[Broker’s Agency Relationships and Disclosures – Buyer Agency] In North Carolina, which type of buyer agency agreement may be oral or written?

According to North Carolina Real Estate Commission (NCREC) rules, a buyer agency agreement must be in writing before a broker presents an offer on behalf of the buyer. However, the rules permit a nonexclusive buyer agency agreement to be established orally at the beginning of the relationship. This oral agreement does not bind the buyer to a specific broker for a fixed period and allows the buyer to work with multiple agents. The agreement must be reduced to writing at the point an offer to purchase is prepared. Exclusive buyer agency agreements, by contrast, must be in writing from their inception.

A. Exclusive buyer agency agreement for a fixed period of time: NCREC Rule A.0104(a) mandates that all exclusive agency agreements must be in writing from the outset to be enforceable.

B. Nonexclusive buyer agency agreement for a fixed period of time: While a nonexclusive agreement can be oral, the inclusion of a "fixed period of time" is a required element of a written agency agreement, not a feature of an oral one.

C. Exclusive buyer agency agreement that does not bind the buyer for a fixed period of time: This option is internally contradictory. An exclusive agreement must be in writing and, by rule, must contain a definite termination date (a fixed period).

1. North Carolina Real Estate Commission. North Carolina Real Estate Manual (2023-2024 ed.). Chapter 8, "Agency Contracts and Practices," pp. 8-13 to 8-14. The manual explicitly states, "A nonexclusive buyer agency agreement may be oral initially... However, the oral agreement must be reduced to writing before the agent presents a buyer’s offer to a seller or the seller’s agent."

2. North Carolina Real Estate Commission. N.C. Admin. Code Title 21, Chapter 58, Rule A.0104(c). This rule specifies the conditions for oral buyer agency agreements: "A broker or brokerage firm acting as a buyer's agent may enter into an oral buyer agency agreement with a buyer... provided that the agreement is reduced to a written document... no later than the time that the agent presents to a seller or the seller's agent a written offer to purchase..."

3. UNC School of Government. North Carolina Real Estate Law and Practice, Course Materials. Section on "Agency Agreements." The materials clarify that under NCREC rules, only non-exclusive buyer agency relationships can commence orally, distinguishing them from exclusive agreements which require a written contract from the start.