Classes In Real Estate

There are several different types of listing contracts. Few of them are detailed below:

Open Listing

This type of listing is when you, the seller, don’t want to commit to any one particular agent and when you are also open to selling the home by yourself. This type of listing with an agent gives him the right to bring buyers around to view your home and should the deal go through, the agent earns a commission. This is a non-exclusive type of listing and the disadvantage of such a listing is that the agent is not going to spend too much on marketing your home or putting it in the Multiple Listing Service. The advantage of this type is that, should you find a buyer yourself, you would save on the commissions that would otherwise go to the agent.

One-Time Show

A “one-time show” is similar to an open listing and is most often used by real estate agents who are showing a FSBO (for sale by owner) to one of their clients. The home owner signs the agreement, which identifies the potential buyer and guarantees the agent a commission should that buyer purchase the home.

Exclusive Agency Listing

This type of listing would have you sign on with only one agency / agent and would ensure they get the commission if another agent brought a buyer for this place. However, if you get a buyer on your own, the agent is not entitled to any commission. This is not a popular type of listing agreement. Some unethical buyers or sellers will try to cut out the agent, even though it was an agent that brought the buyer to the home.

Exclusive Right to Sell

This type of listing involves entrusting your agent with the exclusive rights to sell your home. Regardless of who sells the home, even if you sell it yourself to a friend at work, your listing agent will earn a commission. Such listings usually give an agent to spend on marketing your house and also listing it on the MLS.

Sameer S Panjwani is the CEO and Founder of ChoiceOfHomes.com - Real Estate Portal for Home Buying, Home Selling and Home Renting. The website is a useful resource of Home Listings, Articles and Information related to real estate.

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Working with home buyers and sellers in the sale or purchase of their home, falls on the personal side of their life. But maintaining a professional perspective on all the information that we know about the private side of their lives, can make it difficult when working with them or after you have closed a transaction, on how to respond to direct or indirect information concerning them. What to do, especially when some clients are referred by other clients of yours who might have a more intimate or familiar relationship with them and information comes to you second-hand related to important life changes about your clients.

With today’s melting pot of ethnic, racial and religious origins, blended and multi-generational families and an outwardly more open society, it pays to be extra careful when responding to client news of an personal nature. Before setting out to write this article I talked to many of my past and current clients to hear what they say on this important topic that can easily derail business relationships. Here are some guidelines on how to cope with and respond to touchy or tricky situations with clients.

-Client. A customer whom we have served in our real estate business.

-Acquaintance. One who is familiar to an agent.

-Friend. A trusted, ally and supporter of an agent.

-Weddings. Don’t call and ask why you weren’t invited. Due to customs or finances you weren’t. Send a card (no gifts, unless you receive a personal announcement but not an invitation in the mail) after seeing an announcement in the newspaper.

-Deaths. Send a card after seeing a public death notice. If the notice contains wishes of the family, follow them. Don’t call for details or ask heirs about timelines for selling the deceased’s home, it’s a difficult time.

-Divorce. It’s not a fact until you her it from one of the principals. Don’t discuss details if you know them with anyone. Don’t be surprised if you don’t get the listing, sometimes one of the parties wants to use someone that doesn’t know them.

-Affairs, flings and general gossip. You sell residential real estate, not super market tabloids.

-Births. Send a card after seeing a public announcement. Send gifts only if you receive a personal announcement from the parents. Don’t go overboard on gifts.

-Miscarriages. Don’t touch it, unless your client brings it up. And still think long and hard about what you say.

-Substance abuse. Again, it’s not a fact until you her it from the principals. Many people are very private about this issue, tread carefully.

-Criminal charges. Everything is an allegation until a conviction is handed down.

-Bankruptcy. Money is a major topic that people avoid, especially if it is embarrassing. Have a mortgage lender review with clients personal information of this type.

-Same-gender sexual identification. Principals and their families appreciate deferring to them on the dissemination of true and accurate information relating to this topic.

-Membership in organizations. Just because you see Marion or Mack at Weight Watchers or Al-Non doesn’t mean anyone else needs to know. outside of these meetings, don’t bring up your common membership in social situations unless your client does first.

-Illness. Alzheimers, cancer, and Attention Deficit Disorder are very personal matters, don’t pry or patronize. People approach these situations differently, take your lead from those directly affected.

-Graduations. Unless invited to a celebration or the ceremony, a card is enough.

-Holidays. Factor in religious beliefs and customs, remember some couples have different religious backgrounds or don’t celebrate or enjoy holidays.

Mark Nash is the author of “Fundamentals of Marketing for the Real Estate Professional”, “Starting & Succeeding in Real Estate”, “Reaching Out: The Financial Power of Niche Marketing“, and “1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home“. Mark is a contributing writer for: Realtor (R) Magazine Online, Broker Agent News, Real Estate Executive Magazine, Principal Broker, and Realty Times. He contributes residential real estate analysis to Business Week, CBS The Early Show, CNN, HGTVpro.com, The New York Times, and USA Today.
View his books at http://www.1001RealEstateTips.com

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Every couple of months while we’re driving from one property showing to the next a client says begrudgingly “you have such an easy job driving around looking at houses all day”. Yeah,right. The recent flurry of articles proclaiming that today’s real estate commissions are too high in relation to the amount of work agents do to receive them, haven’t provided the new Internet brokerage models large market shares. And haven’t convinced buyers and sellers to say “I wish I knew how to quit you” to realty agents.

