A listing agreement is between the parties that own a property and the agents or brokers who will find a buyer for it. Typically, a real estate listing agreement involves the property owner and a real estate agent. The property owner, or seller, grants the agent the right to market and sell the property.
Though notarization is not required, it may still be a good idea to have a notary present in order to verify the identities of all signers.
A listing agreement is an example of an agency relationship that is created by express agency. In this context, express agency arises when the principal explicitly states their intention to create an agency relationship with the agent through a written or verbal agreement.
The three types of real estate listing agreements are open listing, exclusive agency listing, and exclusive right-to-sell listing.
Writing your own contracts is perfectly possible, and legal. But it's also an incredibly bad idea. There's two reasons for this: Property law is complicated. Because it's such a fundamental part of legislation, it's often lots and lots of different laws layered on top of each other.
Contract lawyers, or business attorneys, spend their time writing and reviewing contracts. If a contract is broken, they help settle disputes. They draft contracts, meticulously wording them to shield you from liability.