The listing agreement is the contract between you and the brokerage that will market your home. It sets the fee, the term, what the broker will do and what you approve. This guide covers the parts every Georgia seller should read before signing. Deciding when to sell is a separate question this guide does not cover.
General information, not legal advice. The Georgia brokerage-law text on this page is summarized from a published copy of the code (each fact names its source and the date we checked it). For your own agreement or dispute, ask a Georgia attorney.
It is a written brokerage engagement
Where the listing agreement comes from
- A brokerage engagement is a written contract under which a seller, buyer, landlord or tenant becomes the broker's client. O.C.G.A. 10-6A-3(4), checked 2026-10-19
- GREC's rules list exclusive listing contracts, open listing contracts and buyer broker agreements among the examples of brokerage engagements. Georgia Rules and Regulations, checked 2026-10-19
- Under Georgia's Brokerage Relationships in Real Estate Transactions Act (BRRETA), agency means a broker represents a client by the client's written authority. O.C.G.A. 10-6A-3(1), checked 2026-10-19
An exclusive or open listing contract is one of the brokerage engagements the Commission’s rules name. Signing it makes you the broker’s client, and the broker’s duties to you start there.
What it must tell you
Every Georgia brokerage engagement must tell the prospective client the types of agency relationships the broker offers, any known conflicting relationships, the broker's compensation and whether it will be shared, and the broker's confidentiality duties. (O.C.G.A. 10-6A-10(a) (text effective Jan. 1, checked 2026-10-19)
Use those four items as a test. You should be able to point to the relationship types the broker offers, any conflict the broker knows about, the compensation and whether it will be shared with a buyer’s broker, and the confidentiality duty.
The fee is negotiated
Broker fees and commissions are fully negotiable and are not set by law; the buyer agreement must say so conspicuously. (National Association of REALTORS®, checked 2026-10-19)
No law sets the listing fee. It is whatever you and the brokerage agree and write down. Ask how it is calculated, when it is earned, and what happens to it if the sale falls through.
What your listing broker owes you
Seller’s broker duties
- A seller's broker must seek a sale at acceptable terms, timely present all offers, disclose material facts the broker actually knows, advise the seller to get expert advice where needed, account for money, and keep requested information confidential. O.C.G.A. 10-6A-5(a), checked 2026-10-19
- Under BRRETA a broker owes only the duties listed in the statute (unless the parties agree otherwise in a signed writing), is not deemed a fiduciary, and must exercise reasonable care. O.C.G.A. 10-6A-4(a), checked 2026-10-19
In practice that means every offer reaches you, even after you are under contract, you hear the material facts the broker knows, and you are told when to get expert advice, such as from an attorney or inspector. Georgia law sets a reasonable-care standard; if you want more, it has to be in a signed writing.
Known defects and the one-mile rule
What the broker must disclose to buyers
- A seller's broker must timely disclose to all parties adverse material facts about the property's physical condition that the broker actually knows and a buyer could not find with a reasonably diligent inspection. O.C.G.A. 10-6A-5(b)(1), checked 2026-10-19
- The seller's broker must also disclose known adverse physical conditions within one mile of the property that a buyer could not find by a diligent inspection or by reviewing available government records and maps. O.C.G.A. 10-6A-5(b)(2), checked 2026-10-19
What the rule does not do
- Georgia's brokerage law creates no duty for a broker to go looking for defects, and it does not reduce the buyer's own obligation to inspect the property and neighborhood. O.C.G.A. 10-6A-5(b), checked 2026-10-19
- BRRETA states that it does not limit any duty a seller has under other law to disclose adverse physical-condition facts the seller actually knows. O.C.G.A. 10-6A-5(b), checked 2026-10-19
Your broker cannot keep a known physical defect quiet for you. If the broker actually knows of a material defect a buyer could not find with a reasonably diligent inspection, or a known adverse condition within one mile that the buyer could not find from inspection or public records, it has to be disclosed. The broker has no duty to go looking, and your own obligations as a seller under other law are separate. Ask your attorney what you must disclose; this guide does not say whether a particular form is required.