It’s easy to stand on the outside looking in on the residential real estate industry and say, you’re overpaid. After working as a real estate broker full-time for nine years, I have to admit I’ve never worked harder. My typical day starts at 7 a.m. picking up email and voice mail, formatting electronic property brochures, editing virtual tours and booking print advertising for the coming weekends public open houses. During business hours the outwardly visible part of my day includes meetings, showing appointments, staging a new listing, returning phone calls, faxing documents, writing copy for a new listing, organizing a multi-day property tour with incoming relocation buyers, and all the other duties a sole proprietor is responsible for. It ends around 9 p.m. confirming an appointment to show a listing, receiving a counter-offer on a purchase contract and consoling a buyer who needs to back out of a contract because her boyfriend (who’s income is required for the mortgage) broke up with her. This goes on 24/7, 365 days a year.

In the purpose of full disclosure here is a list of what listing and buyer agents do. This list is excerpted from my second book “Starting and Succeeding in Real Estate” Thomson 2003.

Duties performed in the sale of a property.

Agent time and marketing expense to receive listing appointment.

Marketing material expense and time to prepare CMA (Comparative marketing analysis).

Actual time spent on listing appointment to review CMA.

Market knowledge to prepare CMA.

Actual time to meet with seller’s to sign listing agreement and related documents.

Prepare listing for market. Time and cost to prepare property brochures, order yard sign, take property photos, virtual tour, inputting into Multiple Listing Service, and marketing to other agents and public.

Time to prepare and hold brokers open house(s).

Time to prepare and hold public open house(s).

Telephone calls to set appointments.

Time spent traveling to and from property, showing property for each appointment.

Call property sellers with showing feedback.

Receive; return phone calls concerning property from public and agents.

Write ads, place ads in local/regional newspapers.

Receive contract and related documents on property, review and present to sellers.

Present acceptance/counteroffer to sellers

Counsel property sellers through negotiation.

Courier contract for changes, final signatures.

Courier earnest money deposit.

If condo procure and deliver condo declarations, by-laws, rules and application information.

Prepare brokerage worksheet for transaction.

Change property status in Multiple listing services.

Attend property inspection(s).

Negotiate inspection issues.

Contact and forward contract to attorneys, escrow agent and mortgage lender.

Communicate contract status to property seller and buyers agent.

Place under contract sign rider on for sale yard sign.

Set up and attend showing appointments for buyers to measure or have contractors, friends, and family to view property.

Set up and attend mortgage lenders appraiser’s visit to property.

Ongoing assorted phone calls/e-mail to transaction participants.

Prepare brokerage documents (closing statement, etc.) for closing.

Set up and attend final walk through before closing.

Time spent during and to, from closing location.

Attend closing.

Preparing and submitting final closed paperwork to brokerage on property.

Expense and time for client gift and thank-you.

For some seller’s: arrange for movers, inspection repairs, snow/yard maintenance, move out cleaning, utility shut off, winterizing of pipes, etc.

Duties performed in the purchase of a property.

Agent time and marketing expense to receive buyers call or email to meet with them.

Floor duty in office, weekly, monthly.

Attend office sales meetings, weekly, monthly.

Attend company sales/ award meetings.

Attend continuing education and professional development courses.

Time to prepare buyers packet for meeting.

Actual time spent meeting in office for first time with prospective buyers.

Meeting with prospective buyers to meet with mortgage lender.

Making appointments to preview properties.

Previewing potential properties for buyers.

Making appointments to view potential properties with buyers.

Accompanying buyers looking at potential properties.

Attending brokers open houses to view new inventories of homes for sale.

Write contract, disclosures etc. on buyer’s prospective property to purchase.

Deliver and present contract to seller’s agent and sellers.

Negotiate terms of contract to agreement.

Counsel buyers through negotiation.

Courier contract to buyers for sign off on changes as agreed upon in negotiation.

If condo procure and deliver condo declarations, by-laws, rules and application information.

Prepare brokerage worksheet for transaction.

Contact and forward contract to attorneys, escrow agent and mortgage lender.

Attend property inspections.

Negotiate issues.

Communicate contract status to buyers, attorneys and escrow agents.

Accompany buyers on property showings to measure, meet contractors or show property to friends and family.

Ongoing assorted phone calls/e-mail to transaction participants.

Prepare required brokerage documents for closing.

Set up and attend final walk through before closing.

Attend closing.

Purchase client thank-you gift and deliver.

Assist buyers with movers, repairs etc.

Post closing follow up with buyers.

Mark Nash’s fourth real estate book, “1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home” (2005), and working as a real estate broker in Chicago are the foundation for his consumer-centric real estate perspective which has been featured on ABC-TV, CBS The Early Show, Bloomberg TV, CNN-TV, Chicago Sun Times & Tribune, Fidelity Investor’s Weekly, Dow Jones Market Watch, MSNBC.com, The New York Times, Realty Times, Universal Press Syndicate and USA Today.

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