Real Estate Broker and Realtor Negligence

Under Oregon law, you may be able to recover monies if your real estate broker was negligent in representing you in a real estate transaction. 

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Most claims involving real estate brokers in Oregon arise out of the failure to disclose or adequately inform a home purchaser about material facts about a home that was sold. Real estate brokers are paid when deals close and they have a financial disincentive to disclose problems that could kill the deal. We have investigated and/or brought claims and cases against dozens of real estate agents for their failure to disclose construction defects and other adverse material facts, including but not limited to:

• Expansive soil problems

• Foundation defects and problems

• Defective stucco

• Floor slab problems

• Framing defects

• Leaky windows

• Water intrusion

• Insufficient water well production

• Methamphetamine use and/or production within the home

• Use of the home as a pornographic film studio

• Construction without permits

• Construction in violation of building codes

• Construction in violation of zoning codes

• Construction in violation of fire codes

Many of the specific things that a real estate broker must do for you in a transaction are listed in the standard contracts signed by real estate agents and homeowners. In addition to the contracts, if you hire a real estate broker as either your selling broker or buying broker (as opposed to a transaction broker that technically represents neither buyer nor seller), the real estate broker owes you a fiduciary duty. A fiduciary duty means the obligation to work in the best interest of the client. A breach of the fiduciary duty not only leads to damages as a result of the wrongdoing by the broker, but also a refund of any commission made on the purchase or sale. Most claims against real estate brokers in the state of Oregon are based on contracts that allow the winning party to get their attorney fees and costs paid by the losing party.

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In Oregon, a buyer's agent (the real estate agent that represents the buyer in a real estate transaction) owes the buyer certain duties including the following:

• To exercise reasonable care and diligence;

• To account in a timely manner for money and property received from or on behalf of the buyer;

• To be loyal to the buyer by not taking action that is adverse or detrimental to the buyer's interest in a transaction;

• To disclose in a timely manner to the buyer any conflict of interest, existing or contemplated;

• To advise the buyer to seek expert advice on matters related to the transaction that are beyond the agent's expertise;

• To maintain confidential information from or about the buyer except under subpoena or court order, even after termination of the agency relationship; and

• Unless agreed otherwise in writing, to make a continuous, good faith effort to find property for the buyer, except that a buyer's agent is not required to seek additional properties for the buyer while the buyer is subject to a contract for purchase or to show properties for which there is no written agreement to pay compensation to the buyer's agent;

• A buyer's agent may show properties in which the buyer is interested to other prospective buyers without breaching an affirmative duty to the buyer.