Considering starting my own team with another colleague at another brokerage
I've been working in CRE since early 2019 and have worked under a CCIM the entire time and learned a ton. We hang out licenses with KW Commercial and have our own team. The CCIM pays for my CoStar access. We closed several leases on both landlord and tenant rep, and have also worked on a few investment sale listings. We worked on every deal together. Throughout this time, there have been several occasions where it was tough to get the CCIM on the phone or join in on meetings with clients (even if he confirmed to be there), which I think made us look bad or not in sync in the clients' eyes. He has a few shopping centers in town that take up a majority of his time and it's become more and more clear that those take priority over our brokerage business. Also, he's hinted at the idea of retiring soon. 



In 2021 we hired two more individuals to join our team, and we shifted focus. Me and one of the new guys (experienced in real estate) focus on Investment Sales and the CCIM and the other new guy focus on leasing. Me and the new guy have a $5.5M property under contract and have had no help or resources from the CCIM, yet we have to give him 20% of the commission off the top based on our team agreement. It's very frustrating for the new guy and even more for me because I've dealt with it for 3 years. New guy and I have floated the idea of starting our own team but not sure where to start. KW Commercial takes about $250 from us monthly, and we have to pay $7500 of our earned commission every year since we're on a team ($21,000 if we were individuals). We'd like to go to one of those cheaper brokerages but just want to make sure they we can still do commercial at that brokerage. I talked to eXp and they don't have a commercial division. I don't want to go to one of the bigger shops like M&amp;M, CBRE, JLL where they take a huge chunk of the commissions. We have a few strong clients and I know we can build on it, so not interested in a big name company. We'd rather our team build up and have a solid reputation in our local market. 



Any thoughts or recommendations? Anything would help!
[{"id": "hptl4pa", "text": "Kw is pretty much as cheap as it gets. Go to compass or some other resi shop.", "replies": [{"id": "hptou30", "text": "The thing is though, we don't want to be associated again with residential. We only do commercial and would hate to get considered a resi-mercial agent. KW is mainly known for residential and I only joined to work with the CCIM guy since he was already there.", "replies": [{"id": "hpts801", "text": "Try lee and associates then.", "replies": [{"id": "hptycbv", "text": "Or NAI", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}, {"id": "hpu44hm", "text": "I don\u2019t know what property type you work with, but I would pursue a local boutique that excels in that property type and transaction type. I would find the ones you\u2019re interested in, cold call them for a meeting and see if there\u2019s a fit and enough real opportunity to grow your own book of business within that brokerage. Also, if you really want to do commercial, don\u2019t hang your license at a brokerage associated with residential.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hptpvcr", "text": "DM\u2019d you.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hptt80q", "text": "Most big shops take about 50% of your commission, but I believe Encore takes 30% and lets the broker keep 70%. I personally give 50% to the house at a mid size shop but my splits increase to 55% and 60% when I cross fee thresholds of $500k and $1million during the calendar year. You can start your own shop and keep 100% but I\u2019m a believer that a brand name and corporate resources enable a broker to win enough additional listing to more than offset those splits.", "replies": [{"id": "i34sbtn", "text": "I'm new to the CRE space and trying to decide where to hang my license also. Is the $500K-1MM threshold based on broker earnings or gross sales amount? In the CRE space, I'd imagine you hit the fee thresholds fairly quickly in the year, no? What sub-sector of CRE do you play in mostly and what's the avg deal size there, hence, how many transactions does $500K-1MM typically represent? \n\nAlso, will anyone please comment on what a \"good year\" in the CRE space may look like for leasing and for sales? Im looking for the CRE equivalent stat of a residential agent getting 10-12 transactions annually is representative of a fairly mature agent business.", "replies": [{"id": "i3d8fxx", "text": "The thresholds are based on gross fee production, so production before company/team splits.  Regarding hitting the fee thresholds easily, I can only speak for observation at my shop of 100 established CRE brokers. I would say there are about 25 per year that break the $1 mill gross fee production, so it isn\u2019t easy to quickly break the thresholds.  Regarding transactions sizes, every broker is different. We have a guy who closes about $1million fee per year selling about 30 dollar generals. We have other guys doing $70-100 million zero cash flow or industrial deals and only need to close 3 deals or so to his the clip. \n\nGood year in sales would be to make $500k on $1million in gross fee. I can\u2019t speak for leasing but I have heard of leasing guys making much more than this.", "replies": [{"id": "i3gf6sl", "text": "Awesome thank you so much. I know there are tons of variables here and it differs drastically based on sector niche, years experience, your network, regional focus area, etc. Thanks for giving me a general baseline to start from.", "replies": [], "depth": 4}, {"id": "i5umoj5", "text": "Also, what market are you in? I'm in San Diego.\n\nDo you have any advice on how to pick which CRE sector may be right for me, as well as more/less lucrative?", "replies": [{"id": "i5v8u97", "text": "I work nationally, but primarily focus on the southeast and TX.", "replies": [], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hptu452", "text": "Have you considered getting the license required to open your own shop and just do it entirely yourself? It\u2019s around $400 in my area and you can do the online course after 2 years of experience. \n\nIf you\u2019re doing well, the saved commission split should cover your legal/accounting and a private office in a co-working space. It\u2019s a bit of hassle to set up a company to start but will pay certainly payoff over the long run via commission saved.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hpu7t67", "text": "My brokerage does an 80/20 split, but you cover all your own expenses and resources. You get the office printer and a desk, that\u2019s about it.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hpuyssm", "text": "Why not wait it out until your CCIM Broker retires? Take his clients to your new brokerage.", "replies": [{"id": "hpv7ti9", "text": "This is definitely a great idea and I wish we could, but he has had one foot in and out the door for the last couple years. I'm convinced he may be like that for several more years, and can't wait around any longer. Besides, most of his client list are his family members and close friends. Most of the time I don't interact with them when we work on their transactions. \n\nAlso want to mention that I have a newborn and can't keep doing all the work and have to give away 20%", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hpvok60", "text": "Sounds like you know your answer. Go do it", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hpvusu5", "text": "Just a student, but my professor is a broker and faces the same issue. In the end, he did open his own shop, but still had a partnership with a brokerage. He negotiated lower commissions because he felt the brand name gave him credibility and brought him deals he wouldn\u2019t have touched otherwise. He makes 3-500k a year.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hpwvgt8", "text": "I agree with Longlivepbr. You should look into opening your own shop. IDK where you are based. In Florida and New York you can run a brokerage from your home. As long as you have a locked room for client files and you can put a sign in the front yard.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "i34sndw", "text": "You mentioned eXp doesn't do commercial...is this really new or something? I just emailed them to find out more for myself since i love their residential model but want to do commercial. [https://expcommercial.com/](https://expcommercial.com/)", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]