A week after you signed the listing, you had a fire in the attic and your home was seriously damaged. You don't want to sell until the insurance company pays off and everything is repaired. These are all realistic nightmares that prospective sellers at one time or another have faced. You want to withdraw your listing. Yet, listings give the broker the right to find a buyer over a period of time and to collect a commission if successful.
Litigation is always a possibility.
However, for reasons to be discussed, it should be considered the last choice in these situations. Negotiation with perhaps a bit of leverage is usually a far better solution. The commission The only reason an agent takes a listing is to earn a commission. But, if the buyer is ready, willing and able to purchase, you may owe a commission anyway. The key here is the contractual arrangement you made with the broker by means of the listing.