33-28-305.

33-28-305.

(d) Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 20, § 3.

(e) A licensee may work with a single party in separate transactions pursuant to different relationships, for example, selling one (1) property as a seller's agent and working with that seller in buying another property as an intermediary or buyer's agent, if the licensee complies with this article in establishing a separate relationship in writing for each transaction.  (f) A licensee may complete real estate forms and shall explain to the parties the effects thereof if the licensee is performing real estate activities in the transaction in which the forms are to be used.

(g) Every contract, duty or relationship within this article, including intermediary or customer relationships, imposes an obligation of good faith and fair dealing in its performance or enforcement.

(h) If a real estate company has more than one (1) licensee, the responsible broker and any licensee associated with or engaged by that responsible broker may be designated to work with the seller or the buyer as a designated licensee. For an in-house real estate transaction, the designated licensee shall be:

(i) A responsible broker;

(ii) An associate broker;

(iii) A salesperson under the direct supervision of a responsible broker, and the responsible broker is not a party to the real estate transaction; or

(iv) A salesperson who is under the direct supervision of a transaction manager.

(j) Licensees employed or engaged by the same responsible broker or across any companies the same responsible broker supervises may be designated licensees for different buyers or sellers in the same transaction. If the responsible broker is representing a buyer or a seller in an in-house transaction, the responsible broker shall immediately appoint a transaction manager unless the other licensee is an associate broker. If the responsible broker is representing a buyer or seller in a transaction involving two (2) or more companies the responsible broker manages, he shall immediately appoint a transaction manager for each real estate company unless the other licensee is an associate broker. The responsible broker shall disclose in every real estate transaction to all parties involved the names of all real estate companies the responsible broker supervises. The simultaneous designations shall not constitute dual agency or require the responsible broker or licensee to act as an intermediary unless otherwise required by this article. A responsible broker or transaction manager shall have access to all necessary information but shall be prohibited from sharing any confidential information of any party to the transaction that the responsible broker or transaction manager may learn in the process of supervising the licensees or the transaction.

(k) A licensee may work as an agent for the seller treating the buyer as a customer or as an agent for the buyer treating the seller as a customer but not as an agent for both the seller and the buyer. A licensee may be designated to work as an intermediary for both the seller and the buyer in the same transaction pursuant to W.S. 33-28-307. The applicable designated relationship shall be disclosed in writing to the seller and buyer at the earliest reasonable opportunity. A designated licensee is not precluded from working with a buyer or seller in a real estate transaction solely because the licensee was precluded from representing that person in an earlier separate real estate transaction.

(m) No seller or buyer shall be vicariously liable for an agent's acts or omissions that have not been approved, directed or ratified by the seller or buyer.

(n) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the responsible broker's responsibility to supervise licensees associated with the responsible broker or real estate company or to shield the responsible broker from vicarious liability.

(o) A licensee shall not establish dual agency with any seller or buyer.

(p) A customer relationship shall exist between a licensee and any party to a real estate transaction unless a single agency or intermediary relationship is established through a written agreement between the licensee and the party or parties. When a buyer or seller has a written listing agreement with a licensee, another licensee may work with the other buyer or seller as a customer, having no written agreement, agency or intermediary relationship with any party. A licensee shall not owe any duty of confidentiality to a customer.

(q) Proprietary ownership interest of written listing agreements shall be vested in the responsible broker.

33-28-303. Seller's agent engaged by seller.

(a) A licensee engaged by a seller to act as a seller's agent has the following duties and obligations:  (i) To perform the terms of the written agreement made with the seller;

(ii) To exercise reasonable skill and care for the seller;

(iii) To promote the interests of the seller with the utmost good faith, loyalty and fidelity, including:

(A) To seek a price and terms which are acceptable to the seller, except that the licensee shall not be obligated to seek additional offers to purchase the property while the property is subject to a contract for sale;

(B) To present all offers to and from the seller in a timely manner regardless of whether the property is subject to a contract for sale;

(C) To disclose to the seller adverse material facts actually known by the licensee;

(D) To counsel the seller as to any material benefits or risks of a transaction which are actually known by the licensee;

(E) To advise the seller to obtain expert advice as to material matters about which the licensee knows but the specifics of which are beyond the expertise of the licensee;

(F) To account in a timely manner for all money and property received; and

(G) To inform the seller that the seller may be vicariously liable for the acts of the seller's agent or seller's subagent that are approved, directed or ratified by the seller.

