The real estate brokerage launch plan
Every step from deciding to opening, in the order it happens, shaped to your situation, with your own numbers beside it. About 50 steps in 8 phases, 22 of them specific to a real estate brokerage. Free to read; ticking steps off and putting in your own numbers come with membership.
The plan50 steps
- 01Not started0/6Fold
Decide with the numbersa week or two
Before a dollar is spent. Most expensive mistakes happen here, and this phase costs nothing.
A brokerage makes money in a way that is easy to misread.
Typical for one unit is $1,000,000 to $15,000,000 a year; the owner keeps 5 to 10% of it before paying themselves. If that band does not cover what you need, that is the signal to pause and look again.
~50% survive 5 years. Roughly half of new U.S. businesses reach five years.
Twelve questions about your money, time, experience and temperament, scored. Then the 5 questions this business asks of its owner, about the hours and the work. Answer both before you spend a dollar.
Rule of thumb: if you can buy a brokerage with genuinely productive agents likely to stay (ideally with the seller’s help through the transition) and a sane split, buying buys you a roster you would... Answer it in your situation above and the plan reshapes.
Customers, prices, rent, staff pay, what it costs to open. We filled in typical numbers; change what you know and everything on this page follows.
- 02Not started0/5Open
Plan the moneya week
What it costs to open, where the money comes from, and the cushion that keeps you alive until the business pays for itself.
A brokerage opens without inventory or heavy equipment: agents bring their own phones, laptops and cars.
The itemized cost to open8 lines
- Computers, screens, printer, phones and network: $4,200 to $23,200Back-office machines for you, the admin and the coordinator, a copier and a firewall
- Staff desks, agent bullpen, closing room and files: $6,000 to $30,900About one hot desk for every three agents and a room for listing and closing meetings
- Office refresh and cabling: $0 to $17,100Nothing if you take an office as is; paint, carpet and wired desks at the top
- Signs, yard signs, logo and website: $2,400 to $40,000New faces on an existing sign at the low end; a new illuminated sign and an agency-built IDX site at the top
- Broker and firm licenses, Realtor and MLS dues: $1,300 to $4,100Broker license and exam, the firm license, designated REALTOR dues and the new office fee
- Insurance first premiums: $4,400 to $14,700Firm E&O, office policy, cyber with wire fraud cover, and workers’ comp
- Legal setup, lease deposit and launch recruiting: $7,300 to $27,000Entity, agent agreement and policy manual, one to three months of rent, an opening and recruiting push
- Initial working capital: $30,000 to $115,000Staff, rent and overhead for three to six months while the roster ramps
Costs start on day one; customers take months. Map the first twelve months of cash so the business does not run out of money while it is getting going.
The business has to earn your pay like any other bill. Set it in your numbers and watch the month it move.
How deals in this business are financed4 lines
- SBA 7(a) loan (Up to $5M · 10 yr for an acquisition · 75-85% government-guaranteed)Funds an office opening, working capital or the purchase of an existing brokerage.
- Earnout or seller note (Four- to five-year earnouts are increasingly common)The standard way brokerages change hands: a small share is paid at closing and the rest over several years from the company dollar the agents keep producing, which protects you...
- Franchise brand (Initial fee plus a royalty on GCI)Joining a franchise trades a royalty off the top of GCI for a brand, training and recruiting tools; the franchise disclosure document lists every fee and the total opening...
- Bank line of credit (Secured by receivables and the owner)A revolving line smooths the gap between paying staff and rent every month and commissions that arrive only at closing.
Most new shops pair an with 10 to 20% of your own cash. Know the monthly payment before you look at a single space.
Before you shop. A lender tells you what they would fund, what they need from you (credit, your cash in, a plan with numbers), and a pre-qualification letter makes a landlord or a seller take you seriously.
- 03Not started0/4Open
Set up the companya day or two
A day of paperwork, and it has to come before the space: a lease, a loan application and every permit are in the company’s name.
Your state’s business name search, the trademark register, and the domain, before the name is on a sign, a van, or a lease.
A , an , and the S-corporation election each change what you keep and what you are exposed to. Compare them with the numbers, confirm with a CPA and an attorney, then file with your state.
After:The is free from the IRS in minutes once the company exists. The bank account needs both. Keep business money separate from day one.
After:Pick the accounting software and connect the bank account now, so every cost of opening is captured and the numbers you later are real.
