Listing Agreements in Crown Point: Indiana’s Written Agreement Rule

A listing agreement is the written contract that lets a real estate broker represent you and market your home for sale. In Crown Point and everywhere else in Indiana, state law says a listing agreement must be in writing with a definite end date, and you get a copy within three business days of signing. At our Crown Point shop we read the form with you, name how we get paid, and settle whether you offer anything to a buyer’s broker before your home goes on the market.

We’re the shop on South Main in Crown Point. Love Thy Neighbor. Call (219) 801-0432.

This is how our shop handles listing agreements for sellers in Crown Point and the Northwest Indiana towns we work. We cover what Indiana law requires, what the form says, how pay gets named, and what we owe you after you sign. It is the seller side of our buyer agency post. Curious what sold near you? Search homes on Realest.com. It has search and sold homes for Indiana and Illinois.

Start the seller path on Sell. More selling guides are on Learn: Selling. Short questions go to Ask Realest, and the money question has its own answer at How much will I net when I sell.

What Indiana law requires

House Enrolled Act 1068, signed March 11, 2024, added Indiana Code chapter 12 on real estate agreements, effective July 1, 2024. The Indiana Professional Licensing Agency explained the change in its June 27, 2024 press release. Read the enrolled act at HEA 1068, the code chapter at Indiana Code 25-34.1-12, and the IPLA press release.

Writing, end date, your copy. Under Indiana Code 25-34.1-12-1, listing agreements, or any authority to sell or lease, shall show a definite date of expiration and shall be in writing, on paper or electronic. One copy goes to the owner within three business days of signing. The listing broker keeps the original and all electronic files in its office.

No set signing moment. The IPLA press release notes that the act does not set a specific standard for when the agreement should be signed. Our shop signs it with you before we market your home.

Agency relationship. Indiana Code 25-34.1-10-9.5 says a licensee has an agency relationship with the person they are working with unless there is a written agreement to the contrary or the licensee is only assisting that person as a customer without compensation. The listing agreement puts that relationship on paper. See Indiana Code chapter 10.

Office policy first. Under Indiana Code 25-34.1-10-13(b), at the start of an agency relationship we must give you our written office policy on agency relationships before you share confidential information. That policy also says whether our office permits disclosed limited agency, where one licensee represents both the seller and the buyer. Under Indiana Code 25-34.1-10-12, limited agency needs written consent from all parties. The consent writing the law describes states that you do not have to consent.

Pay and agency are separate. Under Indiana Code 25-34.1-10-13(d), the payment of compensation does not create an agency relationship. Under 13(c), the parties must be told whether compensation will be shared with other broker companies that may represent other parties whose interests are different. We cover both at the table.

How we walk you through the listing agreement

1. Sit with the form at our office. We read who we represent, the type of agreement, the list price, the real end date, the marketing plan, and how we get paid. If a line does not match what we said, we stop and fix it before you sign.

2. Know which type you are signing. The NAR consumer guide to listing agreements lists these types. Exclusive right to sell means one agent, and you owe that agent’s pay no matter who sells. Exclusive agency means one agent, but you keep the option to sell it yourself without paying the agent. Non-exclusive means one agent or several, and you pay the one who sells.

3. Pick an end date you can live with. Indiana requires a definite expiration date, so we write a real calendar date. Ask us what happens if the home has not sold by then.

4. Name our pay. Indiana law does not set a percent. The NAR guide says agent compensation is fully negotiable and not set by law. We write the amount into the agreement so nothing is vague.

5. Decide on any offer to a buyer’s broker. An offer of compensation is when you, or your agent for you, pay another agent for bringing a buyer who closes. It is your choice. NAR’s consumer guide on offers of compensation says your agent can only offer it or make the payment with your written approval and signoff on the amount. If you approve one, it can go out on flyers, signs, brokerage websites, social media, or a phone call or email. You can also leave it out of the marketing and negotiate it in a purchase agreement.

6. Keep concessions on their own line. A seller concession is different. That is when you cover some of the buyer’s costs, like closing costs or repairs. Read Seller Concessions in Northwest Indiana.

7. Set the price on paper. The NAR guide says a listing agreement establishes the sales price for your home. We build that number from a market analysis with you. Read How to Read a CMA Before You List and, for later, Price Reductions in Crown Point. Real Estate USA has a plain guide to pricing a home for sale in Northwest Indiana.

8. Plan the marketing. Per the NAR guide, the agreement typically lays out the methods your agent will use to sell your home. We talk through photos and showings, covered in Listing Photos and Showings With Our Crown Point Shop. Before photo day, see What to Fix Before You List and the DIY Home Inspection Checklist.

9. Get your copy. Indiana gives the broker three business days from signing to get you a copy. Keep it with your Indiana seller’s disclosure form and your payoff numbers.

What we owe you after you sign

Under Indiana Code 25-34.1-10-10, a licensee representing a seller must fulfill the agency relationship and disclose its nature. We must seek a price and terms satisfactory to you. We must present all offers immediately upon receipt, even after you accept one, unless you direct otherwise. We must disclose adverse material facts or risks we actually know, tell you to get expert advice on matters past our expertise, and account for money and property. And we must use reasonable care and skill and follow fair housing and civil rights laws.

We may not disclose, without your informed written consent, that you will accept less than the list price, what motivates you to sell, or other material or confidential information. The exceptions are when the law requires it or when keeping quiet would amount to fraud.

Once you accept an offer, the law does not require us to keep seeking other offers unless we agree otherwise. Tell us if you want that.

Buyers are owed something too. We must be truthful with every buyer and never knowingly give false information. We must also tell buyers adverse material facts we actually know about the physical condition of the home that a reasonable and timely inspection would not find.

