Get Your Invoices Paid Faster With Commission Factoring For Real Estate

Last Updated on February 21, 2023

Whether you are an individual realtor or a real estate agency, your cash flow is bound to be unpredictable because there may be gaps between property closings. Unfortunately, business expenses have no such gaps, meaning your income may be strained and lead you into a cycle of negative cash flow and mounting debt.

To keep growing your real estate agency and stay competitive in the market, you need cash to pay business expenses, meet payroll obligations, and repay debt, which is where realtor invoice factoring comes in.

In this article, we discuss how real estate factoring works, its benefits, and how it compares to other financing alternatives. Read on to learn how altLINE’s factoring services can help your business!

What Is Real Estate Factoring?

Realtor factoring is when your real estate agency sells commission invoices to a third-party company like altLINE to get cash advances. Realtors often get commissions through invoices, meaning there may be delays in receiving payment that usually results in negative cash flow. Realtor factoring is often used to unlock working capital when necessary, eliminating your reliance on customer payment timelines.

Benefits Of Invoice Factoring For Real Estate Commissions

Real estate factoring is a great way to unlock funds and increase working capital when your commissions are delayed. Check out how real estate broker commission factoring can help you access cash when needed:

Get Your Accounts Receivable Invoices Paid In Days, Not Months

The best real estate factoring companies provide cash advances within 1 or 2 days. This means you can receive up to 90% of your commission almost immediately instead of in30, 60, or even 90 days.

Access Capital To Grow Your Business While Maintaining Equity

Many realtors sacrifice equity to fuel their agency’s growth, but commission factoring can set them up for long-term success. Real estate factoring provides cash advances, so you do not have to sell equity or assets to pursue growth initiatives.

Get Cash When You Need It Most

Late commission payments hurt your business because they create an inconsistent cash flow, leaving you without enough money when you need it. Real estate factoring accelerates payments to ensure consistent cash flow and protect your financial health.

How Does Real Estate Factoring Work?

Realtor factoring through altLINE works by turning unpaid commission invoices into cash advances, giving you the money you need to fund and grow your business. Invoice factoring real estate transactions through altLINE also softens the blow of late commission payments – instead of waiting on commission invoices to be paid, you can use our services to get cash whenever you need it.

Here is how to apply for real estate invoice factoring with altLINE:

Submit Your Unpaid Invoices

Our real estate factoring company accepts all kinds of commission invoices. We prefer to factor invoices for creditworthy customers and medium to large companies. Additionally, we do not accept invoices for delinquent customers or those with limited credit history.

altLINE Advances Up To 80-90% Of The Invoice Face Value

You can generally expect a factoring advance rate of up to 90% of the invoice’s face value and receive the cash advance between 24 and 48 hours after submitting your factoring application. Your exact deposit timing may vary depending on when you close the real estate deal.

altLINE Helps Collect Payment For Your Outstanding Invoices

Our team assists in payment collections by providing a secure lockbox for your customers’ money and reporting the progress through an online customer portal. If issues arise, we can resolve them to ensure you maintain good relationships with customers.

altLINE Pays Out The Remaining Unpaid Invoice

After payment collection, our real estate commission factoring company will deduct its fee (typically 1-5% of your invoice value) and transfer the remaining invoice balance to you.

Uses For Your Factoring Cash Advance

Receiving cash advances from real estate factoring means you do not have to wait on customer payments to grow your business. Instead, you can avoid long payment cycles and gain growth capital sooner to accelerate business development.

Here are some ways you can use invoice factoring cash advances:

Make Payroll

Real estate agents are the lifeblood of your realtor business, and punctual payroll is essential to keep them happy. Unfortunately, late commission payments can cause you to miss payroll obligations. Invoice factoring cash advances gives you the money you need to pay them on time, improving employee productivity, morale, and satisfaction.

Take On New Jobs

Real estate companies need a variety of software and equipment to operate well. Some realtors even have forklifts and trucks on standby, so they do not have to rely on third-party moving companies.

You should not be forced to wait for commission payments to clear to purchase any of these tools and software. Fortunately, invoice factoring cash advances helps you buy the equipment you need to run your company without sacrificing business assets or equity.

Pay Operating Expenses

Real estate agents must pay for advertising, transportation, licensing, and other costs. Real estate factoring gives you the cash to pay these obligations without waiting for customer payments or selling equity.

