A new site has opened on the Web that its creators hope will be a communications bridge between brokers and builders, not only to giving builders an opportunity to advertise homes to the brokerage community, but also protecting agents when their clients wander alone through new developments.

The idea belongs to Barry Lynn and the site is BrokersWelcome.com.

It is completely up and running in Florida and Texas, and parts of it are up in nine other states. By the end of the year (assuming sufficient investor funding), it should be well on its way to having a national presence.

To take advantage of the site, brokers and agents add their e-mail address to a master mailing list that home builders use to send out their announcements, said Barry Lynn, president of the company.

Brokers and agents "will then begin receiving e-mail communications from home builders in their area about incentives, bonuses, higher commission offers, contests, parties, and information about immediate occupancy homes," he said.

Perhaps more importantly, agents who register their clients and customers on the site can be assured that participating builders will honor their commissions.

While shrugging off the notion of friction between brokers and builders, Lynn did concede there often is a lack of communication between the two when it comes to earning commissions.

It is not unusual for consumers, who otherwise are working with real estate agents, to go alone to new home developments. Often those consumers will go ahead and buy homes without the assistance of their agents - giving the agent no opportunity to collect a commission.

Under the BrokersWelcome registration system, however, builders promise to pay commissions to agents who clients buy even when their agents aren't present.

There is a catch. The agent can only "own" a buyer for 30 days, after which no guarantees are made.

"I think the brokers would prefer a 90 day guarantee," Lynn said. "But the builders would only go for 30 days."

An advantage, however, is that separate real estate agents will not be able to register the same client. The system notifies agents of the problem within 24 hours so the client and agents can work out the difficulty.

Another advantage to agents is that they will have a better chance of knowing where finished homes are available. "A big problem (with the current system) is that the agent has to wait until the home is built for the deal to close. That means his commissions is delayed for months," Lynn said. "This way he knows where the homes are."

There is no cost to brokers or agents for registering on the site. Builders pay a fee to be involved.

Published: June 1, 2000

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