Although state law does regulate a broker's professional behavior, it does not require that a broker directly be involved with real estate transactions. Despite this fact, most Manhattan Sellers traditionally have been limited to just two worthwhile options:

Going it alone. Sellers have been known to attract Buyers through personal contacts, word-of-mouth, or newspaper classifieds.

Brokers and real estate agents. Sellers use agents to market, show, and negotiate the sale of an apartment.

Brokers can be engaged through three possible avenues:

Open Listings. With this option, the Seller provides several brokers with an apartment listing. Brokers compete for the sale of the property, and a commission is due only to the broker who successfully negotiates a sale. If the Seller closes a deal with a Buyer without the assistance of one of the brokers, no commission is paid.

Exclusive Agency Listings. In this scenario, the Seller agrees to use one agency only to locate a Buyer. If another broker wishes to show or sell the property, he or she must do so in a co-broker arrangement with the exclusive broker. Most of the time, a property will remain wholly in the jurisdiction of the exclusive broker for a month or so, then will be offered on a co-broker basis. Again, if the Seller closes a deal with a Buyer without the assistance of one of the brokers, no commission is paid.

Exclusive Right to Sell. In this arrangement, the broker is entitled to an agreed-upon commission even if the Seller locates and closes with a Buyer. Be wary of this arrangement; it means that even if you sell the property to a friend or relative, the broker is owed a commission. Here, again, the exclusive broker may co-broker with other real estate brokers.

TYPE OF LISTING	IF SELLER FINDS CLOSING BUYER	IF BROKER FINDS CLOSING BUYER
Open	No Commission	Commission Due
Exclusive Agency	No Commission	Commission Due
Exclusive Right to Sell	Commission Due	Commission Due