The mandate is the clients instruction to the estate agent to sell his/her property.
The law provides that if you are granting a mandate to more than one estate agency, you do not need to put it in writing, but if youre granting a sole mandate it must be in writing, stating the obligations of the agent in marketing your property. This is to protect you, the seller, against possible non-performance by the agent.
There are three types: open, sole, and multi-listed.
If you grant a sole mandate to an estate agency, you will have control over the marketing of your property. Only one agency will have your front door key, only one agency will be bringing prospective buyers to see your home, and you will have only one firm to liase with. In addition, commission will only be payable to one agency.
With an open mandate, which two or more firms share, they will be competing with one another for the sale and the commission. It is not unknown for a seller to end up paying full commission to two firms, which doubles his costs and may involve legal action as well.
In a multi-listed mandate, the estate agent secures a sole mandate and invites a number of other estate agents to share the listing, on condition that the commission is shared between the listing agent and the selling agent.
Where an agency has been granted a sole mandate, it tends to devote more time and advertising expenditure than to an open- or multi-listed mandate. Sole mandate properties are therefore marketed most effectively with the estate agents working harder to make the sale, as they are guaranteed the commission and do not have to share it with a competitor.
Please note: We have compiled this information in good faith, but we accept no liability for any errors, or for any use that is made of it, or for any problems or damage that may arise as a result of using or acting upon this information.
