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A seller's realtor would like to insert language into the Listing Agreement that would allow for a price range as opposed to specifying one price. The realtor's reason for doing this is that the property still has work to be done before showing, therefoere the realtor would like to wait to provide an up to date Broker Price Opinion until closer to the time the property is ready to show. Is this allowed by the National Board of Realtors and Washington DC Code of law?
NAR does not disallow it, but your local MLS might have rules preventing it. Some allow price ranges for listings and some don't. If you have your own agent, you can ask them to check their MLS rules (or you might try calling the MLS office yourself). It's very unlikely that Washington DC has any related law, but you should check with a local attorney.
Most agents wouldn't do range pricing (called Value Range Pricing) for the reason you stated. It would normally be done as a sales strategy to let buyer's know the price range the seller will consider. It's not used much in the current market.
If you are not the seller, why are you concerned about it? If you are a buyer, just submit an offer at a price you are comfortable with.
...the property still has work to be done before showing
Will this work be complete before entering the MLS?
If not, in whole or in part, or if there's any doubt about the quality of that work...
it's rather hard to peg the "right" asking price before having that sorted out.
Sellers really want to avoid having price changes on their property...
and especially in the month or so right when the listing first hits.
Would this price range be seen by anyone other than the listing agent?
Good point. If the listing agreement specifies that it will not be entered into the MLS until a future date (when ready for showing with a specific price), then it should not be a problem. The MLS will only review when the listing is entered into their system. Until then it's just a private agreement between the listing broker and the seller.
There's not enough information for me to make a sound rationale for this, but either way, it appears - IMHO - that the listing agent is just trying to get the seller (whomever that may be) to hurry up and get into an exclusive listing agreement with their brokerage firm so that this agent can get yet another listing.
Are we talking significant, structural work (roof in poor condition, mold remediation, structural issues), or are we just talking about minor stuff like staging, cleanup etc. If the latter, the price - especially in this market - is not going to be affected and the agent/broker and homeowner should be able to pinpoint a list price. If the work is more significant, really it is the same thing. The Realtor should be able to say "all things being equal, the comps are saying..." The agent representing the broker and the seller should be able to, still, come up with a strategy and say "if and/or when you get everything that I have advised you to get done, your list price should be around...until that time, we are not listing or we will list at a lower price to account for the deficiencies in the home."
To me, it just sounds like this agent is looking to get this person locked into a listing quickly. Typical Realtor tricks.
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Last edited by Marka; 10-25-2011 at 10:55 AM..
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