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Services
provided to seller as client
Upon signing a listing contract with the seller wishing to sell
the real estate, the brokerage attempts to earn a commission by
finding a buyer for the sellers' property for highest possible price
on the best terms for the seller. In Canada, most provinces' laws
require the real estate agent to forward all written offers to the
seller for consideration or review.
To help accomplish this goal of finding
buyers, a real estate agency commonly does the following:
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Listing
the property for sale to the public, often on a Multiple Listing
Service, in addition to any other methods.
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Based
on the law in several states, providing the seller with a real
property condition disclosure form, and other forms which may
be needed.
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Preparing
necessary papers describing the property for advertising, pamphlets,
open houses, etc.
Generally placing a "For Sale" sign on the property
indicating how to contact the real estate office and agent.
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Advertising
the property. Advertising is often the biggest outside expense
in listing a property.
In some cases, holding an Open house to show the property.
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Being
a contact person available to answer any questions about the
property and to schedule showing appointments Ensuring buyers
are prescreened so that they are financially qualified to buy
the property; the more highly financially qualified the buyer
is, the more likely the closing will succeed.
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Negotiating
price on behalf of the sellers. The seller's agent acts as a
fiduciary for the seller. This may involve preparing a standard
real estate purchase contract by filling in the blanks in the
contract form.
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In some
cases, holding an earnest payment cheque in escrow from the
buyer(s) until the closing. In many states, the closing is the
meeting between the buyer and seller where the property is transferred
and the title is conveyed by a deed. In other states, especially
those in the West, closings take place during a defined escrow
period when buyers and sellers each sign the appropriate papers
transferring title, but do not meet each other.
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