A multi-state broker, a full-service company rebates buyer part of the commission it receives, where allowed, and provides listing savings to sellers.
As of November 2019, Altisource (NASDAQ: ASPS) has stopped all operations of Owners.com website, and the company no longer offers real estate representation services to consumers in the United States.
Owners.com and Altisource (NASDAQ: ASPS) as a parent, is one of the largest real estate agents and referral networks in the United States that offers service of a traditional agent with a competitive commission.
Owners.com sells over 25,000 homes a year, however, out of all transactions originated by Owners.com, an undisclosed number are referred to third-party brokers. Owners.com states that “in some areas, we undertake to arrange for you to enter into an agreement for such services with a local licensed broker or agent who may be an unrelated third party.”
When consumers work with Owners.com listing agent the listing includes posting home on the MLS and MLS Aggregator services, professional photos, 3D tour and all typical services offered by a traditional real estate agent.
Owners.com Partner Program
Where Owners.com cannot directly serve consumers, the company relies on a referral network of independent agents at other brokerages.
The company states that it “will inform you that we are referring you to a third party and you have the opportunity to decide whether to work with that third party.”
Owners.com does not specify the referral fee percentage split these agents pay to the company in exchange for user leads, it is most likely 25%-40% of the agent’s entire commission.
Once Owners.com refers a customer to a Partner Agent, that agent, not Owners.com, represents the customer from the initial meeting through closing.
Owners.com dictates that Partner Agent commission rates are set at 2% for all independent real estate agents who want to participate in the Partner Program.
In the United States, all independent brokerage fees are always negotiable and each real estate agent establishes its own policy for a fee structure, amount of commissions, and the sharing of any listing commissions.
Price fixing is prohibited by antitrust legislation. To fix, control, recommend, suggest or maintain commission rates or fees for other agents' services is an improper practice.
Faira is a multi-state savings broker, offers consumers listing savings and buyer’s refunds in select areas across Washington, Arizona and California.
Faira offers savings to sellers (charges 0.5% platform fee to the buyer with an optional 1% listing fee) and commission refunds to buyers (2% of the purchase price).
For its in-house listings platform offers self-represented buyers a 2.5% independent buyer discount, to account for the fact that there is no need for Buyer's Agent Commission (BAC) expense for self-represented buyers.
However, we recommend that all Buyers work with their own competitive buyer's agent who offers a buyer's refund. Faira also offers Premium Listing option for a 3% listing fee.
Faira is a consumer-focused real estate agent that successfully represents consumers across Washington, Arizona, and California and offers sizeable savings.
Faira listing service includes posting home on the MLS and MLS Aggregator services, professional photos in addition to all typical services offered by a traditional real estate agent.
Faira gives sellers access to a well-designed dashboard with great communication features. The pricing model at this brokerage may be an issue for some Buyers and Agencies who are unable to work with it due to the "platform fee" structure.
Buyer's commission rebate structure is also subjective with ambiguously defined savings. What is considered standard real estate services are advertised by Faira as Premium for a significantly larger fee.
While Faira does offer sizeable savings for Buyers and Sellers, we find that some service offerings by Faira are difficult to substantiate, especially when it comes to its Premium listings.