Types of Listing Contracts

The Listing Contract
Also referred to as a listing agreement, the listing contract gives a licensed real estate professional authorization to act on your behalf in the sale of your home. Listing contracts come in all shapes and sizes, but there are characteristics which are common to all.

A listing contract is an agreement between you and a licensed real estate broker that authorizes the broker to represent you in the process of selling your house. There are a lot of different types of listing contracts, but very few of them are used. The basic one used is the “Exclusive Right to Sell”. But will get that there are a lot more types, allowing you to select the level of authorization to give to your agent. Here are a few of them:

Open Listing

Considered the one most normally used, this type of contract is for people who are wish to both sell their house and work with real estate agents. What the contract does is giving the right for agents to do showings of your house, and gives them an amount of commission if the client chose to purchase your home. The good thing about open listing is that there are nothing exclusive or distressingly bonding about them. The bad thing is that you may expect less marketing or advertising done.

One-Time Show
This type of listing contract is pretty much the same to open listing. It’s normally used by people trying to sell their own house and involving an agent for the house viewings. The listing contract identifies the potential purchaser and guarantees the agent a commission if that purchaser purchases the house. Just like open listings, this type lacks of marketing efforts.

Exclusive Agency Listing
During your house selling, you’ll get that different types of listing contracts involve several different people. This one involves a broker. Basically an exclusive agency listing will give you the right to sell your own house, without paying the broker any commission unless the home is sold through a licensed real estate professional. Should the home be sold with no aid of agents, the contract allows householders to pay no commission at all. The reason why this type of listing contract is widely used is the temptation of not having to pay your broker.

Exclusive Right to Sell Listing
The most popular type of listing with sellers and brokers, this contract gives the full right for your broker to do whatever it takes to sell your home. For obvious reasons, this is probably the type of contract where you may expect the most incentive from the agent – a good marketing effort may take place here, and the householders’ work is much reduced.

Before you decide your contract, always be sure you know every type of listing contracts available to you. Take in mind how much effort you’d like to contribute to the house selling – this is often what distinguishes the types. Discuss the possibilities and disadvantages of each type. Remember, a listing contract is your first legal step in selling your home – take that step carefully.