Look no further than this, on the Virginia Association of Realtors‘ page (I didn’t see it yesterday because I use Adblock Plus on Firefox).

Homegain charges a 35% referral fee for every “lead” that turns into a transaction. I’ve used Homegain on and off for the past 5 years or so, but their leads are typically not high quality. However, they are generally of a higher quality than the referral I received yesterday through my office – all it contained was a name, email address and phone number. For that, the company is going to charge my company a 35% referral fee.

If you’re a consumer using one of these relocation companies to find a Realtor, ask the company what they give you in return for them putting you in contact with a “qualified Realtor” – and what requirements they place on you for the privilege of using their company. Chances are, the referral company has done zero research and zero vetting of the Realtor or company to whom they are sending you.

Related reading:

Go to Hell, Relo Company
Transparency in real estate commissions.

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