Exclusive Agreement with a Broker: What You Should Know

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If you are planning to put your apartment buildings for sale, you would probably need the help of a broker. 

If this is your first time using their service, you should familiarize yourself with how the relationship works between a broker and a seller. This article will help you understand why sometimes the word “exclusive” could mean a different setup for the broker and the seller. 

What Is an Exclusive Listing?

A listing becomes exclusive when there is an internal agreement between the property seller and a broker. When the seller decides and authorizes one specific person to do the marketing and selling of their property, then there is exclusivity between their partnership! This is the exact opposite of an open listing agreement. 

Only the assigned agent can work, promote, show, and sell the property with an exclusivity agreement ongoing. No other brokers are involved in the property. The broker exclusively does all work for a specific agreed period. It means having only one person to deal with for the property seller, but it also has its downside of not having as wide an exposure for your property as it would with multiple people promoting it. 

The Two Types of Exclusive Listing

There are two types of exclusive listing if you want to explore this method:

Exclusive Agency Listing

In this setup, one broker is appointed to sell the property on behalf of the seller. Still, the seller never loses their right to also market and sell their property! 

Should the seller be the first person to sell their property, they are allowed to do so. However, since there is an agreement between the two, the seller is still obligated to pay the broker a commission—if and only if the broker is the cause of the sale. But when the deal is due to the sole effort of the seller, then the broker would receive nothing from the sale. 

Exclusive Right-to-Sell Listing

This type is one of the most popularly used agreements between a seller and an agent. In this setup, the broker would still receive a commission no matter who sells the property. This agent has the sole right to represent and put the property on sale. 

The latter is the more popular option between the two—but if you want to be smart about your decision, consider having an exclusive agency listing instead. 

Some Things to Take Note Of

Here are some other things to keep in mind before coming into an agreement with your broker:

Your Payment Determines the Effort

What you pay your broker can determine the kind of effort they would put into their work. 

Promoting a property is not free. It requires a lot of posting on different platforms, answering queries, entertaining questions, and more. They also post on listing websites to expand your ads reach. 

A Buyer Can Also Have Their Broker

Not all buyers make transactions directly with a seller. Some of them also seek the help of brokers to do the inspections and questioning! 

Any buyer has the right to have a broker as their representative when doing meetings with others. In this setup, the buyer’s broker would also get a commission from the buyer should they close the transaction.

Conclusion

Before working with a broker, make sure that you know the environment you are getting in. Make sure that you understand every element of the agreement before finalizing it. Make sure that everything is written under an agreement that both parties would sign up for. 

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