Real Estate Listing Agreements

When a seller decides to put their house or condominium up for sale, one of the first steps they usually take is to find a real estate broker to assist with the sale. Many real estate agents work to obtain sales of condominiums, townhouses, single family homes, and other types of residential property. If you have questions about real estate listing agreements, the skilled Ocala real estate attorneys of the Dean Law Firm may be able to help.

If a residential seller locates a real estate broker they want to hire, the broker will want the seller to sign a contract called a real estate listing agreement. At its most basic, a real estate listing agreement is a contract that lawfully binds the seller to legal duties.

There are different types of listing agreements, and each binds sellers to different terms. It’s critical for sellers to consider how long the listing agreement will be in effect, what the sale terms are, what price would induce the seller to sell, what the amount of the commission is, what fixtures will be sold with the property, whether the seller will be bound to arbitration if they have a disputed termination of the listing agreement, and whether the property will be listed in the multiple listing service. The four kinds of listings are open listings, exclusive agency listings, exclusive right of sale, and net listings. An experienced real estate lawyer can help you identify which ones may be relevant to your transaction.

In open listing agreements, the real estate broker can bring potential buyers to examine the property. These provide the most flexibility to sellers. They are non-exclusive. When there are a lot of prospective buyers, this can be a good option. Many different agents may work on possible deals and bring in buyers with interest, which means the chances of finding a buyer quickly are enhanced. If the prospective buyer does buy, the broker is paid a commission for finding the buyer. Open listing agreements can be, at last theoretically, signed with many different real estate brokers.

Exclusive agency agreements allow a seller to locate his own buyer. The broker won’t be paid anything if the seller is able to locate a buyer. Where the real estate broker does locate a buyer, the broker gets paid a commission as specified within the listing agreement.

In an exclusive right of sale listing agreement, a real estate broker gets a commission if a home is sold in an exclusive right of sale listing agreement. If you locate a buyer, the real estate broker will be paid a commission as set forth in the listing agreement.

Net listing agreements provide the real estate broker with a greater ability to seek profit. The agreement allows residential real estate to be sold with a particular net amount to be paid to the seller, and the real estate broker is empowered under the net listing agreement to retain money from a sale that exceeds the net amount, which may be greater than a standard commission percentage.

A multiple listing service is comprised of real estate professionals, but not all real estate professionals participate. A multiple listing service is used to assist with the marketing and sales of real property. A multiple listing service entry is given a particular identification number and real estate professionals can search multiple entries within a national database. Real estate brokers agree to participate in multiple listing services and can forward details about the exclusive listings to be included in the MLS database. Moreover, there is no contracting for listing agreements in the multiple listing service. Not all residential real estate is part of the multiple listing service database for Florida homes that are for sale.

If you have questions about a real estate listing agreement in Ocala, you can consult a knowledgeable real estate attorney. Michael E. Dean and Timothy S. Dean of the Dean Law Firm bring decades of experience to the representation of their clients. Call us at (352) 387-8700 to set up a free consultation or contact us online.