Generally, there are three types of Listing Agreements; the Exclusive Right to Sell Listing Agreement, the Exclusive Agency Listing Agreement, and the Open or Non-Exclusive Listing Agreement. The variation between each type of Listing Agreement can prove crucial to your rights and liabilities towards your agent. It is also important to select the type of Listing Agreement carefully, as your choice may influence how much effort your realtor puts into selling your property.
The Exclusive Right to Sell Listing Agreement guarantees that no matter who sells or how they sell the property, the agent that has an Exclusive Right to Sell Agreement will be entitled to the commission agreed upon in the agreement. That is to say, even if you the seller work harder than you ever have at anything else before, through your efforts you produce a buyer for your property, you put together all of the necessary paperwork, and single handedly push through the sale of your property while your agent has not contributed to these efforts one bit, the agent is still entitled to the full amount of their commission during the term of the agreement.
Under the Exclusive Agency Listing Agreement, the agent only receives their commission under the agreement if they are able to sell your property, or if some other agent’s or broker’s efforts lead to the sale of your property. If, on the other hand, you as the owner and seller of the property are able to sell the property without the assistance of any agent or broker, solely through your own efforts, then your agent is not entitled to the commission set out in the Exclusive Agency Listing Agreement. Therefore, if you have an Exclusive Agency Listing Agreement with the local real estate agent, and the agreement is set to last one year from right now, but you are able to sell your property without the help of any agent or broker, then your agent is not entitled to their commission.
The last of the three major types of Listing Agreements is the Open Listing Agreement. This agreement is also called the Non-Exclusive Listing Agreement. Here, like in the Exclusive Agency Listing Agreement, the agent is only entitled to their commission if they actually sell the property. Unlike the Exclusive Agency Listing Agreement however, the Open Listing Agreement will only require the payment of the agent’s commission if that agent actually sells the property. Thus, the major difference is that if the agent whom you have an Open Listing Agreement with does not sell the property, but another agent does, then the contracting agent is not entitled to their commission, as they would be in an Exclusive Agency Listing Agreement.