Dealing with an agent ‘changing horses in the middle of a stream’

Q: Our listing agent has informed us he is switching companies. He is leaving a large real estate firm to join a smaller family-run office. What are the consequences of changing the sign on the lawn, flyers, advertising and all that paperwork? He claims it will happen seamlessly. Won’t this be confusing to the buyers and realty agents who have already been to our home?

A: Changing firms is not as easy as it sounds, although switching firms can add newness to a listing. One duty of a seller’s agent is to manage all the moving parts of a residential listing, and he’ll need that skill set in spades as your listing belongs to the current firm that owns the For Sale sign on your lawn. The independent broker agreement between your listing agent and where he currently “hangs” his license most likely prohibits taking a listing to a competing firm. Due to that fact, your agent needs to acquire a release of your listing in the form of cancellation or assignment from your current real estate brokerage. Additionally, your agent must present termination of the brokerage relationship in writing to his current supervising broker and the Department of Real Estate (DRE). His current supervising broker then must also notify the DRE in writing of the termination, and return the hard copy of your listing agent’s license within three days. Then, your listing agent’s new supervising broker at the family-run office needs to confirm all the previous steps. If all is well, your agent will place his license with the new brokerage and notify the DRE of the change. Also, he needs to be ready for Saturday’s open house by creating new online marketing, property flyers, For Sale signs, and Open House signs, as well as business cards. You’re in luck; smaller firms can move seamlessly to accommodate an incoming seller’s agent. Plus, large firms usually allow agents to take a listing with them. If it were the other way around, rest assured, nothing would be seamless.