The same section lets a listing licensee show other homes to a buyer and list competing homes without breaching duties to you. You should know that before you sign. When offers stack up, read Multiple Offers With Our Crown Point Shop.

When the agreement ends

Under Indiana Code 25-34.1-10-14, a relationship that is not completed ends at the earlier of the expiration date you agreed to or a termination by the parties. After it ends, unless agreed otherwise in writing, we still account for any money and property we received. We also keep confidential what you asked us to keep confidential, unless the law requires disclosure, you consent in writing, or it becomes public some other way.

Letters from unlicensed solicitors

HEA 1068 also added Indiana Code 32-21-16.5 for people without a real estate license who solicit the sale of a single-family home. Their mailer, yard sign, text, call, or ad must say “This solicitation is not from a licensed real estate professional.” It must give their legal name, plus the expected buyer’s legal name if that is someone else.

If the disclosure falls short, you can cancel within two days of entering into their agreement by delivering a written rescission. The chapter does not cover home builders, tax exempt nonprofits, government entities, or a buyer who plans to take title, record the deed, and live there or hold it as an investment. It applies to agreements made or renewed after June 30, 2024.

Listing agreements by town

The law is the same in every Indiana town. The buyers are not. Sellers come to us from Crown Point, St. John, Schererville, Dyer, Munster, Highland, Cedar Lake, Lowell, Merrillville, Hobart, and Valparaiso.

For what living there is like, Real Estate USA keeps guides to homes in Crown Point, St. John, Schererville, Dyer, Munster, Highland, Cedar Lake, Lowell, Merrillville, Hobart, and Valparaiso. Buyers moving in from out of town start with Moving to Crown Point, Indiana.

Selling one home and buying the next? Read Buying and Selling at the Same Time in Northwest Indiana. Selling across the Illinois line? This post covers Indiana law, so start with Learn: Illinois.

The tradeoffs to weigh

A short term or a long term. A shorter end date frees you sooner. A longer one gives the marketing plan time to work. Either way, it has to be a real date.

Exclusive right to sell or exclusive agency. With one, you owe the agent’s pay no matter who sells. With the other, you can sell it yourself without that pay. Ask which one your form is.

Offering buyer broker pay or not. NAR’s guide says an offer can reduce out-of-pocket costs for buyers, which may bring more of them. Skipping it keeps that money in your net proceeds. We run both versions on your seller net sheet.

Who pays or who we represent. Compensation and agency are separate under Indiana law. Name both in writing so nothing is fuzzy.

What we will ask you back

Expect questions about your payoff, the date you need to move, repairs you already know about, the price where you would say yes, and whether you are buying next. Going through a divorce, an estate, or a senior move? Read selling during a divorce, selling during probate, or selling for a senior move. Still choosing an agent? Read How to Interview a Realtor Before You Hire One.

Questions about listing agreements in Crown Point

Does Indiana require a written listing agreement to sell my house?

Yes, once you want a broker to represent you and market your home. Indiana Code 25-34.1-12-1 requires a listing agreement in writing with a definite expiration date. Call us at (219) 801-0432 before you sign. We are licensed in Indiana and Illinois.

What must an Indiana listing agreement include?

It must be in writing, on paper or electronic, and show a definite expiration date. You get a copy within three business days of signing. The listing broker keeps the original and electronic files. House Enrolled Act 1068 added that chapter effective July 1, 2024.

Do I have to offer compensation to a buyer’s agent?

No. It is your choice. Agent pay is negotiable and not set by law. NAR’s consumer guide says your agent can only offer compensation or pay a buyer’s agent with your written approval and signoff on the amount.

What does my listing agent owe me after I sign?

Under Indiana Code 25-34.1-10-10, your agent must seek a price and terms you are satisfied with, present all offers immediately unless you direct otherwise, and disclose adverse material facts actually known. Without your informed written consent, we keep private that you would take less than the list price and why you are selling.

When does an Indiana listing agreement end?

If the sale is not completed, it ends at the earlier of the expiration date you agreed to or a termination by the parties, under Indiana Code 25-34.1-10-14. After that, we still account for money and property and keep your confidential information private.

How do I start a listing agreement with Realest?

Call (219) 801-0432 or email saso@realest.com. Visit us at 112 S. Main St., Suite B, Crown Point, IN 46307. Bring your mortgage payoff if you have it, the repairs you already know about, and the date you need to move. Love Thy Neighbor.

Talk to the shop

Realest, 112 S. Main St., Suite B, Crown Point, IN 46307

(219) 801-0432 | saso@realest.com

Love Thy Neighbor

Top photo: William Whitaker House on South Main Street, Crown Point by Nyttend, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped.

Next reads: Sell, Learn: Selling, Seller net sheet, Buyer Agency shop, Price Reductions shop, Crown Point hub. Homes for sale and sold homes in Indiana and Illinois: Search homes on Realest.com.

Sources

• Indiana Code 25-34.1-12 (official PDF, Indiana General Assembly, 2026), listing agreements at IC 25-34.1-12-1
• Indiana Code 25-34.1-10 (official PDF, Indiana General Assembly, 2026), agency relationship, seller duties, limited agency, office policy, compensation and termination at IC 25-34.1-10-9.5, 10-10, 10-12, 10-13, and 10-14
• House Enrolled Act 1068 (2024), enrolled PDF, Indiana General Assembly
• Indiana Professional Licensing Agency press release, June 27, 2024: written listing and buyer agency agreements effective July 1, 2024
• Indiana Code 32-21-16.5 (official PDF, Indiana General Assembly, 2026), solicitation by an unlicensed real estate solicitor
• National Association of REALTORS: Consumer Guide to Listing Agreements
• National Association of REALTORS: Consumer Guide to Offers of Compensation

This page is shop process, not legal advice. Your listing agreement and your purchase agreement set the terms.