Who needs the Real Estate Firm 800 pound gorillas anyway?

Today was a great day and now I have 4 new listings, 1 of them is minutes away from downtown Denver, Colorado. 3 of these clients were refered to my by past clients and I must say that it is very satisfying when that happens.

I do not mean to stir anything up with the other brokerages whom I have a great respect for. I believe they are great companies. But I am a numbers guy and like most evil capitalists, I like to keep as much money as I can, without giving it away to another entity. This is not to say that I do not give in a charitible way, it just means that I choose who I give my money to and not someone else choosing for me.

Getting back on track, I work for Home Real Estate,a brokerage that charges a transaction fee of 395.00 and then 150.00 for each additional transaction in the same month depending on what plan you are on. We currently have about 900 agents in Denver, Colorado and growing. We are a full service brokerage without the overhead of many other struggling brokerages.We provide desks, work areas and conference rooms for our agents, we don't provide office space. This allows are company to not have to struggle with huge lease payment in hard times like we are in today.

Here is my question to the big guys and please don't take offense. Why would I give more of my commission or pay a hefty monthly fee, just to have the name of a big company? What does this do for me that I can't do for myself? Once again, I am not slamming any company, I am genuinely asking the question in hopes of enabling dialog. These are very difficult times that we are in and Realtors are dropping like flies and brokerages are folding left and right. Why is this the case? Is it just because we are in a bad economy? Or is it possible that some of these organizations have a failing business model?

I wanted to ask the Realtor that I am working with on one of my listings if Keller Williams passed Remax up as the largest National Brokerage because of the unbelievable growth they are experiencing or is it the fact that Realtors can't afford to work for Remax in some cases. It is very difficult for most of us to pay a hefty monthly fee, when you are not making money or is you are not selling more than 1 house a month. I personally only go into my office to pick up my commission check or to close out a file. I work out of my home and have all the technology I could ever need to conduct business. I am not a brick and mortar guy and I love working out of my home. I meet my clients where it is most convenient for them when doing business. It seems to me that the current business model of having beautiful big buildings, where agents pay for office space is falling by the wayside. We live in a day and age where this is no longer practical in my opinion. I don't even have to use paper for my contracts when meeting with my clients, I have them sign their name electronically with a mouse and then e-mail a pdf file of their contract to them. This is all done in the comfort of their home.

So without stirring the pot too much, I ask this question. Why would I pay large sums of many to have a brand or a name? I do not mean to insult anyone or step on any toes, this is your opportunity to agree or disagree with me on this topic. As always, please be civil about it and present your argument for or against the opinion I have.