Using buyer agency agreement for buying multiple properties of different types

QUESTION: I want to work as a buyer agent with an investor who is interested in purchasing multiple properties, both residential and commercial. Will the Exclusive Buyer Agency Agreement (form 201) work for this purpose?

ANSWER: Yes, but since you anticipate the buyer purchasing multiple properties, you’ll need to make a slight modification to the pre-printed wording in paragraph 3. That’s because the way paragraph 3 is worded, the Agreement automatically ends if the buyer buys a single property of the type described in paragraph 1. We suggest you strike the last clause in paragraph 3, which reads “or when Buyer acquires real property of the type described in paragraph 1, whichever occurs sooner.” The effect of striking the last clause will be that the Agreement will end on the date inserted in the expiration date blank rather than the date the buyer closes on the first property. Although, as a general rule, agents are discouraged from adding or deleting wording from or to a standard form, since your firm is a party to the Buyer Agency Agreement, making a change of this nature is not a problem. In fact, the Forms Committee intentionally structured paragraph 3 in a way that would make it easy to modify the Agreement so that it would work for a situation like yours.

Although the forms appearing the 200 series in the NC REALTOR® forms library are most commonly used in connection with residential transactions, the Exclusive Buyer Agency Agreement was also designed for use with buyers like yours who may be interested in purchasing other types of property in addition to residential property. That’s why there are check boxes in paragraph 1 for “Residential,” “Commercial” and “Other” types of property.

Release Date: 10/18/2018; revised 10/25/2022