Listing Your Home: the Paperwork

What it authorizes

The Listing Agreement (formally the Multiple Listing Agreement, or MLA) is the contract between you and your brokerage — it's not between you and a buyer. Signing it gives your agent and brokerage the legal authority to market and sell your home. It sets out:

• Your list price
• The term — how long the agreement runs
• The commission rate your brokerage earns on a sale
• What's included and excluded from the sale (chattels and fixtures — think appliances, window coverings, light fixtures)

Because it's a contract with your brokerage rather than a buyer, it's the very first form in the whole process — everything else that follows happens because this one exists.

Optional in NL — and worth doing anyway

The PCDS asks you, as the seller, to disclose anything you know about the property's condition — past water damage, structural issues, known defects, that kind of thing. It's important to know up front: completing a PCDS is not a legal requirement in Newfoundland and Labrador. NLAR provides a standard form for its member REALTORS® to use, but whether to complete one is entirely your choice as the seller.

That said, most sellers do complete one, and here's why it's worth considering even though it's optional: a clear, honest disclosure tends to build buyer confidence and can reduce how hard a buyer negotiates after their own inspection turns something up. It's also worth knowing that a seller who knowingly conceals a serious defect can still face legal exposure regardless of whether a PCDS was ever completed — the form is a tool for clarity, not a legal shield either way. Talk to your agent about whether completing one makes sense for your property.

How you want offers handled

This is your written instruction to your agent about how offers on your home should be presented. Two common approaches: offers presented to you as they come in, one at a time — or offers held until a set date and time, then presented together (common when a listing is drawing a lot of interest, sometimes called a multiple-offer situation). You set this direction in writing before your home goes live, along with any other special instructions for your agent.

Confirming who represents you

At the same time you sign your Listing Agreement, you'll also sign an agency disclosure confirming the nature of your relationship with your agent and brokerage — the same disclosure a buyer signs later in the process, from the seller's side. It's covered in more detail on The Offer Package, because it becomes especially important once a buyer's offer arrives and the question of who represents whom is front and centre.