Eighty-seven tasks.
Four phases.
This is not exhaustive and it is not theoretical. This is the actual checklist I work through on a Cedar City, St. George, Washington, Hurricane, Ivins, or Santa Clara listing, give or take a handful of address-specific tasks. The numbers reset between phases for readability, not because the work resets.
Pre-listing. Before the world sees the home.
This is where listings are won or lost, and where most sellers underestimate the workload. If pricing is wrong, photos are weak, or the disclosure package is sloppy, no amount of phase-two marketing fixes it.
- Initial seller consultation, in person or virtual
- Property walk-through and condition assessment
- Comparative Market Analysis pulled from current MLS data
- Pricing band recommendation with three scenarios
- Listing strategy document, written, sent before signing
- Listing agreement preparation and review
- Agency disclosure signed (Utah requires)
- Seller property condition disclosure prepared
- Lead-based paint disclosure if pre-1978
- HOA document request and review
- Title pre-check ordered, lien and ownership cleared
- Mortgage payoff request from current lender
- Prep checklist customized to this home
- Pre-listing inspection coordination if recommended
- Staging consultation, in-home or virtual
- Photography scheduled and prepped
- Drone photography scheduled if applicable
- 3D walk-through scheduled if applicable
- Twilight photography for premium price points
- Listing copy written, fact-checked, plot-mapped
- MLS entry built with full attribute accuracy
- Tax record cross-checked against current condition
- Square footage source documented per UAR rules
- Showing instructions written for buyer agents
- Lockbox installed and access protocols set
- Sign installed, sign rider ordered if applicable
- Pre-launch private email to recent buyer-agent contacts
- Coming Soon status used strategically if it helps
- Final pricing confirmation 24 hours before go-live
Listed and active. Generating real interest.
Once a home goes live, this becomes a multi-channel job. MLS exposure is table stakes. The work that separates listings is what happens off the MLS: targeted outreach, the MovingUtah.com network, real showing feedback, and the honest mid-listing pricing conversation if traffic is light.
- MLS publication and status verification
- Syndication to Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin, Homes.com
- Featured placement on MovingUtah.com network
- Cross-link from relevant subdivision and city pages
- Social media announcement, organic and paid where it fits
- Email campaign to Southern Utah buyer-agent network
- Direct outreach to agents with active matched buyers
- Print marketing if the price point justifies it
- Open house planned, hosted, followed up
- Broker tour scheduled if it makes sense for this address
- Showing scheduling through ShowingTime or equivalent
- Real-time showing notifications to seller
- Showing feedback request and consolidated report
- Weekly seller update with traffic, feedback, comps
- Comp refresh every two weeks while listed
- New competing listings tracked and reported
- Sold competing listings tracked and reported
- Mid-listing pricing review if pace is slower than projected
- Price adjustment strategy if needed, with rationale
- Offer received, agency disclosure confirmed
- Offer terms broken down for seller, line by line
- Buyer pre-approval verification with the buyer's lender
- Counter-offer strategy and drafting
- Multiple offer protocol if applicable, in writing
- Acceptance, signature collection, REPC fully executed
Under contract. The 30 days that decide it.
Most listings that fall apart fall apart between mutual acceptance and clear-to-close. Inspection objections, appraisal misses, financing surprises, and title hiccups all live in this window. This is where calm, deadline-aware quarterbacking matters more than any other phase.
- Earnest money confirmation and receipt
- Title order placed with seller's chosen title company
- Inspection scheduling coordination
- Inspection report reviewed line by line with seller
- Buyer due-diligence objection response drafted
- Repair negotiation, credit alternative, or hold-firm strategy
- Licensed-contractor bids if repair is the path chosen
- Repair completion and receipts documented
- Appraisal scheduling and access
- Appraiser packet prepared with relevant comps
- Low appraisal scenario response if it happens
- Buyer financing milestones monitored, lender contacted
- HOA estoppel ordered and reviewed
- Survey ordered if contract requires
- Settlement statement preview reviewed for accuracy
- Clear-to-close confirmation from buyer's lender
- Final contingency removal documented in writing
Closing and after. Funded, recorded, done right.
The closing itself is straightforward when phases one through three were run cleanly. Post-close is where good agents earn future business: deed recording verification, utility transfer help, address-change cheat sheets, and a real check-in the week after move-in.
- Final walk-through coordination with buyer
- Possession date logistics, key handling, garage codes
- Utility transfer guidance for seller
- Settlement statement final review with seller
- Signing coordination with title company
- Power of attorney coordination if remote signing
- Wire transfer instructions verified to prevent fraud
- Funding confirmation from title company
- Deed recording confirmation at Iron or Washington County
- Disbursement of net proceeds confirmed
- MLS status updated to Sold with correct figures
- Final marketing takedown across syndication network
- Tax record verification post-recording
- Closing gift sent if it fits the seller
- Post-close check-in one week after possession
- Annual home value report mailed each year forward
Almost everything,
if you ask.
