Historical perspective of agency relationships

In real estate, we don't just follow one rulebook. We actually operate under three different "layers" of law that stack on top of each other. To stay out of trouble, you need to understand where these rules come from and who has the final say.First, we have Common Law, which you can think of as "unwritten law" or "judge-made law." This system originated in England and is based on tradition, custom, and court usage over hundreds of years. It isn't written in a single manual; instead, it lives in the history of court cases (precedent). If a judge in 1890 decided that an agent owes absolute loyalty to their client, judges today will generally follow that precedent. This is where our deep-rooted ideas about trust, fraud, and fiduciary duties originally came from.