I own a 100% commission real estate brokerage and am looking for funds to expand. Funds will be used for a multitude of things including marketing for agents and managing brokers, office leases, equipment and software and staff. I have been funding the startup by myself and have quickly come to the realization that in order to grow as I would like to, it will require outside capital.
I have been in real estate since 2003 and have recently started my own brokerage. My business model is agent centric, as I feel the old broker centric model is outdated and will soon be obsolete. Heavy commission splits were implemented in order to cover costs of having real estate agents in the office and using equipment, space, etc. In current times, most agents work from home and use little to no resources from their brokerage, except for the brokers time to review documents. I don't believe it is fair to expect agents to give up 30-50% of their commissions to hang their license on the wall so I have put in place the $500 per transaction fee and that is it. There are additional services available to agents should they want it at an additional cost, including a personalized website, training, a CRM, etc., but it is not forced. I am currently licensed in Wisconsin, and working on obtaining my Minnesota brokers license, as I am located quite close to the border of the two states and intend on expanding into Minnesota first, then Florida, Arizona, Tennessee, Colorado, and California. I intend to do this within the next 5-7 years.
I also am looking for funding for fix and flips, as I would like to offer that service to distressed homeowners as well. When a property in inherited, in foreclosure, or in a divorce situation, they are not always sale ready. By adding an "as-is" feature to my list of services will only benefit the brokerage in the long run. I have done 6 flips in the past 2 years and it is something that I enjoy. I am also not opposed to buy and holds, and would like to pursue that opportunity as well.
In the future, I intend to also open a title company to be affiliated with the brokerage. From 2006-2015 I worked for a local title company as a researcher and examiner, therefore my knowledge of the title industry is extensive. I am currently licensed as a title examiner in Wisconsin and Minnesota. I have tried to implement this in the past, however the underwriters I was in contact with were not accepting start ups at the time. I currently do not have enough closings per month to make it worth it to the underwriters to take the risk of a start up, therefore I intend to partner with a title company already in place and am actively looking.
If I could find an investor to fund all of these things it would be ideal, however not a requirement of mine. I appreciate any feedback or questions you may have.
Kind regards,
Jennifer Kuehl
Ready to Ask For Funding for your company?
Post a Funding Request