The Language of Real Estate
Informed Consent
Consent to a certain act, given after a full and fair disclosure of all facts needed to make a conscious choice. Only those with adequate reasoning facilities who can appreciate the implications and future consequences of an action can give informed consent.
Often, people agree to something, such as the degree of representation in a real estate transaction, without truly understanding what they are agreeing to (dual agency, as an example), even after disclosure and a signed disclosure statement. Consent in this situation might be considered “uninformed consent.”
Another example might be a seller agreeing to pay a commission to a buyer’s agent, without fully understanding the degree of negotiability, even though it may have been disclosed to a seller that the amount paid to a buyer’s agent is a negotiable item. This too might be an example of “uninformed consent.”
“Informed Consent” is the opposite of “Uninformed Consent.”
