Before the broker achieves the single agency relationship, who is the party to whom the broker attempts to achieve employment?

• A. The principal
• B. The customer
• C. The broker
• D. The licensee

Answer: (B)

Before a single agency relationship exists, the broker is seeking to be employed by the party who will eventually hire them to represent them. In real estate terms, that party is the customer—the unrepresented person who may become a client if they decide to hire the broker. A single agency relationship is created only after the broker signs an employment agreement with the client. Until that contract is in place, the broker’s contacts are with the customer, who may or may not become the client.

In other words, the broker attempts to achieve employment with the customer because the customer is the prospective party who would hire the broker to represent them; the principal (client) designation comes only after a formal agreement. The broker themselves or the licensee isn’t the party being employed in this context, and the principal only exists once representation is established.