There are many reasons that you may want to sell your home: you could be upgrading or downsizing, or moving to a new part of South Africa to be closer to friends and family or a new job. Whatever the reason behind the move one thing is for sure, you won’t want the sale to be held up.
It’s often said that moving home is the most stressful thing that a person can do in their life, and one reason for the stress can be delays in the sale of your own property. By selling property quickly and efficiently you can make it a stress-free process … but, which is the best way to do that: open mandate or sole mandate?
What Are Open And Sole Mandates?
Selling a house or flat can be a complicated business, and so many people choose estate agents to help the process go a little smoother. When deciding to use an estate agent, however, the seller is still faced with the option of using an open or sole mandate. A sole mandate is when the property is sold through the exclusive use of one specific agent, whereas an open mandate allows your property to be marketed by many estate agents at one time, with the one making the sale gaining the commission.
The Benefits Of Utilising A Sole Mandate
The use of a sole mandate is the traditional way to sell property in South Africa, and it can still bring benefits today. Although you are usually committed to a fixed term contract, this can have the effect of motivating the estate agent. Under the terms of the contract, they will be guaranteed a commission on any sale that is agreed during the period of the contract, so they will put all their effort into finding a suitable buyer.
Open Mandate Advantages
Open mandates are becoming increasingly popular, as it allows the seller more flexibility and the opportunity of utilising modern technology to its true potential. An open mandate means that you will have a number of estate agents all using their resources to try to sell your property as quickly as possible. This means more exposure for your property, especially online.
More and more houses are now being sold via online sources, and an open mandate is a great, and inexpensive, way to increase your properties visibility online. The relative disadvantages of using an open mandate is that you could end up with more than one ‘for sale’ sign outside your home. Occasionally an open mandate can lead to disputes over which agent was responsible for the sale. This is quite unusual, however.
To make the most of Internet-power, and still have the advantages of an estate agency, make use of an online estate agent like to HomeFair.