How does ziprealty work

What do you like about working at ZipRealty? Do you have any tips for others interviewing with this company? What don't you like about working at ZipRealty? There is simply insufficient inventory to be successful full time in the industry at this time.

What suggestions do you have for management? I enjoyed helping the agents grow their business and in turn helping grow the office revenue. The office were cookie cutter but in a changing environment it was difficult to move fast if change was needed. Learn all you can and do you best to contrubute new ideas and excitment to the job. The agent used the company software to do the work.

We had to pay for the software out of our commission. A higher split perhaps. Higher expenses you bet. Lets see…now lets spend time prospecting and paying for leads…the list goes on. What about the support you get from the traditional brokerage? If they can breath into a mirror they are hired. Many times the only time the broker knows whats going on with an agent or cares is when they get in trouble with a client who complains. The real winners at Zip Realty are the clients who get the service that they deserve and yes the rebate is great as well.

Zip Realty is cutting edge and the best business decision I have made in my real estate career of over 20 yrs. I would highly recommend it for agents who love what they do — service the clients.

You will be appreciated and compensated. April 6, — pm. I am so happy to finally see someone write the truth for once.

As a current Zip Agent, I know all about the low pay and the kissing up to managers that goes on. Do you call this a resonable pay scale for an agent in Southern CA? You can be a top agent one minute and the next you are cut off.

They demand that we go to meetings that are often located over 60 miles from our home. If you do not attend one then your leads are turned off. Recently they started new training sessions and the local manager in our area has one of our agents lead the class giving his imput on how to win over clients. April 15, — pm. I agree with Kathy in California. April 20, — am.

This is what happened to me. One day you are in business and if you are not kissing up to management your leads become COLD and the next thing your leads are shut off.

The District Manager is doing just this. I personally experienced it. He was not even man enough to leave me a message. That may work with some people with not much business experience, but not seasoned business people who know what is going on here.

For the year ended Dec. I initially started reading this article for research, but having been a prospective customer of Zip two years ago, I have to say, now I know why my agent was so pissed when we walked away. April 21, — am. Guess what happens? Evertthing is negotiable in this crappy market. Zapped — You are now out of business. You can not log on. The Zapper; District Manager Serge using Spyware to control all your leads and being able to Zap you if you do not kiss up to management.

April 26, — am. Oh, if only the current Zip agents knew where their hard earned commissions were going!!! April 26, — pm. Zip is a bogus business plan. Very high agent turnover. Top managemnet gets the cake and the agents get the crumbs. This company stock will be de-listed in a declining real estate market and soon after out of business.

Go look at other companies. Stop wasting your time. I did and learned this company is a scam. Hi Mike: Go talk to Zip if you want but be smart about it. A lot of the leads you get are working with another agent and the agent told them to use Zip website to look for homes. You can never take a day off because if you have a client ready to buy and they pop up on your platform, they go to successful agent. They never come right out and say anything. When you have a question, they pass the buck and when you take it higher they give you one on one coaching and then read what happened to Zippy And when your talking to Zip ask if the broker is non competing!!

Always be two steps ahead of them. I was for two years, of course the first year I learned, then the second year I got smart. Smarter then them!!

I am not a disgruntled ex-zipper, they train you like nobody else in the real estate business but you pay alot of money for that. Your name does not appear on any of that. You are not building a business for yourself you are making money for ZIP. I am a top notch real estate agent, but at another company. My oh my oh what a Wonderful day not to work for Zip.

Make sure you build your business and not ZIP. It was a crappy stock during the biggest boom years ever in real estate. Guess what will happen in the worst years coming up in real estate? I will give you a hint. Follow the trend. The good thing is your k you will get more worthless shares. A story you can someday tell your grand kids on how you lost all your retirement money working for ZIPR.

Head for the life boats. April 27, — am. If you want facts. The average pay for a real estate agent is 21k a year. Richard Sommer is listening and making changes already with Comp and other things to take care of agents. I guess I am in the minority on this board but then again people like to bitch more than they like to come up with solutions. Or even look at the glass half full.. Good for you Happy Agent: Eileen is that you?

Happy with Zip is probably female and if she knew what went on in corporate she would be outraged!!! In the two years I was Zip, management was given many opportunities to change. I went to lunches with mgmt when they wanted to know why agents were leaving. They were told there is no incentive for agents to go out and get their own business, ie: their own referrals, friends, family, their own listings, they would not be compensated for this, it was all on the same pay scale.

Everything Richard Sommer has in his lap right now has been the complaints for many years. They were told when the selling agent gives a BONUS, on top of commission, that the agent should be able to keep it. April 27, — pm. There is definitely a lot of passion out there regarding ZIP, to say the least.

I appreciate the caveats and explanations of the finer points of the ZIP business model. It will be interesting to talk with ZIP and see their reaction to some of these issues. Thanks again.

