The shortest time between a first meeting and being paid is usually with a Rental Listing. Rentals don't require title searches and finance timeframes. So, I would say the shortest time is 1 week. Those clients turn into long term relationships, though, which is always amazing! I do my best to help them become homeowners later down the road. The longest time from contact to payment was back in 2012. I listed a home for sale as a Short Sale and this home had significant structural issues due to the 100 year flood we had in 2009. They were on a cul de sac at the bottom of a hill and their retention wall had been partially washed into the creek. Slowly, the erosion was taking it's toll, which turned this already long-term listing from the Short Sale perspective to a long term foundation/structure challenge. I knew we had to market the house to a special Buyer, who not only had enough time to wait for the bank to approve the short sale - with all the paperwork craziness that entails - we also needed a Buyer who had the resources to address the structural issues. We finally sold it to an Investor after being on the market for 2 years. My Seller was so grateful, he insisted I accept a beautiful overstuffed armchair that was in his living room that I loved! After closing, he got married and moved into his new wife's house and they're living a calm and stressfree life together! And, no, they're not on a cul de sac at the bottom of a hill!