When the buyer has their own agent

How an offer on your listing behaves when the buyer has their own agent: Messages, locked tabs, quiet stage moves and the outside agent’s page.

An offer is treated this way when it is on your listing and the buyer said they have an agent, or an outside agent made the offer. It is never treated this way under dual agency. An offer from an unrepresented buyer on your listing is not treated this way either, it keeps the normal tabs, emails and prompts.

#What is different

AreaWhat happens
Offers pageLabel Our listing · buyer has their own agent, with their name when known
Opening the offerIt opens on Messages
Overview and CommunicationLocked, each with Open Messages. Overview reads "The buyer’s journey is handled by the buyer’s agent", Communication reads "Communication with the buyer is handled by the buyer’s agent"
DetailsNot locked. You can still edit the Details tab
Stage movesNo Moving to … window and no stage emails to anyone: "No emails were sent — the buyer’s agent handles communication." Previous Stage is quiet too
Your listingStill follows the offer (Under Contract, Sold), without its stage emails, unless you choose to email the seller when accepting
DocumentsNo disclosure is made for the buyer at creation. A Share listing documents button shares the listing’s documents with the agent
Buyer agency promptsNot shown

#The Messages tab

Your conversation with the buyer’s agent: "Everything you send is emailed to the buyer’s agent, and their replies land here." Type a message, attach files and send. They are emailed "New message about your offer on [address]", you are emailed when they reply, and the Offers page shows "N new messages".

#The outside agent’s page

The outside agent signs in on your website and opens Offers I represent (their dashboard), then the offer. Offers I represent only appears once they represent an offer. They see the address, the offer amount, the stage, their Messages with the listing agent, and documents:

  • From the listing — the seller’s disclosures and other MLS documents.
  • Shared by the listing agent.
  • Send to listing agent — to send you a document, for example a pre-approval letter. It arrives on your Documents tab.
Signed in with a different email?

If the outside agent is signed in with a different email from the one on the offer, they are told so and asked to sign in with the right one.

Last updated 12 November 2026