It's very important that you're incredibly systematic with seller representation. Listings are fun and easy when they sell quickly, but the experience can/will turn negative incredibly quickly if it takes 30+ days to sell. The longer it sits on the market, the worse experience your client will have, if they don't have full confidence that you are in control of the situation. The easiest way to exude confidence is to always fall back on a proven system (and be able to explain why you recommend everything you do.)
The following are considered policies for company leads & best practices for personally generated leads. There are sometimes edge cases, and if those occur, please discuss these before making decisions or recommendations to your clients:
Listing Agreement Notes + Special Provisions
These must be included in any listing agreement signed with a "company lead". It is highly recommended that you include these in all listing agreements.- Seller may terminate this agreement with 48 hours written notice & reimbursement of broker’s verifiable marketing expenses.
- If broker acts as intermediary, buyer will be assigned to agent other than {AGENT NAME}. {AGENT NAME} will earn no more than 3% for services.
- If seller procures buyer through no action of broker & buyer is not represented by a licensed Texas real estate broker/agent, then seller may terminate this agreement & no fee is due, or seller may retain broker’s services for 1% transaction fee.
- More Details Available Here -
] It's important to include the following special provisions. These are provisions that any reasonable agent would include in their listing agreement if asked. We proactively include them to show your sellers that we are very fair & that we put their best interests first.- Seller May Terminate: Very self explanatory. It's absolutely terrible business to try and keep a seller in an agreement they don't want to be in. We only write in the "reimbursement of expenses" language so that a seller doesn't hire us, use us for our services/money, and then fire us to use their brother/sister-in-law.
- If Broker Acts As Intermediary: This provision removes the massive conflict of interest that comes with a single agent trying to double end a transaction and earn 6% instead of 3%.
- Seller Procures Buyer: This happens a few times a year. The spirit of the agreement is that the seller negotiates a deal with a friend/acquaintance and you do not need to negotiate on their behalf. In order for you to work for 1%, you become a transparent intermediary. Since both sides have "lucked" into an agreeable transaction where both parties are saving money or hassle, you will present a fair contact to both parties and guide both parties through a fair transaction. It's worth noting that most sellers find this provision on the generous side of fair. In my experience, you will have new referral sources that absolutely gush about you and are very happy with the transaction and your services. Likewise, this provision helps sellers choose to sign the agreement sooner than later, since they don't have to first see if their neighbor/friend/etc wants to buy their house before agreeing to list with you.
Listing Coordination & CTC
For quality control purposes, it's required that you use Listing Coordination & Contract to Close services on any company lead. Courier services are optional.List the Property on Wednesday or Thursday
This is the best way to encourage multiple offers. Most buyers can easily view properties on the weekend. If you list on a Wednesday or Thursday, the property will be sent via automatic email to interested buyers 2-3 days prior to the weekend, which allows them plenty of time to schedule showings. Highly motivated buyers will schedule showings prior to the weekend. If a highly motivated buyer brings you an offer on Thursday or Friday, it's reasonable to expect them to wait through the weekend for a response. If you were to list the property on Sunday, you are likely missing some motivated buyers who didn't have an opportunity to schedule a showing. If a highly motivated buyer brings you an offer on Monday, it wouldn't be reasonable to expect them to wait through the week & weekend for a response.Unrepresented Buyers
With rare exceptions, we don't allow dual agency or "double dipping." If a buyer is unrepresented, you want to ask them if they would like representation (in which case you'll refer them to an in-house agent) or if they want to self-represent. If they choose to self-represent, then you must do the following:- Add this verbiage to special provisions: "{Your name} and Bramlett Residential only represent the seller and do not represent the buyer. Buyer has chosen to not retain a buyer's agent."
- Have all parties sign the GENERAL INFORMATION AND NOTICE TO BUYERS AND SELLERS and attach it to the contract package.
- State in the contract on page 10 under "broker information" that there is no buyer's agent and "seller only as seller's agent" is checked