Buyer Agency Agreements: What Jonesboro Buyers Sign

If you are house hunting in Jonesboro this spring, the first paper you sign is not your offer. It is a buyer agency agreement, and it goes in front of you before you ever open a lockbox.

That is a real change for anyone who last bought a home before 2024. At NEA Realtor Group, Trenton Hoggard and Tim Ray walk every new buyer through this document line by line, because most people have never seen one and most people have questions.

This post is the long version of that walkthrough. We will cover what the agreement says, what is negotiable, what Arkansas law requires, and what to ask before you sign.

Why every buyer signs one now

The August 2024 NAR settlement changed the rules nationally. Any agent who is a member of the National Association of Realtors and works through the MLS must have a written buyer representation agreement in place before showing a home. There is no informal handshake stage anymore.

The 2026 amendments tightened a few related items. Compensation has to be plainly stated, not open-ended. The agreement has to include a clear statement that real estate commissions are not set by law and are fully negotiable. And agents cannot accept compensation from more than one party in a deal without disclosing that to everyone and getting written consent. The official NAR settlement FAQ covers the full background if you want the source material.

For Jonesboro buyers, the practical effect is simple. You will see a one to three page document at your first meeting with an agent, before any tours. That is normal now.

What an Arkansas buyer agency agreement actually contains

Every buyer agency agreement in Arkansas has the same core sections, even if the form your agent hands you looks slightly different from one we use.

• Who you are and who the agent is. Your name, the agent's name, and the brokerage they work under. Brokerages, not agents, are the legal parties.
• What kind of representation. Either exclusive (you work only with this agent for the agreed time) or non-exclusive (you can work with other agents too).
• The geographic and property scope. The agreement names the area you are searching, like Jonesboro and surrounding NEA cities, and the property type, like single-family resale or new construction.
• The duration. Arkansas requires a specific end date or a clearly determinable term. There is no open-ended buyer agreement under Arkansas law.
• How the agent is paid. The most important section. It states the rate or amount your agent earns, where that money comes from, and what happens if the seller's side covers part or all of it.
• The agency disclosure. The Arkansas Real Estate Commission requires your agent to give you the official Agency Representation Disclosure form so you understand exactly who they represent and what duties they owe you.
• Termination terms. How either party can end the agreement early, what notice is required, and what happens if you go under contract on a home shown to you under this agreement.

The duties an Arkansas agent owes a represented buyer include loyalty, confidentiality, full disclosure of material facts, accounting for any money handled, and reasonable care.

Exclusive vs. non-exclusive: which one fits

Most buyer agency agreements are exclusive. Here is the trade-off in plain language.

Exclusive agreement. You work only with that agent for the term. The agent gets paid if you buy any home in scope, even if you found it on Zillow yourself. In return, you get the agent's full attention, the full strategy, and a real partner who will turn down other clients to take your call.

Non-exclusive agreement. You can work with multiple agents. The agent who finds and writes your accepted offer is the one who gets paid. In return, you usually get less attention and less strategic depth, because the agent has no certainty their work will pay off.

In a small market like Jonesboro, where the same agents see each other every week and where a seller's agent often knows who is bringing the buyer, non-exclusive agreements are uncommon and often signal a buyer who is not fully committed yet. That can hurt you in negotiations. We almost always recommend exclusive, with a short initial term so you can test the relationship before committing for six months.

Duration: how long should you sign for

Arkansas does not set a maximum term. Six months is standard. Twelve months is rare unless you are searching for something specific, like a custom build or a niche property type.

Here is how we usually frame the duration question with first-time Jonesboro buyers:

• If you have never worked with us before, start with 30 to 90 days. That is enough time to write an offer or two and see if we are the right fit.
• If you are under tight timing (lease ending, school year, job start), match the term to your move-in window plus 30 days.
• If you are loose on timing and just casually looking, a longer six-month term keeps you in the queue without pressure to act.

The key is that the term is in writing and you both understand it. Surprises here cause friction later.

How the agent gets paid in 2026

This is the section that confuses people the most. It used to be hidden inside the listing agreement and nobody talked about it. Now it is right in front of you.

Commissions are not set by law. They are fully negotiable. The agreement will say this in plain language, because that disclosure is now required.

The number in your buyer agency agreement is the cap. It is the maximum amount your agent will earn from your purchase, regardless of what the seller offers. If the seller's side offers more, your agent does not pocket the difference. If the seller's side offers less, the gap is on you, and that gets negotiated into the offer.

