Massachusetts Buyer-Agency Agreement: What Buyers Should Review
A buyer-friendly checklist for reviewing services, exclusivity, compensation, duration, cancellation, conflicts, and other buyer-agreement terms.
First, identify the document
Massachusetts’ Mandatory Licensee-Consumer Relationship Disclosure tells you whom the licensee represents when discussing a specific property. The state says that disclosure is information only and does not itself bind the buyer and agent.
A buyer-agency or buyer-representation agreement is different: it sets the business relationship between the buyer and brokerage. NAR’s MLS rules require covered participants working with a buyer to have a written agreement before an in-person or live virtual tour, with exceptions such as a buyer independently attending an open house. That is an industry rule, not a Massachusetts statute requiring every buyer to hire an agent.
Services and scope
The agreement should make the promised work understandable. Check whether it covers property searches, private showings, comparable-sale analysis, offers, negotiations, inspection follow-up, transaction coordination, and closing support.
- Towns or geographic area
- Residential, commercial, land, rental, or a stated property type
- Price range or specific property
- Exclusive or nonexclusive service
- Named agent, team, and brokerage responsibilities
Start, end, and exit
Look for the effective date, expiration date, renewal language, and a realistic way to end the relationship. Massachusetts guidance lists expiration and mutual agreement to rescind among the ways buyer agency can end. Unilaterally walking away can still raise a contract issue, so use the written cancellation process.
Check whether the agreement has a protection or carryover period for homes introduced or shown before termination. Ask how those properties will be listed and when the obligation ends.
Compensation in real numbers
The fee must be clear enough to calculate. NAR’s MLS rules for covered participants do not allow an open-ended amount based solely on whatever a seller or listing broker offers. Massachusetts guidance also says compensation is negotiable and there is no standard rate.
- Exact percentage, flat amount, retainer, or service fee
- When the fee is earned and due
- How outside compensation or a seller payment is credited
- Whether the buyer pays any difference
- Fees due after cancellation or on an unclosed transaction
- Treatment of leases, new construction, off-market, and for-sale-by-owner properties
Agency changes and conflicts
Read the options for designated agency, dual agency, and facilitation. In Massachusetts, dual agency requires informed written consent from both buyer and seller and limits the agent’s ability to advocate where interests conflict. You do not have to agree without understanding how the service would change.
Ask what happens if your agent, another agent in the same brokerage, or the brokerage itself has the listing. The answer should match both the contract and the state disclosure you receive.
Before you sign
Take enough time to read the agreement, fill every blank, and ask for a copy. Negotiate terms that do not fit. A shorter initial term or property-specific agreement can be discussed when buyer and brokerage want to test the relationship.
- Confirm verbal promises appear in writing
- Do not sign blank compensation or expiration fields
- Ask who has authority to release you
- Keep the signed agreement and later amendments
- Ask your closing attorney about contract language you do not understand