Agency and Fiduciary Duties
Who represents whom
Ohio agency questions almost always reduce to three facts: who the client was, when the relationship was disclosed in writing, and which duties outlived the closing. A salesperson is never the client's legal agent in isolation - the license is held by the brokerage, and the salesperson acts on the broker's behalf. That single idea resolves a large share of trick questions about "the agent's" liability.
Creation and disclosure
Agency arises by express agreement, implication from conduct, ratification of an unauthorized act, or estoppel. Ohio expects a licensee to deliver the Consumer Guide to Agency Relationships to a consumer at first substantive contact and to obtain a written acknowledgment, and to confirm the agency relationship in writing before an offer is prepared. Buyer agency, seller agency, dual agency, and designated agency are all lawful; dual agency requires the informed written consent of both parties, and designated agency splits representation between two licensees inside one brokerage.
The fiduciary package
Remember it as obedience to lawful instructions, loyalty (no self-dealing, no undisclosed compensation from the other side), disclosure of material facts, confidentiality (which survives termination of the relationship), accounting for money and documents held in trust, and reasonable care and skill. To a customer who is not a client, a licensee still owes honesty, disclosure of known material defects, and no misrepresentation - an "as is" sale does not license fraud.
Traps and a rule of thumb
Watch for questions implying confidentiality ends at closing (it does not), that dual agency is prohibited in Ohio (it is not, with written consent), or that a licensee may give legal or tax advice. Rule of thumb: no written consent, no dual agency - if either party refuses, the brokerage must assign a different licensee to one side or withdraw from representing one party.