The Role and Responsibilities of a General Estate Agent The Role and Responsibilities of a General Estate Agent What is a General Agent? A general agency is an individual who is authorized to act in behalf of another entity or person. In the context or real estate, an agent general is someone that is authorized to act on behalf of a client to perform a wide variety of activities related with buying and selling properties. General agents are typically given broad authority to make contracts and make decisions on behalf of clients. This can include negotiating with buyers or sellers,