Equity Real Estate Equity-Colorado Real EstateErik Cooley - CEO, Todd Schuster - Designated Broker, Al Palmonari - Branch Broker, Windy Bailey - Broker Associate MANAGING BROKERS BEWARE OF EQUITY REAL ESTATE. Their website is equity-USA.com - it's slick (and it is misleading). Nationwide

Equity Real Estate is foundationally concerned with the success of all of our agents and brokers. Our model is specifically structured and historically proven to generate success if followed. Within this model, managing brokers are contracted to recruit real estate agents to Equity. Our contracts specifically state that the agents are contracted with Equity, so claims made to the contrary are blatantly false. 

Claims made that Equity Real Estate operates as a franchise are also false. We explicitly outline broker responsibilities under contract law, do not make demands of brokers that would be indicative of employment or franchise status, and clearly outline all relationships. The claims made in the report are due to the individual's repeated refusal to understand the nature of the relationship despite regular discussions, or even a deliberate attempt to misrepresent her understanding. Further misunderstandings are obviously inaccurate claims about simple elements such as when the company was founded (2002 not 2003). 

The individual asks interested parties to consider why a branch manager position has never been sold, but this claim is also incorrect. A couple of branch positions have been sold in the past, but for the most part, our managing brokers do not wish to sell as our model is such that they make more than the average managing broker salary in the country and at a certain point they can hire someone into their position and retire with a residual income. There's no reason to sell in most cases. 

The claim that we transfer agents to other brokers in violation of our agreement is absolutely false. In fact, the individual making the claim was in complete violation of the agreement, never attempted to sell their managing broker position, but instead attempted to work with subterfuge to steal the branch from the company. Due to these actions, Equity did take action to protect the agents' and the company's interests. Furthermore, according to Colorado law where this took place, the individual making the claim was contracted to manage agents directly for the principal broker of Equity Colorado Real Estate. Something she again refused to recognize. 

The individual's claim that branch brokers who leave the company are left with nothing is based completely on the immoral and illegal way in which she attempted to exit the contractual relationship. Had she decided to be moral and have integrity in her effort to end the relationship, she would have been able to sell her branch management position. 

Branch brokers are required to invest their own time and money, the same as with any business opportunity. The individual attempts to make this sound like a negative when, in fact, anyone with any business sense or experience understands the investments necessary to grow a business. Further claims that the branch broker isn't building something of value is based on her direct effort to misrepresent the company and the results of her own immoral actions. 

Equity Real Estate's model is a volume based model. Branch brokers make the same, if not more, from the transactions as the company, which is equitable because the company splits management responsibilities with the broker. We have around sixty branch brokers across the nation and the highest average managing broker income nationally. 

Our model is not an MLM model and the individual again demonstrates either her deliberate misrepresentation or misunderstanding of the way we do business. Her experience with the company turned south when she began to behave in an unethical manner in direct breach of her contract. Until that point, despite her constant refusal to follow the plan, she was on the path to success at a rapid pace that was publically recognized by her principal broker and the company. Because of her continual disregard for historically proven plans to success within Equity's model, she eventually derailed herself. 

Do follow her advice if you're considering joining Equity. Ask our managing brokers what their experience is, ask our agents, and see for yourself that we are an ethical company founded on the principles of honesty and integrity.