A written buyer agreement gives the buyer and agent a place to set out their working arrangement before a tour. The services, duration and compensation deserve review at that stage, when both parties can discuss the terms.

Why the agreement comes before a tour

Since August 17, 2024, the agent you tour with will ask you to sign a written buyer agreement before touring a home with them, in person or virtually. The agreement has to state the agent's compensation as a defined amount, not an open range, and every part of it is negotiable.

When you do not need one

Walking into an open house on your own does not require one. Neither does asking an agent what they do and how they work. The agreement comes into it when an agent is going to take you into a home as your agent.

What it has to say

The compensation has to be clearly defined: a flat fee, a percentage, an hourly rate, or zero. It cannot be open ended. NAR's own consumer guide says compensation between a buyer and an agent is negotiable and not set by law.

What you can negotiate

  • The services you actually want, which may be the whole search or one house
  • The length of the agreement, which can be short
  • The compensation, if any
  • Whether you will ask the seller to pay some or all of it, which you can still request and negotiate for in an offer

A buyer relocating for a job, touring several towns in one weekend, often wants something different from a buyer who has lived down the road for twenty years. The agreement can reflect that.

Discuss the agreement's term, services and compensation before signing. Ask for an explanation of any provision that is unclear, including how the arrangement ends or changes.

What the agreement obligates you to if you end it early, or buy a house you found yourself, is a question about the contract, and an attorney can read it for you before you sign. How a buyer compensation figure fits into your loan belongs to your lender, and the answer depends on the loan program.

The buyers page sets out how a search runs from the first conversation, and the executive relocation page covers how it works when the search starts from another state.

Source: National Association of REALTORS, consumer guide to written buyer agreements. Read at source, September 2026.

This note is general. It is not legal advice, and what a specific agreement obligates you to depends on its terms, which an attorney can assess.