“I recently moved to the US and am looking to buy a house. A part-time buyer agent we met once wants us to sign an exclusivity contract making them our sole agent. What are the pros and cons of signing this from a buyer's perspective?”
Meeting an agent once does not oblige you to accept a broad exclusive contract. A good agreement makes the help, cost and way out clear; being part-time is a reason to pin down availability and backup, not an automatic reason to reject the agent.
You can seek help buying a home without immediately promising one part-time agent every home you might buy.
Pro: you can test this agent’s local knowledge and availability while limiting your commitment—for example, ask for a nonexclusive covering one home or a short period, with specified services and a clear fee. Con: the agent may not agree to those terms, and a limited agreement may mean limited help. NAR expressly describes short-form arrangements and terms such as one day or one house; exclusivity is not dictated by its policy. [NAR Written Buyer Agreements 101](https://www.nar.realtor/the-facts/written-buyer-agreements-101).
Pro: a buyer’s agent can look for suitable homes, analyze the market, attend showings and negotiate for you. Con: a broad could restrict your choice of another agent while this part-time agent is unavailable; payment and exit depend on its wording. Sign only if its term, area, promised work, backup coverage, fee and termination provisions suit you. [NAR Consumer Guide: Agency and Non-Agency Relationships](https://www.nar.realtor/the-facts/consumer-guide-agency-and-non-agency-relationships); [NAR Consumer Guide: Ten Questions to Ask a Buyer’s Agent](https://www.nar.realtor/the-facts/consumer-guide-ten-questions-to-ask-a-buyers-agent); [NAR Written Buyer Agreements 101](https://www.nar.realtor/the-facts/written-buyer-agreements-101).
You can interview other agents and visit open houses on your own without signing a buyer agreement merely to have those conversations or visits. The trade-off is that a seller’s agent is not your buyer advocate. If an starts working with you and will tour a home with you, the written-agreement rule applies before that tour; state law may add requirements. [NAR Consumer Guide to Written Buyer Agreements](https://www.nar.realtor/the-facts/consumer-guide-to-written-buyer-agreements); [NAR Policy Statement 8.13](https://www.nar.realtor/handbook-on-multiple-listing-policy/no-compensation-offers-in-mls-section-4-written-buyer-agreements-required-policy-statement-8-13); [NAR Consumer Guide: Agency and Non-Agency Relationships](https://www.nar.realtor/the-facts/consumer-guide-agency-and-non-agency-relationships).
These choices depend on your state’s rules and on what the broker agrees to; NAR’s pre-tour rule applies to MLS Participants working with buyers. [NAR Policy Statement 8.13](https://www.nar.realtor/handbook-on-multiple-listing-policy/no-compensation-offers-in-mls-section-4-written-buyer-agreements-required-policy-statement-8-13).
These steps help you decide whether this agent’s promised help is worth the commitment before you tour together.
Before agreeing to exclusivity
Interview this agent and alternatives
Ask for recent buyer references, experience in your search area, the days and hours the agent can show homes, who covers when they are unavailable, and who will handle offers and follow-up. NAR’s buyer-agent questions cover services, local knowledge, agreement length and references: https://www.nar.realtor/the-facts/consumer-guide-ten-questions-to-ask-a-buyers-agent. You do not need a buyer agreement merely to ask about an agent’s services. [NAR Consumer Guide to Written Buyer Agreements](https://www.nar.realtor/the-facts/consumer-guide-to-written-buyer-agreements).
Requirements
Before a tour together
Propose the scope and price you want
Ask the brokerage to put in writing whether representation is exclusive, the covered area or homes, start and end dates, promised services and backup coverage. Propose one home or a short trial if you prefer. Set a definite fee or rate, when it is due, and how any seller payment reduces what you owe; NAR’s policy does not set a commission rate and bars open-ended broker compensation. [NAR Written Buyer Agreements 101](https://www.nar.realtor/the-facts/written-buyer-agreements-101); [NAR Policy Statement 8.13](https://www.nar.realtor/handbook-on-multiple-listing-policy/no-compensation-offers-in-mls-section-4-written-buyer-agreements-required-policy-statement-8-13).
