What is a Vendor Advocate?
Most people know what a real estate agent does, and have an idea of what a buyer’s agent would do, but when it comes to Vendor Advocates, people have either never heard of them before or only have a vague idea of what they do.
Put simply, a Vendor Advocate is your insurance that your real estate agent is working in your best interest and doing everything they can to get you the best outcome.
And here’s the best part: they’re absolutely free.
A vendor advocate is basically a middleman between yourself and the real estate agent. They get paid by taking a cut from the commission, so you don’t have to pay anything more than you were already going to pay the agent.
Real estate agents generally like working with vendor advocates because they bring in more business, and they don’t have to do as much work because the vendor advocate takes care of a lot of it. The work in selling a house is basically split between two separate agencies, which is good for the seller because it adds an extra level accountability and you can rest assured that your vendor advocate is making sure the real estate agent is doing their job.
Services they provide
At a basic level, a vendor advocate should do these things for you:
– Negotiate commission and advertising fees with the real estate agent
– Analyse the agent’s marketing strategy (and suggest improvements)
– Give you an honest appraisal of your property in the current market
– Advise whether it is better to go to auction or sell via private treaty
– Answer all the questions you don’t want to ask the real estate agent
There are many real estate agents out there who are unscrupulous and only care about making the most amount of money from their clients. Vendor advocates are professionals with extensive experience in the property market, and they will help you keep the real estate honest and working for your best interests.
Even better than this, they will recommend a real estate agent who has a proven track record and is best suited to your personal needs. Not all real estate agents are created equal, and to get the best results, you should work with an agent who understands your needs, and has experience selling your type of property in your particular suburb.
Vendor advocates have years of experience and great personal connections who you can utilise to find the right person to sell your property.
They say that ‘it’s not what you know but who you know.’ This is especially true in the real estate market, and an incompetent real estate agent could lose you tens of thousands of dollars.
That’s why it is imperative that you use an experienced vendor advocate who can engage a good selling agent on your behalf.
Best of all….
Vendor advocate services come at no extra cost to you, the vendor, so why wouldn’t you use one? An extra set of eyes monitoring the progress of your marketing campaign and the eventual sale can only benefit you and ensure you achieve the best outcome possible. They are often real estate veterans who have experience buying and selling property, so they can give you good, solid advice from a position of experience.
