Kennesaw Buyer Brokerage Agreements: What You Must Sign
Do You Have to Sign an Agreement Before a Realtor Shows You a Home in Georgia?
Yes. Georgia's Brokerage Relationships in Real Estate Transactions Act requires a written brokerage agreement before an agent represents you as a client, and the GAR forms that took effect January 1, 2026 make that requirement harder to miss. In Kennesaw and Marietta, that usually means GAR Form F110, the Exclusive Buyer Brokerage Engagement Agreement, though some agents use a shorter Pre-Showing Compensation Agreement for a single showing. You can also tour homes as a customer under GAR Form F116 without full representation.
TL;DR
- Georgia has required written buyer brokerage agreements since before the 2024 NAR settlement, under a state law called BRRETA — the 2026 GAR forms just sharpened the language.
- GAR Form F110 sets a Term (commonly a few months, and negotiable) plus a Protected Period that can obligate you to pay your agent even after the agreement ends.
- The 2026 revision changed "Buyer may owe" to "Broker may be entitled to compensation" — a small wording shift that matters if you switch agents mid-search.
- You can tour homes as a customer under GAR Form F116 without full representation, but you give up the agent's fiduciary duty and confidentiality.
- Signing doesn't cost you anything upfront — compensation terms are negotiated in the agreement and typically settled at closing.
Kennesaw Buyer Agreements: Why You're Asked to Sign Before You Tour
If you've called an agent to see a house in Kennesaw or Marietta and been handed paperwork before you've stepped through the front door, that's not an agent being pushy. It's Georgia law working the way it's supposed to.
Georgia has required written buyer brokerage agreements since long before national headlines caught up. Under BRRETA, a broker who wants to represent you as a client — meaning they owe you loyalty, confidentiality, and full disclosure — has to put that relationship in writing first, including how they'll be paid. That's been true for decades. What changed is the level of detail buyers now see, and how consistently agents are expected to use it.
The 2024 national settlement added another layer on top of Georgia's existing rule: agents anywhere in the country can no longer discuss or receive compensation without a signed agreement in place before showing a home as a client's representative. Georgia agents had a head start because BRRETA already required something close to it. But the GAR forms revised for 2026 tightened the language further, and buyers are noticing the paperwork more than they used to.
For Kennesaw and Marietta buyers, this shows up earliest in the search process — often on the first phone call, before a showing is even scheduled. That's a change from how house hunting felt a few years ago, when buyers could tour several homes with different agents before settling on one. Under the current forms, that kind of informal shopping around still happens, but each agent showing you a property now has a stronger incentive to get something in writing first, even if it's just the short-form Pre-Showing Compensation Agreement rather than a full Term commitment.
What Actually Changed for 2026
The 2026 revisions aren't a rewrite — they're a clarification, but a few of the changes matter to you directly:
- "Buyer may owe" became "Broker may be entitled to compensation." It sounds like a lawyer's edit, and it is, but the shift makes clear that compensation is something the broker has a right to under specific conditions, not just an open-ended bill the buyer might owe.
- The Protected Period language got more precise. Older forms referenced an agreement that had simply "expired or terminated." The 2026 version separates a unilateral termination by the buyer from a natural expiration, and those two situations can affect what a broker is owed differently.
- Virtual showings now count. If your agent sends you a video tour or shows you a property by video call, that property can fall under the same Protected Period rules as an in-person showing.
None of this is designed to trap buyers. It's designed to make sure everyone — agent and buyer — knows exactly what they agreed to if the relationship changes mid-search.
GAR Form F110 vs. F116: Client Representation or Just a Customer?
Not every buyer signs the same document, and the difference matters more than most people realize walking in.
GAR Form F110 — Exclusive Buyer Brokerage Engagement Agreement. This is a full client relationship. Your agent owes you fiduciary duty, meaning they negotiate for your interests only, keep what you tell them confidential, and can't represent the seller's interests in the same deal. The form sets a Term — the dates the agreement runs — and a Protected Period, which extends certain obligations past the Term's end date.
GAR Form F116 — Customer Agreement. This covers buyers who want access to homes and paperwork help without full representation. You're a customer, not a client. Your agent can show you properties and facilitate the transaction, but they don't owe you the same loyalty they'd owe a client, and anything you tell them isn't necessarily confidential from the seller's side.
GAR Form F258 — Pre-Showing Compensation Agreement. This is the short version, typically used for a single showing or an open house where an agent wants to protect their right to compensation without locking a buyer into a full-term representation agreement.
