BreakThru Realty

Questions to Ask Before Joining a Real Estate Brokerage

A brokerage interview runs in both directions. These are the questions that separate a good answer from a rehearsed one. Ask them of every brokerage, including us.

Money

What is the commission arrangement, and is there a cap? What are all the fees: monthly, per transaction, annual, technology, insurance, franchise? What would I have kept last year on my actual production? Is anything charged on rentals or referrals differently?

Leads

Where do your leads come from? How many agents receive the same lead? What do I know about a lead when it arrives? How is routing decided, and can I lose access? What does a lead cost me, in fees or in split?

Training and Support

What does a new agent's first ninety days look like, week by week? Who reviews my contracts, and how fast? Who do I call in the evening or at the weekend? Is there transaction support, and what does it cost?

Technology and Marketing

May I see the CRM and the marketing tools working on real records, not a brochure? What is included in what I pay, and what would I still be buying myself? Do I get a personal page on the brokerage website carrying my listings and my closed sales? Who pays for listing photography, video and print? Can I see a listing you marketed last month, from the photographs to the social posts? How long does it take to get a flyer or a video made once I have a new listing?

Brand and Clients

Can I market under my own name and brand within Florida's advertising rules, which require the brokerage's registered name to appear? Who owns my database, and can I export it whenever I want? If I bring a team, what changes about branding, lead routing and compliance? Are there restrictions on my personal social media or my own website? If I build a following under my name here, does any of it belong to the brokerage when I leave?

Leaving

What happens to my pending contracts and my active listings if I leave? Are they paid at the full rate, a reduced one, or not at all? Are there exit fees, and is there any period during which I owe money back? How much notice is required? Ask to read the independent contractor agreement a few days before you decide, not across a desk on the day you sign, and be wary of any brokerage reluctant to let you take it away and read it properly.

One More

Ask to speak to two agents who joined in the last year and one who has been there five, and ask to choose them yourself rather than being handed a list. Put the same questions to them that you put to the recruiter, particularly the ones about broker access, lead volume and what they pay in total. Where their answers and the recruiter's answers differ, the agents are right. That single conversation is worth more than every brochure you will be given.

Schedule a Confidential Conversation

Tell us your licence status, how long you have been licensed, the market you work, whether you want residential, commercial or business brokerage, and what you want from your next brokerage. Our broker reads every application personally and replies within one business day. Your inquiry is confidential and we never contact your current brokerage. Prefer to talk now? Call (786) 914-1017.

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