Requirements
Before signing
Resolve exit and conflict terms
Identify how either side ends the agreement, whether notice must be written, whether it extends automatically, and whether a purchase after it ends still triggers compensation. Ask how the agent would handle a home listed by the same agent or brokerage. These are negotiated contract terms, not a guaranteed right to cancel for free; dual-agency choices vary by state. [NAR Written Buyer Agreements 101](https://www.nar.realtor/the-facts/written-buyer-agreements-101); [NAR Consumer Guide: Agency and Non-Agency Relationships](https://www.nar.realtor/the-facts/consumer-guide-agency-and-non-agency-relationships).
Requirements
If you choose an agent-assisted tour
Sign only the arrangement you accept
If an MLS Participant is working with you, complete an acceptable written buyer agreement before touring a home together—not necessarily an exclusive one. You may instead continue interviewing agents or attend an open house on your own without signing merely for that visit under NAR’s rule. If you are in Texas, its separate January 2026 residential-buyer rules apply to license-holder showings; a written showing-only non-representation option exists but supplies no transaction advice. [NAR Policy Statement 8.13](https://www.nar.realtor/handbook-on-multiple-listing-policy/no-compensation-offers-in-mls-section-4-written-buyer-agreements-required-policy-statement-8-13); [NAR Consumer Guide to Written Buyer Agreements](https://www.nar.realtor/the-facts/consumer-guide-to-written-buyer-agreements); [Texas Real Estate Commission](https://www.trec.texas.gov/article/what-changes-2026-about-buyertenant-representation-texas).
Requirements
You are not the first to go through this. Here is how it went for others who asked the same thing.
u/JulianImSorryr/FirstTimeHomeBuyerApr 11, 2026
u/DingleberryDemonr/FirstTimeHomeBuyerAug 16, 2026
u/sojoy2025r/FirstTimeHomeBuyerOct 6, 2026
This answer draws on the National Association of REALTORS®’ MLS policy and consumer guidance and, for the conditional Texas example, the Texas Real Estate Commission.
NAR MLS Policy Statement 8.13
NAR’s current MLS policy requires a written pre-tour agreement for participating brokers working with a buyer, subject to other law.
Policy Statement 8.13
Unless inconsistent with state or federal law or regulation, all MLS Participants working with a buyer must enter into a written agreement with the buyer prior to touring a home.
NAR MLS Policy Statement 8.13
The agreed broker compensation must be definite, and the participant cannot collect more than the agreed amount or rate from all sources.
Policy Statement 8.13(b)–(c)
b. the amount of compensation in a manner that is objectively ascertainable and not open-ended. c. a term that prohibits the Participant from receiving compensation for brokerage services from any source that exceeds the amount or rate agreed to in the agreement with the buyer; and
NAR MLS Policy Statement 8.13
NAR requires a conspicuous statement that commissions are negotiable rather than set by law.
Policy Statement 8.13(d)
d. a conspicuous statement that broker fees and commissions are not set by law and are fully negotiable.
NAR Written Buyer Agreements 101
NAR acknowledges several permissible types of agreement rather than requiring an exclusive buyer agency contract.
Types of Representation
To maximize broker and buyer choice, consider all types of written buyer agreements permitted by state law, including short form, limited service, agency, non-agency, transactional, customer, among others.
NAR Written Buyer Agreements 101
A buyer can propose a much narrower time or property scope than an open-ended exclusive arrangement.
NAR Policy Will Not Dictate
Term of the agreement (e.g., one day, one month, one house, one zip code);
NAR Written Buyer Agreements 101
Exit terms, extension and possible post-termination compensation warrant careful negotiation before signing.
