Joining a Team
The Clauses to Read in a Real Estate Team Agreement Before You Sign
Updated
Bottom line: Read five things before you sign: how you are paid, what is expected of you, what the team provides, whether the term is at will, and what you owe on confidentiality and claims.
What should the agreement spell out first?
Start with the three items HousingWire says a team agreement should include: commission splits, expectations, and any resources the team will provide.
Expectations deserve a slow read. If something you were told in an interview is missing from the agreement, ask for it in writing before you sign.
Resources work the same way. Whatever the team describes when it recruits you should appear in the agreement itself.
How is team pay usually written?
HousingWire notes that team commission splits typically run lower than what an individual agent gets at a traditional brokerage.
HousingWire adds that some teams charge a flat fee on each transaction in place of a split.
Find which model the agreement uses and how the number is calculated. Then compare it with what you keep now.
What does an at-will term mean for you?
eXp Realty's independent contractor agreement for its agents states plainly that it is an at-will agreement.
That document sits between an agent and a brokerage rather than a team. The term is still one to find in any agreement you sign, so look for it and ask how long yours runs.
How far can a confidentiality clause reach?
The eXp Realty agreement bars the contractor from disclosing company information, during the affiliation or after it.
The bar covers any person or entity, for any reason, unless the company gives express written consent.
A duty worded this way keeps binding you once the affiliation ends. Find where your agreement defines the information it protects.
Who pays when a claim is made?
Under the eXp Realty agreement, the contractor reimburses the company up to $2,500 of the cost of defending or resolving a claim.
The clause reaches claims against the contractor, the company or both that arise from the contractor's actions or inactions.
It applies whether or not the claim is eligible for insurance coverage. In a team agreement, look for any similar share and the cap on it.
Filed in The team.
Questions & answers
What do Sugar Land agents ask about this?
Should I have an attorney read a team agreement before I sign it?
HousingWire suggests you may want an attorney to review the agreement, to check that it is fair and legal. Treat that review as part of signing, not an extra step. A lawyer reads the pay terms, the expectations and any duties that keep running after the affiliation, and reads them with training you and the team leader may not have.
Give the attorney the agreement and anything else in writing the team handed you alongside it. Ask for a mark on every clause where you owe money, and on every duty with no end date. Then take those marks back to the team leader as questions. A clear answer in writing is worth more than a clear answer in conversation.
Can taxes change how my commission split is calculated?
They can, under some brokerage agreements. eXp Realty's contractor agreement says that where a transaction is subject to state or local taxes, its 80/20 commission split is figured after the company's portion of that tax comes out. The split in the headline and the split on your statement can rest on different bases. Look for a tax line beside the split in any agreement you sign.
The same reading applies to a team agreement. Find the line that sets your split or your fee, then read the sentences around it for anything deducted first. Ask the team leader to walk you through one closed transaction on paper, from gross commission to your check.
What does Keller Williams Southwest put behind an agent who joins?
In Sugar Land, the office at 1650 Highway 6 has 14 people behind you: marketing, technology, a productivity coach and compliance. You get weekly one-on-one coaching, classroom training, and a yearly business plan reviewed every month. A 12-agent Associate Leadership Council sets office strategy, so agents have a seat at the table.
Ask Jana Hayes to show you where each of these sits in the agreement you would sign.