Selling Your Property
There are several different types
of listing contracts, but very few of them are used. The
"Exclusive Right to Sell" is the most common, but there
is the "open listing," the "exclusive agency listing,"
and the "one-time show."
Open Listing
The "open listing" is mostly used
by people trying to sell their home by owner who are
also willing to work with real estate agents. Basically,
it gives a real estate agent the right to bring buyers
around to view your home. If their client buys your
home, the agent earns a commission. There is nothing
exclusive about an open listing and a home seller can
give out such listings to every agent who comes around.
For that reason, no agent is going
to market your home or put it in the Multiple Listing
Service. If your home fits the criteria for one of their
clients, and it is convenient, they may be willing to
show it to their client. That is all an "open listing"
is good for.
One-Time Show
A "one-time show" is similar to an
open listing in many respects, as it is most often used
by real estate agents who are showing a FSBO (for sale
by owner) to one of their clients. The home seller signs
the agreement, which identifies the potential buyer and
guarantees the agent a commission should that buyer
purchase the home. This prevents the buyer and seller
from negotiating directly later and trying to avoid
paying the agent’s commission.
As with an open listing, agents
will not be spending money on marketing your home and it
will not be placed in the Multiple Listing System.
Exclusive Agency Listings
An "exclusive agency" listing
allows an agent to list and market your home,
guaranteeing them a commission if the house sells
through any real estate agent or company. It also allows
sellers to seek out buyers on their own.
This is not a popular type of
listing agreement. The reason is that there is not much
incentive for agents to spend money marketing your home.
If you come up with your own buyer, they have spent
money they cannot earn back through the real estate
commission. Plus, it is too easy for a greedy buyer to
go around the agent and negotiate directly with the
seller.
If you find an agent willing to
accept such a listing, do not expect too much from them.
They will probably just place it in the Multiple Listing
Service and sit around to see if something happens. A
good agent would never accept such a listing, and you
probably want a good agent.
Exclusive Right to Sell
Giving a real estate agent the
"exclusive right to sell" your property does not mean
that there will not be other agents involved. Your agent
is the listing agent and part of his or her job is to
market your home to other agents who work with buyers.
Those agents will show your home to their clients.
Regardless of who sells the home, even if you sell it
yourself to a friend at work, your listing agent will
earn a commission.
An exclusive right to sell is the
only type of listing an effective real estate agent will
accept. This is because they have a reasonable
expectation of earning back any money they spend on
promoting and marketing your property.
All articles © 2000
RealEstate ABC. No articles may be reprinted or
displayed without permission.
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