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Ask the Experts

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Question:

How long is a listing contract in effect?

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Answer:

It depends.

When the real estate agent comes to your house, you decide how long you want to commit to that agent. 

The agent analyzes the current market, how quickly houses are selling, the condition, location and price of your house in comparison to the rest of the market, and whether your house is typical to the area. 

Then the agent will determine how long they think it should take to sell your house, taking all those factors into account, adding a reasonable cushion.

The cushion is necessary because listing time is a subjective analysis and also because real estate markets change, sometimes very quickly.

Once you both have your ideas in mind, then you and the agent negotiate until you come up with something both of you can accept.  Or until you both decide that agreement is impossible.

You see, once you list the property, you don't spend your money to market the home.  The agent and his company spends their money.

If they don't have a reasonable expectation of selling your home within the time you are willing to commit to, they will be spending their money on your behalf , much less earning a profit. without any expectation of earning it back, plus making an income.

Most agents spend a HECK of a lot on marketing and expenses each year, much more than most people realize.

Much more than most people taking real estate tests realize, too.

So, if you and the agent reach agreement on how long the listing should be, you put that length of time in the listing agreement, and that is how long the listing contract remains in effect.

How long is that?

It depends. 

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Update Your Fireplace (cont)

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For those of us who are not inclined or able to build on our own, you should be able to locate a local fireplace store.  If you cannot, see if you can find a local builder and ask who their fireplace contractor is.  The person you really want to talk to is the contractor. 

Fireplace contractors seem to have a genuine enthusiasm for their work and will offer ideas that you may not think of.  They genuinely enjoy creating something that looks...cool.

Gas Fireplaces

Gas fireplaces have come a long, long way.  They are genuine "decorator items" for your home and can go almost anywhere that has access to a gas line and a source of electricity.  You don't even need a chimney because they can vent directly outside and some don't even need a vent.

Just to state the obvious, gas fireplaces can also go in an existing fireplace.

The fires flicker and wander realistically.  No longer do they use those "old" fake-looking logs.  New logs are made of porcelain and do not collect the sooty build-up that some of us remember.  Fires look real, and the embers flow and waver like coals in a real fire.

If you didn't know it, gas fireplaces are almost always less expensive to run than wood fireplaces.

In a traditional fireplace, almost all of the heat goes up the flue.  Wasted.  Today's closed-unit gas fireplaces are designed to actually heat the room. 

For example, a friend recently bought a free-standing Paloma fireplace (see photo) for his two-bedroom condo.  Since then, he hasn't used his forced-air central heating at all.  Not even once.

Plus, he can turn on the fire by remote control.  The remote control even has a thermostat.

Men like remote controls.