Want to sell faster and get more for your home? Award an exclusive mandate
More is definitely not better when it comes to the number of estate agents marketing your home.
“In fact, when you award an open mandate instead of a sole or exclusive mandate and there are several agents all advertising and trying to sell your property at the same time, it will usually not only take longer to achieve a sale but also lower the eventual sale price,” says Charles de Kock, owner of the Chas Everitt International franchise for the Southern Cape.
One reason for this, he says, is that agents who are working on an open mandate will generally not put the same amount of effort or energy into promoting your property to potential buyers as an agent who is working on an exclusive mandate, because they know that there is a good chance of another agent making the sale, and that any time and money they have spent will go to waste.
“There will thus not be as much urgency to show your home to prospective buyers, and that could easily result in it staying on the market too long and becoming overexposed. This happens when buyers who are keen on the property when it is first listed do not experience any sales enthusiasm from an agent and consequently lose interest and move on to other possibilities. And it is serious because the longer a property takes to sell, the higher the holding costs will be. These are the additional municipal, insurance, security, maintenance and bond costs that sellers have to pay for every month that their home remains unsold, instead of being able to move on with their lives and plans for their new homes.”
In addition, De Kock says, when there are a number of agents “hawking” the property, it can easily make it seem as though you are desperate to sell, and result in buyers taking chances and making really low offers to purchase.
“When prospective buyers see several for-sale boards on a property, or find out on a property portal that your home has been listed by several different agencies, they will in any case ‘shop around’ among those agents until they find the one that quotes the lowest price - or agrees to present the lowest offer to purchase. And this can result in agents who are working on an open mandate actually competing to get the seller to lower the asking price so that they can secure a deal - instead of negotiating to get buyers to increase their offers. This also tends to drive sale prices down and is clearly not in the interests of the seller.” Meanwhile, he notes, an open mandate also increases the risk that you will be exposed to a “double commission” claim that could severely affect the profitability of your sale. “Such claims can easily arise when the eventual buyer of a property has viewed it with one agent and concluded the sale through another. However, this cannot happen if you award an exclusive mandate to one of our highly qualified, experienced agents, who will compile a professional, strategic marketing plan for your home, ensure that there is only one message going out to prospective buyers, and work enthusiastically to achieve a sale at the best possible price in the shortest possible time.”
If you are interested in selling, or talking to a Chas Everitt property professional about the value of your property, call us today on 028 514 2202 or 044 690 3054.