Sole mandate or open mandate - What should you go for?

Making the right decision when choosing a professional to handle your property's marketing and sale is essential. Choosing a mandate is another crucial step in the process of selling your home. 

Two of the most often used agreements are sole mandates and open mandates. With a sole mandate, sometimes referred to as an exclusive mandate, you only permit one real estate agency to promote your house.

Multiple agencies will be able to promote your house if it has an open mandate. When you see many adverts for the same home, it's usually because the seller has offered an open mandate.

Why you should choose a sole mandate

Although open mandates promote competition, this rarely leads to higher marketing, negotiation, and sales rates. By increasing competition among agencies, sellers unknowingly support a rushed, low-profit transaction.

Many real estate experts agree that selecting the exclusivity of a sole mandate is the ideal way to guarantee that your home sells without any hassles. Gregg Wilson, Principal Property Practitioner of Seeff Hillcrest and Kloof agrees: "A sole mandate is typically the first choice."

With a sole mandate, one engaged agency controls the full process of selling your house from start to finish. "When you sign a sole mandate agreement with Seeff, you can be sure that your property will get all the attention it requires through our 'red carpet Rolls Royce approach' while providing the very best marketing in town. We provide free home valuations that result in the most profitable and practical outcomes. In order to ensure that your transaction runs smoothly all the way to the Deeds Office for final approval. Seeff also helps buyers identify financing solutions through a pre-qualification process, so all our buyers are legit." says Gregg.

Here's why you should sign a sole mandate:

• You'll only pay one commission

In an effort to convince agencies to cut their commission rates, playing them off against one another may backfire. Sellers who choose an open mandate risk being held accountable for double commission if it is unclear which real estate agency was the effective cause of the sale.

Who is to say which property practitioner is accountable for a transaction if a buyer tours your property with one but signs an offer to purchase with another? Both may have reasonable claims, implying that both commissions are owed.

Paying a single agency the commission at their set rates if you decide to go with a sole mandate will motivate them to invest more time and energy in marketing and selling your property at the highest possible price.

• You'll receive a better deal

Listing your home with many agencies not only confuses buyers but also gives them the idea that you are eager to sell and would therefore take a low offer. As a result, the price that buyers will be ready to pay for your property will be less than what you would desire. 

The main objective when working with just one agency is to secure the optimum deal. They'll have enough time to perform an in-depth analysis of the property, enabling you to set a price that's in line with the market while lowering the possibility of overvaluing or undervaluing your home.

• You'll get a comprehensive marketing campaign

If you have many agencies marketing the same property, there won't be any coordination, which will lead to a disorganised and unsuccessful marketing strategy.
With just one agency in control, a marketing campaign will be carried out with all the necessary components in place. Your property practitioner can confidently invest in a thorough marketing effort because they are guaranteed their commission upon the successful completion of the transaction, and they can be sure that their expenses will be covered by those revenues.

• You'll experience the least amount of inconvenience

A sole mandate is a more practical solution for sellers because they will only have to interact and work with one real estate agency rather than several. With a single point of contact, viewings and access to the property may be well-managed enabling you to experience the least amount of inconvenience. This also eliminates the risk of missing out on possible buyers.

At Seeff, we believe that your reason for selling your home is "your business", but that selling your home is "our business". If you're having trouble deciding which mandate is best for you, get in touch with Seeff Hillcrest & Kloof today to find out more about how we can help you sell your home.