- Report: #480125
Complaint Review: RealEstate.com - Internet Internet
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RealEstate.com
www.realestate.com Internet, 92121 Internet, United States of America
Phone:
8584551010
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RealEstate.com - Lendingtree - Realtors Former Sales Manager speaking the "truth" about RealEstate.com and how they will put a real estate agent on the fast track to bankruptcy. Temecula, California
As a former Regional Sales Manager with RealEstate.com, I was charged with recruiting, hiring and training new agents. I was given materials to "sell" the company to real estate agents and get them come to work for RE.com. What they don't tell unsuspecting real estate agents is that RealEsate.com's entire business plan is based on the agent's averaging "only two sales per year!" No one can live on that!
Once the agent starts, they eventually get their first sale under contract, typically 45-70 days after they start. 45-60 days later, the escrow closes. After four to five months of work the agent receives their first commission. On a home with a sales price of 200k the agent walks away with only $1,750 after the E & O fees as compensation for four to six months of work! The company keeps $4,250!
By the time the agents realize how little they're making working with this unfair system, they usually have a second sale in escrow, so their stuck waiting for the second escrow to close, before they quit and move on the a company where they can actually make a living.
Thus we have the business model of RealEstate.com: hire an army of agents who will average only two sales per year, so the company can make a profit of the backs of unsuspecting agents. Yes, they are very clear about the compensation with prospective agents, but only one out of ten actually does the math. And when they do, they're usually angry that they wasted their time talking with these people.
When I was hired, I was given 87 agents to manage. What I found was that 22% of the agents listed on the roles now worked for other companies and that another 25% were not actively working in real estate anymore. They were just names on a list, inflating the head count of a publicly traded company!
I wonder what the stockholders would have to say about that?
This business model is the same as the "theory of 1,000 monkeys." Lock 1,000 monkeys in a room with 1,000 typewriters and based on simple averages, at least one of them will spell a word correctly.
Hire an army of agents, and you'll average at least two sales per agent. Never mind that most of them go broke in the process.
If you come into contact with these people, don't walk away, run away as fast as you can. They tell a really great story, but understanding the real story from the inside out, it's not at all what it is promoted to be. Work with RealEstate.com and you'll go broke just as fast as if you spent all of your money on lottery tickets.
These are very bad people!
Once the agent starts, they eventually get their first sale under contract, typically 45-70 days after they start. 45-60 days later, the escrow closes. After four to five months of work the agent receives their first commission. On a home with a sales price of 200k the agent walks away with only $1,750 after the E & O fees as compensation for four to six months of work! The company keeps $4,250!
By the time the agents realize how little they're making working with this unfair system, they usually have a second sale in escrow, so their stuck waiting for the second escrow to close, before they quit and move on the a company where they can actually make a living.
Thus we have the business model of RealEstate.com: hire an army of agents who will average only two sales per year, so the company can make a profit of the backs of unsuspecting agents. Yes, they are very clear about the compensation with prospective agents, but only one out of ten actually does the math. And when they do, they're usually angry that they wasted their time talking with these people.
When I was hired, I was given 87 agents to manage. What I found was that 22% of the agents listed on the roles now worked for other companies and that another 25% were not actively working in real estate anymore. They were just names on a list, inflating the head count of a publicly traded company!
I wonder what the stockholders would have to say about that?
This business model is the same as the "theory of 1,000 monkeys." Lock 1,000 monkeys in a room with 1,000 typewriters and based on simple averages, at least one of them will spell a word correctly.
Hire an army of agents, and you'll average at least two sales per agent. Never mind that most of them go broke in the process.
If you come into contact with these people, don't walk away, run away as fast as you can. They tell a really great story, but understanding the real story from the inside out, it's not at all what it is promoted to be. Work with RealEstate.com and you'll go broke just as fast as if you spent all of your money on lottery tickets.
These are very bad people!
2 Updates & Rebuttals
THE DUDE
Temecula,California,
USA
RealEstate.com is now out of business!
#2Author of original report
Tue, September 27, 2011
This was nice long e-mail from Rick Finch. It is fitting that due to the excessive turnover, poor sales performance and unhappy agents, realestate.com, as it was, is no longer around. Sixty days ago they called all of their brokers and agents and advised them of a nationwide shutdown without any notice. Closed up all state and regional offices and said good-bye.
This is best for all agents and consumers!
Report Attachments
Rick Finch
Charlotte,North Carolina,
USA
A different perspective - decide for yourself
#3
Mon, August 17, 2009
Our brokerage was started in 2006 and has quickly expanded from 4 markets on the West Coast, to 20 markets nationally. The mission from inception was to focus on company generated business as a way to grow each agent's sphere of influence and over time help them grow their own book of business.
The model is relatively simple:
A consumer comes to RealEstate.com to search homes for sale, read articles on buying or selling their home, search home values, or utilize a number of different tools and resources and when they're ready to speak with a local real estate professional, we're ready to help. The consumer calls us, or submits their name and phone number into a short form for immediate callback, and our call center reaches out to them almost immediately. After a few questions about their area of interest and their specific question, we connect them live through a warm introduction to one of our agents who specializes in the locale in question.
This builds an instant rapport with the consumer, which should in turn result in higher satisfaction and more referrals of agent business over time. We train specifically to the value of building relationships and how to ensure that you approach each consumer as a "customer for life" instead of a "prospect for the moment". This same approach is used by world class companies with resounding success across a myriad of segments - Walmart and Disney for instance. Hundreds of leads hopefully translate into hundreds of relationships that turn into thousands of referrals that become the lifeblood of the agent's business...and are in turn considered to be self generated business and not on the company generated split.
The cost for the marketing, technology, and call center support to make this vision a reality is not inexpensive, but rather than charge a myriad of fees to cover the associated costs, we have a differentiated split for company generated business. The alternative for our agents would be a per lead model (they bear the risk) or a model solely built upon agent generated business. Ask any agent if they would prefer to pay a differentiated split for a warm introduction or pay a per lead fee for leads emailed to them and I'm confident you'll find the former always wins.
As for the number of agents that perform, I think you'll find that across the industry there exists the same segments that occur in all businesses - there is a largely successful contingent that makes up a top tier percentage, there is a successful contingent that makes up the middle, and there are those who are not successful for any number of reasons that make up the bottom tier. It's not suprising to me to see that a number of these agents have made changes - the overall NAR statistics support the notion that real estate is a nomadic business for most.
The REALTOR(r) is an entrepreneur, they come from all walks of life and have varying talents and passions. Those that know their strengths and find brokerages that complement those strengths and fill the gaps on their weaknesses thrive, those that do not either keep searching for the right match, forge their own path, or move on to other opportunities.
So - I don't consider myself, my colleagues, or our agents to be "bad people" and I invite you to talk with one of our recruiters and make the decision for yourself. You can reach them at 1-800-831-5106. Or you can just give me a call. I believe in our mission, our model, and our brand.
Rick Finch
704-943-8175
Vice President, Marketing, Product, and Operations
RealEstate.com
