Listing

Do the lengths of listing agreements of properties differ based on the price of the property?
Q. How is the length of listing agreements usually determined? Do most realtors keep the same length for all of their properties that they are listing?
Asked by Tina S - Tue Sep 5 20:34:13 2006 - - 3 Answers - 0 Comments

A. Real estate companies are prohibited by the Sherman Anti-Trust Act to discuss things like commissions etc with other real estate companies as it can be, and has been construed as "price fixing" which is rightly deemed not in the public's best interest. Commissions including listing terms are therefore set by each brokerage firm based upon their cost to do business. There is no one size fits all. It is illogical to work a listing that does not allow resaonable opportunity to recover expenses, that being if you are looking at an average of 90 days to 120 days market time for a given property that in order to even have the opportunity to recover the cost to market the property that you'd need a minimum of 150 days listing time. Neither I… [cont.]
Answered by hithere2ya - Tue Sep 5 21:23:45 2006

Is the basement included in square footage in a home for sale listing?
Q. I've noticed a couple of listing that state 2 bathrooms in the listing and then in the comments it states extra bath in basement. I've also seen that for bedrooms as well. Do they not include whatever is in the finished basement towards the square footage, total bathrooms and bedrooms?
Asked by somewhat_med - Mon Dec 31 08:43:29 2007 - - 9 Answers - 0 Comments

A. square footage is usally considered living space if the basement is not finished it wont be inlcuded. although some realtors will include it in square footage. you sometimes will also see gagares included in square footage. living space square footage is what you are looking for!
Answered by Al-padrino - Mon Dec 31 08:49:33 2007

What is most important in a real estate agent on the listing side?
Q. My wife and I have interviewed a few agents and are at a stalemate. Do we go with an agent who is very well networked? an agent who did the most research and seems to have the best grasp of correct listing price? an agent who didn't do as much research but who provided good suggestions for staging and the emotional response the pics and staging would have on a perspective buyer? They all had their strong points. Am I missing something or are networking, pricing/research, and staging the most important? Thank you in advance.
Asked by frisco - Thu Jan 24 21:54:09 2008 - - 3 Answers - 0 Comments

A. The network is be FAR the most important aspect in this market. I would skip staging all together, that is some kid that read a silly book. Emotional response? Oh please, you need to run from this one! Pricing is not rocket science and literally spits out of the tax database. In addition to a network you want a strong closing history. Decent agents are closing at least 3-4 listings a month these days, great ones 2-3 a week. You want one that writes great ads, both in the MLS and for the local newspaper. If you are short selling you need one that is aggressive and can get the banks to get off their butt and close your sale (they take forever).
Answered by Landlord - Thu Jan 24 22:02:43 2008