TYPES OF LISTING AGREEMENTS

There are five types of listing agreements.

If you want to sell/rent out your property, its normal to retain the services of an estate agent. You will almost always enter into a binding contact with them. Below are the options available under the five the five types of agreement that you can reach with your agent.
 
1.  OPEN LISTING
This type of agreement is widely practiced in Enugu. An open listing is almost like the landlord finding a buyer/tenant himself. A landlord appoints more than one real estate agent to find tenants/buyers for his/her property and offers to pay commission to the first one who brings an acceptable purchase agreement. However, no commission is owed if the seller finds a buyer on his own, without any agent's help. The open listing creates competition between the landlords and agents to find a tenant/buyer. Most agents won't take this type of listing because the landlord can either sell/rent the home alone or withdraw the listing without notice. Thereby the agent loses the cost accrued in advertising the property. Many agents have been noted to accept this type of agreement in Enugu. 60% of real estate agents in Enugu practice open listings. In open listings, agents aren't permitted to use their banners to advertise the property so you most likely won't see an banner at the gate of the property you are being shown.
 
2.  EXCLUSIVE AGENCY LISTING
An exclusive agency listing contracts only one agent to sell/rent out the home. If that agent finds an acceptable tenant/buyer, the landlord must pay a renting/sales commission. Again, as with a open listing, no sales commission is owed if the landlords finds tenant/buyers themselves. If you come across a property that has an estate firms banner at the gate advertising said property for rent in Enugu, then the agenct most likely has an exclusive agency agreement with the landlord.
 
3.  EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO SELL LISTING
This type of agreement is rarely found in Enugu even though it is the most favorable agreement for agents. But landlords aren't so enthusiastic about entering into such agreements. This type of agreement is similar to the exclusive agency agreement the only difference here is that the landlord must pay the agent a commission for selling/renting out the property in contention whether or not the agent finds a tenant/buyer for the property. If another cooperating agent is involved, the commission is typically split between the agents. The landlord usually has the right to set a deadline for the agent to conclude the transaction. Most times the deadline ranges between 90 to 180-days. If the agent can't deliver within the stipulated deadline, the landlord has the right to either cancel the agreement or renew it for another 90days.
 
4.  MULTIPLE LISTING
This is another rare occurrence in the real estate market in Enugu but its an important marketing tool for agents. The multiple listing service (MLS) is a networking hub for real estate agent. Here's how it works. An Agent sends all their property bulletins to one office and the office distributes listing information to every other agent in the network that has prospective buyers and tenants. www.fedennihomes.blogspot.com is an example of a service like that. If you are an agent operating in Enugu and your are interested in joining our networks please contact us via telephone or email. Our contact information is available in the contact page of our blog.
 
5.  NET LISTING
The net listing is situation where the landlord tells the agent his take home price for the property he wants to sell, the agent can then go ahead and add whatever desired amount of money on the selling price which will represent his profit and commission. This is a widely practiced agreement in Enugu.

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