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The first question to ask any Austin brokerage is: "What will I pay you, in total, over a year, at my production level, and can I have that in writing?" Every other answer feeds into that number.
Brokerages present costs in different shapes: a percentage split, a monthly fee, a charge per closing, or a mix. The only way to compare them is to convert each offer into one annual dollar figure and one effective rate, meaning total brokerage cost divided by gross commission income (GCI).
Bring your last 12 months of closings to the interview so the answer is about you, not a sample agent.
Here is why it matters. At $100,000 of GCI with 12 closings, a hypothetical 80/20 offer with a $400 per-deal fee and a $75 monthly tech fee costs $20,000 + $4,800 + $900 = $25,700, an effective 25.7%. On Vince Young Realty's published terms, the same year costs $10,000 + $3,000 = $13,000, or 13%. Ask us for the complete fee schedule to see every line.
A tool you would have to buy yourself is part of the true cost. At Vince Young Realty the website, AI CRM, apps, yard signs and listing print are included, so they belong on the comparison sheet as savings. More on that in brokerages that give agents a free website.
Ask how departures work before you join, while the conversation is friendly. Pending deals and listings belong to the sponsoring broker under the listing and buyer agreements, so the brokerage's policy decides what happens to them.
Read the agreement yourself and consider having your own attorney review it. We cover the details in what happens to pending deals when you change brokerages.
On leases, the math is concrete: a $400 per-deal fee on a $1,200 lease commission is 33.3% of the check. At Vince Young Realty, the same lease follows the 90/10 split, so the brokerage share is $120.
Split: 90/10. Monthly fee: $250 flat. Transaction fees: none, on sales or leases. Included: your own custom website on Savvy Studio, an AI CRM with the Grant assistant, a mobile app for you and a branded app for your buyers, free yard signs and listing print, plus access to health and private club benefits (contact us for details). Vince Young Realty reports being a "Top 1% Brokerage in Central Texas."
Bring your questions. Book a conversation or call (512) 785-7489.
In Texas, a sales agent must be sponsored by a licensed broker to practice, and TREC records that sponsorship. The sponsoring broker supervises your activity, receives commissions on your deals and pays you under your independent contractor agreement. That means your broker's fee structure, tools and policies shape every transaction you do. Choosing one is less like picking an employer and more like choosing a business partner whose terms apply to every check you earn.
Ask for your total annual cost at your expected production, in dollars and as a percentage of GCI. Give each brokerage the same scenario, such as $80,000 of GCI across 8 sales and 4 leases. On Vince Young Realty's published terms, that is $8,000 plus $3,000, or $11,000, an effective 13.75%. If another offer cannot give you one clear figure for the same scenario, treat that as an answer in itself, and ask for the full fee schedule.
Before you accept anything, ideally in the first or second conversation. Ask for the independent contractor agreement and fee schedule early so you have time to read them, and do not move your license until you have compared them side by side. If you are already licensed, also time the move around your pending deals, since those remain with your current sponsoring broker under the existing agreements.
Convert both into annual dollars using your real numbers. A percentage split costs a fixed share of every check. A flat-fee model costs more in slow years and less in busy ones. At $40,000 of GCI, a 70/30 split costs $12,000, while a 90/10 split with a $250 monthly fee costs $4,000 plus $3,000, or $7,000. Run a slow year and a strong year through each offer so you see both ends of the range.
Send your questions ahead of time and ask for the fee schedule and contractor agreement before the meeting. In the meeting, walk through one scenario based on your real production and ask the broker to price it. Then ask the tool questions: website, CRM, apps, signs and print. Finish with the exit questions. Afterward, put every offer in one spreadsheet with the same rows. Two or three interviews are usually enough to see the differences clearly.
Relying on what was said instead of what was signed. A recruiting conversation can mention perks that never appear in the independent contractor agreement, and only the agreement governs. Ask for every promise that matters to you, especially fees, lease terms and what you keep if you leave, to be reflected in writing. The second mistake is asking only about the split, which misses per-deal and monthly charges that can add several points to your effective rate.
Ask whether leases carry a transaction fee, how lease commissions are split, and how quickly they are paid. Austin has a large rental market, with lease listings running through ACTRIS in Travis, Williamson and Hays counties, and many agents close several leases a year. Because lease checks are small, a flat per-deal fee can take a third or more. Vince Young Realty charges no transaction fees on leases, so a lease simply follows the 90/10 split.
Say Offer A is a 70/30 split with no other fees and Offer B is Vince Young Realty's 90/10 split with a $250 monthly fee. Offer A costs $15,000 and leaves $35,000. Offer B costs $5,000 plus $3,000, or $8,000, and leaves $42,000. The agent keeps $7,000 more with Offer B, before counting the website, CRM and yard signs it includes. Commission rates and production are hypothetical here, so use your own figures.
Yes, if it matters to you, since most Texas agents are independent contractors and arrange their own coverage. Ask what is available, who is eligible and what it costs, and get the details in writing. Vince Young Realty offers agents access to health and private club benefits. Contact us for details, and we will walk you through what is available so you can weigh it alongside the split and fees.
Our answers to the money questions are short: 90/10 split, $250 a month, no transaction fees on sales or leases. The tool answers are included: your own custom website on Savvy Studio, an AI CRM with the Grant assistant, apps for you and your buyers, free yard signs and listing print. Send us your questions and last year's numbers through the form at vinceyoungrealty.com/join-us or call (512) 785-7489, and ask for the complete fee schedule.
90/10 split, $250 a month, no transaction fees on sales or leases. Nothing goes to your current brokerage.