Putting Your House On The Market
The first step toward putting your house up for sale is to meet with a real estate agent at your home. What we call the "listing appointment." But beforehand, it's important to understand "who's who" and how brokers may cooperate to sell your house.

Listing Broker or Listing Agent
An individual real estate broker whom the seller hires to represent the seller through a contract called a "listing agreement". The listing agent is associated with the listing broker. The listing broker is directly paid the listing commission and then splits the commission with the listing agent. (Although the broker and agent may be two different individuals, the term "broker" is used throughout the Guide for simplicity.)

Selling Broker or Selling Agent
In a "cooperative" sale, the house is listed by one broker and a buyer is provided by another broker. The selling broker receives the selling side of the commission. If the listing broker also produces the buyer, then the listing broker receives both listing and selling sides of the commission. A selling broker may have a signed buyer representation agreement with a buyer and, therefore, represent the buyer and not the seller. If the buyer's agent is a Long & Foster agent, Long & Foster becomes a disclosed dual agent with the consent of both buyer and seller.