10 questions to ask any agent who wants your mandate

Despite the many successes in making the real estate industry more professional over the past few years, there are still many bogus agents operating without proper qualifications or current Fidelity Fund Certificates indicating that they are registered with the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA).

And that creates the need for property sellers to take extra care in selecting who to entrust with the sale of what is almost certainly their single biggest asset, says Gerhard Kotzé, CEO of the RealNet property group.

"There is naturally a great deal of emotion involved in property transactions. However, there is also a very serious process to go through as well. Property selling is basically a high-level business transaction of real consequence, and it has to be managed at that level, without emotion and with real professionalism.

"Granting an estate agent a mandate to market your property should therefore not be taken lightly, and although the criteria for doing so are inevitably somewhat subjective, there are certain vital factors to consider, many of which revolve around service.

"For example, when requesting feedback from our clients, one requirement keeps recurring. This is the need for continuous communication between the property professional and the client, in order to reduce the anxiety and stress associated with the home selling process."

An agent's brief, he notes, is quite simply to market the property well and cause it to be sold quickly and successfully. "But first it must be correctly priced, particularly in the current market where there are more sellers than buyers and prices are under pressure.

"Your agent must thus be able to accurately evaluate demand and market activity in your area as well as any recent sales of similar properties, in order to provide you with informed guidance when setting an asking price for your home.

"The objective is to create the best possible chance of attracting prospective buyers who are able and willing to pay a fair market price, within a reasonable period. As property professionals, we know that there is a direct and negative relationship between the length of time that a home is on the market and its ultimate selling price. In other words, the greater the time taken to sell, the lower the ultimate price is likely to be. Correct pricing at the outset enables the seller to avoid that problem,"

Finding the right property professional is therefore vital, says Kotzé, and your choice should be viewed as the creation of a "partnership" in which you and the agent collaborate to achieve the mutual goal of achieving the best possible price for your home in the shortest possible time.

The challenge though, is how to evaluate prospective agents who are competing to be your 'partner' in this endeavour? Some suggested questions to ask them are:

* What experience have you had, and can you provide references from other clients you have worked with recently?

* Do you specialise in property sales in this area?

* Can you outline what makes your real estate company stand out from others? 

* What is your marketing plan for my house?

* What results do you expect from this plan and what is the expected timeline?

* How often will you provide feedback on whether the plan is working or not?

* What advertising and marketing platforms will you be using?

* How did you arrive at your suggested asking price for my property?

* Do you have access to up to date information about buyer demand and sales trends in this area and how they may affect my selling price.

* Are there any new developments in this area that could affect my sale prospects?

"And lastly," says Kotzé, "it's important to identify a property professional who is genuinely interested in your reasons for selling, and in using their expertise to help you to achieve your specific goals."