Dorchester Condominiums

Q: In a recent column about listing agreements, you wrote that you never advise sellers to sign a listing agreement longer than 90 days. This poses a problem for me.

As a Realtor who sells in an area with average days on market of 151 days, it would not be financially prudent for me to spend all that time and money marketing a listing that most likely won't sell because the average days on market is a lot longer than 90 days.

Even if I'm being reasonable, many times the reason the house won't sell is interference by the sellers or their determination not to follow my suggestions for getting the property into selling shape or to lower the listing price. I see it everyday.

By the way, sometimes we want to get rid of the seller but are stuck because of the longer listing contract we've signed.

A: I know that many agents would like to dump their unrealistic sellers. The problem is one of expectation. Sellers expect that their property will sell immediately, for a high price. But in most parts of the country, the market is so slow that it will take a lot longer than sellers would like to get a contract for.

So, sellers get disappointed and blame their agents. Agents get frustrated because the market is changing, in some cases, on a minute-by-minute basis, and their sellers aren't realistic.

In some cases, sellers feel as if they are abandoned by their real estate agents once they sign the listing agreement. If a seller knows that a listing agent is doing all that he or she can for the seller, many sellers will hang on to a great agent, and renew a listing agreement several times.

If a listing agreement would allow sellers to cancel at any time, and for any reason, after the first 90 days, with 30 days' notice, that listing time would give sellers the comfort of knowing that they can get out of a bad arrangement while encouraging them to stick with their current agent to get the property sold.

Signing a 365-day listing (as is the practice in some areas) isn't prudent for sellers, especially if the agent isn't one of the good ones, as you seem to be.

I'm sure if you look around your office, you'll see that 20 percent of the agents do 80 percent of the work. Assuming you're a good agent, if you have a seller who is smart enough to sign on with you, you should be fine with this type of arrangement.

I'll agree that it is costly to list, show and advertise a home, but that's the way real estate agents are compensated. Someday, listing agents might be paid for their out-of-pocket expenses in case a home doesn't sell, but for now the listing broker gets paid an average commission of 5 percent to 6 percent to list and sell a home.

There has always been a tradeoff in the residential real estate industry between the cost of marketing and selling a home and the commission for the sale. Some sales will go quickly, and you'll reap a larger reward, while others will go slowly.

Because that's the deal, I think sellers should make sure to limit their listing agreements to 90 days, or they can sign a longer contract as long as it includes the right to cancel after the first 90 days has passed.

Q: On the plat map of a piece of property in a subdivision that I have been looking at a 26-foot easement is indicated at the back of the property. The plat map doesn't specify what type of easement. Would this be a general utilities easement or is it possible that it could be some other kind of easement?

A: Your question would best be answered by a real estate attorney. But in general, subdivisions have easements along the rear, side and front areas of real estate lots to allow for utilities. In some cases these easements can be there to allow open space areas or setbacks between homes and other lots in the subdivision.

An easement gives the right to someone else to use a part of your property for another use. A utility easement to the electric company would allow the utility to maintain electrical wires, transformers and other equipment on the easement area, even if that area is in your back yard.

To know what your easement is for in your subdivision, the plat of survey for your lot should generally give a description of the easement, it may even say what it is for or it might reference another legal document that will give a better description for the easement. That reference might be to a recorded document number or the name of a declaration that affects the property.

In some cases, rear areas of lots could have an easement for water retention and drainage.

So take a look at your survey and other documents for your property and you should be able to find out more about the easement that affects the 26 feet at the rear of the property in question. For further details, please consult with a real estate attorney.

To get even more valuable advice from Ilyce, visit her Personal Finance and Real Estate Center.