Frequently Asked Questions from Real Estate Agents

The Business Model

What is ROOST Real Estate Co.’s business model?

We are in the shelter business. Our aim is to serve 100% of the people in a market who need a roof over their heads — not only the 55% to 65% who own one. That means owner-occupants, investors, and the people who rent from them.

Most brokerages serve one slice of that and hand the rest away. We built the company so an agent can work all of it: a listing today, an investor client next month, a rental referral that turns into a purchase two years from now.

How does that benefit me as an agent?

It widens what a single relationship is worth and it smooths the year out. Resale volume is seasonal and rate-sensitive; investor and rental activity is much less so. An agent working only owner-occupant buyers feels every rate move directly.

It also means the referrals go both ways. Our property management side works with hundreds of owners, and owners buy and sell. The Niche that Makes You Rich, on our Connect Practice Track & Grow podcast, is about exactly that.

Money

What are your commission splits?

Two structures, set by production. 90/10 for experienced producers grossing $100,000 or more a year. 75/25 for developing agents, newer agents, and agents rebuilding momentum. Agents are responsible for their own licensing, association dues and insurance.

What matters as much as the numbers is what the split covers — and what never gets added to it. Office space, training, the CRM subscription, lead distribution, marketing support and broker access are included, not billed separately. A better-looking split elsewhere that comes with monthly desk fees, technology fees and per-transaction charges is frequently worse in practice.

Work out your own numbers on last year’s production before comparing any two brokerages. The split is only the headline.

Are there desk fees or monthly charges?

No — and not only desk fees. No transaction fees. No administrative fees. No start-up costs. No transfer fees. No franchise fees. Ever.

Agent support is included in the fee structure at no additional cost: the Agent Service Centers, the technology, and the training. This is the answer worth getting in writing from any brokerage you are considering, because it is where a headline split quietly turns into a smaller number.

Training and Support

What training do new agents get?

Every new agent completes Buffini & Company’s 100 Days to Greatness within their first 100 days. It is not optional, because it is what turns a license into a business — it builds the referral habits and the database work that the rest of a career rests on.

Beyond that: workshops, webinars, mentorship, and direct access to a broker who answers. Here is the thinking behind the referral-based approach, Brian Buffini’s own podcast is worth following, and Meet Stephanie Dobler follows a new ROOST agent through her first months.

What happens after the first 100 days?

Ongoing development at every stage — new agent, experienced producer, team leader, and beyond. We aspire to be the only brokerage an agent ever needs, which means having somewhere to go when you outgrow where you are: property management, investor services, team leadership, franchise ownership.

Do you provide leads?

Yes, through our partnership with Real Geeks, distributed free to agents in rotation. But we will be straight with you about what leads are worth.

A referral-based business is the one that compounds. Paid leads convert at a fraction of the rate of someone who already knows you, and an agent who builds a practice entirely on purchased leads is renting their pipeline rather than owning it. The Truth About Paid Leads sets out the arithmetic, and Stop Treating Your Real Estate Business Like a Slot Machine makes the same point less politely.

The leads are there. They are not the plan.

What marketing support do I get?

A Referral Maker CRM subscription, personal brand support across social and print, and ROOST Ramblings, our monthly mailer to agents’ databases. We also keep your Facebook business page current, refreshing it with buyer and seller content at least twice a month.

The database mailing is the part that quietly predicts income. Agents who maintain a database of qualified referral sources and mail it consistently close more than agents who do not, and the correlation is not subtle. Get More Referrals: The Power of a Monthly Mailing explains why it works.

Do you provide office space?

Yes. Each Agent Service Center has hot desks and common space with Wi-Fi, printers, scanners and coffee. Included in the fee structure, not charged on top.

Joining

Do you accept new agents?

Yes, and newly licensed agents join by referral. We do not take them from open applications — a new agent comes to us through someone who already knows the company, whether that is one of our agents, a client or a referral partner. It is a deliberately small door, and it is the same principle we teach: the business that lasts arrives through people who already vouch for you. Experienced agents can approach us directly.

The 100 Days to Greatness program exists precisely so that a new license has somewhere to start. If you have a connection to ROOST, Career with ROOST is where to begin, or go straight to the Quick Start Game Plan.

How do I know if a brokerage is the right fit?

Ask what the split covers and what is billed separately. Ask what training is provided rather than sold. Ask how leads are distributed and what proportion of the office’s business comes from them. Ask to speak to two agents who joined in the last year — and one who left.

Then ask yourself what kind of business you actually want. 4 Realtor Personality Profiles & What Brokers They Need is a useful mirror, and Finding a Broker that Fits is an agent describing how she found the right one after the wrong one. The Number One Trait to Look for in a Broker names the one that matters most.

I’m thinking of changing brokerages. What should I consider?

Practically: what happens to your pending transactions, whether your listings travel with you, what your current agreement says about notice and post-termination referrals, and how your database transfers.

Honestly: most agents who move are solving for support or culture rather than split, and discover that a better split at a worse brokerage does not fix the problem. How To Make A Successful Leap Of Faith To A New Brokerage is a full walk-through.

How do I apply?

Visit Career with ROOST to request a free career kit or book a call with our founder, Chris McAllister. If you would rather just get moving, the Quick Start Game Plan is the fastest route in.

Growing a Practice

How do I build a referral-based business?

Four things, repeated: connect with people, practice the disciplines, track what you do, and grow as a result. That is the whole premise of the Connect Practice Track & Grow podcast, which is agents describing how they actually did it rather than theory.

The mechanical part is a database you maintain and mail, and a personal standard for how many calls, notes and pop-bys you make each week. Agents who set that standard and keep it are the ones whose income stops being seasonal.

Three short reads cover the whole discipline: The Power of the Database, Dunbar’s Number and why your network has a natural size, and three ways to build a database that actually work.

Start with the free books: Protecting the Goose that Lays the Golden Eggs and The Eight Success Mindsets of the New Real Estate Professional.

How can I work with real estate investors?

Investor clients transact more often than owner-occupants and they are far less seasonal. They also ask harder questions, which is the barrier to entry — an agent who cannot talk about cash flow, cap rate and what a turn costs will not be taken seriously twice.

We have the property management side to lean on for exactly that. The Niche that Makes You Rich covers the ground, How to Be a Market Maker covers the mindset, and our referral program pays you for management referrals while you keep the client.

Does ROOST support community involvement?

Yes — local events, community projects and housing initiatives. It is not a marketing tactic bolted on the side; agents known as community leaders build referral businesses almost as a by-product. Strengthening Your Community with Tina Bleything is an agent describing how it worked for her.