What Happens at a Listing Presentation, and Why to See One Before You Hire Anyone

The listing agreement here is the Utah Association of REALTORS® Exclusive Right to Sell Listing Agreement & Agency Disclosure (UAR Form 8, revised November 5, 2024), read the same way as in the Utah listing agreement, section by section. The association's forms are for its members, so this page explains them instead of reprinting them. Not legal advice.

What a listing presentation is, and what it's for

An agent comes to your home, walks through it, shows you the sales they compared it to and a suggested price, explains how they would market it, and then slides a listing agreement across the table. From their side, that last step is the point of the meeting. From yours, it's the only time you get to see how the work would be done before you are bound to it.

Why see one before you hire anyone

• There's no state form. Utah has 11 state-approved real estate forms, and a listing agreement isn't one of them. What you sign is the agent's form plus whatever they attach to it.
• The fee is a blank. The association's form says, in its own capital letters, that brokerage fees are "fully negotiable and are not set by law."
• Leaving costs money. The form has no cancel clause. Under Section 2.4, if you take the home off the market without the company's written consent, the whole fee is due right away.

So the presentation is where you compare. A presentation you see for the first time with a pen in your hand is less a comparison than a signing.

1. How the price was built

Ask where the number came from. A real one comes from the homes that actually sold near yours, adjusted for condition and location by someone who walked through your home. An online estimate has never walked through your home.

Ask to see the sales they used, and why each one belongs on the list. If the suggested price is above every sale on it, ask what makes your home the exception. Mine starts with a walkthrough (about 45 minutes in person, 30 by video), and you get a written report within 24 hours. I use the same method appraisers use, and I'll tell you the number you need to hear, not the one you want to hear.

2. What the marketing actually is

"We'll market it hard" is a mood, not a plan. Ask for the list: the photos, where the home will be listed, who shows it to buyers, and what's included versus extra. Then ask for that list in writing, attached to the agreement.

3. The contract, blank by blank

• Section 1, the end date: a blank you fill in. The listing runs until 5:00 p.m. Mountain Time on that date, and keeps going if you're under contract then. Ask for a short one. You can always extend a listing that's working.
• Section 2.1, the fee: the whole fee goes on this line, so nothing is charged anywhere else.
• Section 2.3, a buyer's agent: leave the amount blank and check the box, and you decide what, if anything, to offer a buyer's agent when a real offer is in front of you.
• Section 2.4, leaving: get the right to cancel in writing, in an addendum, with no fee owed when you do.
• Section 3, the protection period: a blank number of months after the listing ends during which you can still owe the fee. Ask for a short one, and for the names it covers in writing.
• Section 11, addenda: check the box that says there are additional terms, so every promise is part of the contract. A promise made out loud isn't.

For what to write in each blank, read how to set up a listing agreement so it protects you.

4. A net sheet, before you sign

A net sheet is what you would walk away with, line by line: the sale price, minus the fees, your loan payoff, the closing costs and anything you agree to pay on the buyer's behalf. If an agent can't show you one before you sign, you are agreeing to a number you haven't seen.

Questions to ask at any listing presentation

• Can I read the whole agreement, and every addendum, before you come over?
• Which sales did you compare my home to, and why those?
• What exactly is the marketing, and is that list attached to the agreement?
• What end date, fee and protection period are you proposing, in numbers?
• How do I cancel, and what would I owe, in dollars?
• Can I see a net sheet at the price you're suggesting?

See mine first: the Free Monthly Listing Consult

I give my full listing presentation to a group, free, the 2nd Thursday of every month at 7:00 PM Mountain Time, on Google Meet, for about 45 minutes: how I price a home, how I market it, the Utah listing contract and a net sheet. Then everyone can book a free one-on-one walkthrough of their home: in person in Utah County and Salt Lake County (about 45 minutes), by video call in Davis, Weber, Washington and Iron County (about 30 minutes). Your CMA comes within 24 hours of the walkthrough. No obligation. You see how I'd do it, then you decide.

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