Homesnap, a real estate technology solutions provider and consumer home search app, has launched a new future commissions-based payment option for real estate agents called “Access.”
The new payment system, created in conjunction with eCommission, will allow agents to pay for Homesnap products using future commissions in lieu of cash or credit.
“It’s sort of like PayPal, but specific to the real estate industry,” Tim Condon, chief marketing and revenue officer at Homesnap, told Inman.
Agents will be able to select the active listing from which they’d like to draw on future commissions — of up to $500 — when purchasing products and services in Homesnap, and then will be redirected to eCommission in order to complete the transaction. They will not have to pay any kind of upfront fees. Agents will have 90 days to sell their selected property — but, if the property doesn’t sell within this time frame, they can replace the property with any of their other active listings.
Typically, a 10 percent fee will be added to a Homesnap order purchased through Access, but for the first 90 days of the service, Access will be free for agents to use.
“We hear a lot that agents have uneven cash flows, so we’ve always known there was a potential for an opportunity to work together,” Condon said of the collaboration with eCommission. “When the pandemic hit, we suddenly realized that lots of agents would have even more uneven cash flow.”
“What we’re doing with Access has never been done before,” Sean Whaling, founder and CEO of eCommission, told Inman. “It is a new concept.”
Initially, Access will be offered as a payment option on some of Homesnap’s marketing products, including Homesnap Pro Plus, Homesnap Concierge and social video ad products. However, it will eventually be offered for all Homesnap products.
“It’s a really cool feature that’s happened at a really important time,” Condon said. “[But] this is valuable forever.”