Do You Have to Sign a Buyer Agreement Before Touring a Home in Illinois?
In practice, yes. Since January 1, 2025, the Illinois Real Estate License Act has required every brokerage relationship, including buyer representation, to be set out in a written brokerage agreement, and agents who are REALTORS® have had to get that buyer agreement signed before a showing since August 17, 2024. The agreement must state how your agent gets paid and for how long it lasts, and the fee itself is negotiable, not set by law.
By Kealan O’Neil | Updated November 3, 2026
Every buyer I work with in Kendall and Kane County asks some version of the same question the first time I bring up paperwork: “Wait, I have to sign something just to look at a house?”
It’s a fair question, and it still catches people off guard. One Illinois buyer on r/RealEstate described driving more than an hour to a showing, only to have the agent refuse to open the door until a buyer agreement was signed. That’s a frustrating way to learn the rules.
Two layers of rules apply here. The national practice change that took effect August 17, 2024 covers agents who are REALTORS®, and Illinois law, updated January 1, 2025 and again in 2026, covers every licensed broker in the state. Here’s what that means in Yorkville, Oswego, and Montgomery, and the four things buyers consistently get wrong.
The 4 Things Yorkville Buyers Miss About the Buyer Agreement
1. It covers representation, not open houses
You do not need to sign anything to walk into an open house on your own, and you do not need to sign anything to ask an agent a few questions about how they work. The signature comes when an agent starts working for you, which in practice means before they tour a home with you.
Illinois’ rule for brokers, 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1450.770, says a broker must sign a written agreement with a buyer before, or as soon as reasonably practical after, performing licensed work to help that buyer purchase. Most Fox Valley agents are REALTORS® and follow the stricter before-the-tour timing.
The open house is where buyers get confused. The listing agent represents the seller. Under that same rule, when a listing agent works with a buyer who has no agent, the listing agent has to give the buyer a written disclosure that they are not acting as the buyer’s agent. That notice is the opposite of a buyer agreement: it tells you nobody in the room is looking out for you.
If that listing agent offers to represent you too, that’s dual agency, which requires your written consent first. Read how dual agency works in Yorkville before you agree to it.
2. The compensation has to be specific, and you can negotiate it
Under Rule 1450.770, every written buyer agreement in Illinois, exclusive or not, has to include the agreed basis or amount of compensation and when it gets paid. It also has to name the brokerage, your designated agent, and you, list your agent’s duties, and carry signatures from both sides.
For REALTORS®, the national practice change goes further: the fee has to be a specific, determinable number, such as a flat fee, a set percentage, or an hourly rate, not an open-ended range. That’s good for you. You know your agent’s exact fee before you ever tour, not after you’re attached to a house.
Nothing in Illinois law sets what an agent charges. The License Act also requires your agent to disclose the brokerage’s compensation policy and any compensation from third parties. If an agent gives you a vague answer about pay before you sign, ask again until the number is clear.
One more protection: changes to the commission amount or timing aren’t valid unless they’re in writing and signed by both of you, and the rule bars agents from using purchase contract forms to change fee terms you already agreed to.
3. You choose the scope and the term, and it has to expire
A buyer agreement can be exclusive or non-exclusive. An exclusive buyer agreement in Illinois must promise minimum services under Section 15-75 of the License Act: presenting offers and counteroffers, helping you negotiate them until the contract is signed and contingencies are satisfied or waived, and answering your questions along the way. An agreement that leaves those services out is treated as non-exclusive.
Every buyer agreement also has to expire automatically within a definite period. If it runs longer than one year, you must have the right to end it each year with no more than 30 days’ written notice. Under Section 10-25, an agreement that skips those terms is void.
Scope is negotiable too. You can limit an agreement to one property, a few homes, a specific area, or a short window. Watch for a protection period after the term ends. For homes of four units or fewer, Illinois rules say no fee is owed under that clause if you sign a valid written agreement with another brokerage during the protection period.
4. The seller can still pay your agent, but it has to be negotiated
Buyers hear “you have to sign a compensation agreement” and assume they’ll write a check at closing. That’s not automatic. You can ask the seller to pay all or part of your agent’s fee as a term of your offer, and Illinois rules note that a listing agreement may or may not offer anything to a buyer’s agent.
In my experience in Kendall and Kane County, sellers still often agree to cover some or all of the buyer’s agent fee, especially on new construction and homes priced to move. But it’s no longer an invisible default. It’s one more term you negotiate, the same way you’d negotiate earnest money or plan for an appraisal gap. If the brokerage gets paid by both buyer and seller in one deal, Illinois law requires that to be disclosed to you in writing.
How to Choose a Buyer’s Agent in Yorkville, IL Before You Sign
The buyer agreement is the first document you sign in the whole process, before you write an offer, before attorney review, and before earnest money changes hands. It’s also the moment your agent’s duties to you become official.
So treat signing as a hiring decision. If you’re searching for a real estate agent in Yorkville, IL or a buyer’s agent in Oswego, a ten-minute conversation will tell you more than reviews alone. Ask these before you sign:
- What exactly is your fee, and when is it paid?
- Is this agreement exclusive or non-exclusive, and what area and time does it cover?
- Is there a protection period after it ends?
- Who at your brokerage is my designated agent?
- Will you ask the seller to cover your fee in my offers, and what happens if they say no?
Sellers sign their own version, and the rules on that side differ. If you’re selling a home before you buy, here’s how a listing agreement in Yorkville works.
If an agent is already showing you homes and hasn’t had this conversation, notice that. A short talk about compensation, scope, and term before your first showing saves you from finding the terms later, buried in paperwork, under a deadline. You can also have your own attorney review the agreement before you sign it.
What Fox Valley Buyers Ask About Signing a Buyer Agreement
These are the questions buyers in Yorkville, Oswego, and Montgomery ask most once they hear they need to sign something before touring.
Do I have to sign a buyer agreement to see a house in Yorkville or Oswego?
Can I negotiate what I pay my buyer’s agent in Illinois?
Does the seller still pay my agent’s fee?
How long does a buyer agreement last, and can I get out of it?
What’s the difference between an exclusive and a non-exclusive buyer agreement?
Sign It Knowing What It Says
The buyer agreement isn’t a trap, and it isn’t paperwork to rush through on a driveway. It’s the document that makes your agent accountable to you, spells out what they’re paid and for how long, and puts the question of who pays in writing instead of leaving it assumed.
If you’re getting ready to tour homes in Yorkville, Oswego, Montgomery, or anywhere in the Fox Valley, I’ll walk you through what a buyer agreement would look like for your situation, line by line, before you sign anything. Call or text Kealan at 630-425-8815.
About Kealan O’Neil
Kealan O’Neil is the Designated Managing Broker and founder of O’Neil Property Group, an independent real estate brokerage based in Yorkville, Illinois. He and his team help buyers and sellers in Yorkville, Oswego, Montgomery, and the surrounding Kendall and Kane County communities, and he owns and manages a local rental portfolio, so he approaches every decision as both a broker and an investor. Call or text Kealan at 630-425-8815.
This post is general information about real estate in the Fox Valley, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Real estate laws, tax rules, and municipal ordinances change, and how they apply depends on your specific situation. Talk with a licensed attorney, CPA, or lender before making decisions about a purchase, sale, or tax matter. O’Neil Property Group is a licensed Illinois real estate brokerage.