Buyer Agency in Crown Point: Indiana’s Written Agreement Rule

Buyer agency means a real estate licensee represents you, the buyer, under a written agreement. For buyer agency in Crown Point and across Indiana, that paper is not optional once you want us to represent you on scheduled showings. At our Crown Point shop we walk the form out loud, name how we get paid if you close, and keep your ceiling private after you sign.

We’re the shop on South Main in Crown Point. Love Thy Neighbor. Call (219) 801-0432.

This is how our shop handles buyer agency for buyers in Crown Point and the Northwest Indiana towns we work. We cover what Indiana law requires, what the form says, what we owe you after you sign, and how compensation gets written. When you’re ready to look, search homes on Realest.com. It has search and sold homes for Indiana and Illinois.

Start the buyer path on Buy. The wider shelf is on Learn: Buying and Learn: Financing. Short questions go to Ask Realest. The straight answer on the paper is Indiana buyer agreement. That Ask page covers the yes-or-no. This post walks through how we work it at our office.

What Indiana law requires

House Enrolled Act 1068, signed March 11, 2024, added Indiana Code chapter 12 on real estate agreements, effective July 1, 2024. The Indiana Professional Licensing Agency explained the change in its June 27, 2024 press release. Read the enrolled act at HEA 1068, the code chapter at Indiana Code 25-34.1-12, and the IPLA press release.

Writing, end date, your copy. Under Indiana Code 25-34.1-12-2, buyer agency agreements, or any authority to represent a buyer or tenant, shall show a definite date of expiration and shall be in writing, on paper or electronic. One copy goes to the buyer within three business days of signing. The selling broker keeps the original and electronic files.

Agency relationship. Indiana Code 25-34.1-10-9.5 says a licensee has an agency relationship with the individual they are working with unless there is a written agreement to the contrary or the licensee is only assisting as a customer without compensation. The written buyer agreement is how we make that relationship clear. See Indiana Code chapter 10.

Compensation does not create agency. Under Indiana Code 25-34.1-10-13(d), the payment of compensation does not create an agency relationship. Who pays is separate from who we represent. We still name compensation in the agreement so nothing is vague.

How we walk you through the buyer agreement

1. Browse first if you want. You can search homes online and call the shop with a question without signing. Open houses you walk alone do not require the paper first. The agreement comes before we represent you and tour listed homes with you, including a virtual tour. Read the Indiana buyer agreement answer.

2. Sit with the form at our office. We read who we represent, the real end date, the work (search, showings, offers, inspections, closing help), and how we get paid if you close. If a line does not match what we said, we stop and fix it before you leave.

3. Name compensation clearly. Indiana law does not set a percent. Under the NAR practice rule in effect since Aug. 17, 2024, the agreement names a specific amount: a flat fee, a percent, an hourly rate, or zero. Not a vague range. Not whatever the seller offers.

4. Ask the seller in the offer if you want help. Under the agreement you are responsible for paying your buyer broker as the paper says. You can still ask the seller to cover all or part of that amount in the purchase offer, the same way you ask for closing-cost help. Read Seller Concessions in Northwest Indiana and our buyer closing costs page for Lake and Porter counties.

5. Bring your letter. A pre-approval letter is not a guaranteed loan, but sellers take it seriously. Read Mortgage Pre-Approval With Our Crown Point Shop before we write.

6. Keep personal letters out of the offer. Some buyers want to write the seller about their family. A letter like that can bring up details tied to protected classes under the federal Fair Housing Act, which covers race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status and disability. We keep the offer about terms. HUD lists the protected classes on its Fair Housing Act overview.

What we owe you after you sign

Under Indiana Code 25-34.1-10-11, a licensee representing a buyer must fulfill the agency relationship, disclose its nature, seek a property and terms that fit you, present offers immediately upon receipt unless you direct otherwise, disclose adverse material facts actually known, advise you to get expert help past our expertise, account for money and property, use reasonable care and skill, and follow fair housing and civil rights laws.

We may not tell anyone that you will pay more than the offered price, what motivates you to buy, or other confidential information, without your informed written consent, unless disclosure is required by law. We treat sellers honestly and do not knowingly give false information.

When offers stack up, read Multiple Offers With Our Crown Point Shop. For earnest money, inspections and appraisal gaps, see the related posts at the end.

