When selling a home, is it acceptable to use more than one sales agent?
I’m preparing to put my home up for sale with a real estate agent, and wondering if I need to pick just one after meeting with the short list i have created, or if its customary to let multiple agents try and sell your place for you at the same time. Is there a standard I should follow, or actual legal rules? Thanks.
4 Responses
Enchantress71
12 Feb 2010
Real Estate Guy
12 Feb 2010
almost 99.9% of the time you list with one broker/agent.
I don’t know of any brokers/agents that would do it any other way.
Keep in mind that by listing with one broker/agent, and having your house put into the MRIS/MLS system, every agent has the ability to sell your house.
You should be more worried about making the house look good and pricing it correctly.
Alterfemego
12 Feb 2010
Listen, they will all tell you THEY CAN SELL IT. What may be best for you in the long run is to select the one you felt was honest, forthright and would keep your best interests to heart. While you could have several do this as an "open" listing, it’s not customary, nor normal. 97% of the time another brokers agent will bring the buyer anyway. So list with just one, and listen their advise. If you aren’t going to listen, then don’t bother putting it on the market. You will only find yourself reducing the price and reducing the price until you are so frustrated you hate all Realtors. We provide sound advise, most homeowners don’t listen.
MissV
12 Feb 2010
I’d be curious as to how you’re choosing your agent. Is it based on sales? The Selling Agent gets the credit for selling the property even though it may have been a Buyer’s Agent who brings the ready, willing and able client.
If this person is part of a team you may have to insist that the person be THE only one you have to deal with. Better known agents are known for putting out a real estate sign with their name on it and assigning any questions they don’t want to be bothered with to a ‘junior’ agent.
You probably won’t be able to do that. When you pick a real estate agent, the agent will have you sign an exclusivity contract with him or her that would forbid you from allowing anyone else to represent you in the sale of your home. Usually, you would contract to this exclusivity for a certain period of time — say, 3 months. At the end of the contract period if the house is still without a buyer, you would have the option to sign an extension for another period of time or you could walk away and find another agent to represent your home. If you broke the contract, you could face a law suit and if the agent won, you would have to pay him or her what they would have made from the sale of your house — this could be tens of thousands of dollars.