Are you a bad reader? April 30, — pm. We now have rumors that certain Distric Directors are paying off other lower employees to make calls for their favorite Zip Agents. If you dare miss a meeting or conf call then you are sure to have your leads turned off.

If you take a look at the last years top 10 agents from any given district, you will see that half of them our no longer with the company or half of them are waiting in line at the local food bank.

These District Managers are playing God to these peoples lead system…. If I were Richard…I would take the power away from those managers asap! I feel sorry for the guy, he has to pick up the mess of a company that clearly has been failing for quite sometime.

When someone questions something there they just smile and then black list you. I have a feeling that they must be so broke that they are giving us leads from used telephone books dated May 2, — pm.

You go Kathy! We need to start sending Richard all these comments. So tired of their lead control and how they dangle them in front of you. The whole system is wrong. I wish more people would come forward and complain to Richard. I totally agree with you that they only seek to make a name for themselves. Half of my clients could care less about the rebate.

May 3, — am. Thanks to all who posted their honest opinions and experiences with ZipRealty. Glad I found your blog — it very likely has saved me from making a very bad business decision and a couple years of my career. I will keep looking for a better company to work for. Any suggestions? May 4, — pm. I would replace most of the present management team, most of the Board and most of the policies. The one thing they seem to do correctly is internet advertising. They have no marketing, listing program, training.

The management has sold fruit and hotel rooms, not real estate. One of the other major companies might consider a tender offer for the Zip internet rights. San Francisco.

Will management present a program or will they be happy? May 6, — pm. This is the reason why having a union in a company is good. This is a personal friend of mine that I did a 1 day listing agreement so I could get a commission. Zip did nothing for the money. No cost to anyone but me and the still they want to steal my money. Also read the Nonsolicitation of Company Leads and Clients for 12 months after leaving. Probably mine. John it has come to my attention that you have contacted some of the clients from your platform and I just wanted to remind you that per your contract you cannot contact these people as they are Zip Clients.

I am enclosing the paragraph from the contract you signed explaining that. Unfortunately that is not possible as that deal also belongs to Zip. Please understand that I wish you only the best and am trying to keep things as uncomplicated as possible.

Below is the paragraph from your contract. Good luck to you. May 7, — pm. May 8, — am. Worked for zip, they are a group of crooks, they do not pay agents, management earns high wages and the rest die. Poor model, I lost money in the time I worked for them. Any one who is thinking of it go elsewhere. You are the procuring cause, I had a home in escrow when I resigned and I am getting paid for it!! I am from Florida. I would be interested in the procuring cause. Please explain your success on getting paid your commission.

These were my friends, I had procurred the listing and signed them up myself on Zip. Do you think stockbrokers for Charles Schwab can just move clients over to Merrill Lynch?

When you signed up to work for Zip, you did so because they generate leads. You took a lower split to jumpstart your transaction flow. The other alternative would be to start on your own and work at a loss for a year before you closed your first deal. The broker also maintains all the legal liability. Most firms let agents continue to close ongoing transactions as part of the termination process at their current split.

As far as the leads go, watch the movie GlennGary Glenn Ross for a good idea of how management probably views these leads. The good ones the glengary leads go to closers not ass kissers.

Fast forward to the Alec Baldwin sceen. Zip serves a purpose for many new agents who would die on their own out there working as an IC sink or swim.

Different strokes for different folks. If an agent wants good leads you better kiss up and keep up with the ZAP or your leads will get worse. It does not matter at Zip if you close. They are getting agents to do free database work.

The average Zip agent closes only 7 deals per year. Your movie is just a movie. No one would work for your firm if you treated people like Alec Baldwin. You would be sued for everything. So lets make sure you get off you high horse. May 8, — pm. My comments were meant to add balance to a runaway thread. When you pay millions in marketing, you have to allocate leads to those who can close them. Zip markets to primarily internet buyers, who are mostly flakes.

I think it comes with the territory. The Zip agents who get that fact are more able to deal with them and make more money. By the way, you did solve the Zip management problem when you said most agents do 7 deals a year. They will never make money and keep a happy salesforce until that number goes above May 9, — am. Mike Darvin you are right on. Why waste leads on people who do not either have the drive or the nature to be in this business?

The real estate business as a whole is a high turnover business because you actually have to work it. If you are a new agent in a traditional brokerage how long and at what cost will it be to you to run a successful self employeed business?

The current state of the real estate market has shifted. Agents are no longer order takers they need to be what we are — sales people. The complaint about the leads may have something to do with the shift in the mortgage industry.

Two years ago everyone who wanted to could buy a home. Now people actually have to save and have good credit. You have to work smarter and know what you are doing. May 10th with already 5 opens on the books. How many traditional agents can say that? The system works for those who work. Thanks Zip! May 10, — pm. I am a sales person and a good one. The weekly phone calls are totally useless, the team all calls in and tells everybody what they are doing!!

