Exclusive Sale Authority

This insidious document is the means by which an estate agent is able to exclusively secure the Vendor, the property being sold, and all potential purchasers who enquire about the property for a set period of time, and then indefinitely until the Vendor cancels in writing.

Devised by estate agents, and distributed through the Real Estate Institute of Victoria, it is one of the most complex and onerous documents a consumer will ever encounter.

The Exclusive Sale Authority consists of an apparently simple and straight-forward front page, and a back page of classic “fine-print” which qualifies and often contradicts the information provided on the front. For example, the front page of the Exclusive Sale Authority states that the Authority is for a specific period of time, but this is contradicted by a condition in the “fine print” that allows the period to run indefinitely until the client cancels the Exclusive Sale Authority in writing.

It is a major challenge for any consumer to read the entire document and make sense of it, and extreme caution should be exercised by any consumer intending to sign an Exclusive Sale Authority.