Compensation in Jonesboro typically falls in the 2 to 3 percent range for buyer's agents, though every deal is its own conversation. A February 2026 survey of Arkansas agents pegged the average total commission (both sides combined) at 5.66 percent, slightly below the national average. Note that survey data reflects broader trends, and your specific transaction will have its own numbers.

In most Jonesboro purchases we close, the seller still offers compensation to the buyer's agent. That offer is just no longer made through the MLS. It happens in the listing agreement or in negotiations on the offer itself. Either way, your agent's pay is now your decision, not a hidden line item.

Dual agency in Arkansas

Arkansas allows dual agency, where one agent represents both buyer and seller in the same transaction. That can happen if you call the agent listed on the yard sign and they end up writing your offer.

Two things to know about dual agency under Arkansas law.

It is only legal with informed, written consent from both parties. The agent has to explain it, you have to sign off on it, and so does the seller.

A dual agent owes loyalty equally to both sides, which means they cannot advocate aggressively for you on price or terms the way a buyer-only agent would. They are essentially a neutral facilitator at that point.

We do not typically do dual agency. When a property we list catches the eye of a buyer who calls us cold, we usually refer them to a separate agent on our team or a trusted colleague. The buyer agency agreement makes that referral clean, because the representation question is settled in writing up front.

If you encounter a dual-agency offer, read it carefully. The agreement should spell out exactly what changes about the agent's duties to you.

What to negotiate before you sign

The agreement is a contract. Like any contract, terms can change before you sign.

• Term length. Ask for a shorter initial term (30 to 90 days) if you are new to the agent.
• Geographic scope. Make sure it covers the actual cities you are searching: Jonesboro, Brookland, Bono, Paragould, Lake City, or wherever you are open to.
• Property type scope. If you might consider a small acreage property in addition to a Jonesboro single-family, write both into the scope.
• Compensation. Discuss the rate or amount openly. Ask what the agent will accept if the seller's side offers less.
• Termination. Ask how the agreement ends if the relationship is not working. Most allow either party to terminate with written notice, sometimes after a short cooling-off period.
• Excluded properties. If your aunt is selling her house and you might buy directly from her, list that property as excluded so you are not double-paying.

These are normal questions. A good agent will welcome them. If your agent is uncomfortable with any of this, that itself is data.

What it does not do

A buyer agency agreement is not a commitment to buy a home. You can sign it and then decide not to buy at all. The agent does not get paid in that case, and the agreement just expires at the end of the term.

It is also not a contract on any specific home. That is the purchase agreement, which comes later when you write an offer. The buyer agency agreement only governs the relationship between you and your agent.

And it does not lock you out of new construction. Most builders in the Jonesboro market still work with buyer's agents and pay them through the builder's listing arrangement. Bring your agent to the first model-home visit, sign in with them, and the builder will route the compensation correctly.

How NEA Realtor Group runs this

Every new buyer who works with us gets the buyer agency agreement at our first meeting, before any tours. We walk through every section. We explain the compensation line in real numbers. We answer every question.

We use a 90-day initial term for most first-time buyers, with the option to extend if we need more time. For repeat clients we have worked with before, we go straight to six months because the trust is already there.

Our services page lays out everything we do for buyers under that agreement: pre-approval coordination, search strategy, showings, neighborhood guidance for Jonesboro and surrounding NEA cities, offer writing, inspection navigation, and the work between contract and closing. NEA Realtor Group also runs dedicated direct mail campaigns on every listing we represent, so when a buyer asks how we move our sellers, we have a real answer.

If you are brand new to the process, our first-time buyer checklist is a good companion to this post. It covers the steps before and after the buyer agency agreement.

If you are getting close to writing an offer on a Jonesboro home, our competitive offer guide is the next thing to read.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I tour a Jonesboro home without signing a buyer agency agreement?

Not with an agent. Every NAR-affiliated agent in Arkansas has to have a written agreement in place before showing you a property. You can attend a public open house without one, and you can drive by homes on your own, but you cannot have an agent open a lockbox or set up a showing until the agreement is signed.

Q: What happens if I sign a buyer agency agreement and then do not buy a home?

Nothing. The agreement just expires at the end of the term. The agent does not get paid because nothing closed. You are free to sign with someone else after the term ends, or to step away from buying entirely. The agreement creates a representation relationship, not a purchase obligation.

Q: Can I switch agents in the middle of an agreement?

You can, but read the termination section first. Most agreements allow either party to end the relationship in writing. Some include a cooling-off period or require that any home you toured during the agreement remain attached to that agent's compensation if you buy it within a defined period after termination. If you are considering a switch, talk to both agents and the brokerage about how to handle the wind-down cleanly.