Agents

Alternatives to a local real estate brokerage
A flat fee. You keep the sale.

If you are looking for alternatives to a local real estate brokerage, one model is a 100 percent commission brokerage: you keep the sale commission and pay a flat fee per closing instead of a split. Pellego publishes that model for California. I will show you the numbers already on this site. I will not invent a comparison with a company I have not named.

A lot of agents outgrow a split and start looking for another way to hang a license. I am Joe Homs, designated broker of Pellego, California DRE #00702131. Pellego, Inc. holds corporation license 02043232. 348 people are licensed with Pellego. I have been licensed since 1977, and I have written 8 books. This page is one alternative: the plan Pellego already publishes for California. It is not a ranked list of other companies.

What people mean by an alternative

A traditional local brokerage often keeps a percentage of each commission. An alternative is to keep the sale commission and pay a flat dollar amount when a deal closes, plus a flat monthly fee. That is a 100 percent commission model. Pellego’s California plans are published that way. Rentals on the Agent Business plan are a 90/10 split, not a flat fee. I am not saying every other model is wrong. I am saying this one is real, and the numbers are public.

Published California plans
Sale commission	You keep 100% of your sale commissions. No setup fees.
Agent Standard	$85 a month plus $1,150 per closing. For part-time agents and investors closing a deal or two a year.
Agent Business	$125 a month plus $950 per closing. For working agents. The lower closing fee pays back the monthly fee within a few deals. Rentals are a 90/10 split.
One closing fee	Covers a sale price up to $2,000,000 or a commission up to $50,000. Above that it resets.
Commitment	No minimum commitment. You can transfer your license anytime. California fees are passed through at cost.
New agents	An additional $1,850 on your first 5 closings, with transaction mentorship.
Office	23121 Verdugo Dr #100, Laguna Hills, CA 92653

The same plans, with the feature lists, are on 100 percent commission brokerage California and flat-fee brokerage in Southern California. The full recruiting page is join Pellego. Training for agents is on the training page.

What you can still do

You do not have to attend meetings. You can work with regular buyers and sellers, use your own brand, sell your own rehabs, and assign off-market contracts, as long as you follow local rules and firm policy. On your own sales, you keep the commission. Rentals on Agent Business stay a 90/10 split. Agent Business costs $480 more a year and saves $200 on every closing, so it costs less once you close 3 or more deals a year. You can switch plans.

If the question is which brokerage a home buyer or seller should call, that is a different page: best real estate brokerage in Orange County. This page is for the agent who is comparing a place to hang a license.

How to look at it

Write down what you pay now: the split, the monthly fee, the desk fee, and what you keep on a sale. Put these numbers next to that sheet. Agent Standard is $85 a month plus $1,150 per closing. Agent Business is $125 a month plus $950 per closing. If a second state is in the plan, the monthly fee is 50% off in that second state when you keep the same plan in each state. If the monthly fees differ, the discount applies to the lower fee.

Work Work: (949) 625-4533. Direct cell Direct cell: (949) 394-0149. You can call or text the cell. Tell me what is working and what is not. You decide after you see the numbers.

The record

50+ years in Orange County real estate. Licensed since 1977.
600+ closed transactions.
4.9 from 63 Google reviews.
348 Pellego team members, licensed with Pellego, Inc..
Author of 8 real estate books.
My license is DRE #00702131. Pellego, Inc. corporation license is DRE #02043232.
Work (949) 625-4533. Direct cell (949) 394-0149.
Office: 23121 Verdugo Dr #100, Laguna Hills, CA 92653. Open daily, 9 AM to 8 PM.

Questions

What is an alternative to a traditional local real estate brokerage?

One alternative is a flat fee per closing, and you keep the sale commission. At Pellego you keep 100% of your sale commissions. Agent Standard is $85 a month plus $1,150 per closing. Agent Business is $125 a month plus $950 per closing. Rentals on Agent Business are a 90/10 split. I will not rank other brokerages by name.

What do the California plans cost?

Agent Standard is $85 a month plus $1,150 per closing. Agent Business is $125 a month plus $950 per closing, with $200 off the closing fee and a 90/10 split on rentals. No setup fees, and no minimum commitment. California fees are passed through at cost.

What does one closing fee cover?

One closing fee covers a sale price up to $2,000,000 or a commission up to $50,000. Above that, the fee resets for each further $2,000,000 in price or $50,000 in commission.

Can a new agent use this instead of a split brokerage?

Yes. If you have zero experience, you pay an additional $1,850 on your first 5 closings, and you get transaction mentorship. We will not get clients for you, and we will not teach you how to get clients. We will teach you how to write offers and do listings.

Where is the office if I leave a local brokerage?

My office is at 23121 Verdugo Dr #100, Laguna Hills, CA 92653. Each market center has a small office. Most agents connect at seasonal BBQs and in the agent-only Facebook group. You do not have to attend meetings. 348 people are licensed with Pellego, Inc..

How do I compare this with the brokerage I am at now?

Call or text my direct cell at (949) 394-0149, or call the work line at (949) 625-4533. Tell me what is working with your current broker and what is not. You decide after you see the numbers. I will not talk another brokerage down to win the conversation.