Key Takeaways:
- Commission advance is getting the commission before closing
- Commission advance is not a loan
- It is commonly used to bridge the gap between closings
- The price of commission advance varies wildly depending on how companies’ policy
1. Commission Advance definition:
By definition, a commission advance is a financial service whereby you sell a portion of a pending commission for a fee. In exchange, funds are advanced to you before closing. It’s not a loan. It’s simply access to the commission you’ve earned without the wait! Get your commission whenever you want.
2. Win-Win Pricing:
The fine print may vary, but the essence of each is the same. The first step is getting a property under contracts. Once you’ve done that, congrats, you are now potentially eligible for an advance. So let’s consider how the pricing works.
The one-size-fits-all model:
Each company has different policy. Many have opted for a simple fixed pricing structure to avoid headaches. The telltale sign is a pricing slider on their website. This has both pros and cons. At first glance, while it seems to provide an easy estimate of how much a commission advance will cost, this one-size-fits-all pricing model leaves no room for negotiation. In fact, top producers can easily enjoy a much lower rates if their productions history is taken into the account. What if a realtor is just having a rough quarter and cannot fit in the pricing model? He/she will be denied immediately.
The Custom Pricing Model:
Every transaction is different, so why have a one-size-fits-all? Custom pricing model use a risk-based pricing plan to review each commission advance request. That means the production history, details of the transaction, and closing dates, as well as other verifications are taken into consideration to create a tailored solution for that one advance. The question is: why do a lot of work just for a simple advance? It’s simple: once you look deeper into the case, the underwriter can see the agent as a real estate professional, not just a number in a spreadsheet. By adding the human factor to the mix, this model can approve more cases and also lower the rates significantly for top producers. It’s simple, the lower the risk, the better the rates.
Express Cash Flow is one fine example of custom pricing model. Once an application is submitted, ECF proprietary AI Modeling analyzes over 200 attributes to create a custom risk profile for your unique situation. Then, an underwriter will thoroughly assess the case to create a custom pricing model tailored to your needs. Some of the primary attributes to look at are:
- Your production history
- Details of the transaction
- Expected closing date
- Verification & review of all publicly available information
The result is up to 30% reduction in advance fee and a faster processing time since everything is automate in the beginning and the underwriter only need to review the information at the end.
3. Get your money faster!
If you are approved, you’ll be presented with an offer of an advance on your commission. You will receive the commission advance agreement via DocuSign that you and your broker will sign (or by you, if you are your own broker). You will be funded within hours via wire and not ACH. A good commission advance company will be able to fund you the same day. You should expect simple paper work, no credit checks, and most importantly, no massive stack of loan documents to sign. At Express Cash Flow, the entire process from Application to Funding can take place within 4 hours. There are no partial holdbacks like some other companies.
4. Paying back the advance:
Technically, when you get funded, everything is taken care for you. The advance is automatically paid back when the escrow or settlement company closes. The amount is equal to the advance plus the fee. That means you never pay anything out of pocket. You get the much-needed liquidity to grow your business and thrive.
5. What if escrow falls out?
It is nothing to worry about. While doing market research for commission advance, we found out most companies are smart enough to give the advance to those who are likely to close the deal. After all, advance companies want to make money and avoid any foreseeable risk. At Express Cash Flow, after more than $3 billion property worth of advance, we have a 99.5% closing rate of all advances. Our AI underwriting model optimize the process and reduces the risk of deals falling through. Even if the deal falls, you can simply switch your advance to another escrow for a minimal fee (no hefty penalties or immediate payback requirements).
6. How much of my commission can I advance?
You can advance up to 75% of your *net* commission. Your net commission is determined by calculating the total gross commission, and then removing the portion due your broker, plus any office, TC, franchise or referral fees, i.e. the money that would be going into your pocket. So if you have a $500K transaction with a 2.5% commission and are on an 80/20 split, your gross commission would be $500K*2.5% or $12,500. Your net commission would be $12,500*80% or $10,000, and we would be able to advance 75% of that ($7,500). You can take less than this if you’d like, but $7,500 would be the maximum advance amount
7. Is there a minimum advance amount and a minimum fee?
Yes. Statutory guidelines dictate that the minimum advance amount is $2,500, so you’ll need to be earning a net commission of at least $3,000 in order to qualify for an advance. The minimum fee, which usually applies on advances of up to $5,000 for less than 30 days, is $400. Please note that this for every outgoing wire, so if you want $5,000 for 25 days or $2,500 for 2 days, the fee will still be $400. Proper planning can help you get the most efficiency out of our fee structure.
Summary of Benefits of Using Express Cash Flow:
- Get to 75% of your commission on the same day
- No credit checks
- No out of pocket charge
- No hold-backs, no hidden fee
- Agent friendly pricing
- Personalized service
We know you don’t all need a commission advance, but we could all use a little extra cash every now and then, and we hope you think of Express Cash Flow whenever the need arises.
Apply for commission advance today.