Real-estate agent Leigh Thomas Brown, with 26 years of experience, calls exclusive listing agreements a "honeypot" that traps buyers. You sign a six-month contract just to see one house, then can't work with another agent even if it's wrong for you. Read everything before you sign.
An exclusive listing is a honeypot. And then once they've got that buyer over here, what are they going to do based on the terms of the lawsuit? Probably going to tell this buyer who's been calling all around looking for the house on Maple, hey, you have to sign this to see the house on Maple. And the buyer who really does want to be on Maple Street goes ahead and signs it. And consumers, please read things. Please read before you sign it. Please do not sign a 6-month agreement Unless you are comfortable signing a 6-month agreement, ask, ask, ask, how long is this agreement that I'm signing? Is this just for one house? Is it for a 24-hour period? Is it for a month? What am I signing here? What am I signing? Because what's happening is that buyer is signing something just to get access to Maple, and I don't know how it's explained to them, and maybe they didn't listen. I don't know. I don't know all things, but If the buyer signed it just to get into Maple and then they go in, they're like, it looked really good online. I've been driving by this house for years, but I don't feel it. It's not for me. And y'all, that's happened so many times. I mean, 26 years in the business with buyers, you know that driving by the house, they've fallen in love with the outside. Walking in, they might say, I don't like this floor plan at all. I need X, I need Y. I just don't like how it sits. Now, does it feel right? It's not my house because every buyer sparkles and they're in the right house. So they've walked in and they don't like Maple. Well, now what? They signed an agreement. Yes. So now you're stuck with the agent you signed that agreement with. You know, but I don't even want Maple anymore. And they said, too bad, so sad. You signed an agreement to work with us to sell any house. That's what's happening right now. It's a money grab. Can we just call the exclusive listing game what it is? It's a money grab.
