Sole & Exclusive Agency

The REIQ recommends these methods of selling property as two of the most effective.

By appointing a real estate agent on the basis of a Sole or Exclusive Agency agreement, the seller should limit themselves to one agent selling their property to potential buyers. There is security and accountability of only having to deal with one agency rather than several. Plus only one agency has the keys to your property and you will receive regular concise feedback of purchasers’ comments from this agency.

This can also be advantageous as the one agent may be more focused on selling your property for the best price possible by virtue of the fact that he or she does not have to compete with other agents. Under the new Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act (PAMD) 2000, a seller can only appoint an agent under this arrangement for up to 60 calendar days. During those 60 days the seller can decide not to renew the appointment if the property has not sold.

However, the seller can agree to make a further 60 day appointment but the renewal cannot be made earlier than 14 days before the term expires.

If the seller succeeds in selling the property by their own efforts, they are not required to pay the original agent any commission if it is a sole agency. Under an Exclusive arrangement, the sellers pay commission to the agent regardless of whether the sellers sell the property themselves.

The Sole or Exclusive Agency method is recommended over the Open Listing method because the sale of the property is in the hands of one party only, saving the seller the confusion of having to liaise with more than one agent. Furthermore, this will save the seller the money and time involved in advertising and marketing costs when a number of agents are trying to sell the property.