In our consumer research, we often ask one particular question: if you’re unhappy with the service you are receiving from your licensee, do you think you can fire them and sign up with another licensee? Nine times out of 10, the answer we hear is a resounding yes.

We’re here to explain that it isn’t quite that simple. 

Becoming a first time home owner is the result of making one of the largest financial transactions in your life and embarking on the exciting, though sometimes stressful and intimidating process of finding the right home for you. As a first-time home buyer, instead of simply hoping to stumble upon your very own pot of gold, it is best to prepare yourself as much as possible for this new chapter in your life.

Licensees know that selling property can be stressful on homeowners. After all, they are not just selling their property, but their home. Situations where there are short deadlines or competing offers may add stress to the matter, but it is crucial that the licensee continues to cross their t’s and dot their i’s.

What happens if you are representing a seller and you receive an offer on their property that is incorrectly completed? 

March 3, 2017
Revised June 25, 2025

There are times when a seller may ask to co-list a property with another brokerage. This could be in hopes of greater exposure, or for assurance that they will have support should they want to work with a smaller brokerage who may not have the means to cover when licensees are out of town.

When co-listing a property, there are small but important differences to the paperwork requirements. Those requirements depend on which brokerages are co-listing the property and what their agency models are.

When a consumer completes a brokerage agreement, service contract or purchase agreement with software to secure an electronic signature, and the signature field includes a date stamp, there is no requirement to fill in the ‘Dated’ line in the final section of the form.

For example, a signature provided by dotloop identifies the date and time the signature was placed on the form, as seen below.