I signed an agreement with one real estate broker to sell my house. But now my house is not only on his company’s website—it’s showing up for sale on a bunch of other websites, too. What gives?

Maximum exposure for a home is a good thing. The more people who know your home is for sale, the better your chances of finding a buyer. “Casting a wide net” may help you find a buyer sooner, sell your house for more money—possibly even create a situation with multiple buyers competing to purchase your home. And there’s no wider net than the Internet. Most brokers have agreements and systems in place to display listings on a variety of websites, including other local brokerages and national listing portals, like realtor.com and hicentral.com.

Look at your listing agreement. If it’s the Exclusive Right-To-Sell Listing Contract from the Hawaii Association of  REALTORS® and Property Type Addendum, you’ll see in General Listing Information ‘Show Internet’ that it authorizes the broker to display the property on the Internet without limitation unless one of the following sections is checked. If you’d like to restrict display of your property, talk with your broker. Just realize, though, that you’ll be limiting the number of potential buyers who know that your house is on the market.