Buyer Agreements Explained
Signing a buyer agreement became standard practice in 2024, and it's the piece of buying a home people are most unsure about. Here's what it is, why you'll sign one before touring, and every choice you get to make along the way.
What a buyer agreement is
A buyer agreement is a written contract between you and a real estate brokerage that spells out two things: what the agent will do for you, and how they'll be paid. As of 2024, having one in place before an agent tours homes with you became standard practice nationwide. In plain terms, it turns a handshake into something clear and written down — so you know what you're getting and what it costs before you start.
The good news: it's negotiable, it can be short and limited, and signing one to see a home doesn't have to tie you to an agent for your entire search. Below is what's actually in these agreements and the choices you get to make.
Why you'll sign one before touring
Starting in August 2024, agents who belong to a Multiple Listing Service have to enter a written agreement with a buyer before showing them a home — in person or on a live virtual tour. This isn't optional, and it isn't your agent being pushy: it's a rule that applies to every MLS agent, and one they can't skip. It came out of the National Association of Realtors settlement and the MLS rules nearly every Florida brokerage follows. It isn't a Florida statute, but in practice an agent with MLS access can't privately show you a home without one.
Because this is an MLS rule, an agent who shows homes without a signed agreement in place can face penalties from their MLS or association. So when your agent asks you to sign before you tour, they're following a real requirement — and it works in your favor, because it puts the representation and the costs in writing up front, before anyone starts looking.
A couple of things it does not apply to: you can still walk through a public open house or drive by a home on your own without signing anything. The agreement comes into play when an agent shows you a home privately.
Why the rules changed
If this feels new, that's because it is. For years, the way a buyer's agent got paid was mostly handled in the background and folded into the transaction, where it was hard for buyers and sellers to see clearly. A series of lawsuits challenged that, and the result was a set of nationwide rule changes — the same ones behind your buyer agreement. Their whole purpose was to make agent compensation clear, written down, and openly negotiable, so you know what you're agreeing to and what it costs before anyone starts touring homes.
So the buyer agreement isn't a hoop to jump through — it's the transparency those changes were meant to create. You see what your agent will do and what it costs, in writing and up front: more clarity and more say than buyers typically had before.
What a buyer agreement includes
Every buyer agreement covers the same basic pieces, and each is something you can talk through:
- Services and duties — what the agent will do for you (things like loyalty, confidentiality, disclosure, and reasonable care).
- Scope — which properties, which area, and which property type the agreement covers.
- Term — how long the agreement lasts.
- Compensation — how much your agent earns and who's expected to pay it. Under the rules, this has to be a clear, specific figure agreed in writing — it can't be left open-ended or written as a range. Commissions aren't set by law and are fully negotiable, and your agent can't be paid more than the amount the agreement states.
- Exclusivity — whether you're agreeing to work with just this one brokerage for your search, or leaving it more open.
The three Florida buyer agreement forms
Florida Realtors offers three forms. They differ mainly in how much you're committing to, so you can match the form to where you are in your search.
Property Pre-Touring Agreement
The lightest option. It delivers the required disclosures and basic information about how the agent is paid, so an agent can show you homes before you've decided whether to work with them longer-term. A good fit when you just want to start looking and aren't ready to commit to one agent.
Showing Agreement
This one is tied to specific properties written into the form. It's nonexclusive, and it provides that compensation may be due if you go under contract on one of those identified properties during the term. Useful when you want to tour a particular home or a short list of homes.
Exclusive Buyer Brokerage Agreement
The fullest option. It establishes an exclusive working relationship with one brokerage, can cover many properties over a set period, and lays out the agent's duties, the term, and compensation (it may include a retainer). "Exclusive" here means you're agreeing to work with that one brokerage for your search during the agreement's scope and term. It comes in versions that match your brokerage relationship, so the right one depends on how you and the brokerage decide to work together.
Which form fits depends on how ready you are to commit — and all of them are negotiable.
What's negotiable
Effectively all of it. You can discuss and adjust:
- the length of the agreement
- the geographic area it covers
- the property type and scope
- the services included
- whether it's exclusive
- the compensation amount and who's expected to pay it
- how and when you can end it
If a term doesn't fit your situation, it's fair to ask to change it before you sign.
How long it lasts and how to end it
The length is up to you and the brokerage. Common structures range from a single-showing or single-property agreement, to a set search window, to a longer agreement for buyers doing an extended search — for example, someone relocating. Termination terms are negotiable too, so it's worth settling up front how you'd end the agreement if things aren't working out. If you've already signed something with another brokerage, tell your new agent — existing agreements can carry restrictions, and it's better to sort that out early.
Does signing lock me in?
Not necessarily — it depends on which form you sign. A pre-touring or showing agreement is limited by design and doesn't commit you to one agent for your whole search. An exclusive agreement is broader. Either way, the commitment level, the term, and how you can end it are all things you agree to before you sign, so you're never locked into terms you didn't choose.
How your agent gets paid
Signing a buyer agreement sets what your agent earns — but it does not automatically mean the money comes out of your pocket. Who actually pays is a separate question, and you have options. In many Florida sales the seller or the seller's broker still covers the buyer's agent. And when a seller hasn't offered to, your agent can build a request for the seller to cover your agent's compensation right into your offer, as part of the negotiation. If the seller agrees to cover the full amount, it costs you nothing out of pocket; if they cover less than your agreed amount, the difference may fall to you — which is exactly why the number is spelled out up front.
A built-in protection: your agent can't be paid more than you agreed
Your agent can only collect the amount in your buyer agreement, even if the seller is offering more. If a seller offers more toward the buyer's agent than your agreement calls for, your agent still receives only what you agreed to — they can't pocket the difference. Changing that agreed amount would mean amending your agreement, which can't happen without your sign-off. In other words, the number in your agreement is a ceiling on what your agent can earn, not a floor a seller can push higher.
Before you sign — a quick checklist
- Do you understand the term, and how to end the agreement?
- Is the scope (properties, area, type) what you expected?
- Is the compensation a clear figure, and do you know who's expected to pay it?
- Is it exclusive, and are you comfortable with that?
- Did you disclose any existing agreement with another brokerage?
When you work with us, we walk through every line of this with you before anything is signed — no surprises.
Frequently asked questions
In most cases, yes. An MLS agent showing you a home privately — in person or by live virtual tour — generally needs a written agreement in place first. It can be limited in scope and length.
No. It's a practice requirement from the NAR settlement and MLS rules, not a state statute — but nearly every brokerage follows it.
No. Public open houses and driving by on your own don't require an agreement.
No. Florida offers limited and single-showing forms alongside the full exclusive agreement, so you can tour without committing to one agent for your whole search.
Yes — scope, length, services, exclusivity, compensation, and how you end it are all negotiable.
Not necessarily. The agreement sets what your agent earns; who pays it is separate. The seller's side often still covers it, and your agent can ask the seller to pay it as part of your offer.
Your agent can only receive the amount set in your agreement, even if the seller offers more. Collecting anything above it would require amending your agreement — which can't happen without your consent.
They came out of nationwide legal changes meant to make how agents are paid more transparent and negotiable. The agreement simply puts your agent's role and compensation in writing, up front.
Have questions about your agreement?
We'll walk through it with you line by line before anything is signed.