Term and Termination
MLS Participants and buyers can negotiate and agree to the duration of the agreement, including whether the term is automatically extended until closing upon purchase contract ratification. Buyer agreements may include provisions addressing termination with cause and without cause by both the buyer and the MLS Participant. Termination by the buyer may also address whether there is a carryover period, where compensation may be owed to the MLS Participant if the buyer terminates the written buyer agreement and subsequently executes a purchase agreement within an agreed upon time following termination of the buyer agreement.
NAR Consumer Guide to Written Buyer Agreements
Talking to agents or visiting an open house alone does not itself trigger NAR’s buyer-agreement requirement.
When do I need to sign an agreement?
If you are simply visiting an open house on your own or asking a real estate professional about their services, you do not need to sign a written buyer agreement.
NAR Consumer Guide to Written Buyer Agreements
The buyer’s contractual payment obligation and a possible seller contribution are separate questions.
Does this mean I have to pay my real estate professional out of pocket?
While you are responsible for paying your real estate professional as outlined by your agreement, you can still request, negotiate for, and receive compensation for your real estate professional from the seller or their agent.
NAR Consumer Guide to Written Buyer Agreements
A signed contract may constrain how and when you can leave it.
Can I change or exit an agreement?
Agreements may have specific conditions under which they can be exited, so read the text of the agreement and speak with your real estate professional if you would like to change or exit your agreement.
NAR Consumer Guide to Negotiating Written Buyer Agreements
You can decline the agent’s proposed terms instead of signing under pressure.
You don’t have to sign an agreement that you don’t agree with, and you or the agent can walk away from a negotiation at any time.
NAR Consumer Guide: Ten Questions to Ask a Buyer’s Agent
Search, showings, market analysis and negotiation are potential buyer-agent benefits to specify in a contract.
What types of services can you provide me?
Agents may offer many types of services such as finding you homes that meet your criteria, accompanying you to showings, sharing their analysis of the market and available properties, negotiating on your behalf, and more.
NAR Consumer Guide: Agency and Non-Agency Relationships
A buyer’s agent represents the buyer’s interests when acting in that agency role.
A buyer’s agent works with the buyer to represent their best interests throughout the transaction.
NAR Consumer Guide: Agency and Non-Agency Relationships
Going to an open house without your own agent does not turn the seller’s agent into your representative.
A seller’s agent has fiduciary duties to the seller, meaning their job is to work in the best interests of the seller, which usually means the best price and terms.
NAR Consumer Guide: Agency and Non-Agency Relationships
Agency choices depend on the law of the state where the buyer is purchasing.
These relationships are defined by state law and the options available to you vary widely between states, but here are the basics of what to think about:
NAR Consumer Guide: Agency and Non-Agency Relationships
Representation of both sides raises a distinct, state-dependent conflict question.
Dual agency
In states that permit dual agency status, there is usually a requirement for disclosure and for informed consent from both the buyer and seller.
Texas Real Estate License Act § 1101.563; TREC guidance
Texas imposes its own pre-showing written-agreement requirement for license holders working with residential buyers.
Written Agreement Requirements
A license holder working with a prospective buyer of residential real property must enter into a written agreement with the prospective buyer before: Showing any residential real property to the prospective buyer; or If no residential real property will be shown, presenting an offer to purchase residential real property on behalf of the prospective buyer.
Texas Real Estate License Act § 1101.562; TREC guidance
Texas allows a limited written showing arrangement that is not buyer representation.
Non-Representation Showing Requirements
A license holder may use a written non-representation agreement for the sole purpose of showing property.
Texas Real Estate License Act § 1101.563; TREC guidance
The Texas showing-only non-representation agreement has a short maximum term.
Written Agreement Requirements
The termination date of the agreement (no more than 14 days for non-representation agreements).
Texas Real Estate License Act § 1101.562; TREC guidance
A Texas showing-only arrangement does not give the buyer an adviser.
Non-Representation Showing Requirements
May not provide opinions or advice regarding the property or real estate transactions in general.
These are the cited official and issuing-organization rules as published on the dates shown; rules can change.
This is general information about official homebuying processes, not legal advice, and SettleKit is not a law firm.
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