Need to Generate More Revenue? 7 Ancillary Services Brokerages Should Consider
Running a real estate brokerage is rarely a wildly profitable enterprise, but the current environment has been exceedingly tough for even many experienced brokerages. High mortgage interest rates and inflation have combined to put a big damper on would-be buyers' ability to purchase a home, and the lack of inventory means that many would-be sellers are reluctant to leave a good-enough home for the wilds of the unknown.
So how can brokerages help to push back against shrinking margins and find new areas of profitability in their businesses? It's not the easiest thing to do, but it's far from impossible. If you haven't yet considered adding one of these ancillary services to your business, then it might be time to ask yourself if it could generate the revenue you've been missing.
1. Mortgage loans
Just about everyone who's interested in buying a house — and many people who are interested in selling — are going to need to apply for a mortgage loan. Most buyers need to secure a mortgage loan in order to buy a house, as very few people have the cash on hand to purchase a home outright. And sellers will almost certainly need to move after selling, unless they plan on negotiating some kind of rent-back deal.
Instead of referring borrowers to an outside mortgage lender, why not offer your own mortgage loans through your brokerage? Even if only a segment of buyers decide to go with your mortgage loan, the additional revenue could make a big difference for your bottom line.
Companies like HomeLendia provide franchise opportunities that can allow brokerages to offer these kinds of products and services without an unreasonable upfront investment. (On Tuesday, October 24, HomeLendia is hosting a webinar to explain how its mortgage franchise works; register now to learn more.)
2. Rental services
Another potential area of expansion and growth is helping landlords or investors find qualified tenants for their rental properties. While some rental owners prefer to do this on their own, if they don't live locally or if they only have one or two properties to rent, they may not have a very robust network of people who would make high-quality tenants.
As a brokerage, it's almost certain that you have access to a network of aspiring buyers, move-out sellers, and young adults moving out of the house for the first time. If you can leverage that to help landlords and investors fill their properties quickly and seamlessly (and charge a fee for it), that could be a decent amount of extra revenue for a relatively small lift.
3. Property management
Both long-term and short-term rentals, especially single-family homes, will require some kind of property management oversight. Short-term rentals like vacation rentals need to be cleaned in between each visit, and if something breaks at a rental property, owners will typically have to call someone to fix it as opposed to fixing it themselves.
Many real estate brokerages have existing relationships with house cleaners, general contractors, plumbers, electricians, and other problem-solvers that a property management company might call up to help with a rental. Property managers can charge either flat fees or collect a portion of the rental money, but either way, it's some additional revenue for your balance sheet.
4. Title and escrow
To move a real estate transaction from offer to close, title and escrow companies must become involved in order to handle any earnest money deposits, review the home's title and provide title insurance, and serve as notaries on closing day, among many other duties. These tasks are typically outsourced to title and escrow firms, which charge to fulfill them. Offering these services in-house as part of your brokerage can be a good way to increase your bottom line.
5. Relocation help
Here's a fact: While people might enjoy shopping for a new home, almost nobody enjoys the process of moving itself. Providing services around moving, from packing to loading to hauling, can generate more business for your brokerage (people love full-service options) as well as potentially create a new revenue stream.
6. Staging and photography services
Sellers who want their homes to capture the best possible price are usually going to be interested in professional cleaning, staging, and photography. If you can find the experts and create a suite of products around home staging and selling that cater to this need, you could even consider outsourcing the offerings to other real estate firms.
7. Investing advice and opportunities
Many people would like to get their foot in the door of a real estate investment property, so to speak, but they have no idea where to start. As the expert on real estate in your area, providing advice and data to aspiring investors can be another way brokers can increase their baseline sales business while also generating new income in a new way.
The market might be tough, but you have options! Remember to register for the HomeLendia webinar to learn more about adding mortgage ancillary services to your brokerage.
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RETECHNOLOGY PREMIUM MARKETPLACE RELATED PRODUCTS | WEBINARS | SPECIAL OFFERS
Lone Wolf Launches Digital Title Orders
Lone Wolf has extended the functionality of their marketplace to include the functionality of ordering title within the forms application. This saves a step for real estate professionals and makes the home purchase process more streamlined for the consumer.
Like all Lone Wolf Marketplace programs, if your brokerage has a title company, you can probably include your title company as a replacement for the title companies who have partnered with Lone Wolf directly. Not sure how this works in the eight or so attorney closing states.
Question: How does it work in an attorney closing state like New York?
Response: There may be some fringe cases we cannot address, such as those areas that are attorney closing states, i.e., Chicago, northern New Jersey, and parts of New York. If those attorneys use the title production systems that are common in the title industry, then we can accommodate them the same way. If they use a different, legal management software, then we would not be able to today.
Question: Can a broker turn the feature off if they don't want it to display?
