Soma Living is an untraditional real estate company in every way. Not only is the company set up to be "interactive," or primarily Internet based, the firm serves buyers only. And the buyer's agents are all on salary.

A subsidiary of Pacific Union, a residential real estate company, Soma Living covers the "South of Market," five neighborhoods south of Market Street including Soma, South Beach, Yerba Buena, Mission Bay, and Potrero Hill. It is a unique concept that has met with so much success, not to mention local media coverage, that the company is planning on rolling out 400 franchises nationwide. Expansion will begin next July under other names in San Francisco's East Bay and South Bay, and then on to Chicago and, if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere - New York.

The firm is radically different in appearance from most brokerages. Opting for an ultra modern rather than traditional decor, the office operates more like a store. Buyers can come in browse through books and magazines and when they want service, a resource coordinator comes forward. If they prefer to be let alone, they can sit at one of several kiosks, much like those sponsored by telephone companies in airports. They can browse for homes or other information on the Internet directly from the kiosk. For those who are already signed to a buyer's agreement, they can enter a user name and go directly to their own site where an agent has posted the latest information regarding their home search.

How does it work? The company is paid by the buyer's side of the transaction, approximately 3%, but instead of splitting the money with the broker or agent, the money is used to pay the whole company. The buyer's agent pockets a bonus for closing the transaction, along with a salary and benefits. Bookkeeping, taxes, and other paperwork associated with self-employment are no longer a problem or an issue.

The company has devised other ways to save the broker and agent time to make more money. By dividing the labor of the transaction among other parties in the transaction, the buyer's agent has more time to work with customers. These people include a resource coordinator who meets with the customer, explains how Soma Living works including explaining buyer agency, determines needs, and places the customer with the buyer's agent.

The buyer's agent then takes over to work directly with the customer to find a home. The agent tries to get the buyer to sign an representation agreement for the length of time the customer needs. This agreement can be canceled at any time up to the signing of a contract, and protects the buyer's agent in case the buyer wishes to purchase one of the homes shown during the terms of the agreement.

Next in the team lineup is the transaction manager who handles all the paperwork generated by the purchase. The managing broker, Bob Dadurka, attends all closings.

If you think this is a Generation X concept with appeal only to the computer geek homebuyer, think again. Resource coordinator Kathy Claudio insists that customers are all ages, and have all degrees of computer literacy.

"Most of our buyer's agents have ten years or more in the business and can easily work from a more traditional standpoint," she says. "We have books, decorating magazines and other resources that aren't on the Internet."

Agents report being very happy with the salaried arrangement. With full benefits, less paperwork and production based bonus incentives, they have more time to work with customers without being derailed by details. All of the employees, including Dadurka, hail from traditional real estate backgrounds.

The arrangement is a win-win for everybody, according to Dadurka." Technology is the key to streamlining the process for both the buyer and the agent," he says. "Buyers feel in control of the whole process, while agents spend less time worried about recruiting customers and keeping track of paperwork."

Soma Living has been in business about nine months.

Published: October 13, 1998

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