By Prerna Kapoor, CLHMS | REAL Brokerage | June 16, 2026
You found a house you want to see, you call an agent, and before you can even walk through the front door, they hand you a contract to sign. If that feels like a lot to ask before you’ve stepped inside, you’re not alone. I hear this from buyers almost every week, and the honest answer is that the rules changed, and signing something up front is now part of how home buying works.
Here’s the good news. The buyer agency agreement is not a trap. When you understand what it does and what’s actually negotiable, it becomes a tool that works in your favor instead of a hurdle. Let me walk you through it the way I would if we were sitting across the table.
Why You Sign Something Before You Tour
In August 2024, a national settlement involving the National Association of Realtors took effect, and one of its biggest changes was this: a buyer now signs a written agreement with their agent before touring homes. This applies across the country, not just here.
Colorado buyers were a step ahead. Our state already used buyer representation agreements long before the settlement, so the idea of putting the relationship in writing isn’t new to us. What changed is that it’s now firm and consistent everywhere, and the form spells out compensation more clearly than it used to. The Colorado Real Estate Commission, which sits under the state’s Division of Real Estate, publishes the standardized forms most agents here use.
What’s Actually in the Agreement
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Once you read past the legal language, a buyer agency agreement is really answering four questions.
What will the agent do for you? This is the services section. It covers things like searching for homes, scheduling showings, writing offers, negotiating, and guiding you through inspection and closing.
How long does the agreement last? This is the term. It might be a single day for one specific property, or it might run for several months across your whole search. The length is up to the two of you.
Is it exclusive? An exclusive agreement means you work with that one agent for the period and properties it covers. A non-exclusive version gives you more room, though most serious buyers end up choosing one agent they trust.
How does the agent get paid? This is the part everyone cares about most, so it gets its own section below.
How Buyer-Agent Pay Works Now
The compensation has to be stated clearly in the agreement, in writing, before you tour. It can be a flat fee, a set dollar amount, or a percentage. And the single most important thing to know is that it is fully negotiable. There is no standard rate you’re required to accept.
Another change worth understanding: buyer-agent pay is no longer posted on the MLS for everyone to see. So compensation is now something you and your agent agree on directly, and then work into the deal.
Sellers can still choose to cover some or all of your agent’s fee. That happens through seller concessions written into the purchase contract, and it’s one of the things a good agent negotiates for you. I dug into how those credits work in my guide to Colorado seller concessions and buyer credits. The point is that the buyer agency agreement sets the ceiling on what your agent earns, and the negotiation determines who actually pays it.
How to Protect Yourself Before Signing
You have more say here than most buyers realize. A few things I’d encourage you to do.
Read the term length, and don’t be afraid to ask for a shorter one to start. If you’ve just met an agent, a short initial period or even a single-property agreement lets you see how you work together before committing to months.
Ask exactly how compensation gets handled if the seller doesn’t cover all of it. You want to know that number before you fall in love with a house, not after.
Make sure your financing is lined up too, because the strongest buyers walk in with both their representation and their loan sorted. If you haven’t started there, my Colorado mortgage pre-approval guide and the deeper Colorado Buyer Financing Playbook are good places to begin. And if you’re still deciding who to work with at all, I wrote about how to choose a real estate agent in Colorado with the questions that actually matter.
In the Parker and Lone Tree buyer deals I’ve worked this spring, the buyers who felt best about their agreements were the ones who asked questions before signing. Not a single one regretted slowing down for ten minutes to understand it.
Quick answers
Do I really have to sign before just looking at a house?
Yes, if you’re touring with an agent who represents you. The written agreement is now required before showings. Open houses you visit on your own are a different situation.
Can I negotiate what my agent gets paid?
Absolutely. Compensation is fully negotiable and must be written into the agreement before you tour. There’s no fixed rate you have to agree to.
What if I don’t want to commit to one agent for months?
Ask for a shorter term or a single-property agreement. You’re allowed to start small and extend later if the relationship is working.
Prerna Kapoor | REALTOR® | Luxury Home Specialist
REAL Brokerage | 720-949-5450 | info@prernakapoor.com
CLHMS • RENE • PSA • ABR | International Sterling Society Award Winner
Prerna specializes in residential real estate across Parker, Aurora, Lone Tree, Castle Pines,
Highlands Ranch, Cherry Creek, Greenwood Village, and Centennial. She speaks English, Japanese,
and Hindi.
