| 1. | Law. a person to whom property or power is entrusted for the benefit of another. |
| 2. | Law. of or pertaining to the relation between a fiduciary and his or her principal: a fiduciary capacity; a fiduciary duty. |
| 3. | of, based on, or in the nature of trust and confidence, as in public affairs: a fiduciary obligation of government employees. |
| 4. | depending on public confidence for value or currency, as fiat money. |
I am the first one to admit that the training as a real estate agent is pretty much a complete joke. But they do pound into us one concept, that we have a "fiduciary" responsibility to the client.
Technically when we first meet with our clients Realtors (capital R), are supposed to show a document called "Understanding who the Real Estate Agent represents."
Are we agents representing the seller, are we representing the buyer, what does it mean to represent something besides just an interest in getting a commission?
Well the other day my aunt called me up and said Todd would you please sell my $150,000 pile of rugs for me. And i said ok, and i called up my friend and said hey you want to buy all those rugs my aunt has for $150k, and he said yes. He is a bit of an entrepreneur and thought to himself that the rugs were worth way more, and he tried to get me to try and and see if i could get a little bit more out of my aunt. At which point i realized, wait a minute whose side am I on here?
Do i use my negotiating prowess to help my friend get the most out of the deal, or do i try and get more out of my friend for my aunt, whats my fiduciary duty?
Thats why we have buyers agents and sellers agents. We sign documents swearing our duty too our clients, and are morally, and legally bound to act accordingly.
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