(iv) To comply with all requirements of this article; and

(v) To comply with any applicable federal, state or local laws, rules, regulations or ordinances.

(b) The following information shall not be disclosed by a licensee acting as a seller's agent without the informed consent of the seller:  (i) That a seller is willing to accept less than the asking price for the property;

(ii) What the motivating factors are for the party selling the property;

(iii) That the seller will agree to financing terms other than those offered;

(iv) Any material information about the seller unless disclosure is required by law or failure to disclose the information would constitute fraud or dishonest dealing.

(c) A licensee acting as a seller's agent owes no duty or obligation to the buyer, except that a licensee shall disclose to any prospective buyer all adverse material facts actually known by the licensee. The adverse material facts may include adverse material facts pertaining to the title and the physical condition of the property, any material defects in the property and any environmental hazards affecting the property which are required by law to be disclosed. The licensee acting as a seller's agent shall not perpetuate a material misrepresentation of the seller which the licensee knows or should know is false.

(d) A seller's agent owes no duty to conduct an independent inspection of the property for the benefit of the buyer and owes no duty to independently verify the accuracy or completeness of any statement made by the seller or any independent inspector.

(e) A seller's agent may show alternative properties not owned by the seller to prospective buyers and may list competing properties for sale and not be deemed to have breached any duty or obligation to the seller.

(f) A seller may agree in writing with a seller's agent to extend an offer of subagency to other responsible brokers to cooperate in selling the real estate.

(g) Any responsible broker acting as a subagent on the seller's behalf shall have the obligations and responsibilities set forth in subsections (a) through (e) of this section.

33-28-304. Agent engaged by buyer.  (a) A licensee engaged by a buyer to act as a buyer's agent shall have the following duties and obligations:

(i) To perform the terms of the written agreement made with the buyer;

(ii) To exercise reasonable skill and care for the buyer;

(iii) To promote the interests of the buyer with the utmost good faith, loyalty and fidelity, including:

(A) To seek a price and terms which are acceptable to the buyer, except that the licensee shall not be obligated to seek other properties while the buyer is a party to a contract to purchase property;

(B) To present all offers to and from the buyer in a timely manner regardless of whether the buyer is already a party to a contract to purchase property;

(C) To disclose to the buyer adverse material facts actually known by the licensee;

(D) To counsel the buyer as to any material benefits or risks of a transaction which are actually known by the licensee;

(E) To advise the buyer to obtain expert advice as to material matters about which the licensee knows but the specifics of which are beyond the expertise of the licensee;

(F) To account in a timely manner for all money and property received; and

(G) To inform the buyer that the buyer may be vicariously liable for the acts of the buyer's agent that are approved, directed or ratified by the buyer.

(iv) To comply with all requirements of this article; and

(v) To comply with any applicable federal, state or local laws, rules, regulations or ordinances.  (b) The following information shall not be disclosed by a licensee acting as a buyer's agent without the informed consent of the buyer:

(i) That a buyer is willing to pay more than the purchase price for the property;

(ii) What the motivating factors are for the party buying the property;

(iii) That the buyer will agree to financing terms other than those offered;

(iv) Any material information about the buyer unless disclosure is required by law or failure to disclose the information would constitute fraud or dishonest dealing.

(c) A licensee acting as a buyer's agent owes no duty or obligation to the seller, except that a licensee acting as a buyer's agent shall not make any material misrepresentation or fraudulent misrepresentation regarding an adverse material fact actually known by the licensee.

(d) A buyer's agent owes no duty to conduct an independent investigation of the buyer's financial condition and owes no duty to independently verify the accuracy or completeness of statements made by the buyer or any independent inspector.

(e) A buyer's agent may show properties in which the buyer is interested to other prospective buyers without breaching any duty or obligation to the buyer. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a buyer's agent from showing competing buyers the same property and from assisting competing buyers in attempting to purchase or lease a particular property.

33-28-305. Intermediary.

(a) A licensee engaged as an intermediary shall not act as an advocate or agent for either party and shall be limited to providing those services described in subsection (b)(ii) of this section.