You know you have to sell to be an A status!! Were you at the Zip monthly meeting where we had to applaude an agent for making the most phone calls? Thats ridiculous. All those bogus opens on the board when you go into your platform is stupid. One month the agent that had 6 opens, 5 fell thru and only one closed!!

The system at Zip does not work for those who work!! May 11, — pm. Kathy is right on the mark. Oh by the way, Zip is also stealing agents commissions. I am proof of it happening. I have been in constant contact with xxxxxxxxx Title this week and all funds have been dispersed to the seller xxxxxxxx , the referal agent xxxxx Realty and to You Zip Realty. I have done my part in making sure everyone gets what they earned and deserved. I deserve at least my commission split. I have integrity and high ethical standards.

The question. Do you, Broker? Contract or no contract, Zip had nothing to do with this sale. I want my earned and deserved commission. I also have requested the Zip legal department phone number twice by email and once by phone to the broker. I still have not got a response or commission from Zip. If your traditional lead generating methods are doing so well, what prevents you from doing that while working at Zip?

I am not an agent for zip but have the extraordinary ability to have the inside scoop and be very objective. I consider myself a true sales person who could sell a blind person reading glasses. Whelp been fun kids- glad I am not in your dilemma but if I were I surely wouldnt be here whining about it…. May 13, — pm.

The flow is working against it. The stock is attractively priced at less than twice its greenery. ZipRealty is a disruptor in the residential real estate market.

It charges as little as 4. It has also ruffled feathers by allowing potential buyers to post reviews on individual listing pages. May 15, — pm. Zip just slowed down the bleeding for now.

Lets see what happens when the economy slows down into recession in the next 6 months. May 19, — pm. May 20, — am. I started at Zip Realty because I had been in the business for only 3 years and saw the value not only in the leads but the closed clients as referrals. When I first started I had been working leads through housevalues. They showed me that another agent was doing 15 transactions a month.

I was being fed a few deals here and there because I was on the leader board and the district was recognized. I received all the awards and finally my paychecks. It made me sick.. I stayed there until now because they made me a Team Leader and like the rest of the Corp. I made money off the agents on my team, a percent of every transaction on my team.

Everything that was said about the company managers is true, a lot of wasted money. I was even told that the only profit they have is from Eloan. The founder Scott Kucirek even left the company. I think every district is different though.. I think they made a mistake by opening the new markets.

For an agent to be successful, they have to turn into a machine. Eventually you burn —out and they find another Top Producer to feed and rub in your face at every weekly meeting. What it boils down to is either starving so much for attention that you feed on recognition or moving to another company because you value money and paying your bills MORE!

Believe me when I tell you that there are a lot of agents that would rather have the recognition instead and those employees are the perfect fit for this model…. The rebate is a huge downfall for this company… I have had customers call me to explain what they are not receiving by accepting the rebate.

Well you most likely getting a new agent who knows absolutely nothing about Real Estate and will need me to write the offer because being a Team Leader I now get to be responsible for everyone on my team so the Broker is not overwhelmed with all the agents who are inexperienced. Just another number amongst all the paperwork at escrow, but a world of difference for your Real Estate agent. Where does it stop?

What are you loosing? Besides destroying an industry.. You see a rebate is illegal … But somehow they spent a lot of money trying to figure out a way to buy a client. The association never intended it to be given as cash to a buyer at closing. In fact if the lenders knew about how they write a check after closing instead of contributing towards closing cost like a new home that already has incentives they would not fund the transaction….

That in itself is a form of lending fraud. I asked the lender if we could give him a rebate, the lender said NO. I told the client and they called the district office. Zip sent them a rebate check in the mail after the closing… completely illegal. This company thrives on hiring new inexperienced agents who have never worked in the Real Industry. Their ideal hire is an agent fresh out of real estate school that they can mold into their perfect worker bee.

We want to make sure our Clients are Referred to the Best Agents. I've recommended trying it based on the editor's review - I can not … On average, how many hours do you work a day at ZipRealty? With search capabilities and listings at least comparable to the competition, ZipRealty is a worthy home search alternative, though users in unserved cities will need to lean on other search sites such as Zillow, Realtor. If you were in charge, what would you do to make ZipRealty a better place to work?

Once you've decided to sell your home, another big decision await: Will you list your home with a real estate agent or list on your own as a for sale by owner FSBO. Get your home looking its best. In addition, listing-generated property pages may contain information pertaining to previous listing activity. Once you find the right buyer and accept their offer, your agent will keep you in the loop on the closing process and make sure everything goes smoothly.

Basically, ZipRealty is a conventional real estate brokerage, leveraging online technology. Very nice agents to work with, but the management treats the agents like employee's and you feel like you are in a day camp.

Hal Bundrick is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. View all office listings, agent roster and more on HAR. Get an idea of what your life would be like by exploring photos, maps, schools and more. Go to your account or sign up ». Real estate agents on ZipRealty. Find a local agent ».