CHASING PAPER
DRAFT A LISTING
WHO
PROPERTY
SELLERS
PRICE
MONEY
PERMISSIONS
WHAT STAYS
WHOSE LISTING
Who you are and who signs for your broker. Everything after this is about the file.
Your brokerage
Does your broker review before anything goes out for signature?
Another agent on this file
+ ADD ANOTHER AGENT
Has the seller had it listed before?
THE OLD LISTING
The old broker's protection period can still be running, which means their buyer is still their buyer. Worth checking before the seller signs anything.
Is the seller working with anyone else on this?
No, exclusive right to sell
Exclusive agency
Open listing
Exclusive right to sell is the normal one and is what gets drafted unless you say otherwise. Exclusive agency means the seller can sell it themselves and owe you nothing.
THE PROPERTY
What is being listed.
What kind of property is it?
Single family
Condo
Townhome
PUD
2 to 4 units
Manufactured
Land
Anything before 1978 pulls the federal lead based paint disclosure, so the year is not optional.
Who is in it right now?
Owner occupied
Tenant occupied
Vacant
THE TENANT
A tenant has to consent to showings and to a lockbox, and they get 24 hours notice by law. The listing agreement has to reflect that rather than pretend the property is empty.
THE SELLERS
Everyone who has to sign, spelled the way title reads.
The sellers
+ ADD ANOTHER SELLER
Everyone on title signs. Miss one and the listing is not enforceable against them.
How is title held?
Individuals
A trust
An entity
Estate, probate or conservatorship
Under a power of attorney
THE TRUST
Is the original trustee still the one signing?
Yes
No, a successor trustee is signing
Not sure yet
A successor means we need the death certificate or the incapacity letter and a certification of trust before anything can be signed.
THE ESTATE
What authority do they have?
Full authority
Limited, court confirmation needed
Not sure yet
Limited authority means an overbid in open court, and the listing has to be written knowing that.
THE POWER OF ATTORNEY
Is it recorded?
Is the seller buying something else as part of this?
THE REPLACEMENT
This pulls the SPRP addendum, which makes the sale contingent on them finding somewhere to go.
PRICE AND TERM
What it goes on at, and for how long.
The expiration is the date that gets watched. Nothing can be sold under an expired listing.
If the seller sells to somebody you introduced them to after the listing ends, this is the window where you still get paid.
Is there a loan on it?
THE LOAN
Does it pay off normally at this price?
Yes, normally at closing
No, it comes up short
There is a notice of default
A short sale needs the short sale listing addendum and the lender has to approve the price, so the listing is written differently from the start.
COMPENSATION
What the seller is agreeing to pay, and to whom.
What the seller pays Chasing Paper's side. A percentage unless you write a dollar sign.
Is the seller offering anything to the buyer's broker?
Yes
No, buyers ask in their offer
Case by case
Since the settlement this cannot go in the MLS. It lives in the listing agreement and in whatever the seller agrees to on each offer, so the answer here decides how the listing is written and what you can say out loud.
Is the rate variable?
THE VARIABLE RATE
A variable rate has to be disclosed to every buyer's agent who asks, so it is worth being deliberate about it.
Will the seller consent to you representing a buyer too?
This is the dual agency consent inside the listing agreement. Saying yes here does not commit them to any particular deal, it just keeps the option open instead of needing an amendment later.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
The permissions the seller is giving you, which all live in the agreement.
Going in the MLS?
Yes
No, seller wants it off market
Yes, but not right away
STAYING OFF THE MLS
Keeping it off the MLS needs the seller's written instruction on the SELM form, and Clear Cooperation still runs the moment it is marketed publicly.
Can it be advertised online?
Show it on the internet
Show the address
Allow automated value estimates
Allow public comments
All four are on by default. Untick anything the seller wants suppressed and it gets written into the agreement.
Lockbox?
Signpost?
Yes
No
HOA does not allow it
Both are separate authorizations in the agreement. A tenant has to agree to the lockbox as well as the seller.
WHAT STAYS AND WHAT DOES NOT
Written into the listing so it is settled before an offer turns up.
Tick everything that stays with the property
Refrigerator
Washer
Dryer
Stove or range
Built in oven
Microwave
Dishwasher
TV mounts
Window coverings
Light fixtures
Ceiling fans
Shed or storage
Pool and spa equipment
Solar
EV charger
Security cameras and doorbell
Anything left unticked is not written in. Leased solar is its own problem, so if the panels are leased say so in the box below rather than ticking it.
Anything already known about the property?
It all comes out on the TDS eventually. Saying it now means the listing is written around it instead of being amended later.
ON IT
Here is what is happening while you close this tab.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
A folder gets built under drafts and shared to your email.
Everything you just answered lands in a doc inside it.
Pilar writes the listing agreement and sends it back for your seller to sign.
Once it is signed, come back and run the listing launch form.