Response: It cannot be turned off. The goal is to work with brokerages to support the use of their preferred companies. To do this, we have established brokerage level settings that cascade down to the agents to establish the "default" provider. The program is around inclusivity, and the projects we have completed and planned are meant to enable agents and brokers to modernize this critical process that is prone to data, security, and communication challenges. The core purpose of this program is not about doing business with new providers, but digitizing and improving the process with those you already do business with.
Question: Did all the MLSs/associations sign off on this?
Response: They were notified and attended demo webinars.
Read the full press release below:
Lone Wolf launches Digital Title Orders for 1.4 million real estate agents in the U.S.
Through unprecedented industry-wide collaboration, Lone Wolf brings digital title insurance orders into national transaction management member benefit, Lone Wolf Transactions
CAMBRIDGE, ON – March 15, 2021 – Lone Wolf Technologies ("Lone Wolf") has a clear vision for the future of real estate: simpler, faster, and better transactions led by real estate professionals and brokerages. In pursuit of this vision, Lone Wolf is excited to announce a groundbreaking new feature that will simplify and speed up transactions for every real estate agent in the U.S.: Digital Title Orders. The new feature is launching on March 15 in Lone Wolf Transactions (zipForm Edition and TransactionDesk Edition), and access is completely free for users of either solution.
With Digital Title Orders in Transactions (zipForm Edition and TransactionDesk Edition), real estate agents can select their preferred title provider and submit orders directly within a transaction using the information that's already there, saving significant time and effort in the process of ordering title insurance. Agents also can directly communicate with their title agent within the transaction, keeping everything in one secure place.
"We're thrilled to launch Digital Title Orders today," said Jimmy Kelly, CEO and President of Lone Wolf. "Nothing can or should replace the role of the real estate agent and their brokerage in a transaction. This new feature—and the amount of industry-wide collaboration it took to create—is a huge step forward for real estate transactions in a digital-first environment. Thanks to the collaboration and shared visions between industry leaders, we're thrilled to deliver Digital Title Orders and make a real difference in the lives of our users and their buyers and sellers."
"Technology is constantly enhancing our ability to provide custom solutions and a superior experience for our customers, and our integration with Lone Wolf is a prime example of the forward-looking technology that will shape the future of our industry," said Jim Dulle, Senior Vice President and Managing Director at First American Title. "We are excited to launch with Lone Wolf on March 15 and look forward continuing the pursuit of digitizing and simplifying the closing process for all."
The new feature was made possible through an unprecedented collaborative effort between Lone Wolf and leading title providers, including First American Title Company and WFG National Title, and leading title software providers, including SoftPro and RamQuest, with many more on the way and planned for 2021. Through these individual partnerships, Lone Wolf has created real estate's first direct integration between real estate agents and title agents and made it available to every real estate agent and brokerage in the U.S. through the member benefit, Lone Wolf Transactions. The national launch of Digital Title Orders kicks off today with First American Title, while those using the RamQuest title production system are also able to get their title companies onboarded within Transactions to connect to their customers. By the end of 2021, Lone Wolf plans to onboard 80% of title companies.
"We're excited to be able to partner with Lone Wolf for this integration," said Ben Cork, CSO at RamQuest. "Now more than ever, real estate professionals need to be able to conduct business in a digital environment. Through this collaboration with Lone Wolf, we're bringing together our technologies to deliver that digital environment and make digital title a possibility for everyone in the industry."
"Like Lone Wolf, we are dedicated to making the real estate transaction easier, faster, and more cost effective for real estate agents and their clients," said Marty Frame, President of WEST, the technology affiliate of WFG National Title. "As a national provider operating through direct, agency, and enterprise operations, WFG knows that this deep integration with Lone Wolf is the step forward in the transaction process that the industry has been looking for."
This initiative is part of Lone Wolf's larger mission to digitize real estate transactions and empower agents and brokerages in their competition for the business of buyers and sellers. To do so, Lone Wolf is connecting real estate's most used digital tools and services to the transaction solution used in over 75% of all real estate transactions in North America. This gives real estate agents, brokerages, and buyers and sellers a complete digital experience, all in one place.
"We're here to elevate the real estate transaction experience, and at the heart of that is industry collaboration," said Jason Cheverton, Vice President of Strategic Channels at Lone Wolf. "Digital Title Orders is a major steppingstone for two reasons: One, it gives real estate agents simple access to a crucial part of a transaction within their existing workflow; and two, it gives them the flexibility to choose the provider they want to work with, now and as we continue to expand the selection of providers available in the months ahead."
About Lone Wolf Technologies
Lone Wolf Technologies is the North American leader in residential real estate software, serving over 1.5 million real estate professionals across Canada and the U.S. With cloud solutions for agents, brokers, franchises, MLSs and associations alike, the company provides the entire real estate industry with the tools they need to amaze clients, build their business, and improve profits—from transactions to back office, insights, and more, all in one place. Lone Wolf's head offices are located in Cambridge, ON, Dallas, TX, and Huntington Beach, CA.
To view the original article, visit the Lone Wolf blog.
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