Real Estate Businesses We Fund And Finance

altLINE offers invoice factoring for real estate businesses of all types. Here are some example businesses that may benefit from our services:

• Real estate agencies
• Real estate photographers
• Real estate marketers
• Real estate appraisers
• Property flippers
• Commercial property managers

Real Estate Commission Factoring vs Other Funding Options

In addition to real estate commission factoring, there are a few other options to fund your business. Are any of them better than real estate commission factoring? Here are three alternatives to invoice factoring for real estate investing:

Real Estate Commission Factoring vs Bank Line Of Credit

Many realtors choose a bank line of credit to fund their business. While they may qualify for one, a bank line of credit may not provide enough funds to grow their business.

Banks typically approve your line of credit and set the lending limit by looking at your fixed asset portfolio. However, most real estate businesses do not have a lot of fixed assets. If you do not have many assets to collateralize, the bank may give you a lower lending limit and make qualifying harder.

Real estate commission factoring is usually better if you do not have many fixed assets because financing companies look at customer invoices to provide funding. If you work with an established customer base, factoring companies will give you enough working capital when banks cannot.

Real Estate Commission Factoring vs ACH/MCA Loans

ACH (automated clearing house) and MCA (merchant cash advance) loans only require bank statements to qualify and provide funding within one or two business days.

Despite their speed and ease of qualification, ACH and MCA loans have high interest and lender fees that can reach 60% of your original loan. If you mismanage these loans, the mounting debt can put your company in lots of financial trouble.

Real estate commission factoring is usually safer for your finances because customers will eventually pay your commissions, repaying your cash advance. Because it is not your job to come up with payments, you can focus on developing your company instead of stressing over debt repayment.

Real Estate Commission Factoring vs Quick Pay Discounts

You can improve cash flow by successfully offering discounted rates to customers who pay their commissions early. However, this method heavily depends on your customers’ priorities.

Some people prioritize having more cash on hand over cost savings, so they may ignore your offer and pay their commission as scheduled, leaving you low on cash and unable to grow your business.

Real estate commission factoring is usually more reliable because you are guaranteed to receive a cash advance as long as your invoices are approved.

Typical Real Estate Factoring Rates And Fees

Commission factoring fees depend on how much you plan to factor and how long customers take to pay. Factoring more amounts and getting customers to pay their commissions faster will give you lower rates. We also examine criteria like your company’s age, customer base diversity, and overall customer credit quality.

We break factoring fees down into two elements:

• Initial fee: This fee covers our processing expenses for an initial set period of time (typically the first 30 days) and costs 0.90-3.50% of your invoice’s face value.
• Incremental fees: These fees cover cash advance expenses after the initial fee period and cost 0.25-1.50% of your invoice’s face value per charge.

Requirements To Apply For Realtor Commission Factoring

What documents do you need to be eligible for invoice factoring? Here is what you have to prepare before signing a factoring agreement:

List Of Existing And Potential Customers

We require a list of all existing and potential real estate customers to review their credit quality and determine factoring eligibility.

Factoring Application

altLINE requires a completed form as part of the factoring process. Enclose these documents alongside your application:

• Business ownership identification
• Personal identification
• Employer Identification Number
• Customer contracts
• Articles of incorporation and other relevant corporate documents

Accounts Receivable Aging Report

Accounts receivable aging reports categorize your invoices based on due dates. We need this report to examine their payment habits and determine whether or not they are eligible for factoring.

We will consider commission invoices that are up to 90 days outstanding, but invoices where customers state an inability to pay may be ineligible for factoring.

Frequently Asked Questions About Our Factoring Services

Here are some common questions about real estate factoring answered.

Do you need to run a credit check before getting started?

altLINE runs a credit and background check on all real estate company owners. However, there are no minimum credit thresholds for approval. Background checks are reviewed for financial-related crimes or felonies. In the event a borrower has a spotty background, approval with altLINE may be in question, but in the event the borrower is disqualified, altLINE will often connect the borrower to a realtor commission factor that is willing to help.

Do you require UCC filings when factoring realtor commission invoices?

Upon executing a term sheet, altLINE will file a UCC on the client’s business. This UCC filing allows altLINE to properly secure the collateral (i.e. the invoices) it plans to advance against when the factoring facility is in place. UCC filings are an integral part of any form of lending.

Is realtor commission factoring a debt or loan?

Realtor commission factoring is neither debt nor a loan. Invoice factoring is the sale of your invoices to a third party. The money advanced against these invoices will be repaid by your customers.

However, altLINE is a recourse factor, so you may need to pay the cash advance back if your customer fails to pay their invoice.

Do you offer non-recourse realtor commission factoring?

altLINE only offers recourse realtor commission factoring. While you must repay the cash advance if your customer fails to pay, recourse factoring structures often allow for factors to extend lower rates and larger credit limits on your customers.