The buyer agreement you sign before touring homes in Colorado
Since August 2024, agents who are Realtors need a signed agreement with a buyer before touring homes together, under a national legal settlement. Colorado added its own rule in August 2026: an agent needs your signature before working for you. The agreement says what your agent is paid and how long it lasts, and the pay is negotiable.
Rules checked October 21, 2026.
If you’ve started looking at homes recently, an agent has probably asked you to sign something before the first showing. That’s new. Realtors have to get one before touring homes with you, and since August 2026, Colorado law requires a signed agreement before an agent advises you or writes an offer.
Why it exists
For decades, the commission a seller paid was usually split with the buyer’s agent, and a buyer could work with an agent without signing anything. Home sellers sued over that system, and in 2024 the National Association of Realtors settled. Since August 17, 2024, an agent who is a Realtor and is working with you has to have a written agreement with you before you tour a home together.
Colorado went a step further. A state law, HB26-1426, took effect August 12, 2026. It says an agent needs a signed writing from you before providing brokerage services, such as advising you on a home or writing an offer. Under the state’s rules, showing a home or holding an open house isn’t one of those services. The touring requirement comes from the Realtor settlement.
What the agreement has to say
Under the settlement, every buyer agreement has to:
- state what your agent will be paid, as a specific amount or rate, or a clear way to work it out (a range, or “whatever the seller offers,” isn’t allowed)
- say your agent can’t be paid more than that amount, from any source
- say plainly that commissions aren’t set by law and are fully negotiable
It also sets how long the agreement lasts and the area or kind of home it covers.
Two terms are worth reading closely. Colorado’s standard Exclusive Right-to-Buy contract can’t be canceled at will: either side can end it only if the other doesn’t hold up its end, unless you add an early-exit term. It also has a holdover period, so the fee can still be owed on a home you go under contract on within a set number of days after the agreement ends.
The two Colorado forms you’ll see
The Buyer Broker Compensation Agreement is a short form on the last page of the state’s Brokerage Disclosure to Buyer. It sets your agent’s pay and nothing else. It doesn’t make the agent your representative.
The Exclusive Right-to-Buy Listing Contract is the full agreement. It makes the agent your representative for a set time, and it spells out their duties to you.
The Exclusive Right-to-Buy contract is also where you choose how the agent works with you. A buyer’s agent represents you and works for the best terms for you. A transaction broker helps both sides complete the sale without representing either one. Ask which one you’re signing.
The state’s updated forms take effect January 1, 2027, so the names and pages may change. The rules above stay the same.
Brett works as his buyers’ agent, and he believes it’s the better choice by a wide margin. A transaction broker helps the sale close without taking your side. As your agent, Brett advises you on what to offer, negotiates the price and the inspection repairs for you, and tells you when a home isn’t worth what’s being asked. He believes advising you and speaking up for you is the reason to hire an agent at all.
Who pays your agent
You agree to the amount. The seller can agree to pay part or all of it. If the seller won’t cover all of it, your agent has to tell you in writing what you’d owe before you sign a contract on a home. You can ask for that in your offer, and whatever the seller covers counts toward what you owe. Offers of buyer agent pay can’t be listed on the MLS anymore, so it’s something your agent asks about or negotiates for you.
If you’re short on cash at closing, this matters. Ask your agent how they plan to handle it on the homes you like.
What to ask before you sign
- What’s the amount or rate, and when is it owed?
- How long does the agreement last?
- Does it cover every home I look at, or only some areas or kinds of homes?
- Can we add a way for me to end it early?
- Is there a holdover period, and how long is it?
- If I don’t buy anything, do I owe anything?
- Will you be my buyer’s agent or a transaction broker?
Brett has buyers sign before the first tour, and he offers to go through the agreement with you line by line before you sign.
Questions
Do I have to sign anything to walk through an open house?
No. You don't need an agreement to visit an open house or talk with the agent hosting it. The agreement comes in when an agent starts working with you and you tour homes together.
Does signing mean I have to buy a home?
No. It sets the terms if you do buy during the agreement: who represents you and how your agent is paid. Read the part that says what, if anything, you owe if you don't buy.
Can the seller pay my agent?
Yes, if the seller agrees. You can ask for it as part of your offer. Whatever the seller covers counts toward the amount in your agreement. Your agent can't be paid more than that amount in total.
This article is general information. A lender, attorney, or tax professional can tell you what applies to your situation.