(b) A licensee engaged as an intermediary shall owe to each party with whom the intermediary has contracted the following duties and obligations:  (i) To perform the terms of any written agreement made by the intermediary with any party or parties to the transaction, provided that the terms of the written agreement shall be consistent with this article;

(ii) To exercise reasonable skill and care as an intermediary, including:

(A) Presenting all offers and counteroffers in a timely manner regardless of whether the property is subject to a contract for sale;

(B) Advising the parties to obtain expert advice as to material matters about which the intermediary knows but the specifics of which are beyond the expertise of the intermediary;

(C) Accounting in a timely manner for all money and property received;

(D) Keeping the parties fully informed regarding the transaction;

(E) Obtaining the written consent of the parties before assisting the buyer and seller in the same real estate transaction;

(F) Assisting the parties in complying with the terms and conditions of any contract which may include closing the transaction;

(G) Disclosing to the parties any interests the intermediary may have which are adverse to the interest of either party;

(H) Disclosing to all prospective buyers any adverse material facts actually known by the intermediary, including but not limited to adverse material facts pertaining to the title, the physical condition of the property, any defects in the property and any environmental hazards affecting the property required by law to be disclosed;

(J) Disclosing to any prospective seller all adverse material facts actually known by the intermediary, including but not limited to adverse material facts pertaining to the buyer's financial ability to perform the terms of the transaction; and  (K) Disclosing to the parties that an intermediary owes no fiduciary duty either to buyer or seller, is not allowed to negotiate on behalf of the buyer or seller, may be required to disclose information he learns about a property to the other party, and may be prohibited from disclosing information about the other party which if known could materially affect negotiations in the real estate transaction.

(iii) To comply with all requirements of this article; and

(iv) To comply with any applicable federal, state or local laws, rules, regulations or ordinances.

(c) The following information shall not be disclosed by an intermediary without the informed consent of all parties:

(i) That a buyer is willing to pay more than the purchase price offered for the property;

(ii) That a seller is willing to accept less than the asking price for the property;

(iii) What the motivating factors are for any party buying or selling the property; or

(iv) That a seller or buyer will agree to financing terms other than those offered.

(d) An intermediary has no duty to conduct an independent inspection of the property for the benefit of the buyer and has no duty to independently verify the accuracy or completeness of statements made by the seller, or independent inspectors.

(e) An intermediary has no duty to conduct an independent investigation of the buyer's financial condition or to verify the accuracy or completeness of any statement made by the buyer.

(f) An intermediary may do the following without breaching any obligation or responsibility:

(i) Show alternative properties not owned by the seller to a prospective buyer;

(ii) List competing properties for sale or lease; and  (iii) Show properties in which the buyer is interested to other prospective buyers.

(iv) Repealed By Laws 2011, Ch. 104, § 2.

(g) An intermediary may cooperate with other responsible brokers but shall not engage any subagents.

33-28-306. Relationship disclosures.

(a) For purposes of this section, open house showings, preliminary conversations and requests for factual information do not constitute discussions or arrangements incidental to a sale, purchase, exchange or lease of real estate. Prior to engaging in any discussion or arrangement incidental to a sale, purchase, exchange or lease of real estate, and, prior to entering into any written agreement with a buyer or seller, a licensee shall make a written disclosure of applicable agency, intermediary or customer relationships which shall contain at a minimum the following:

(i) A description of all the different agency, intermediary and customer relationships allowed by this article and a statement that the compensation for different relationships is negotiable;

(ii) An explanation of the duties and obligations owed under each such relationship;

(iii) A conspicuous statement of duties and obligations owed by an agent but which are not owed by an intermediary;

(iv) A statement that any established relationship cannot be modified without the written consent of the buyer or seller and that the buyer or seller may, but is not required to, negotiate different compensation as a condition of consenting to a change in relationship;

(v) A statement that an intermediary is not an agent or advocate for any party and has only the obligations set forth in W.S. 33-28-305;

(vi) A statement that the seller or buyer may be vicariously liable for acts of the agent, subagent or intermediary if the seller or buyer approves, directs or ratifies the acts; and

(vii) A statement that a customer shall not be afforded any confidentiality in any communication to or with the licensee.

(b) The written disclosure shall contain a signature line for the buyer or seller to acknowledge receipt of the disclosure. The disclosure and acknowledgment, by itself, shall not constitute a contract or agreement with the licensee. Until the buyer or seller executes such acknowledgment, no representation agreement shall be executed or valid except, provided if a buyer or seller refuses to sign the disclosure after presentation by the licensee:

(i) The licensee may document the refusal with a signed acknowledgement by the licensee and continue with the transaction; and

(ii) The disclosure and acknowledgement shall be attached to and may become incorporated into any written agreements with the buyer or seller as prescribed in W.S.