1. What Disclosed Limited Agency Is
In Oregon, one licensee may represent both the seller and the buyer in the same transaction — or two buyers competing for the same property — as a disclosed limited agent. National articles call this arrangement dual agency. Oregon does not, and the difference is not just vocabulary: the rules, the paperwork and the duties are set out in Oregon Administrative Rules 863-015-0205 and 863-015-0210.
Three things follow from that, and each one matters if someone puts the form in front of you:
- It never happens by default. It has to be established by written agreement meeting the requirements of the rule.
- Both sides sign, separately. The seller and the buyer each sign before the relationship is effective. Nobody is opted in by silence.
- It is an extra document. It sits on top of the listing agreement, the buyer agreement and everything else — not folded into them.
The word doing the work is limited. The agent keeps their honesty and their competence with the paperwork. What you lose is advocacy — and on a first condo purchase that is the part you were paying for.
2. The Three Things the Agent May Not Tell You
This is the concrete part, and it is the part most consumer explanations skip. An agent acting as a disclosed limited agent owes duties to both parties at once, which means they are barred from doing the following:
They may not tell the seller that a buyer is willing to pay more than the offer on the table.
They may not tell the buyer that the seller will accept less than the listing price.
They may not share confidential information about either party without that party's written permission.
Read those three again as a buyer. The negotiating guidance you most want — how far the other side will move — is exactly what has been switched off. That can be a fine trade when the two parties have already agreed terms and need competent execution. It is a poor one when you are still working out what to offer for a unit in a building whose reserve study you have not read.
3. When One Brokerage Has Both Sides
The common case is not one agent wearing two hats. It is two different agents at the same brokerage — one with you, one with the other side. Oregon has a specific rule for that situation.
When agents associated with the same principal broker establish agency relationships with the buyer and the seller in one transaction, the principal broker is the only broker acting as disclosed limited agent for both. The limited-agency status attaches at the supervising level; each of you still has an individual agent advocating for you.
This is usually workable, and it is why you may be handed a document you were not expecting late in a deal. It is also why we suggest noting the firm, not only the agent, when you verify a licence. In a neighborhood where a handful of brokerages do most of the condo volume, same-firm transactions are ordinary rather than exceptional.
4. Buyer's Agent vs Listing Agent
Limited agency only makes sense against the two ordinary roles it merges. A listing agent — also called the seller's agent — is hired by the seller to get the best terms for the seller. A buyer's agent does the reverse. On price they are directly opposed.
| Buyer's agent | Listing agent | |
|---|---|---|
| Works for | The buyer | The seller |
| Goal on price | As low as achievable | As high as achievable |
| Hired via | Written buyer agreement, before touring | Listing agreement |
| In a condo deal, focuses on | HOA documents, reserves, whether a lender will finance it | Pricing against the building, presentation, the document package |
| Your confidential information | Protected, and used for you | Owed to the seller, not to you |
The last row is the one that catches people at open houses. The friendly agent showing you the unit works for the seller, and no limited agency agreement has been signed. Telling them your real budget is telling the seller.
5. The Pearl District Version of the Problem
There is a second conflict specific to condo buildings that has nothing to do with agency law, and no form discloses it.
An agent who specialises in one Pearl District building is exactly who you want — they know the board, the reserve history, which stack gets the light. They may also currently be listing three other units in that building. Their relationship with that building is a long-term business asset. Yours is a single transaction.
That does not make them untrustworthy. It does make two questions worth asking out loud:
- →Do you currently represent any sellers in this building, or expect to?
- →If I want to make an aggressive offer that annoys the seller, is that a problem for you?
A good agent has a ready answer, because they have thought about it. What you are listening for is a process — how they wall the two roles off — not a reassurance that it never comes up.
6. Can You Buy Without Your Own Agent?
Yes. You can approach the listing agent directly, or buy unrepresented. Since the August 2024 changes made buyer compensation an explicit line item rather than something folded into the seller's side, more buyers ask about this.
| Going unrepresented | What it actually means |
|---|---|
| You might save the fee | Only if the seller passes on what they would have offered — not automatic, and negotiable either way |
| Nobody reads the HOA docs for you | On a condo this is the substance of the diligence, not a formality |
| No one checks financeability | You find out from your lender's underwriter, late |
| You negotiate against a professional | The listing agent does this weekly and owes their duty to the seller |
| You handle the timeline | Contingency deadlines in Oregon are real dates with real consequences |
It can make sense if you already own in the building, know the documents, and are buying a second unit. For a first purchase in a building you have not lived in, the money saved is small next to what a missed reserve problem costs. A middle option exists too: hiring a real estate attorney for the contract and diligence, without an agent.
7. Which Do You Need?
You are buying
You want your own buyer's agent, with a written agreement whose term is short enough to let you leave if it is not working.
What to look for →You are selling
You want a listing agent with closings in your building, and a separate decision on buyer-broker compensation.
How to choose one →You are doing both
One agent for both sides of your own move is normal and usually efficient. It is not limited agency, because you are the client on both sides. Negotiate the two fees together.
You have been handed the agreement
Ask what specifically you give up and what you get for it. Re-read section two first. If the answer is convenience, that is not enough on a first condo purchase.
8. Sources
Agency rules are state law and they change. These are the primary sources behind this page — read them before you sign anything.