Duties owed to the Seller by Their Firm During an Open House

Under Texas law, the broker is the agent. The broker enters into the listing agreement with the property owner, and the seller becomes the broker’s client. The broker then appoints an associated license holder to deal with the broker’s client on the broker’s behalf, which is the listing agent. The listing agent carries out the broker’s duties to the seller under the listing agreement, subject to the broker’s authority, supervision, and fiduciary obligations.

Brokers and sales agents do not sell homes. The property owner sells the home, which is why they are referred to as the home seller. The broker provides representation services. Those services include marketing the property, soliciting offers from prospects, negotiating, advising, and promoting the seller’s best interests in accordance with fiduciary duties owed by the broker to the broker’s client. This framework is consistent with the Texas Real Estate License Act, TREC rules governing agency, and Article 1 of the National Association of REALTORS® Code of Ethics, which requires REALTORS® to promote and protect the interests of their client.

An open house is conducted for one purpose: to market the seller’s property and solicit offers for the seller. Whether the open house is hosted by the listing agent or by another associated license holder within the firm, the hosting agent is present solely at the broker’s discretion and only to perform brokerage services in furtherance of the listing agreement. The open house host does not replace the listing agent, does not assume the listing agent’s authority, and does not alter the broker’s appointment. The listing agent remains the broker’s primary appointed associate to deal with the seller before, during, and after the open house.

Every open house attendee who is viewing the property as a potential purchaser is a prospective purchaser of the seller’s property and, therefore, a prospect of the seller. They are not a prospect of the listing agent, the open house host, or the brokerage for other business. Every reasonable effort must be made to encourage prospects to submit an offer on the seller’s property. An open house is not a setting for redirecting prospects to other properties or using the seller’s home as a gateway to generate unrelated business. Doing so elevates the interests of the associate or the brokerage above the interests of the seller and creates fiduciary and ethical risk under both TREC standards and the REALTOR® Code of Ethics.

If an unrepresented buyer attends the open house and expresses interest in purchasing the property, the buyer is a customer, not a client. While the buyer remains unrepresented, the brokerage may provide factual information about the property, make required disclosures, and provide blank promulgated forms. The brokerage may not advise the buyer on terms or strategy, nor assist the buyer in completing an offer, as those activities constitute brokerage services that may only be provided to a client. If the buyer insists the agent fill out the blank form, the buyer must be told that the only path forward is for the agent to send the blank form to the seller for the seller to fill it out on behalf of the buyer.

If the buyer requests representation from the firm so the brokerage can assist with preparing and negotiating an offer, the broker must first establish a representation relationship with the buyer. Because the broker already represents the seller, the broker must proceed under intermediary, as permitted by Texas law, and appoint associated license holders to deal with each party on the broker’s behalf. The listing agent remains the broker’s appointed associate for the seller. The open house host is also seller-facing, as they are appointed by the broker to deal with the seller on the broker’s behalf. For an associate to be appointed by the broker to deal with the seller and then switch roles at the open house—from seller representation to buyer representation—could be viewed as misrepresentation. To maintain role clarity and avoid divided loyalty, the buyer must be assigned a separate appointed associate distinct from either the appointed listing agent or the open house host.

Open house hosts are seller-facing. To ensure compliance with Texas law and avoid misrepresentation, buyers who wish to submit an offer must be referred. The buyer may choose to engage the services of another brokerage entirely or be referred to another associate within the same brokerage. When a buyer is referred internally and representation is established through intermediary, the receiving associate is responsible for presenting all required disclosures, including agency disclosures, the Information About Brokerage Services form, buyer representation agreements, and intermediary documentation, and for providing brokerage services to the buyer once representation is established. Open house hosts may enter into intra-office referral agreements, consistent with brokerage policy, with all compensation disclosed to the principal and handled exclusively through the broker.

Only after it is clearly established that a prospect is not interested in the seller’s property, and after reasonable efforts to solicit an offer have been exhausted, may that individual be treated as a general prospect of the brokerage. At that point, the broker may, at the broker’s sole discretion, appoint another associate to deal with the buyer. Any attempt by the open house host to shift from seller-facing duties to buyer advocacy during the open house misrepresents the associate’s role and undermines the broker’s fiduciary obligations. Such conduct exposes both the associate and the broker to regulatory, ethical, and reputational risk and is inconsistent with Texas law, TREC rules, and the REALTOR® Code of Ethics.

If, after the open house has concluded, a former prospect contacts the open house host and the host is no longer acting in a seller-facing capacity, the broker may appoint that associate to deal with the buyer, provided the transition is clearly documented and entirely separate from the open house activity.

Best-Practice Compensation Framework for Open House Host

As a best practice consistent with Texas law, the listing agent and open house host may enter into a broker-approved compensation agreement whereby the open house host agrees to provide seller-facing services, including opening the property for showings when needed and hosting a minimum number of open houses during the term of the listing. Compensation, if any, is paid at closing through the broker and is not contingent upon buyer conversion.

Additionally, open house hosts may enter into broker-approved intra-office referral agreements to share agent-side compensation when a buyer is referred to another associate for representation. This structure reinforces that the open house host’s role is seller-facing and exists solely to further the broker’s duties to the seller, while still allowing agents to be fairly compensated without creating conflicts of interest. Compensation may include a seller-facing fee paid at closing and referral compensation for any buyer who was initially a prospect of the seller, introduced to the brokerage through marketing efforts performed under the seller-facing listing agreement, and later documented as an uninterested seller prospect.

This piece was written and copyrighted by Jack Stapleton, CEO & Broker (C) 2025.