Vendor advocates
A vendor advocate works for a seller. They help you choose the selling agent, negotiate the agent's commission and marketing budget, set a realistic price expectation, and guide you through the campaign to the sale. They don't sell the home themselves; the agent does. Property Brain doesn't offer vendor advocacy: it works only for buyers. This page explains the service so you can judge one for yourself.
What a vendor advocate does
A vendor advocate sits between you and the selling agent. They usually shortlist and interview agents, compare their price estimates and fees, negotiate the commission and the marketing budget, and keep the campaign on track once it starts. When offers come in, they help you weigh them.
The selling agent still lists the home, runs the marketing and the open homes, and negotiates with buyers. The advocate's job is to make sure that agent works for the best result for you, not the quickest sale.
Who pays a vendor advocate
A fee from you. Some advocates charge the seller directly, as a fixed fee or a share of the sale price, agreed in writing before they start.
A share of the agent's commission. Many are paid by the selling agent they recommend, out of the commission you pay that agent. You may pay no separate fee, but the person choosing your agent is then paid by that agent.
Neither way is wrong, but they're not the same. Ask any vendor advocate who pays them, how much, and whether any agent they recommend pays them anything. A good one will answer in writing.
What to ask a vendor advocate before you sign
Who pays you, and how much? From you, from the agent, or both.
Which agents did you consider, and why this one? Ask to see the comparison.
Who approves the marketing spend? And what happens to it if the home sells early.
Do you hold the licence your state requires for this work?
What happens if the home doesn't sell? What you still owe, and to whom.
When you may not need one
You've sold before and are comfortable choosing an agent and negotiating their commission.
You know the agents in your area and how they've performed on homes like yours.
The advocate's cost is more than you'd expect to save on commission, marketing or price.
You'd rather deal with one person than with an agent and an advocate.
Property Brain works only for buyers
Property Brain doesn't act for sellers. It doesn't offer vendor advocacy, and it doesn't run sales. It works on one side of a purchase: the buyer's. It takes nothing from selling agents; only the buyer pays.
If you're selling one home to buy the next, that's where it can help, on the purchase.
Selling and buying at the same time
Most sellers are buying too, and two questions run side by side: how to time the sale and the purchase, and how to pay for the new home if you buy before the old one sells.
The finance is Money Brain's, a separate business from Property Brain. Bridging finance can cover the gap between buying and selling, at a cost worth working out before you commit.
Questions sellers ask about vendor advocates
Someone who works for a seller: they help choose the selling agent, negotiate the commission and marketing budget, and guide the seller through the campaign. The selling agent still runs the sale.
Selling one home and buying the next?
Tell me what you're selling, what you'd like to buy, and when. Property Brain can help on the buying side, and Money Brain on the finance between the two.
You'll hear back within the hour in business hours, and by 9am the next business day after hours.
Updated 3 October 2026