- 04Not started0/5Open
Find and secure the spaceone to three months
A brokerage office is not a storefront that draws walk-in buyers; your "location" is the market you recruit and sell in.
What decides it for this business: high transaction volume, healthy home prices, deep pool of agents to recruit, room for mortgage / title joint ventures, not dominated by discount or mega-brokers.
One call to the planning desk with the address: is this use allowed there, and what will it take (, permits, fire sign-off)? A space that needs a change of use can add months.
Rent, free months for the , who pays for what, the and the renewals, subject to financing and permits. The lender needs this letter or a draft lease to take your application.
After: ,, renewal options, increase caps, what the landlord adds on top of rent, and what happens if you have to leave. For a location business the lease is part of the purchase price.
After:at minimum; property, workers’ compensation and the rest as the business needs. The landlord asks for a certificate at signing and the lender at closing.
- 05Not started0/2Open
Get the loanfour to eight weeks
Four to eight weeks with an SBA lender, longer if the file is incomplete. Everything else waits on this, so send a complete file.
Your plan with numbers (download it as a PDF from this page), the company’s papers, the or draft lease, the and equipment quotes, your personal financial statement, and proof of the cash you put in.
After:The lender approves against the ; you sign the lease once approved; the loan closes against the signed lease and the insurance certificate. Ask for the to match the or longer.
After:
- 06Not started0/13Open
Permits and the build-outone to three months
Real estate brokerage is a licensed, closely supervised business: the broker answers for every agent’s conduct, files and advertising.
Bind the policies you had quoted before a contractor, a vehicle or a customer is in play. Keep the certificates; the landlord, the lender and the city will ask.
After:Your contractors pull the building, plumbing, electrical and mechanical permits and close them out by inspection. Hold the free rent months for this.
After:Only a licensed broker can run a brokerage and sponsor agents.
Register the entity with the state and get any city or county business license.
With your state, before the first taxable sale. Usually free and online; check your state.
An or corporation needs its own license or registration with the commission and a designated broker of record (Texas, for example, charges about $150).
If you hold earnest money or rents, states require a separate trust account with strict records and reconciliation; mixing funds is a leading cause of discipline.
to hold a license in some states (Colorado and Wyoming among them) and expected by agents and many clients everywhere else.
Not a legal license, but MLS access is how listings are shared; the designated broker joins first, then agents.
Every ad must show the brokerage name under state rules, agents must give the state’s agency disclosure (Texas uses the Information About Brokerage Services form), and fair...
If you add mortgage, title or insurance joint ventures, federal RESPA rules require an affiliated business disclosure and ban referral kickbacks; structure them with an attorney.
Fire-marshal review of exits, extinguishers and load, after the build and before the .
After:The city’s sign-off that the space is approved for this use. You cannot open the doors without it.
After:
- 07Not started0/10Open
Set up to runduring the build
During the build, so the business runs from day one: the systems, the prices, the people and the routine.
The backbone, it calculates splits, caps, and the company dollar on every deal, and gets disbursements right.
Moves deals from contract to close, tracks deadlines and contingencies, and stores the files compliance requires.
The brokerage carries liability for every agent.
Separate operating and trust accounts keep commission income, ancillary income, and client funds clean, essential for compliance and any future sale.
See the price the the business needs implies, then check it against what the market pays.
Federal plus state withholding, unemployment and workers’ comp registrations for your office staff; agents are usually independent contractors.
After:Wages are the start: , insurance, training time and the hours you stop billing. Owners usually post the jobs a month out and hire two to four weeks before opening so training happens before the doors open.
Recruiting: Court productive agents and teams, pitch the split, the support, and... Onboarding: License hangs, systems access, training, and a first pipeline review. Deal flow: Agents write and negotiate; the transaction coordinators chase...
Opening, closing, the sale, the complaint, the cash. One page each. This is the manual a franchise would have sold you.
Free, and it is how most people will find you. Address, hours, photos and the menu or price list, live before opening day; then the sign, the soft opening and the first regulars.
- 08Not started0/5Open
Open and measurethe first ninety days
You own it. Now run it on the numbers.
Friends, neighbors and a short menu or list. Find the problems while the room is forgiving.
Enter the real numbers and see every cost line against the for this business.
The agent commission split; Recruiting and retention spend; Office, staff, and overhead.
Growth consumes cash before it produces it. Find the rate your own cash funds before you push.
Brokerages do sell, usually to larger brokerages and franchise groups adding agents and market share.