2.2 Single Agency Relationships

Single Agency in Colorado

Single agency exists when a broker represents only one party and owes that party full fiduciary duties. In Colorado it is created only by a written agency agreement (C.R.S. 12-10-404 for seller agency, 12-10-405 for buyer agency). Without that signed agreement, the broker defaults to transaction-broker.

Creating Single Agency

Seller's Agency

Created by the Exclusive Right-to-Sell Listing Contract:

Buyer's Agency

Created by the Exclusive Right-to-Buy Contract:

Since August 17, 2024, Colorado practice (reinforced by the NAR settlement) requires a written buyer agency or buyer representation agreement before touring properties with a buyer, making the buyer-agency contract a routine first step.

Fiduciary Duties — "OLD CAR"

A single agent owes the client the classic fiduciary duties, easily remembered as OLD CAR:

Colorado codifies these as uncompromised loyalty to the client (C.R.S. 12-10-404/405). The single agent also owes specific statutory duties: present all offers, advise the client to seek expert counsel, account for money, and disclose adverse material facts.

Exam Tip: A single agent's loyalty runs to one party. But the duty to disclose adverse material facts about the property and to deal honestly is owed to everyone in the transaction, including the other side. Loyalty does not license deception.

What a Single Agent May and May Not Say

Seller's Agent

To the seller (client): market the property, present all offers, advise on price and strategy, protect the seller's confidential information.

To the buyer (not the client): deal honestly, do not deceive, disclose adverse material facts about the property, account for any deposit. Never reveal the seller's confidential bargaining information.

Must NOT tell the buyer: the seller's lowest acceptable price, the seller's motivation or urgency, or any fact that would weaken the seller's negotiating position.

Buyer's Agent

To the buyer (client): locate suitable properties, research, present all offers, advise on strategy, protect the buyer's confidential information.

To the seller (not the client): deal honestly, present offers promptly, account for deposits. Never reveal the buyer's confidential bargaining information.

Must NOT tell the seller: the buyer's highest price, the buyer's motivation or urgency, or anything that would weaken the buyer's position.

Exam Tip: Classic scenario — a seller's agent learns the buyer will pay more than the list price. Because the agent's loyalty is to the seller, the agent discloses this to the seller. Reverse the parties and the answer flips.

In-House Transactions and Designated Brokerage

When the same brokerage has both the buyer and the seller, Colorado does not permit a single broker to act as a fiduciary for both (no dual agency). The firm has three lawful options:

Designated brokerage is Colorado's signature solution: two brokers in one office can each owe full fiduciary duties to opposite parties, while the employing broker remains neutral and walls off confidential information between them. This preserves single-agency representation without creating a conflicted dual agent.

Exam Tip: "One firm, both parties, each wants full representation" → designated brokerage. The employing broker stays neutral and supervises both designated brokers without favoring either side.

Termination and Carry-Over Duties

A single-agency relationship ends when the written agreement expires, the parties release each other, or the transaction closes. Two duties survive termination: confidentiality of the client's information and accounting for any funds or documents still held. A broker cannot, after a listing ends, reveal what the former seller-client confided about price or motivation.

Single Agency vs. Transaction-Broker at a Glance

Exam Tip: Confidentiality does not expire when the listing does. Revealing a former client's bottom-line price after closing is still a breach.