So You Want To Sell Your Home

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Types of Listings

Open Listing

Gives a real estate agent the right to bring buyers to view your home. If their client buys the home, the agent earns a commission. There is nothing exclusive about an open listing and a seller can give such listings to every agent who comes around. For this reason, no agent is going to market your home or add it to their listings on the internet.

One Time Showing

Used most often by real estate agents who are showing a For Sale By Owner to one of their clients. The 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. Agents will not spend money on marketing your home .

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 as there is not much incentive for agents to spend money on advertising to market your home. If you come up with a buyer of your own, they have spent money they cannot earn back through the real estate commission. Do not expect much from an agent who accepts this type of listing.

Exclusive Right to Sell

Your agent is the listing agent and part of her job is to market your home to other real estate agents. These agents will also show your home to their clients. Regardless of who sells the home, even if you sell it yourself, your listing agent will earn a commission. An exclusive right to sell if the only type of listing an effective real estate agent will accept. This is because they have a reasonable expectation of earning back their money spent of marketing your property.

Terms of the Sale

Obviously the name of the seller and the property address will be included in the listing
contract. The main thing you will be concerned with is the price. You should have a
basic idea of how much you want to ask for your home.

You will also need to disclose what personal property, if any, goes with the house when
you sell it. Personal property is anything that is not attached to the house.

There may be an item that is considered “real property” that you do not want to include in
the sale. Real property is anything attached to the home.

 

How and When Commissions are Earned

The listing contract specifies a listing price. The agent’s job is to bring a qualified buyer
to present an offer on your home. If you reach an agreement with the buyer, then the
agent has done her job and earned the commission. Once the sale has closed, the real
estate broker gets paid from the proceeds of the sale.

If the buyer is unable or unwilling to close the sale, the house is placed back on the
market and the agent has to begin earning her commission all over again.

If the seller backs out or does not accept an offer that meets the price and terms of the
listing agreement, the listing broker has still earned the commission. They may want to
be paid even though you did not actually sell the home. Therefore it is very important to
carefully consider every detail when completing your listing contract and accepting an
offer to buy your home.