Listing, Marketing, and Client Representation
This domain covers the front half of the deal: winning the engagement, marketing it lawfully, and managing the client relationship through offer negotiation.
Listing agreements
- Exclusive right to sell: commission owed regardless of who procures the buyer, including the seller.
- Exclusive agency: the seller keeps the right to sell without paying commission.
- Open listing: non-exclusive; commission goes to the procuring licensee.
- Net listings, where the broker keeps everything above a price floor, are banned or heavily restricted; avoid them.
- Include term, limits on automatic renewal, a protection (holdover) clause and a clear cancellation clause. Compensation is negotiable and cannot be set by agreement among competitors.
Marketing compliance
Advertising must identify the brokerage as rules require, be truthful and not misleading, and never express a preference or limitation based on a protected class, including in photographs and social-media captions. Accuracy in square footage, school assignment and association dues matters because buyers rely on it. Obtain consent before using a client's name or images, honor do-not-call rules, and keep solicitation records.
Representation in negotiation
Present all offers promptly unless the client instructs otherwise in writing, disclose the existence of multiple offers as local rules permit, and never reveal one buyer's price or terms to another. A client's motivation or maximum price stays confidential.
Worked example
A seller says: "Don't bring me any offers from families with young children, I want a quiet buyer." Reasoning: the instruction is discriminatory and cannot be followed. The licensee must decline, explain the fair housing obligation, document the conversation, notify the broker, and may need to terminate the listing. Advertising the home as "adults only" or "perfect for singles" compounds the violation rather than fixing it.
Traps
- Promising a specific sale price or a guaranteed marketing result.
- Advertising a listing before the agreement is signed, or omitting the brokerage name.
- Failing to disclose in writing that a cooperating fee is offered.
- Accepting a referral fee from a settlement-service provider without disclosure.