We conceived the idea that would become Minetta Realty in Ben’s Minetta Street apartment during our final year of law school at NYU.
As real estate nerds, it was impossible to drown out the sounds of NYC’s thunderous real estate market, and across the state generally, it was becoming evident that the economic tides had turned dramatically since 2008. This has become especially true in the real estate world, where prices continue to climb in meteoric fashion, and investors, developers, and salespeople (aka agents) find themselves amidst a modern day gold rush.
The current real estate frenzy got us thinking about the industry in general – how its traditional firms operate, its accessibility, and how little the model has changed. It struck us that licensed salespeople must be sponsored by a broker, but that brokers – by and large – are unwilling to co-sign an agent unless the agent is committed to working full-time for the firm.
This ultimately means that, for many people, entry into the salesperson profession is effectively sealed off, simply because most firms refuse to accommodate the independent salesperson; that is, the salesperson who wishes to use his or her license freely.
This shuts out scores of people who would otherwise carve out lucrative real estate niches: students, parallel industry professionals (i.e., lawyers, architects, bankers, designers), entrepreneurial spirits discontent in their current employment, former real estate professionals retiring or changing careers, and so on.
Minetta aspires to empower people from across the spectrum to tap into the real estate world, whether it be fully and ambitiously, part-time as a side gig, or purely as a resume booster/professional credential.
Our thinking about and studying of the industry led to two major understandings that motivate Minetta:
1) More people can be making money in real estate.
You shouldn’t have to be a full-time real estate professional to connect buyers and sellers. If you know someone looking to rent, lease, buy or sell property, you should be able to translate that into cash commissions. Of course, having a valid salesperson’s license is a prerequisite, but once you’ve obtained this, you should be able to execute deals regardless of whether you want to be a full-time agent or not.
Moreover, referrals can be some of the easiest money you’ll ever make. A referral is simply the passing along of an in-the-market renter, lessor, buyer or seller’s information to a broker. When the broker closes a deal – be it a sale, purchase, or rental – you get paid a cut of the broker’s commission. Minetta aspires to provide the mechanism by which people from all walks of life can cash in, via referrals, on their networks.
2) The traditional firm model is not necessary for a salesperson’s success.
As we’ve been emphasizing, a full-time dedication to real estate is not a requirement for success – so, why should it be for a broker’s sponsorship? The conventional thinking among firms is that their agents bear the firm’s name, and thus the ability to do reputational harm. Therefore, the argument goes, the firm wants to keep its agents within its guidance. This requires training and resources, the likes of which are justified only by full-time employee commitment.
Do not get me wrong, this all makes sense, but what makes Minetta different is our focus on the salesperson in the 21st century.
Like many other industries, the real estate business has been transformed by the easy access to information and networking that the internet has enabled -- and many brokerages have failed to respond accordingly to these shifts. No longer do all agents necessarily need the resources brokerages provide -- and charge a premium for -- in order to be successful. In departure from this model, we welcome full-time, as well as inactive, credential-seeking agents alike. We also give our agents an 80% commission split – far more favorable than you’d find at a traditional brokerage house.
Minetta’s most fundamental goal, as you might have deciphered by now, is to open up the real estate world to people traditionally cut out. By lowering the barrier to entry and cultivating knowledge of the market’s accessibility, we aspire to build a model that is more egalitarian and inclusive, while empowering agents to be successful.
To learn more about how you can partner with Minetta in the future, sign up here.
Julian & Ben
Cofounders, Minetta Realty LLC
