John, I own two franchises and my flags may be gone because I am an independent thinker and move to the beat of my drum. Business means the ability to change and I can not operate under the constraints of the dictate of the franchises. I caution anyone from becoming tied to a good plan and then seeing the market move and not being able to move with it because you agreed to remain in the program.

I believe that you do what is best for the agents you have and what is best for the clients you service. If that means you lost a few dollars in Franchise fees and the end results means that you and your people are winners. You will end up ahead of the game. For me, I will never be part of a franchise again. It limits your own creativity and ability since I have a book that dictates how I do things, but that is good if you are starting out as a Broker because it gives you the base.

Once you have that down, it is a business and you need to be able to move at the beat of your drummer. So there is good in all, there is a lack of freedom in the rigid assembly of a franchise. Not my cup a tea, as a rebel!

Gary, you say "I will never be part of a franchise again..." but you are a Sellstate franchisee.  Do you plan on dropping them?

Eric, There are a lot of people that like the franchise operation. After three years under that mode, I have decided to drop them. They are as good or better than some but it is toooooo restrictive for my business plans. By July 1, I will be out of the franchise mode and write the cost off as a learning experience.

Gary, I jumped to a franchise years ago. I really thought there would be great benefits to the name brand recognition. I have been disappointed in the network system and I now beleive there is no benefit to the franchise fees I pay out at closings. I think you are making the right move.

So, in other words, you better re-think your decision to drop them when I agree with you. Good Luck.

Yes, in my area a few of the 'name' offices have closed down and we're seeing some entire offices going to other offices as 'teams'.

I ran into our local CB broker couple of days ago and was somewhat surprised to find they have closed down two local offices.

I worked for Pru for 2 years before opening my own indie. I was courted by them and a couple others to franchise.

Glad I didn't. Because we're still alive and well . . .

[Gary sez, of franchise: They are as good or better than some but it is toooooo restrictive for my business plans.]

And that was my main deciding factor.

The rules and regs of the mothership always were unnecessary for me. Arizona Revised Statutes, Commissioner's Rules and the NAR COE are enough for me to run a tight ship.

Here is a Flag.

SUBPRIME WEB TIME

For every 1,000 homes in your farm area, how many have subprime or Alt-A mortgages?

How many of those are in foreclosure? How many are REOs, low- or no-doc loans, or ARMs resetting within the next 12 months? That information is now at your fingertips.

The Federal Reserve released a Web site, customizable down to the zip code level, that displays the prevalence of 12 different types of mortgage situations for either Alt-A or subprime mortgages. To focus on your farm area's zip code, go to:

http://www.newyorkfed.org/mortgagemaps .

One note of warning, however: The new Web site has been slow to respond, perhaps the result of an onslaught of Web surfers curious to find out how things stack up in their own neighborhood.

"We're not interpreting the data for people, we are just hoping they use it as a resource," says Andrew Williams, a spokesman for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which maintains the Web site and updates the maps monthly.

Federal Reserve System

Vance, I'm not sure if I would use that data. And, when someone says what they are NOT doing - that's what they are doing!

Showing houses today, the "buyer" said it's not about the money.

What do you think its about?

Gary, as a newly minted broker associate I have thought about my next career move, which could be as simple as switching to another national brand as a broker associate (with a better split), going as an independant broker or taking the franchise route.  

I get the Sellstate and other franchise solicitations, which are enticing, but when I look at the start up costs and ongoing fees I just see that as money that could be spent on marketing my own brand.  

Hi Eric

How are things down there in Palm City, I know the area well :)

Franchise or No Franchise or an Inbetweener ? tis the ?

http://www.c21clickit.com/index.php?go=packages

Gary, as you and I know Its about the money.

Eric, Name recognition plays a part but I have found over time that it is not as significant as I once thought. Most of my clients in the past 8 years knew my name but I doubt if pressed they could have named my company without looking at my business card. When I decided to open a franchise Sellstate was the biggest and fastest growing in the area and remains at the top. I choose a bad time to open a second franchise since the market went south shortly after opening the doors. I would have liked to change some of the fee structures I had to make it easier for agents struggling to stay above water but you can't do that when you are a franchise. They have rules. Sellstate has a great program and are easy to get along with but still there are the rules everyone has to follow. I think some franchises have a fee structure that is out of line with today's market but Sellstate isn't one of them.

If there were the ability to add plans for agents that differed from the normal ones, I would probably consider continuing with a franchise but that doesn't work in the larger structured companies because it would cause disastrous results for administration.

Being a small independent is right for me. I want to offer a lot of the things that are offered by the Franchises and some that they can't because of their size. I will also loose some of the benefits they have to offer. We had group health insurance available and a great online training program and several national meetings with great speakers. I'll miss those things but overall you have to do what you feel works best for what you want to accomplish. The bottom line does come down to it is about the money. What works best for you and your agents and your clients.

Franchises dont sell real estate. Agents do. I gave up franchises long time ago.

Vance, just made a posting as joke, dont take seriously.

John, the Yahoo "exclusivity" they are talking about is a different thing than posting ads on Yahoo Real estate classifieds postings. If you go to Yahoo Real Estate section, and go to search MLS listings, as long as there is a Prudential office in the region, the listings will come up with Prudential's contact info to schedule showings, get more info, etc. It has been like that for quite a few years.

There are offices closing in our area, though not too much ... yet, I would think. And there are offices switching ownerships but I haven't seen any switching affiliations. But who knows what we'll see in the near future?

Vance, just made a posting as joke, don't take seriously.

It is serious

As more and more franchise fall, some are switching over to the  transaction broker type and or limited service everyday.

Just a few months back this brokerage http://www.elitehomesatlanta.com/engine/home/standard/555/en/7488/

was a top RE/Max office...

A few years back this platform below was tried and C-21 got, lets say upset over it..

My how things have changed.

http://www.c21clickit.com/index.php?go=packages limited service

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TUESDAY, APRIL 1, 2008

Our friends in Montana can now offer  rebates.

http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/public/press_releases/2008/231769.htm

Michaela said..But who knows what we'll see in the near future?

Its all right here. http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/public/real_estate/index.htm

And we all have a front row seat, can you please pass the popcorn!

Again, just another Vancepinion