The following Q&A has been supplied by M7 Communications, which is responsible for Boomin’s PR campaign, in order to help clarify any questions agents may have in terms of the portal’s fee structure ahead of its imminent launch.
Your fee announcement refers to Founder Agent fees. What is a Founder Agent?
A Founder Agent is any estate agent who lists all their branches and stock with Boomin on launch day.
What if you are not a Founder Agent – how are fees determined?
The fixed fees are only guaranteed for Founder Agents. Anyone who joins after launch day will be subject to a different fee structure.
How do you determine whether we are classed as London?
It is determined by postcode regions. Any branch that sits within the following will be classed as “London”:NW, W, SW, SE, E, WC, EC & N.
What happens with multi branches with some inside London and some outside?
Each office will be charged the fees that apply to their location.
Will you be putting up your fees year after year?
Any increase in fees will always be based around fairness and value. We have guaranteed to Founder Agents that there will be no fee increase before the 1st January 2023 and only then if we have made them more revenue than they paid in total for their business during the prior year.
What is classed as a branch or branch equivalent in terms of stock?
We will confirm the maximum number per branch by September 2021 and we have promised to be in line with or better on average than our competitors. There is no maximum during the free period.
What about sales and lettings branches – will they have a higher stock allowance?
Yes. We have promised to be in line with or better on average than our competitors.
What happens with multi-branches when only one or two branches have high stock?
We will be fair and take an average of the agent’s total stock and divide between the branches.
Will a branch be able to give notice at the end of the free period if they decide not to continue?
Of course. All we ask is a little notice to comply with your wishes. You are free to leave at any time although we hope you never do.
How and when will I receive any revenue that is generated for me?
You will receive a revenue share from the following:
+ Priorities (removals, utilities, broadband, TV etc.)
+ Property Playground (products, services and advertising revenue from independent and major retailers, businesses etc.)
+ MatchMaker deals (Platinum only)
The revenue will be paid to you in the month following receipt by Boomin of the revenue into their bank account.
11: How is a customer defined as being MY customer to entitle me to the revenue share?
+ If you’re first to register the customer on Boomin, you will always receive some form of revenue share
+ You will receive the full revenue share from when the customer is first registered until there is an exchange of contracts or a move in
+ If you create the exchange of contracts or the move in, nothing changes and you will continue to receive the full revenue share
+ If another agent creates the exchange of contracts or move in, they get 80% of the revenue share thereafter and you get 20% (because you registered the customer).
How long does my entitlement to the revenue share last for?
You will continue to receive your entitlement to the revenue share in accordance with the terms for so long as you are a customer of Boomin.
How can I see what revenue is due to my branch and/or my business?
This will all be visible in the dashboard and reporting section of Boomin.
How quickly will I start to earn revenue?
Whilst we will be seeking to earn you revenue from launch day, we recognise that there will be a period where visitors to the site will be engaging with the new features. Therefore, revenues will build over the course of the free year with a view to getting to a healthy average before January 2022.
Does everything you generate for me count as revenue for the Performance Fee?
No. Revenue we generate you from booking valuations, instructions, introductions or from anything you advertise in your customer’s Property Hub does not count as revenue towards the Performance Fee.
Revenue we generate for you from Priorities, Property Playground and MatchMaker completions are the only things that count as revenue for the purposes of the Performance Fee. MatchMaker only applies where we have introduced the seller, the buyer and the transaction to those parties proceeds to completion.
What about revenue under £250.00 – does this all come to me without any Performance Fee being paid?
Yes. We don’t take a penny of Performance Fee until we reach a minimum revenue generated for your branch of £250.00 in any month. The maximum we earn as a Performance Fee in any month is £150.00 per branch but only if we have earned you £800 or more per branch.
What is the maximum average fee I will pay Boomin from launch until 1st January 2014 as a Founder Agent?
Taking into account the free period and payments made to 2024, an agent outside London will pay a maximum average of £266 per branch for sales and lettings and inside London £333 per branch. This does not take account of revenue earned, so every penny we earn you will reduce this average.
For sales only, it will be £200 and £267 respectively per branch and for lettings only £100 and £167 per branch.
Comments (10)
Smoke and mirrors- Bruce’s-never !
Good luck to them-you can’t question their ambition to be “considerably richer than the rest of you”
Id be on the beach in Barbados after the riches taken form PB-sometimes a few million is not enough for some people.
James Munro, the head of the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agent Team, is seeking information on the Boomin model. NTSELAT recommended agents disclose fees in a bid to improve transparency and ensure consumers felt confident in the services they receive.
The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations – made it legally binding for agents to disclose referral fee, like Boomin’s offering to agents. Government is looking at new legislation to make it mandatory if agents fail to disclose.
There are also BIG QUESTIONS over how an agent qualifies for their referral fee, as a minimum fee must be earned by the agent EACH MONTH to qualify.
I’ve copied and pasted from another of todays stories on Boomin because it is so important to get the message across. And yes this is a ‘Public Relations’ exercise which EYE should be reconsidering giving so much air time too. All smoke and mirrors.
EYE should have countered with investigating questions to the hot air this post is all about. Very one sided and not very good journalism.
The big issue here is Boomin not for agents … its agents customers …. think about it.
Agents are being sold it good for them. Soon to follow is the requirement to disclose all fees generated from your services to your customer.
Does your customer need Boomin = NO. Do they care if you are saving a couple of £’s a month on advertising = NO.
Does your customer care about having their data shared with a ‘junk mail’ order = You bet they do. Will your customers thank you = You bet they won’t. GDPR issues …. you bet.
What are the Boomin rates once the freebie has fallen to the side …. hiked up fee’s because you created a monster that they hope will then give them the power to do as they please?
Do you want to give your stock data to a founder who did their best to put you out of business!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and you can TRUST him!!!!!!!!!
You’re lucky….I made a similar comment criticising PIE this morning and it got deleted.
My thoughts exactly.
This is actually a good way of advertising your stock and possibly earning fees for nothing, either reducing your monthly cost or creating an extra revenue stream however, how does GDPR work here? I am currently looking for a new home and I don’t want a portal contacting me trying to sell me or introduce to me a stockist for this that and whatever and I also don’t want pop up adverts pertaining to my move etc from them!
So my preferred is that you do not pass on my details.
How do you please both parties?
Wow, this smacks of their desire to be bigger than RM and Zoopla combined, then sell out to the highest bidders and do another runner with their magic 1 Billion each.
Who would like to buy every agency’s database combined and how much would they be prepared to pay for it?
How many times could they sell it?
How quickly would they like to sell out?
How smart is the industry to realise what’s going on here?
This is an advert. Inappropriate.
Sorry mate – not interested – move on!!!
Agreed. These Bruce guys have insulted mainstream agents for years and with their appalling PB business model have denegrated professional standards.
Whenever my firm finds we are dealing with PB in a chain we groan in dismay. Why should this tacky set up be any more respectable?