How Do Real Estate Referrals Work?

How You Earn Money

When you refer your family or friends to a REALTOR® you can negotiate the referral commission percentage with that REALTOR®. Often the referral fee is around 25%. So in that case, once your family member or friend closes on the sale or purchase of a home, the broker of the REALTOR® you referred to will receive the commission specified in the listing agreement. Then that broker will forward 25% (or whatever you negotiated) to Real Estate Referral Services (RRS). Once RRS has received the commission, you will be written a check. RRS keeps only the lesser of 25% or $495 and you will receive the rest. See the sample calculations below.

Why It Doesn’t Cost You Anything

Many Florida real estate licensees don’t realize that they do NOT have to be a member of the Board of REALTORS® in order to practice real estate, and consequently don’t have to pay the hefty REALTOR® dues. You simply need to keep your Florida real estate license active. If your license status is “current, inactive” then you are literally one click away from being able to earn commissions. The reason for the misconception about having to be a REALTOR® is because most real estate brokers are members of the Board of REALTORS® and if the brokerage is a member then all the agents in that brokerage must also be members. Real Estate Referral Services LLC is a licensed brokerage that is NOT a member of the Board of REALTORS® so agents that have their license active with us pay NO fees (other than what is required by the state every two years to renew their license).

If you have an inactive Florida real estate license, then you’ve already applied with the DBPR, been fingerprinted, completed the class, passed the exam and paid all the associated fees. Maybe you practiced real estate for a while and decided to retire or pursue another career, or maybe you just got your real estate license so you could earn commission on a home you were buying or selling. Regardless of why your license is inactive, there is no reason why it should be when you can activate with us for only $35 and start earning lucrative referral commissions!

Sample Real Estate Referral Fee Calculation

Here are a couple of examples of how much money you can earn by just referring people you know:

Example 1

You have a friend who is moving to Arizona. You refer them to a REALTOR® in the city where they are moving to and negotiate a 20% referral fee with that REALTOR®. Your friend purchases a house for $200,000 that is listed with a 3% commission to the buyer’s agent. You will receive $900. Here’s the calculation:

$200,000 = Purchase Price of the House

3% = Buyer’s Agent Commission

$200,000 X 3% = $6,000 total buyer side commission received by the agent/broker you referred to

20% Negotiated Referral Fee

$6,000 X 20% = $1,200 total referral commission received by RRS

RRS keeps the lesser of 25% or $495:

$1,200 X 25 % = $300 OR $495

$1,200 – $300 = $900 to you for finding your friend a great REALTOR®

Example 2

You have a friend who is selling their home in Miami. You refer them to a Miami REALTOR® and negotiate a 30% referral fee. Their home sells for $600,000 and has a 2.5% commission to the listing agent. You will receive $4,005. Here’s the calculation:

$600,000 = Sales Price of the House

3% = Listing Agent Commission

$600,000 X 3% = $15,000 total seller side commission

30% Negotiated Referral Fee

$15,000 X 30% = $4,500 total referral commission received by RRS

RRS keeps the lesser of 25% or $495:

$4,500 X 25 % = $1,125 or $495

$4,500 – $495 = $4,005 to you for finding your friend a great REALTOR®

How to Get Signed Up

Step 1: Contact us with your interest and any questions.

Step 2: We email you a PDF of the RRS agent agreement for your review.

Step 3: If you decide to join RRS, you pay us the $35 registration fee. (This is a one-time fee. We do not charge any monthly or annual fees.)

Step 3: We email you the agent agreement through Authentisign for e-signature.(This contract can be cancelled at any time.)

Step 5: We activate your real estate license, or if you are already active, we move your license to RRS (This takes no effort on your part).

Step 6: You start referring customers and make money when their transactions close!