Posted by Tim Fierro (Tacoma, WA) on July 11, 2002 at 12:13:05:
I take it you are an agent. Whatever is written in the contract remains in the contract upon assignment. If there is a provision for an agent/broker to be paid, then it is still there.
However if you are strictly defining agency in this post, that is more of an agency law question. You and the first buyer could mutually agree to end the agency because you have done whatever they wanted/needed you to do. The first buyer could terminate and of course you could terminate; but I don’t think that an agency would transfer with the contract, only the interested party would be affected by the transfer/assignment. If you started a relationship with the 2nd buyer, it could be interpreted to mean you have an agency relationship, implied, by any services you start to perform.
I would say that the agency relationship is with the first buyer and that your agency relationship has actually terminated based upon the deal being completed and thus your services are no longer needed. That is only my opinion as I am no attorney and agency law has it’s own set of rules that can vary by state.