There are several factors to consider before making the move towards signing a Real Estate Listing Agreement. A lot of people may not know of these factors, so I thought writing an article will help.
The 7 things to know before signing a Listing Agreement will take you through some of the most important factors that should be addressed before going ahead and sign with a Realtor.
1 – Signing the Listing Agreement is not Compulsory
You are free to enter into any contract with any Real Estate Agent at any time. It is important to make an informed decision and there isn’t a better way to do it than exploring your options before you go ahead with the first Agent you interview with. This is the moment to ask questions and get informed with the opportunities you have at your fingertips. Make sure they understand what is you ultimate goal of selling your house and make sure to ask them how are they going to accomplish that, remember you are the one paying for their services, they should be focusing on serving you and not just on getting the listing.
2 – The Listing Agreement Comes with an Exclusive Agency Clause
This clause means that for a certain period of time (usually 90 days), only that agent you signed the contract with will be selling your property. You can still search for other agents and brokers to work with, but they will only be allowed to look at the listing and give you feedback. The Real Estate Agent will have the exclusivity of the listing of your house and he or she will be the only one available to List it on the Market.
3 – Termination Fees in Case you Want to Change Agent
This clause is usually the first question you need to ask when signing a Listing Agreement, because it usually states that if you decide to change agents during the Exclusive Agency Clause, you will have to pay termination fee or commission back to the Agent you are changing. Yes, even if they don’t serve you well you may be ending up paying them and starting all over again.
4 – Know what your property is worth
This is very important, before signing a listing agreement with any agent, make sure you do your own research, ask various Agents what they think your property is worth, do some research yourself too. There are agents out there that may not have any idea of the market conditions where your house sits at. Also make sure they have completely done their market research on your house and have given you estimated figures on how much an investor would pay for it or how much a family looking for a home would pay. In simple words, know exactly what your property is worth before deciding who your agent will be and what would be the price you will be listing at.
5 – Property condition
This is a BIG ONE. When putting a property on the market, it’s worth checking the condition of the property thoroughly before presenting it to potential buyers or even start researching for agents. If there are any major defects or issues consider having these repaired before anyone visits so as not to give them any cause for complaint later on. Especially when you meet with agents, make sure they understand the current condition of the house. Sometimes if you sign the listing agreement first, they may come over your house later on and ask you to do numerous repairs you have not considered before and huge amounts of money before you are even able to list it for sale.
It is important that you are aware of what you need to be repaired before signing the Listing Agreement with any agent and how much it is going to cost you, time and money.
6 – Know the Agreement Details
It is extremely important that you know the terms and conditions of the listing agreement, if he or she provides monthly property reports to you then make sure it is in accordance with what you have agreed to. The same thing goes for pictures, if photographs are taken at the time of listing agreement signing make sure they are good quality photos. If they say they will do a professional shoot and it is part of their service, make sure to check with them how many others properties/houses they have done similar shoots for and if there was any complaints about the quality of the photography or Listing description.
7 – The Agent’s Commission Must be Included in the Listing Price
This is very important as well, because most people might think that by having such commission included means that you will pay less overall than just paying it separately but this is not true at all , usually when an agent includes his or her commission into your list price, they consider other things like marketing, advertising and so on which you have to be aware of as well.
In conclusion , although it is not easy to let go from a house that has been giving shelter for so long, sometimes change is necessary, specially if you are having trouble or need to sell your house fast and Agent may not be the best option for the cost you have to pay and the time it takes to sell a house on the Market.
Be sure whether your agent can really provide you with what you are looking to accomplish selling your house.
Most of the times it is better to sell your house directly to an investor, who will give you a cash offer and buy it from you right there by taking your house off your hands.
In case the idea of selling your house directly to an investor comes to mind because you need the money fast and other options seems just too slow for you then be sure to contact us, you don’t have to pay to sell your house directly to us and most important, you can sell it As-Is without making any repair. Sell in your timeframe wether is days or weeks, we will buy it from you.
Go To House Buyer does not provide legal, tax, or investment advice. This material is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered as investment advice and may not be used as a basis for any financial decisions. Please seek advice from a professional in these areas before making a decision.