Why you should be sold on a sole mandate

Too many cooks in the kitchen can spoil the broth, resulting in chaos and burnt offerings. The same applies to enlisting more than one property practitioner to sell your home. You might think the sale will go smoother and faster with a team of agents, but the result is normally a half-baked sale.

A sole mandate ensures that the seller interacts with one property practitioner only, and this includes the marketing and the sale itself. In a sole mandate, there is one person with one goal: To sell the property at the best price to ensure a satisfied customer and a satisfactory commission. Let's put it this way - where the cook must put the bacon on the table, the property practitioner must bring home the bacon!

When the pressure is on

A sole agent will therefore be under more pressure to perform by optimising results and efficiency. On the other side, it also creates buyer competition because all potential buyers can only access the property through one agent, who can negotiate a much better price for the property as he can start a "bidding process" between the potential buyers. 

The opposite is true where more agents are involved (in the case of an open mandate,) the chances are high that an agent with an offer will try and convince the seller to accept it even though it might not be the best one out of fear that they will lose their commission.

"A property practitioner with a sole mandate will give the property its full attention day in and day out until success is achieved," says Mazel Azevedo, a property practitioner at Seeff Plattekloof.

She says a sole mandate demands focused marketing, accountability and loyalty from the agent. The property practitioner will put a marketing budget and plan into place with the benefits of maximum exposure, as well as conduct controlled viewings, which is more secure.

Also, remember that most agencies market a property the same way and use the same tools , so it will just be a case of numerous agents marketing the property using the same techniques.

Michelle Hagan, a property practitioner at Seeff Plattekloof, agrees and adds that a  sole mandate ensures a more streamlined process. According to her, a property practitioner will put more energy and advertising spend into a sole mandate as they are guaranteed commission which is not the case with an open mandate.

Sole mandate agents are also more able to keep track of offers and honestly advise buyers if their offers are unlikely to succeed.

  In a world where perception is everything, multiple listings of the same property create the impression that the owner is desperate to sell, whereas a sole mandate indicates exclusivity. Also, with multiple agents competing for the same commission, you could find agents trying to close the deal at any cost, aiming for a lower asking price than what you would get for a sole mandate.

Double commission and other risks

Sometimes a property is even priced too high to put buyers off and redirect them to an agent's other, correctly priced sole mandate property. A sole mandate also eliminates the risk of double commission in cases where the property is introduced to the buyer by one agent but sold by another.

The bottom line is that on average, Seeff's sole mandates sell faster and achieve a higher price than the general market averages, says Samuel Seeff, chairman of Seeff Property Services.

Seeff's sole mandates sell for 20 per cent more than open mandates, as well as 50 per cent faster.  

The legalities of it all - can you cancel a sole mandate?

When you do choose a sole mandate, make sure that the property practitioner offers an opt-out clause that allows you to cancel the mandate if you are unhappy with the agent's performance, says real estate attorney Johan Jacobs, licensee of Seeff Plattekloof. You should have a right to cancel.

He gives a guarantee to sellers who have signed a sole mandate with Seeff Plattekloof that should the agent not  perform his duties in terms of a sole mandate, he will consider canceling it.

To ensure sellers are not stuck in a sole mandate contract, section 14 of the Consumer protection act (CPA) stipulates that a mandate must be for a specific fixed term and may not run for longer than 24 months, In terms of the code of conduct of the PPRA  a sole mandate must be in writing, signed by the selle,  and have an expiry date.

As per Section 16 of the CPA  when a consumer signs a mandate as a result of direct marketing, they are entitled to a 5-day cooling-off period. Within this timeframe, the seller has the option to cancel the mandate at any time, effective immediately, without incurring any penalty.

 After this period, the seller must provide a 20-day notice, and if they decide to cancel the mandate early, a fair penalty can be charged to cover relevant expenses incurred by the estate agent.