An Alternative to the 90-Day Listing
Question: As a real estate broker, I have used your columns for education in my firm for many years. You are almost always right on the mark, with one exception.
You frequently tell home sellers to sign a 90-day listing. That might work in some areas, but in our area, by the time the advertising is prepared and ordered, it takes almost a full month to get the ad coverage we give our clients, especially in the monthly realty magazines.
Most realty agents in our area take six-month listings. When a seller wants a 90-day listing, we know they have been reading your articles, and we have a tough job convincing them to give us more time.
Answer: We agree that in some areas it can take more than 90 days to sell a home. The simple solution for your situation is to offer sellers six-month listings with an unconditional cancellation clause after 90 days.
This prevents realty agents from taking six-month listings, putting them into the local multiple listing service and then sitting back and waiting for another agent to sell the listing.
For example, when I was in Washington, D.C., recently, a friend from New Jersey complained he has not received even a low purchase offer on his home listed for sale since April. Whatever the reason for lack of sales activity, he wants to switch to a more aggressive realty agent. He said the listing agent hasn’t contacted him in more than a month. Unfortunately, my friend signed a six-month listing and is stuck with that listing agent.
That’s why I advise sellers to sign either a 90-day listing or, in areas such as yours, where agents can justify longer listings, a six-month listing with an unconditional cancellation clause after 90 days. If the listing agent is doing a good job, he or she won’t have to worry about sellers canceling.
Letters and comments to Robert J. Bruss, a San Francisco-area lawyer, author and real estate broker, may be sent to P.O. Box 280038, San Francisco, CA 94128. Bruss suggests consulting an attorney or tax advisor before making important real estate decisions.
