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Padx is offering real estate agents an alternative to the traditional commission-based, live-and-die-by-your-database business model.
Padx is a cloud-based real estate brokerage with an IDX-fed property search portal for home shoppers.
Padx co-founder Josh Hinkson
The company pays buyer’s agents between $25-$50 to show a home when requested by a buyer browsing its home search site. The first nearby agent to claim a showing request will get paid, assuming they’ve registered with the company.
“It’s an Uber-like dispatch system. This gives buyer agents the ability to make money with their license without really using their license,” said Josh Hinkson, co-founder of Padx. “It’s incremental income, and they’ll get paid quickly.”
After showing, the buyer’s agent’s role is complete. With the savings of not having to pay the buyer agent, Padx refunds its customers 50 percent of the commission, the “Padx Rebate.”
Padx co-founder Evan Harney explained the basic agent salary structure in an email to Inman.
“Padx compensates highly skilled in-house agents with a competitive salary and benefits that will eliminate the uncertainty and unreliable income traditional agents experience. Initial salary ranges based on the agent’s experience, past transaction volume, and technical skills. Additionally, in-house agents will receive bonuses based on transaction volume and customer ratings.”
Given the buyer’s agent’s brief interaction with the Padx customer, interested agents may want to know who has their back should a dispute of some kind arise between the parties.
Harney shared that “… the in-house agent who has their license with Padx will have their name on the buyer disclosure. Should any disputes arise with the buyer and the showing agent, Padx will support the field agent to the capacity it can and facilitate resolving any challenges their broker cannot assist with.”
After showing, homebuyers then engage one of Padx’s internal, salaried agents to help them facilitate the purchase through their website.
The process asks to ensure the buyer has seen the home, how much they want to offer, and delves into financing, providing users a mechanism for connecting with a local mortgage partner and uploading financial documents. Buyers don’t have to work with a Padx-affiliated lender, however.
The company’s team of internal licensees help their customers through every step of the deal, from initial offer to all the paperwork via a DocuSign integration. Everything is handled through email and over the phone.
Padx cofounder Evan Harney
“However, we hope to soon eliminate all emails because of the security risks,” said Harney. The company is aiming to integrate video conferencing and chat tools.
Buyers may end up speaking to a different agent each time they have a question until the listing is under contract, at which point they are assigned a single agent to manage the escrow process.
“We like to call it digital efficiency with white-glove service,” Hinkson said. “Our team of transaction coordinators can get the deal done, they specialize in identifying potential problems before the deal reaches escrow.”
“There are many agents out there we talk to that don’t like prospecting or marketing, but love being into the transaction,” he added. “Plus, a lot of people in real estate want more security.”
Padx launched its beta site in April of this year.
The company currently serves homebuyers in much of Southern California (San Diego, Pasadena, Irvine, Ventura and Santa Monica), but it’s prepared to cover 85 percent of the state as growth dictates.
Harney said the company wants to differentiate from portals and other newly launched real estate services.
“We see them largely focusing on listings, whereas we’ve taken a deep dive into providing a service for buyers,” he said.
So, is Padx offering a dream job to real estate agents complete with salary and certainty? It depends what kind of agent you are and what you love to do. If you hate the prospecting and marketing but love showings, this might be the gig for you.
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