Buyer agency by town

The paper is the same in every town. The search is not. Buyers come to us for Crown Point, St. John, Schererville, Dyer, Munster, Highland, Cedar Lake, Winfield, Lowell, Merrillville, Hobart, and Valparaiso.

For what living there is like, Real Estate USA keeps guides to homes in Crown Point, St. John, Schererville, Dyer, Munster, Highland, Cedar Lake, Winfield, Lowell, Merrillville, Hobart, and Valparaiso.

Shopping from across the Illinois line? Start with our Lansing guide and Real Estate USA’s Lansing Illinois homes guide, then Learn: Illinois. We are licensed in Indiana and Illinois, and Realest.com has search and sold homes for both states.

The tradeoffs to weigh

Signing vs browsing. You can look online and call with questions without a form. Representation and scheduled showings with us need the written agreement.

A short term vs a long term. The agreement can cover a day, a weekend, or one house. Pick an end date you can live with.

Who pays vs who we represent. Compensation and agency are separate under Indiana law. Name both in writing so nothing is fuzzy.

Asking the seller vs paying yourself. Asking for help in the offer can lower your cash need. It also changes what the seller nets, so sellers compare offers on that number.

What we will ask you back

Expect questions about your lender and your letter, the payment you want, your cash after closing, the towns on your list, your move date, and the price where you would walk. Buying for the first time? Grab our First-Time Home Buyer Packet. For the weeks after the seller says yes, read From Offer to Closing.

Questions about buyer agency in Crown Point

Do I need a written buyer agreement in Indiana before we tour listed homes?

Yes, once you want a Realest licensee to represent you and tour listed homes with you. Indiana Code 25-34.1-12-2 requires a buyer agency agreement in writing with a definite expiration date. Call us at (219) 801-0432 before you sign. We are licensed in Indiana and Illinois.

What must the buyer agency agreement include under Indiana law?

It must be in writing, on paper or electronic, show a definite expiration date, and you get a copy within three business days of signing. The broker keeps the original and electronic files. House Enrolled Act 1068 added that chapter effective July 1, 2024.

Who pays the buyer broker in Indiana?

Compensation is negotiated and named in your agreement. It is not a percent set by law. You can still ask the seller to cover all or part of that amount in the purchase offer, the same way you ask for closing-cost help.

What does my buyer agent owe me after we sign?

Under Indiana Code 25-34.1-10-11, your agent must promote your interests, present offers immediately unless you direct otherwise, keep your ceiling and motives private without your written consent, treat sellers honestly, and follow fair housing law.

Can I browse listings or call the shop before I sign a buyer agreement?

Yes. Browse online without signing. Call with a real question without signing. Open houses you walk alone do not require that paper first. The written agreement comes before we represent you on scheduled showings, including a virtual tour.

How do I start buyer agency with Realest?

Call (219) 801-0432 or email saso@realest.com. Visit us at 112 S. Main St., Suite B, Crown Point, IN 46307. Bring your pre-approval letter if you have one, the towns on your list, and the payment you want. Love Thy Neighbor.

Talk to the shop

Realest, 112 S. Main St., Suite B, Crown Point, IN 46307

(219) 801-0432 | saso@realest.com

Love Thy Neighbor

Top photo: Lake County Court House, Crown Point, 1908 postcard by Steve Shook, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped.

Next reads: Buy, Learn: Buying, Indiana buyer agreement, Pre-Approval shop, Multiple Offers shop, Crown Point hub. Homes for sale and sold homes in Indiana and Illinois: Search homes on Realest.com.

Sources

• Indiana Code 25-34.1-12 (official PDF, Indiana General Assembly, 2026), buyer agency agreements at IC 25-34.1-12-2
• Indiana Code 25-34.1-10 (official PDF, Indiana General Assembly, 2026), agency relationship and buyer duties at IC 25-34.1-10-9.5, 10-11, and 10-13
• House Enrolled Act 1068 (2024), enrolled PDF, Indiana General Assembly
• Indiana Professional Licensing Agency press release, June 27, 2024: written listing and buyer agency agreements effective July 1, 2024
• National Association of REALTORS: Consumer Guide to Written Buyer Agreements (practice change effective Aug. 17, 2024)
• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: Housing Discrimination Under the Fair Housing Act

This page is shop process, not legal advice. Your buyer agreement and your purchase agreement set the terms.