Once you have decided to sell your home, choosing the right estate agent to help you is a top priority.

But one of the big choices you need to make is whether to opt for sole agency, where one firm has the exclusive right to market your home for a fixed period, or an open agency, where you get more than one firm to help you sell.

Amongst others the choice you make will affect the amount you pay in fees, as well as the marketing exposure that your property receives.

Many sellers believe that an open listing allowing multiple agencies to sell your home is the right thing to do and that it will result in expediting the sale. This is not always the case.

• You get to pay a lower rate of agency fee (generally 3.5% instead of 5%). Agents will agree to lower commission with sole agency, as there is a higher chance they will make the sale.
• Dealing with a multitude of agents from several agencies is complicated. As the seller you have to accommodate many appointments, sometimes on the same day, with strangers invading your home at inconvenient times.
• If you are no longer living in the property, you would have to hand out several sets of keys to different agents.
• It is difficult to keep track of progress regarding the marketing of you home.
• Overexposing your home to the market through several agencies may create the impression that there is something wrong with it, or that it is not saleable.
• Having a multitude of agencies representing your home may result in it being marketed at a multitude of prices, confusing buyers and creating an impression that a seller may be inconsistent in their decision making and therefore be complicated to deal with.

Sole agency properties receive much more attention-geared, focused marketing while open mandates are often not high on agents’ lists of priorities since they earn less commission and compete with many other agents for the sale.

At Frank Salt Real Estate, we can accompted your needs whether you prefer an open agency or a sole agency for your property.