The Creation and Opening of Rumi Realty Point: A Franchisee’s Story

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This is the story of three successful businessmen, friends for many years and how they have made their dream of owning their own real estate brokerage a reality.

Sami Furmli, Aziz Amiri and Akbar Toufan, all now in their 50s, have had successful careers due to their ambition and drive. While their work background varied from each other (Sami has been a Real Estate Broker, Aziz managed a manufacturing company, Akbar has a background in construction and project management), their friendship since their school years and several successful business partnerships together has brought to them the realization that their next venture should be owning a real estate brokerage.

Sami has now been a real estate broker for over 10 years, Aziz became a licensed broker in 2012 and Akbar has a background in construction and project management and with this experience they came to the conclusion that owning a real estate brokerage is the next step to take to advance their business success. They decided together that being an owner is much better than working in someone else’s brokerage and ownership will establish each of them as the successful real estate businessmen that their years of experience has been driving them towards.

They looked at several traditional franchise models over the past few years but realized the efforts of setting aside the time to open and manage a brokerage on a daily basis would involve high costs, more office and administrative work, and less selling then they were prepared to invest. As well, the typical name of a real estate brokerage franchise puts the parent company name first so you are always tied to that brand and do not easily establish yourself as an independent brokerage under your own identity.

When asked why they have not opened their own brokerage, Sami answered “I know managing a real estate brokerage has tons of details and paperwork.” Aziz added “We are very visionary and hardworking people but we are not paperwork-oriented…” Akbar in a much softer tone said “As you know, in every business there are tons of details and especially in a real estate brokerage. So we did not wanted to be caught up in the administrative details when we should be helping clients.”

Their careful research and experience showed them that the administration of managing a real estate brokerage, with regulatory requirements, transaction coordination and staff management, would occupy the majority of their time allowing them less time to do what has made them successful so far: generating leads and selling houses.

While they considered their dream of opening an independent brokerage over several years, they found it hard to step out of their comfort zone, as many top producers do, and decide to tackle the day-to-day task of brokerage administration. The benefits of incorporating their success in a brokerage, with its significant tax savings, personal liability protection and the prestige of establishing their own business legacy was tempered by the fear of being overwhelmed with the work that did not generate leads or allow them to maintain their current sales volumes. Working for someone else’s brokerage and letting them have the worry about the monthly bills, staff issues and compliance requirements just made life easier although less rewarding.

It was at this point they were introduced to Realty Point, a new brokerage franchise model that is a pioneer in the area of providing the administrative support that can make or break a real estate brokerage. By adapting to the latest technology to serve its franchisees effectively and efficiently and providing the experienced staff to manage the complete transaction closing coordination and monthly account reconciliation, Realty Point had the answers they needed to move forward. Every detail of operating a brokerage is handled by the trained staff at Realty Point and all a Broker of Record has to do is “sign”. Realty Point provided the answer to Sami, Aziz and Akbar’s main objection to opening their own brokerage office.

Sami notes this important service when he says “We could have never opened our own brokerage as much as we wanted it, if we were not introduced to Realty Point. We were looking for a hands-off brokerage and we found one. Now we can go and make sales while Realty Point, our Franchisor, will take care of the back-end.”

To open a real estate brokerage there are many upfront cost such as first month and last month rent, printing equipment, computers, furniture, office renovation, reception desks, etc. These items would cost in the thousands of dollars. Furthermore, most successful real estate individuals do not have the time to look for office space and shop around for a long list of items needed to open a real estate brokerage. Realty Point offers fully furnished executive offices with common areas such as Printing, Computer Room, Board Rooms, Seminar Rooms, etc. Basically, it is a “Turn Key Brokerage”. Akbar smiles and says “First when I heard of Realty Point, I did not believe that such a real estate franchise exists. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that there is a Real Estate Franchise that not only takes care of all administrative hassles of a brokerage but offers a fully serviced and ready to move-in facility. It is unbelievable…”

Realty Point benefits do not stop there as included are many other features that most, if not all, franchises have not yet adapted such as Online Storage, Digital Signatures, Direct Deposit, Distance Check Printing with Security and many more. Now it is possible to access every detail of a transaction from anywhere and at any time. Further, you can simply sign a document and send to the cloud to be attached to your transaction. Moreover, you are able to receive your commission directly in your account and print your checks by a click of a button from anywhere.

Realty Point also includes in its franchise model the required permanent office and filing system required by RECO and the private offices, phone and fax lines that are required by real estate brokerages.

What really excites all three friends is that they always wanted their own personal brand with their own name. Few years ago, they thought of naming their brokerage: “Rumi Realty Inc.” In their initial meetings with Realty Point they were concerned of losing their chosen name at the beginning of the brokerage name, as they are targeting a particular community and that name is crucial for them. To their pleasant surprise they found that in the Realty Point Franchise model, the Franchisee name comes first, contrary to typical real estate franchises. Aziz excitingly said “I am so happy that we got the name we wanted, we just changed the word “Inc.” to “Point” and the rest stays the same.” Their new brokerage called “Rumi Realty Point”. Sami smiles and says: “The word “Point” sounds much better than “Inc” anyways.”

Realty Point’s business model is second to none and it’s growing at a fast pace. Successful Real Estate Brokers are attracted to Realty Point for its administrative experience and the “Turn Key” simplicity of owning and managing a real estate brokerage that would otherwise be hesitant to step into the ownership role. It is a WIN-WIN situation for everyone involved.

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Realty Point. You Sell Real Estate. We Take Care of The Rest.

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