So says David Rogers, MD of SA real estate giant Homenet, who explains that "buying" a mandate is the practice of deliberately inflating an estimated selling price in order to entice a home seller to award a sole mandate.

"This is happening all over ? and especially in areas where there is tough competition among a number of agents for the same mandates. However we find that the worst offenders are generally not the inexperienced and often under-worked newcomers to the industry, but the very experienced agents often in the employ of well-known and respected real estate companies.

"Indeed, some of these cynical operators are now even building clauses into their mandate contracts that enable them to unilaterally drop asking prices at certain set intervals, without any further discussion with the seller."

In effect, Rogers explains, this means they are creating an 'escape route' for themselves to eventually sell the property at the right price when buyers show no interest at the artificially inflated price.

"What they are doing is trying to ensure that they will still earn their commission, even though they have subjected their clients to unnecessary delays, disappointments and perhaps even additional expenses.

"At the same time, they are tying up saleable stock and slowing down sales by artificially creating price resistance in certain areas, which distorts the market to the detriment of all other participants."

Rogers thus cautions home sellers to be extremely wary of agents whose price estimates exceed others by a substantial margin, and urges them to carefully scrutinise contracts before awarding sole mandates.

"They should take care to appoint ethical agents who will counsel them as regards market-related pricing and produce a comparative market analysis of similar properties recently sold in the area to substantiate their estimates."

Consumers can evaluate prospective agents by asking pertinent questions such as how, when and where the property will be marketed and advertised, and whether the agents are area specialists with insight into current trends that may affect the value of the property, he says.

"Prospective agents should also be asked to explain what differentiates their companies and what services, such as regular feedback on progress, are offered.

"And as a last suggestion, sellers should look out for an agent who shows real interest and passion for selling their home as quickly as possible, and not one that makes wild promises just to secure their business."