Utah law allows the listing agreement to be written almost any way the parties agree. The two limits are brokerage policy on the agent's side and what is legally enforceable. Beyond those, the document is what you negotiate it to be. Here is the honest map of which levers move.
Listing-side commission rate
There is no fixed rate in Utah. Each brokerage has internal minimums, but what you sign for is what you negotiated for. The rate should be tied to scope: a full-service listing at a luxury price point is a different scope than a 250k starter home, and the rate often reflects that.
Buyer-side concession from seller
After the 2024 NAR settlement, what the seller offers toward the buyer's agent compensation is explicitly negotiable and can no longer be advertised inside most MLS systems. You decide whether to offer it, how much, and how to position it in the listing. I will give you the strategic context for your specific home and market.
Listing term length
The default Utah listing agreement is often six months. I commonly write 90 or 120 days for sellers who want a shorter trial. If the market is slow, I would rather earn a renewal than trap a seller into a long term.
Cancellation rights and reimbursement
If we are not a fit, you should not be stuck. I write listing agreements with a reasonable cancellation clause. Up-front marketing costs (professional photos, drone, 3D, twilight) are sometimes reimbursable if the seller cancels before any showings, depending on what was spent. Get the answer in writing, not verbally, with any agent.
Required disclosures and brokerage minimums
Some elements are not negotiable with the individual agent: agency disclosure, seller property condition disclosure, lead-based paint for pre-1978, brokerage-level minimum commissions, and any technology or transaction fees the brokerage charges. These vary brokerage to brokerage and they should be disclosed to you up front in writing.
State-mandated forms and timing
The Utah REPC (Real Estate Purchase Contract), the timing of due-diligence and financing deadlines once those dates are written, and the recording requirements at the county level are not flexible. Any agent telling you otherwise is wrong. We can negotiate the dates inside the contract, but the structure is statutory.
It does not all hit my checking account.
Sellers often picture the listing commission landing in a single bank account. The reality of a working REALTOR's cost structure is a lot less glamorous. Here is what a representative one percent of a closed listing breaks into, before personal taxes are touched.
Every agent works under a broker. Each brokerage takes a share of the gross commission. Real Broker LLC, my brokerage, uses a cap-based model that is more agent-friendly than most, but every brokerage has some cost.
Professional photography, drone, 3D walk-through, premium MLS placement, MovingUtah.com network exposure, social ads when they fit. This is fronted by me, recouped only at close.
MLS dues, NAR and state and local board dues, errors and omissions insurance, CRM software, transaction management software, license renewal, continuing education, accounting, the websites you are reading right now.
As a 1099 contractor through Real Broker LLC, I pay both halves of FICA before any income tax is calculated. Federal and state income tax come out on top of that.
This is before federal income tax, state income tax, retirement contributions, and the cost of carrying the listings that did not close. It is not a complaint, it is a context. The commission you pay is funding a small business, not buying a yacht.
Ranges reflect typical 1099 sales-agent economics in the Real Broker LLC structure and similar brokerages. Numbers vary by agent, market, and year.
One licensed person
quarterbacking both sides.
Most home sales in Southern Utah are actually two transactions stacked on top of each other: selling the current home and buying or financing the next one. Normally that is four separate parties on two timelines. Here is how the dual-license model changes that.
Listing your current home
I am your listing agent through Real Broker LLC. Pricing, marketing, negotiation, contract management, close. Same person, start to finish.
- Real Broker LLC, licensed REALTOR
- Commission paid by you at close
- Fiduciary to you as seller
Financing your next home
I am your mortgage lender (NMLS 1794818) on the purchase. The buyer agent on your purchase is a referred trusted partner from my network, since I cannot legally serve as both buyer agent and lender on the same transaction.
- Mortgage lender, NMLS 1794818
- Lender fees disclosed up front
- Buyer agent referred, separately contracted
The pricing strategy on your sale and the affordability math on your next purchase are coordinated through one person who is fluent in both. Bridge timing, contingency strategy, lock-and-pre-approval sequencing, and the final settlement-statement reconciliation all happen with one quarterback instead of a relay race between strangers. The buyer-side agent works alongside me, on your team, with their own fiduciary to you on the purchase.
See the buy-before-you-sell playbookWhen you might not
need a listing agent.
I will lose business saying this, and I do not care. For sale by owner is legal in Utah. Sometimes it is the right answer. Here is when it might be.
- You already have a known buyer (family, neighbor, tenant)
- The home is in red-hot demand, low inventory, easy comp
- You have time to manage showings, calls, contracts
- You are willing to retain a real estate attorney for paperwork
- You need real MLS exposure and buyer-agent reach
- Pricing is uncertain or the property has unusual attributes
- The sale is divorce, probate, or remote and emotionally heavy
- You are also buying the next home and need coordination
National Association of REALTORS data has consistently shown FSBO homes sell for less than agent-listed comparables. Whether that gap exceeds the commission is the actual question. The honest answer depends on your home.