selling · encargo de venta · checklist
12 questions before signing a sales mandate (encargo de venta)
The definitive checklist before signing with an estate agency: duration, exclusivity, commission, sales plan and exit clauses.
Signing a sales mandate (encargo de venta) is handing the keys to the most important deal of your financial life to someone else. Five minutes of awkward questions before signing saves you months of regret afterwards. Take this list to the meeting.
On the price
1. How have you calculated this price?
Demand comparables: real, recent sales of comparable homes. If the answer is "I know the area", there's no valuation: there's intuition. And if their price is far above other agencies' with no data to back it up, they want your signature, not your sale.
2. How often do we review the price?
Every price needs a review plan: which metrics you look at (viewings, enquiries, offers) and after how many weeks. If the agency never proposes reviewing it, it plans to leave the listing on autopilot.
On exclusivity
3. Exclusive or not, and why does it suit me?
Have them explain both options (we compare them in depth here). Distrust anyone who only presents one as "the normal thing".
4. How long does the mandate last and how is it cancelled?
Reasonable duration: 3–6 months. Ask what happens if you want to end it early: is there a penalty? Notice period? The exit clause has to be written down, not promised verbally.
5. What happens if I sell it myself?
Some contracts force you to pay the commission even if you find the buyer yourself; others allow it. Neither option is "the right one" in the abstract: what's wrong is not knowing which one you've signed.
On money
6. What is the exact commission and what does it include?
Percentage, calculation basis, VAT, and a breakdown of what's included: photography, portals, featured listings, support at the notary. Also ask about extra costs outside the commission.
7. How much will I be left with, net?
A good agency does the full calculation before signing: price − mortgage − commission − plusvalía municipal − estimated IRPF − costs. If they don't do it for you, do it yourself (costs guide here). The net figure is the only one that matters.
On the work
8. What is the sales plan, in writing?
Professional photography, portals, featured listings, viewings, progress reports. "We push it a lot" is not a plan. What's not written down doesn't exist.
9. Who handles my case and how do they keep me informed?
Name and phone number of your contact, and how often you get reports. You want to know that a specific person is responsible for your flat, not a "sales team".
10. How long do flats like mine take to sell?
If they work the area, they know. If they don't know, they don't work the area.
On the agency
11. Are you registered as estate agents?
In the Comunitat Valenciana, brokering requires registration in the Agents' Register (Registro de Agentes) (Decree 98/2022). Valid answer: yes with a number, or "in process" honestly. Vagueness is a bad sign.
12. Will you let me take the contract home to read?
Any serious agency says yes without blinking. If they pressure you to sign at the table ("this condition only applies today"), get up and leave. That rush is information.
The final 30-second test
Re-read the contract looking for these four things: duration, exclusivity, commission and exit. If all four are clear and work for you, sign calmly. If any is ambiguous, ask until it stops being so.
Signing well is quick when you've asked well. The encargo de venta isn't paperwork: it's the document that defines how your flat will be sold over the coming months. Treat it as what it is.
Want to talk about your case with these twelve questions already answered? At Llevant Patrimonial we answer them before you ask. Opening soon in Cullera.