Howard Hanna Income Advantage Stabilizes Earnings for Real Estate Agents

Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, the nation's #1 family-owned and -operated real estate brokerage, announced to its agents last month an extension of the company's signature Income Advantage program in response to the ongoing COVID-19 situation.

Howard Hanna's Income Advantage program provides a stable monthly paycheck to the company's real estate agents, depending on how much they earned in commission in the previous year. The deadline was extended for more than a month to give agents impacted by COVID-19 and stay-at-home orders the opportunity to enroll.

This was the first move in a series of responses the company made to the pandemic, including ongoing investments into their industry-leading technology stack to help agents continue to work remotely. Other signature programs that have been continued during this time include the company's Hannamobile program, which provides funds toward an agent's automobile, as well as profit-sharing, available in certain markets and paid out to eligible agents early in April for the first quarter of the year.

"We have always considered our sales associates a part of our extended family," said Howard W. "Hoby" Hanna, IV, President of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services. He continued, "We wanted to do everything in our power to ensure that Howard Hanna agents are supported during this time of crisis, from ensuring that income is maintained to continuing to fund our groundbreaking proprietary digital marketing technology platforms, such as Engage CRM. Our agents are working very hard during this time to build their businesses, and so we want to work just as hard to support them."

"Income Advantage is something I can rely on to help ensure I am able to pay my bills. I don't have to worry or stress when my next closing is because the money is there. I'm thankful Howard Hanna has such a great safety net in place for its agents," said Tricia Hoffman, a multi-million dollar producer at Howard Hanna's Norwin, PA office.

"I set up Income Advantage when I started at Howard Hanna. I then fell ill, but Income Advantage made me feel more comfortable and secure knowing I could focus on my health and not as much about paying my bills. I find it to be a great fall back during these times as well," said James Patti, a real estate agent at Howard Hanna Avon in Ohio.

The company also provided a series of webinars to all Howard Hanna agents on the CARES Act and its implications for real estate agents. Law firm Clark Hill Plc was contracted to assist in this endeavor.

Jarrod Duffy, Co-Leader of the Corporate Business Unit at Clark Hill, said, "When Howard Hanna asked us to be a resource to its thousands of agents, our experts were happy to provide guidance. Real estate agents, who as independent contractors are not typically entitled to unemployment compensation, are navigating an unfamiliar system. As you would expect, the agents have a number of great questions as to the applicability of the CARES Act to them. Clark Hill is proud to be an ongoing resource for, and partner to, Howard Hanna and its agents during this time."