2.2 Wyoming Agency Relationships
Key Takeaways
- A single agent represents only the buyer OR the seller and owes full fiduciary duties (OLD CAR) to that one client
- Disclosed dual agency needs written consent from both parties and forces the agent into a neutral, non-advocating role
- A transaction broker facilitates the deal without representing either party as a client
- Honesty and disclosure of known material facts are owed to ALL parties; loyalty, confidentiality, and advocacy are owed only to clients
- Licensees must disclose any personal interest in writing to all parties and cannot accept compensation from multiple parties without written disclosure
Wyoming defines several working relationships a licensee can have with consumers, and each one carries a precise set of duties. The exam frequently gives a fact pattern and asks which relationship exists or which duty applies, so learn the distinctions cold.
Single Agency (Seller's Agent or Buyer's Agent)
A single agent represents only one party — the buyer or the seller, never both.
| Single Agent Role | Represents |
|---|---|
| Seller's agent (listing agent) | The seller only |
| Buyer's agent | The buyer only |
A single agent owes that one client the full fiduciary duties:
- Loyalty — put the client's interests above the agent's own and above the other party's.
- Obedience — follow the client's lawful instructions.
- Disclosure — reveal to the client all material facts the agent knows.
- Confidentiality — protect the client's confidential information (price flexibility, motivation, timeline).
- Accounting — account accurately for all money and documents.
- Reasonable care and diligence — exercise competent skill on the client's behalf.
A handy mnemonic is OLD CAR: Obedience, Loyalty, Disclosure, Confidentiality, Accounting, Reasonable care.
Disclosed Dual Agency
Disclosed dual agency arises when:
- One licensee represents both the buyer and the seller in the same transaction, or
- Two licensees in the same brokerage represent opposite sides (depending on company policy).
Requirements and Limits
| Requirement | Description |
|---|---|
| Written consent | Both parties must consent in writing to the dual role |
| Full disclosure | The dual relationship and its limits must be explained |
| Confidentiality limits | The agent may not reveal the price or terms one party will accept to the other |
| Neutral position | The agent cannot advocate for one party against the other |
Warning: Dual agency strips away the strongest fiduciary protections. The agent becomes a neutral facilitator on the points where the parties' interests collide. A buyer's agent who suddenly represents the seller too cannot keep advising the buyer to "offer less" — that advocacy is gone.
Transaction Brokerage
A transaction broker assists the transaction without representing either party as a client. The transaction broker is a neutral facilitator who helps the parties move paperwork and reach closing, owes no fiduciary loyalty to either side, and treats both parties even-handedly. This is a common default in Wyoming when no agency relationship is established in writing.
Duties Owed to ALL Parties
Regardless of who the licensee represents, Wyoming imposes a floor of duties owed to everyone in the transaction. These survive even in transaction brokerage.
| Universal Duty | Description |
|---|---|
| Honesty / good faith | Deal honestly and in good faith with all parties |
| Disclosure of material facts | Reveal known material facts about the property |
| Accounting | Account for all money and property received |
| Competence | Perform services with reasonable skill and care |
Fiduciary Duties Owed ONLY to Clients
| Client-Only Duty | Description |
|---|---|
| Loyalty | Put the client's interests first |
| Obedience | Follow the client's lawful instructions |
| Confidentiality | Protect the client's confidential information |
| Full advocacy / advice | Advise and advocate for the client's position |
High-Yield Distinction: Honesty and disclosure of known material facts are owed to everyone; loyalty, confidentiality, and advocacy are owed only to clients. A buyer touring a listing is a customer of the listing agent and gets honesty — but not the loyalty owed to the seller-client.
Personal Interest Disclosure
A licensee must give written disclosure to ALL parties when the licensee:
- Is a principal in the transaction (buying or selling personally).
- Has a personal or financial interest in the property.
- Represents an immediate family member in the deal.
This rule prevents a licensee from quietly trading on inside knowledge or steering a deal toward a relative without the other side knowing.
Compensation Disclosure
A licensee shall not accept compensation from more than one party to a transaction without full written disclosure to all parties.
| Situation | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Fee from one party (the client) | Standard; no special disclosure |
| Fee from multiple parties | Must disclose to all parties in writing first |
Undisclosed compensation from both sides is a serious conflict and a discipline trigger.
Subagency
Wyoming recognizes subagency, in which a cooperating broker acts as a subagent of the listing broker rather than as the buyer's agent. A subagent owes the same fiduciary duties to the seller that the listing broker owes, and the subagency relationship must be disclosed to all parties. A buyer working with a subagent should understand that the agent actually answers to the seller.
Putting Duties to Work — A Scenario
Consider a listing agent (seller's single agent) showing the home to an unrepresented buyer. The agent must be honest with the buyer and disclose known material defects (the universal duties), but owes loyalty and confidentiality to the seller. So the agent must tell the buyer about a known cracked foundation, but must not tell the buyer "the seller will take $20,000 less" — that is the seller's confidential information.
| Action | Allowed? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Disclose a known foundation crack to the buyer | Yes | Disclosure of material facts is owed to everyone |
| Reveal the seller's lowest acceptable price to the buyer | No | Confidentiality is owed to the client (seller) |
| Lie about the roof's age when asked | No | Honesty is owed to everyone |
| Advise the buyer how low to offer | No | Advocacy belongs to the seller, the agent's client |
Key Takeaway: Sort every duty into "owed to all" versus "owed to the client." That single sort answers the large majority of Wyoming agency questions.
One licensee represents both the buyer and the seller in the same transaction with written consent from both. What relationship is this?
Which duty does a Wyoming licensee owe to ALL parties, even a customer they do not represent?
When must a licensee disclose a personal interest in a transaction (for example, that the buyer is the licensee's sibling)?
In a subagency arrangement, to whom does the cooperating subagent owe fiduciary duties?