For most buyers actively searching in Kennesaw or Marietta, F110 is the stronger choice — especially in a market where knowing how to structure a winning offer depends on having someone negotiating only for you, not splitting loyalty between both sides of the deal.
Kennesaw & Marietta: What the Protected Period Actually Means for You
The Protected Period is the part of the agreement that catches buyers off guard, so it's worth slowing down on.
Here's the situation it covers: your buyer brokerage agreement ends — either it expires or you cancel it — and sometime after that, you close on a home your original agent showed you, sent you a video tour of, or otherwise introduced you to. Depending on how the agreement is written, your original agent may still be entitled to compensation, even though a different agent (or no agent) helped you finish the deal.
This isn't unique to Georgia, and it isn't new to real estate. It exists because agents put real time into researching, scheduling, and showing homes, and the Protected Period keeps a buyer from using that work and then closing through someone else to avoid paying for it. But the length of the window and exactly which properties it covers are negotiable, and they're spelled out in Section B of the F110 form. Some buyers never read that far.
Before you sign anything in Cobb County, find the Protected Period section and ask two direct questions: how long does it run past the agreement's end date, and does it cover every home your agent showed you, or only ones specifically identified in writing. Every buyer agreement is different, and the only way to know exactly what you're agreeing to is to walk through it line by line with someone who works in this market every day.
Questions to Ask Before You Sign a Buyer Brokerage Agreement
Before you sign, get straight answers to these:
- What's the Term, and can it be shortened? A shorter initial term, with the option to renew, is often easier to live with than a long one you're locked into.
- What does the Protected Period cover? Ask whether it lists specific addresses or applies broadly to anything the agent showed you.
- Am I signing as a client (F110) or a customer (F116)? Know which duties your agent actually owes you.
- What compensation is my agent expecting, and does it change if the seller's broker offers less? Georgia's 2026 forms address what happens when the amount offered cooperatively doesn't match what your agent expected — ask how that gap gets handled.
- Can I cancel, and what happens to compensation if I do? Mutual termination and unilateral termination aren't treated the same way under the Protected Period language.
If you're still deciding which agent to hire in the first place, Choosing a Real Estate Agent in Kennesaw walks through what to ask before you sign anyone up. And once you're under contract, Georgia's Due Diligence Period gives you another layer of protection worth understanding early.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to sign a buyer brokerage agreement before touring a home in Kennesaw?
In most cases, yes. Georgia agents need a written agreement in place before formally representing you or discussing compensation, whether that's the full GAR Form F110 or a shorter Pre-Showing Compensation Agreement for a single showing. Open houses are a common exception — you can typically walk through without signing anything, since no agent is representing you there.
What's the difference between being a client and a customer in Georgia real estate?
A client under GAR Form F110 gets full representation: fiduciary duty, confidentiality, and an agent negotiating solely in their interest. A customer under GAR Form F116 gets access to homes and transaction help without that exclusive loyalty. Most active buyers are better served as clients, especially when multiple-offer situations reward having someone negotiating only for you.
Can I cancel a buyer brokerage agreement in Georgia if I'm not happy with my agent?
Yes. Georgia's forms allow for mutual or unilateral termination, but read the Protected Period language first — it determines whether you could still owe compensation on a home your original agent showed you, even after you've switched. You can find more Kennesaw and Marietta buyer guides at masoudpour.com.
Does signing a buyer brokerage agreement cost anything upfront?
No. Signing doesn't cost you money — it sets the terms for how and when compensation is paid, which is negotiated between the buyer, the seller, and the seller's broker, and typically settled at closing. Buyers in Marietta working through the full cost picture can see how that fits alongside everything else they'll pay at the table.
Where can I find an agent in Kennesaw who will walk me through this before I sign anything?
Start local. An agent who works Cobb County daily can walk you through the Term, the Protected Period, and whether F110 or F116 fits your situation, before you ever see a house. That conversation should happen before you sign anything, not after.
The Bottom Line
Signing a buyer brokerage agreement in Kennesaw or Marietta isn't a formality to rush through — it sets the terms of who represents you, for how long, and what you might owe if the relationship changes before you close. Read the Term and the Protected Period before you sign anything, and ask your agent to walk through both in plain language.
If you're getting ready to start touring homes in Kennesaw, let's go through the agreement together before you see your first house. Schedule 15 minutes and I'll answer every question above.
