Home, Land, Property Buying and Selling - What Does It Mean to "List" Your Home?

My wife is being transferred and to take advantage of one of her perks, we have to "list" our home with a realtor by a certain date. I've been running around like crazy, trying to complete some of my fixing-upping and hiring contractors to do the rest and my impression, plus that of the local building inspector and a couple of others is that we can "list" our home, even if some of the upgrades may be a week from being complete.

I'm not quite ready to actually speak to the realtor, though she might know something is afoot because it's a small town and suddenly there's a flurry of activity, but I don't want to start anything formal until the last moment.

Anyway... What does it mean to "list" your home and am I correct in my assumption that this would just be the first step in a process? (And if so, a general idea of what's involved in this "step" would be appreciated)

Listing basically means putting it up for sale..I think it actually comes from putting it up on the ..hmm... MLS? The national database of homes for sale.

You will have to find and choose a Realtor or realty company like "help you sell" to get it listed. I don't think an individual can do that. And yes, you'll have to sign a contract with the company .

Basically you are saying..."I want to seriously sell my house". You can always put availability dates and such on the listing.

I don't think just putting a "for sale by owner sign" would cut it with her company

Thats the basics...I'm no expert.

Thanks GunGuy - My impression has been that it's probably the contract signing and the start of the process. All we have from my wife's benefit package is that prior to the "initiation date" for relocation services, we must file two or three forms with them and list the house with a realtor.

I'm parading contractors through here as fast as I can, but it looks like I'm not going to have all of my intended improvements done until a week after the "initiation date". I'm figuring that at the last possible minute, we can go down and "list" with the realtor and at that time, we'd tell them what's still being completed and that it'll be done within a week.

Everybody around here seems to think that I'm on the right track and all I really need is to have the contract with a realtor signed by a certain date, but I just wanted to make sure that I'm not missing some kind of legal definition for the word "list".

Thanks

Just another layman's opinion, but I think as you've already opined that actually signing the contract with the realtor would constitute the property being "listed".

Listing your house is the term that denotes the signing of the contract with a listing broker. A seller can opted not to have his house in MLS. Relocation packages vary by company - just make sure you read all the fine print and if you have any questions ask them now! Also, I'm not understanding why you want to wait until the last minute to hire a real estate agent. I am a broker in Texas, when clients know they are moving, they contact me immediately and I go through their home and advise them on what they should and shouldn't fix. For example, you might think the purple dining room walls and tile kitchen counters look great but you've always hated the plain bathroom and decide to update it...a realtor can advise you on the best place to spend your money IF you need to.

Also, you can actually get your house listed in MLS without using a "traditional" broker. There are companies you can find online that will charge you a flat fee to do just that but then in most cases YOU would have to handle the showings, contract negotiations, etc. BUT you need to find out what the relocation company considers a viable listing. And Gunguy is right, they will not consider "for sale by owner" as acceptable, especially in today's market! Good luck!

My guess is that the "perk" you're talking about is an agreement to buy your house at fair market price if it doesn't sell by a specified date? If so, your biggest priority is meeting the relocation department's listing deadline. I would get a local agent involved now so there is no unplanned delay (paperwork...) once you're ready. The listing agreement specifies a start date and can be signed now even if you aren't ready for the listing to be active yet.

Doug M.