Open-Ended Listing Agreement

Q: I have a listing with great potential, but the seller wants to do work on the property before we start marketing it. I have no idea how long the improvements will take. For this reason, I plan to make the listing agreement open-ended, meaning that it will not have a termination date. Is this legal? 

A: No. The licensing law, Section 475.25(1)(r), Florida Statutes, states that a licensee may be disciplined by the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC) for failing to include a definite expiration date in a listing agreement. Instead, you and the seller should choose a mutually agreeable termination date, which can always be modified or extended with mutual assent.