This is an important stage in real estate agency in the sense that no agent is allowed to act unless there has been an agreement between him and his principal in the sense that the property owner gives him an express authority to act on his behalf, this is mostly done in writing as prescribed by the law and there must be acceptance of such appointment by the other party.

An estate agent is liable to be;
(a) Obedient to his principal and respect his authorities
(b) He must be loyal and humble to his principal in the sense that he is managing and foreseeing things on his behalf.
(c) He must carry out his duty in good faith, confident and trust and avoid negligence.
(d) He must be reasonable in judgment, prudent and skill in the field.
(e) He must maintain proper account of the owner’s property and operate in a separate account.
(f) He must at any point in time carry out his duties and roles.
(g) He must be prudent in giving notices to the principal owner.

Rights of the principal are;
(a) Rights to recover damages for want of skill.
(b) Right to obtain accounts and records of property.
(c) Rights to resist agent’s claim for commission if the agent has gone to act as the principal owner and not just a mere agent.

For an agent to completely practice, he must possess the title of the property and make sure that he is dealing with the real property owner, check for right of occupancy, he should also check for dimensions and real site inspection for conformity, also he is liable to check (legal search) if there are restrictions (any encumbrance) on such property in any manner.

Thanks.