending an education course. 

Being a real estate agent or realtor is not considered to be easy. They have many duties and responsibilities alongside their job. Although it is challenging to be a good real estate agent or realtor, it is still very attractive profession if you are self-motivated, hard-working and enjoy communicating with different types of people.