Commission Advance

Top Commission Advance Tips

 

What Is A Commission Advance?

Why should you have to wait for your commission until the closing day to get paid when you could use a commission advance instead?

  1. No Credit Checks–Look for real estate commission advance companies that don’t require a credit check. Advance companies provide you with funding based on a contract of sale and a pending commission, which you sell to them.  Your Purchase and Sales Agreement is the collateral for your advance.
  1. Same-Day Approval– The approval and underwriting process should be quick with any advance company.   The longer process is usually gathering DocuSign signatures and getting confirmation from brokers and escrow companies.
  1. Simple Application– Advance companies usually have an online application. The advance company you choose to work with should offer a quick application and a very concise and clear list of documents that can be uploaded.

What Do You Need?

The documents for a commission advance are simple:

A. Purchase and Sales Agreement
B. Driver’s License
C. Bank Account Information
D. Broker and Escrow contact information
E. Summary of Closed Transactions

  1. Multiple Commission Advances – Every advance company is different but usually you can have up to 2 or 3 advances at one time. Some commission advance companies tranche or fund in 2 payments because the agent requests a large advance amount. 
  1. Listing Advance vs. Commission Advance – some companies offer Listing Advances, which is when there is no identified buyer but only a listing agreement with the seller. Traditionally at least 2 or 3 listings in order to qualify for a Listing Advance.  A commission advance is when a broker or agent receives a portion of their commission prior to closing.

Find a commission advance company that fits your needs and works with you.  Some regional franchises may have different underwriting procedures due to state rules, but most nationwide advance companies like Express Cash Flow provide excellent service.  Check them out at ExpressCashFlow.com.

#CommissionAdvance, #Real Estate, #Realtor, #businessCredit, #BusinessCash, #BusinessCashAdvance

Top Real Estate Agent IRS Audit Triggers

Real Estate Agent IRS Audit Triggers

As the calendar year ends, every real estate agent will look back at how the year went financially.   Your income (or profit) is almost always in an inverse relationship with your tax obligations.  As a real estate agent, you will want to take as many steps as possible to avoid an audit.  With that in mind, here are the top audit triggers, and what you can do to avoid them.

Income Audit Triggers

  1. Income Numbers Don’t Match. Make sure your 1099’s match up to what you report to the IRS.  This is the fastest way to get a letter from the IRS because the IRS will automatically detect a discrepancy.
  2. You made a lot of money this past year. This one is simple, and it is good.  You want to make a lot of money as a real estate agent, that’s probably why you got in the business.  However, increasing your income also increases the amount of your income the IRS could stand to gain by auditing you.  If you are making a lot of money during the year, make sure you can prove everything that you are taking as a deduction.
  3. You made a lot less money this past year. This is not as good.  If you made a lot less money, an audit could be even more devastating.  If you are legitimately reporting all income, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about, but if there’s a chance you might not have reported everything (even by accident), this won’t look good in an audit.

Deduction/Employment Audit Triggers

  1.  As A Real Estate Agent, You’re Self Employed. If you are a real estate agent, this likely applies to you.  Even if you’ve set up your business as a corporation or an LLC , you will still fall into a higher risk category than someone earning a paycheck from a large company.  Be extra cautious about the deductions you take, an make tax liability payments promptly.
  2.  You deduct your home office and/or vehicle. You should!  But as a real estate agent, you have to do this one right.  You should get clear with your CPA on exactly how much is allowable for home office and vehicle deductions, as going over these thresholds can be a red flag that results in an audit, regardless of how much income you make.  Be very careful to follow these guidelines.
  3.  Meal/Entertainment Deductions. Yes, these deductions are allowable, but under strict guidelines.  Are you spending amounts that are “excessive” or “lavish”?  Are you spending amounts that are too large in proportion to your gross income?  All of these things can be red flags that trigger an audit, and you will find yourself in a difficult situation trying to justify these expenses.  Meals and entertainment costs are deductible up to 50 percent if they are ordinary and necessary to your business.
  4.  You were particularly generous this year! The IRS is always on the lookout for people who inflate their charitable donations and use a range based off a percent of income that is reasonable.

Bottom line if you have questions about a deduction that you can take ask your CPA, its better to then going through an audit.

About Us:

Express Cash Flow provides commission advances for real estate agents and brokers.  Check us out at www.ExpressCashFlow.com or call us at 844-818-2274.

#CommissionAdvance, #Real Estate, #Realtor, #businessCredit, #BusinessCash, #BusinessCashAdvance

referral

Building The Best Referral Base

Referral Base Is Key

Much is made of how real estate agents are always doing business “by referral only” and mention that the best compliment you can give them is a referral of a family member, friend, or associate.  This is on business cards, email signatures, personalized notepads and perhaps even hanging on a sign in real estate offices.  But how do all these real estate agents go about building the referral base they seek?  We’d like to share with you some of their tricks of the trade.

  1. Always be involved in your community: This doesn’t just mean involvment in your community to secure buyers and listings, but also when it has NOTHING to do with real estate. Get to know the people living in your community.  Become an advocate for these issues and make yourself a local presence, for everything that isn’t about your own self-interest, and you will start to your referral base grow.
  2. Pick a Non-Profit You Are Passionate About, and Support It: This gives you an opportunity to do work that you care about.  It also helps build a network of like-minded people. What’s more, non-profits are generally led by successful people whom are more likely to transact in real estate, and eventually be a boost to your bottom line.  See?  It really is all for a good cause!
  3. Be A Resource for Others: One of the best ways for people to remember you as a savvy business person is to always have what they need, right then. This means knowing the right contractor, plumber, electrician, landscaper, photographer and hairdresser at a moment’s notice.  Being the resource people trust in the business community will help you build relationships.  In time, this will lead to reciprocity amongst your referral base.
  4. Pick A Strong Networking Group: Many industry veterans will tell you that belonging to a networking group is a must.  BNI, Toastmasters, Le Tip, ProVisors and other networking groups are all great options. These groups are crucial to building your networking skills and referral base.  However, it is crucial to pick the right group.  If the whole group is new to their business together, this will be a slower path towards growth.
  5. All The face time: In today’s world of modern day technology, we have more ways than ever to avoid actually sitting and talking with other people. We can email, text, call, Facebook Message, Tweet or Snapchat all of our contacts.  We’re to the point where getting face time is not the same thing as FaceTime.  We humans are social creatures, and the best way to stay top of mind is the old fashioned way.  This means being in the same place at the same time, and having meaningful conversations.  So schedule coffee, lunch, drinks, dinners, gym sessions or walks on the beach.  Spend time with people.  People who enrich you both personally and professionally, and whom have genuine interest in your business.  The ROI on this time spent with another real live human is the best way to grow your referral base.

About Us:

Express Cash Flow provides commission advances for real
estate agents and brokers.  Check us out at www.ExpressCashFlow.com or call us at 844-818-2274.

referral