Washington § 18.86.030 - Duties of broker.

(1) A broker owes the following duties to their principal and to all parties in a transaction, which may not be waived:

(a) To exercise reasonable skill and care;

(b) To deal honestly and in good faith;

(c) To present all written offers, written notices and other written communications to and from either party in a timely manner, regardless of whether the property is subject to an existing contract for sale or the buyer is already a party to an existing contract to purchase;

(d) To disclose all existing material facts known by the broker and not apparent or readily ascertainable to a party; provided that this subsection shall not be construed to imply any duty to investigate matters that the broker has not agreed to investigate;

(e) To account in a timely manner for all money and property received from or on behalf of either party;

(f) To provide a pamphlet in the form prescribed by RCW 18.86.120 and obtain an acknowledgment of receipt by the party. The pamphlet shall be provided to:

(i) Any party to whom the broker renders real estate brokerage services as soon as reasonably practical but before the party signs a services agreement; and

(ii) Any party not represented by a broker in a transaction before the party signs an offer or as soon as reasonably practical; and

(g) To disclose in writing before the broker's principal signs an offer, or as soon as reasonably practical, but before the parties reach mutual agreement:

(i) Whether the broker represents the buyer as the buyer's agent, the seller as the seller's agent, or both parties as a limited dual agent. The disclosure shall be set forth in a separate paragraph titled "Agency Disclosure" in the agreement between the buyer and seller or in a separate writing titled "Agency Disclosure"; and

(ii) Any terms of compensation offered by a party or a real estate firm to a real estate firm representing another party.

(2) Unless otherwise agreed, a broker owes no duty to conduct an independent inspection of the property or to conduct an independent investigation of either party's financial condition, and owes no duty to independently verify the accuracy or completeness of any statement made by either party or by any source reasonably believed by the broker to be reliable.

Effective date—2023 c 318: See note following RCW 18.86.010.