Paying a buyer’s broker needs your written approval
A listing agent must disclose to the seller in writing, and get the seller's approval for, any payment or offer of payment to a buyer's broker, stating the amount or rate, before it is made. (National Association of REALTORS®, checked 2026-10-19)
Any payment, or offer of payment, from your listing broker to a broker for buyers needs your approval in advance, in writing, with the amount or rate stated. Decide this deliberately. You may choose to offer something, nothing, or to consider requests as they come with offers.
Offers, concessions and marketing
- A seller may still offer to pay a buyer's agent, but that offer cannot be shared on a Multiple Listing Service (MLS). National Association of REALTORS®, checked 2026-10-19
- A seller's agent can still advertise an offer of compensation off the MLS, for example on social media, flyers and websites. National Association of REALTORS®, checked 2026-10-19
- Buyers can still receive seller concessions, such as help with closing costs, and sellers can still offer buyer concessions on an MLS. National Association of REALTORS®, checked 2026-10-19
An offer to pay a buyer’s broker cannot go on the MLS. Your agent can still advertise it off the MLS, for example on social media, flyers and websites. Concessions to the buyer, such as help with closing costs, can still be offered on the MLS. Ask the agent which of these they plan to use, and get your choice into the agreement.
If a buyer from the same office appears
Dual and designated agency on your listing
- Every Georgia brokerage must adopt an office policy that either permits or rejects disclosed dual agency, and must disclose that policy. O.C.G.A. 10-6A-12(f), checked 2026-10-19
- A Georgia broker may act as a dual agent only with the written consent of all clients, and the consent must state, among other things, that the client does not have to agree to dual agency. O.C.G.A. 10-6A-12(a), checked 2026-10-19
- A broker may assign different agents in the same firm to represent the buyer and the seller separately as designated agents; when that is done, the firm is not considered a dual agent. O.C.G.A. 10-6A-13(a)-(b), checked 2026-10-19
Ask for the office policy before you sign. If the firm permits dual agency, it can only act for both you and a buyer with your written consent, and you do not have to give it. If it assigns separate designated agents, it is not a dual agent. See dual and designated agency.
What the agreement cannot do
A Georgia brokerage engagement cannot bind future owners of the property or create a recordable lien on it (apart from narrow commercial exceptions). (O.C.G.A. 10-6A-10(b) (text effective Jan. 1, checked 2026-10-19)
Questions to settle before you sign
- What is the fee, how is it calculated, and when is it earned?
- What is the start date and the end date?
- How can either of us end the agreement early, and does any fee survive the end date?
- Will you offer anything to a buyer’s broker, and how will I approve it in writing?
- Where will you market the home, on and off the MLS?
- What is your office’s dual agency policy?
- What will you do that is not required by law, and is that written down?
Then check the listing agent’s license and compare at least two brokerages on the interview scorecard. If a clause is unclear, a Georgia attorney can review it before you sign.
Questions people ask
What is a listing agreement?
It is a brokerage engagement: a written contract under which a seller becomes the broker's client. GREC's rules list exclusive listing contracts and open listing contracts among the examples.
Source: Georgia Rules and Regulations
What must a seller's broker do for me?
A seller's broker must seek a sale at acceptable terms, timely present all offers, disclose material facts the broker actually knows, advise you to get expert advice where needed, account for money, and keep requested information confidential.
Source: O.C.G.A. 10-6A-5(a)
Who approves a payment to the buyer's agent when I sell?
You do. A listing agent must disclose to the seller in writing, and get the seller's approval for, any payment or offer of payment to a buyer's broker, stating the amount or rate, before it is made.
Next step
Estimate what you keep after the fees you are considering with the commission and net calculator, and read choosing a listing agent in Dahlonega.
Laws, forms and practices change. Every rule on this page links to the office or statute that sets it; confirm with that source, or a Georgia attorney, before you rely on it.
