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Why is a Sole Mandate the best option for you?

Category Property News

When putting your property on the market it will be necessary to sign an authority to sell. This is generally known as a mandate. In this article we take a look at the difference between the four mandates and outline how the growing trend toward joint, dual or open mandates may be detrimental to you and the sale of your property.

Firstly, let's look at Sole Mandates. This is when you entrust the sale of your property exclusively to a single agency for a specified period of time.

A major advantage of a sole mandate is that it protects you from double commission claims. This could arise if a buyer is introduced to your property by more than one agent - both or multiple agencies could feel entitled to commission - a sole mandate avoids this.

A sole mandate allows for a strategy to be put in place for the marketing and exposure of your home, and avoids your property being advertised by several agencies or being marketed at different prices. The over exposure of your property may give the impression that you are desperate to sell which can lead to unrealistic low offers being made.

When several agents are marketing the same property they are obviously keen to secure the sale and may pressurise you to accept an offer which may not be in your best interest.

A sole mandate provides for greater security, privacy and protection. Access is controlled by one agent and viewing is done at your convenience without you being contacted by a number of different agents. Also your agent has time to negotiate and is committed to obtaining the highest possible price in the current market. You are likely to have serious buyers viewing your property thus, avoiding unnecessary inconvenience and traffic through your house.

As a seller with a sole mandate you and the agent develop a close working relationship. You get to know the agent's expertise and qualifications and they put your best interests first. With an open mandate you do not have any control of which agent you'll be working with or what qualifications they have - this could be detrimental when it comes to negotiating the sale of your house.

No prospective buyer is excluded, as the sole mandated agent can introduce other agencies to your property but controls the marketing and viewing, thereby protecting you.

It is often thought that if you list your home with 2 or more agencies your property will get more exposure but this isn't necessarily the case. The best estate agencies know the market, understand their buyer profile and how to market a property well to buyers. They will commit, in writing, to a marketing plan and invest a significant amount of money on marketing and advertising your property. If an estate agent isn't prepared to commit in writing to a marketing strategy on a sole mandate, then don't list with them. It is a regulation that the marketing strategy forms part of the mandate.


A Joint Mandate is when you entrust the sale of your property to more than one agency. This is usually limited to 2 agent/s or agencies but could be more. The commission is split between the agents irrespective of who sells the property based on a pre-determined agreement. There is a risk with this type of mandate that one agent could sit back and wait for the other agent/s to sell the property, or pressurise you to sell at the first asking price. Also, rather than having 1 effective marketing strategy, you may end up with 2 or 3 weak strategies that are uncoordinated and ineffective. 

Thirdly we look at a Dual Mandate, which as with a joint mandate, you entrust the sale of your property to more than one agent but limited to two agencies. The commission is split between the agents, irrespective of who sells the property on a pre-determined agreement. Again, the marketing strategy is uncoordinated and could lead to over or under exposure of your property      

Finally, an Open Mandate is when you allow a number of agencies to market your property. This mandate is often thought of as a good option as you are not excluding any buyers. This is not the case. The disadvantages of this type of mandate are mentioned above.

Author: Helen Ward

Submitted 23 Aug 19 / Views 1515