Loyalty — acting in the principal's best interest rather than the agent's own — is a core fiduciary duty. An agent can't guarantee outcomes like a successful close, isn't personally financially liable for the deal's results, and can't promise a specific closing date, which depends on many parties beyond the agent's control.

Puffing is exaggerated opinion ('this is a fantastic view') that isn't treated as a factual claim, while misrepresentation is a false statement of fact that a buyer could reasonably rely on — the two carry very different legal consequences, puffing generally isn't illegal, and misrepresentation isn't limited to written statements.

A real estate agent is typically a special agent — authorized for a specific, limited purpose (like selling one property), not broad ongoing authority (a general agent) or unlimited authority across all of a principal's affairs (a universal agent). And a real estate agent clearly does form an agency relationship under the law.

Agency can end through mutual agreement, the agreement's stated expiration, or simply completing its purpose (like closing the sale) — not only through a court filing, not on a fixed one-year timer, and it certainly doesn't last forever.