Why Put Your License Under a Georgia Real Estate Referral Company?
If you've stopped selling but still hear from people who are buying or selling, a Georgia real estate referral company lets you keep your license active and get paid for sending them to a working agent. You skip the listings, the showings, and the dues that come with a full-service firm.
Whether a Georgia real estate referral company makes sense for you comes down to how much you sell, what staying at a traditional firm costs you, and how easily you can go back if you want to sell again. Here's how to weigh it.
How a Georgia Real Estate Referral Company Works
A Georgia real estate referral company is a licensed brokerage that holds your license on active status so you can be paid for referrals. You don't list, show, or negotiate. You send clients to agents who do, and you earn a share of the commission when the deal closes.
Active status is what makes the income possible. Georgia license law counts referral services done for a fee as brokerage activity, and an inactive licensee can't practice brokerage. When your client closes, the receiving agent's brokerage pays your brokerage, and your brokerage pays you.
GREC's licensee records show more than 19,000 Georgia licenses sitting inactive. If yours is one of them, our guide to a Georgia real estate referral company for inactive agents covers that situation.
Who a Referral Company Fits
A referral company fits Georgia licensees who still have a network but aren't selling enough to justify Realtor and MLS fees. Part-time agents, semi-retired agents, and agents with another career are the most common fits.
Part-time agents whose day job leaves no room for showings
Semi-retired agents who want to keep earning from the people they've helped before
Agents who moved away from their market but still get calls from friends back home
Newer agents who got licensed and found that full-time sales isn't for them
A simple test: if you sell $500,000 or more a year, Realtor and MLS membership usually
pays for itself. Below that, the dues tend to cost more than they bring in.
Referral Company vs. a Traditional Firm
A traditional firm lets you list and sell, but Realtor, MLS, and electronic key fees run $1,500 or more a year. A referral company drops those costs, and you give up selling in exchange.
Traditional firm. You can list, show, and sell, with full MLS access, but you carry the dues plus whatever your firm charges.
Referral company. You refer only, pay no Realtor or MLS dues, and earn a share of the commission on every referral that closes.
Going inactive. You pay no dues, but you can't earn anything from a referral.
Either way, you stay on the same renewal schedule. Georgia licenses renew every four years, and you need 36 hours of CE, including the 3-hour license law course, to renew on active status. Renew without finishing your CE and the license renews inactive.
What You Give Up, and How to Go Back to Selling
With a referral company, you can't list, show, or sell, and you won't have MLS access. In Georgia, one broker holds your license at a time, so going back to selling means transferring your license to a full-service firm.
The transfer happens in two steps: your current broker releases your license, and then your new broker affiliates it. When both brokers handle it online, it can be done the same day. Paper forms can stretch the move to days or weeks, and the guide on how to switch Georgia real estate companies walks through the timing.
What to Look For in a Referral Company
Look for a company that runs referrals as its main business, works with agents who actually close, and gets agreements signed and fees paid on time. Any broker can open a referral company. Running one well takes far more.
Plenty of brokers start a non-Realtor referral company on the side and treat it as an afterthought next to their sales office. What protects you as the referring agent takes real work:
Relationships with agents and companies that have a proven sales record
Referral agreements executed within one business day, before your client is handed off
Fees paid on time after closing
A quick release when you're ready to sell again
A broker you can actually reach when a deal stalls
Why Georgia Agents Choose Park Place
Park Place Realty Network has done 100% referrals since 2010, with over a thousand active agents and thousands of transactions referred out. We refer residential and commercial real estate anywhere in the U.S. or worldwide. Salespersons and brokers can both activate with us, and a broker joins as an associate broker.
You earn 22.5% of the total gross commission on every closed referral, with no Realtor or MLS fees, just a $125 annual admin fee. You also get 40% off CE through The CE Shop and broker support Monday through Friday.
If you leave to sell, we release your license online the same business day, and you can come back at no charge within your annual period. Activate your Georgia license with Park Place.
