Some sections of the Exclusive Seller Representation Agreement
warrant a very thorough examination. Before signing the Exclusive
Seller Representation Agreement you should put the following sections
under a mental microscope.
Consent to Limited Dual Representation and Assigned Agency
You must keep in mind that realtors work for a commission check;
they are not in the business of volunteering their time and effort.
The commission is most often split between the realtor selling your
property and the realtor representing the buyer. If a realtor is lucky
enough to sell your home to a buyer they are representing, then they don’t
have to split the pie.
Under Limited Dual Agency, your realtor will know your secrets, such as
the least amount you’re willing to sell your property for.
The realtor
will also know the buyer’s secrets, such as the highest amount the
buyer is willing to pay. This could work against you or for you, depending
upon the circumstances. Realtors are usually ethical and remember –
the higher the sale price, the bigger the commission check.
You can generally consent to Limited Dual Agency as confidential
information, which might be to the Buyer’s benefit, cannot be revealed
without your permission. By default the realtor’s duty is to the person
selling the property. In most cases, Limited Dual Agency is okay for the
Seller but a bad idea for the Buyer.
Seller Notification and Consent to Release from conflicting Agency
Duties
This section of the contract usually just rehashes the previous
section. Read it carefully for any subtle additions or clauses. Realtors
don’t want to get sued or have to deal with sticky legal issues (who
does?) so they want to make sure you understand that they might represent
potential buyers.
Seller’s Property Disclosure Form
A potential buyer makes an offer on your place and puts down earnest
money. At that point you have a set amount of time to provide the buyer
with a Property Disclosure. If the buyer finds something on the
Disclosure that is unacceptable, then they can rescind (take back) their
offer without losing their earnest money. Make sure you are accurate and
honest when filling out this form; avoid problems later on.