LISTING YOUR PROPERTY WITH A LICENSED SALESPERSON – Part 3
You may hear certain terms in the real estate industry that relate to how you can list your property and you may not know what they really mean.
So this week I am going to take you through the different ways you can have your property listed for sale by a licensed Salesperson.
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The type of agency agreement will state whether this is a sole agency or general agency, the date on which the agency agreements starts, when it ends, and how to end the agreement. The term of an agency agreement is negotiatable.
- SOLE AGENCY – A sole agency means that only that agent ( and the salespersons who work for that agent) can carry out real estate agency work on the property identified in the agency agreement.
There are some things to be aware of if you are considering a sole agency:
- You should not sign another agency agreement with another agent if you already have a sole agency in place. If you do, you may have to pay all the agents a commission, regardless of which agent actually arranged the sale.
- If you have second thoughts about a sole agency after you have signed it, you can cancel the agreement by 5pm on the next working day after the day on which you receive a copy of the agreement.
- If you sign a sole agency agreement that is for a term of more than 90 days, either you or the agent can end the agreement after 90 days. This must be done in writing.
A sole agency agreement gives that particular agency the sole right to market your property. If you have someone you know that may want to buy your property privately from you, then you must talk to the listing agent prior to signing the agreement. You will need to exclude that buyer in writing with their name and details – The Salesperson will usually give you a time frame to work with (say two weeks). From a Salespersons perspective if they are committing all the time that it takes to set up a new listing, market the property, take buyers through and do open homes to then have it sold by you with no commission, most salespeople will not choose to market your property until this time frame is up.
- GENERAL AGENCY – A general agency is when you employ more than one agent to market and arrange for a sale of you property.
You can list with as many different agenies as you like, and also sell it privately if you wish – (Most Salespeople will want to list a property exclusively as the amount of work they put in will not necessarily be rewarded.)
If you choose to list a property under a general agency you will not necessarily get the same service, as there will be no open homes or extra marketing provided by the agency. A general listing works well with sections sales, or if you have a conditional offer already with that agency ,and you are extending your listing to cover the time frame needed to get that offer to go unconditional (sold).
Remember before you sign any agreement the listing agent should make sure you have had time to seek legal advice (if you think you should need it.) and that you fully understand what you have signed. If you have any questions or are unsure about anything make sure you speak to someone about them.
Remember you can go to the Real Estate Agents Authority (REAA) website and find out more information on this topic.
Next week I will be posting more information regarding what you will find on the LISTING AUTHORITY.
