Can I Use Two Realtors to Sell My House? (The Answer is No)

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By Ben Mizes Updated January 27, 2023

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can i use two realtors to sell my house

If the market is slow in your area, you might be wondering, "Can I use two Realtors to sell my house?" The short answer is no – but there are plenty of reasons why you can’t.

While you may think that getting more members on the team "sell your house ASAP" could only be a good thing, what tends to happen is that you get too many cooks in the kitchen and simply end up with a confusing, expensive, legally-dubious mess of a property transfer process.

Can I Use Two Realtors to Sell My House? (The Answer is No)

You sometimes can’t (and always shouldn’t) use more than one Realtor to sell your property. Here are all of the reasons why (and what you should do instead):

Why Can’t You Legally List Your House with Multiple Real Estate Agents

Here are all of the legal reasons you can’t use two agents to sell your home:

An Exclusive Right To Sell Agreement

Up to a certain point, it is legal to list your home with multiple Realtors in most states. It would be a logistical nightmare (we'll cover that in detail below), but it is still technically legal.

The moment it becomes not okay is when you sign an exclusive agency listing with a particular broker or firm. This means that, legally, that person or agency has the exclusive right to sell your property for a certain period of time. This period can be anywhere from 30 days to 90 days, and sometimes up to 6 months.

Realtors who are serious about selling your home will usually work with you under an exclusive right to sell agreement. This is because quality agents usually do not want to put in the work to help sell a home only to have their potential commission in jeopardy because another agent swoops in at the last minute.

MLS Terms of Service

In the real estate world, MLS stands for Multiple Listing Service. It is also sometimes called a Multiple Listings Service or a Multiple Listing System. These are online platforms that real estate brokers use to list and discover information on properties for sale.

Nationally, there are many different kinds of MLS; however, agents working in similar geographic areas will all be using the same one. Because of this, it is usually against the MLS terms of service to list the same property more than once.

Rules like this are in place to help prevent fraudulent listings.

Why Using Two Realtors To Sell Your House is a Logistical Nightmare

Here are all the practical reasons that listing your house with more than one Realtor is a bad idea:

Safety and Privacy

Let’s say you decide to list your home with two Realtors.

That’s two sets of keys that you have to give out. And two more people that have your alarm code. If you want to give your listing to three or four agents, the laundry list of people coming and going from your home only grows.

What if you are still living in the home? What if one of your listing agents wants to do a showing at 10 AM on a Saturday and other wants to come at 2 PM? Are you really going to appreciate being constantly interrupted? What if both of the agents want to do a showing at the exact same time – how will that work out?

Quality of Service

As mentioned, a good agent, one who is truly going to put in the work required to sell your home at a fair market price, is going to want to work with you on an exclusive listing basis.

This way, they can feel secure putting in hours of work marketing your home and liaising with buyers’ agents to get you the best possible price. Because they know that, when they make this great sale for you, their commission is worth paying (or flat fee – depending on the type of agent you choose).

If you try to place your home for sale with multiple listing agents (known in the industry as an open listing), what motivation is there for them to put much effort into making a sale for you since there is no guarantee of a commission?

Why You Can STILL Use Multiple Agents to Your Advantage

Just because you should only list your home with one agent does not mean that you can’t use multiple agents to your advantage. For example, when your listing agent enters your home into the MLS, all agents that are members of the local association can see the property.

You can also invite as many agents as you know to come and check out your home – or even just send out correspondence to inform them that your home is for sale. Work with your listing agent to create as much buzz as possible in the community.

This form of mass advertising it not only essential but also ethical. The agent that introduces a buyer into the equation will also receive a commission.

What if Your First Agent Doesn’t Work Out?

Sometimes you pick the wrong real estate agent. And that’s okay. While it’s important to really assess a Realtor’s skills and personality before you sign an exclusive right to sell agreement, sometimes it doesn’t work out.

If you decide that you would like to change Realtors, let your current one know. It’s a good idea to start looking for someone before you "break up" with your first one.

If you signed an exclusive right to sell, you might need to wait until the term of the agreement runs out, or at least prepare to pay any penalties that could arise from leaving the contract early.

A good rule of thumb: hire someone that you would trust carrying a suitcase full of your money around. If you think that an agent would be capable of pulling this off – then trust her with your biggest asset – your home.

You don’t need more than one agent to list your home – especially when you work with Clever. Our friendly, qualified agent will list and sell your home stress-free, all for one flat fee. Call us today at 1-833-2-CLEVER or fill out our online form to get started.

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