Compare Rocket Homes and Enkasa Homes
For Sellers
For Buyers
For Buyers
Answer: Rocket Homes is a referral fee network that enables broker-to-broker collusion with use of blanket referral agreements while Enkasa Homes is a buyer's real estate agent that offers savings to homebuyers
Buying and Selling with Rocket Homes
WARNING: Unlawful Kickbacks, Broker-to-Broker Collusion, False Marketing, Wire Fraud, Price Fixing.
Rocket Homes) is a broker-to-broker collusion scheme, where "partner agents" unlawfully agree to pay massive kickbacks to receive your information and engage in market allocation, consumer allocation, false advertising, unlawful kickbacks, wire fraud, and price-fixing practices in violation of, inter alia, 18 U.S.C. § 1346, 18 U.S.C. § 1343, 15 U.S.C. § 1, 15 U.S.C. § 45, 12 U.S.C. § 2607, 12 C.F.R. § 1024.14. As a consumer, you will always significantly overpay for Realtor commissions subject to hidden kickbacks and pay-to-play steering promoted in this scheme.
United States federal antitrust laws prohibit consumer allocation and blanket referral agreements between real estate companies.
Be smart; do not allow your information to be "sold as a lead" to a double-dealing Realtor in exchange for massive commission kickbacks paid from your future home sale, or your future home purchase.
Rocket Homes is a referral fee network designed to collect fees by matching consumers with local real estate agents willing to participate.
Rocket Homes operates as a licensed Michigan real estate brokerage Rocket Homes Real Estate LLC License 6505-346028, but it does not produce any services that are typically offered by real estate agents and does not represent consumers when buying or selling real estate in any State.
When consumers submit information to Rocket Homes, this information is simply sold to real estate agents who are willing to pay for it with 25%-40% share of their commission.
Rocket Homes Pricing
Rocket Homes revenue comes from referral fees and sale of user data.
Listing Services
- This Service Does Not Represent Sellers
Buyer's Agent Services
- This Service Does Not Represent Buyers
Rocket Homes Editor's Review:
Rocket Homes is a Michigan real estate broker that collects an undisclosed referral fee (estimated at 25%-40% of agent’s commission) from all real estate agents that participate. This fee makes it hardly a free service for anyone since referral fees are inevitably passed down to consumers.
More importantly, Rocket Homes is a real estate agent that “does not engage in actual real estate broker services.” Rocket Homes systematically applies pay-to-play bias towards all matching results, meaning, only real estate agents that have agreed to pay a referral fee are matched with consumers.
Rocket Homes audits all transactions because it needs to find out how much money real estate agents receive in commissions, inevitably collecting private details of consumer’s agreement for home purchase or sale.
Rocket Homes further claims to match consumers with “top-rated professionals,” but there is absolutely no third-party evidence for this. Rocket Homes Terms of Service directly states that “it does not guarantee or warrant the products or services of other product or service providers to whom it may refer you, including, but not limited to, real estate brokers/agents, lenders and escrow/settlement companies.”
The main qualification for real estate agents who participate with Rocket Homes is their willingness to pay a referral fee. Rocket Homes is an affiliated brokerage of Quicken Loans. Quicken Loans is unable to collect referral fees from real estate agents directly due to rigid RESPA regulations. Instead, Quicken Loans is using Rocket Homes’s license as a loophole to bypass RESPA provisions that were designed to protect consumers from illegal kickbacks between real estate agents and mortgage companies.
Rocket Homes suffers from an incredibly poor Privacy Policy. Company states: “we will share your personal information (such as your name, address, telephone number and e-mail) to allow third parties to contact you (even if you are previously listed on any state, federal or corporate do-not-call list) regarding their products or services that include mortgage, moving companies, telephone service providers, internet service providers, cable and satellite television service providers, and real estate agents.”
Rocket Homes plays hidden referral fees down to consumers, but it rigidly locks every participating real estate agent to the back-end of every contract. As a licensed real estate agent that doesn’t perform any real estate services or takes any responsibility for the transaction, it is not entirely clear how Rocket Homes works under the Business and Professions Code and RESPA.
Clearly, real estate agents only sign-up with Rocket Homes because the price of the referral fee can be easily incorporated into their client’s agreement with excessive commissions.
Rocket Homes receives the lowest score because it simply sells user information to third parties without any clear benefit to anyone other than itself. There are exactly zero benefits to consumers when using this referral fee network - the only effects consumers gain with Rocket Homes are hidden fees, privacy concerns and blind matches with agents willing to part with 25%-40% of their commission. This model incorporates in itself everything real estate process shouldn’t be. Rocket Homes must be well aware of these issues but continues to operate on pay-to-play methodology in order to collect fees that needlessly make home buying and selling more expensive.
Where does Rocket Homes operate?
Buying with Enkasa
Enkasa is a tech-enabled real estate broker and a residential remodeling construction management company. Enkasa’s services are paid through a Buyer Agent Commission (BAC) concession, typically offered by the seller’s agent to the buyer’s agent when a property is advertised on the MLS.
If a home buyer is already working with another agent, Enkasa’s Construction Managers can conduct a property consultation, review disclosures, and assess feasibility of your ideas for repairs or improvements.
Enkasa Pricing
Enkasa brokerage revenue comes from Buyer Agent Commissions (BAC) amounts offered by the sellers' agents. Enkasa’s Contractor Consultation costs between $299 and $1,299. For comparison, a Buyer Agent Commission (BAC) offered at 3% for a $4 million home (not uncommon in California) is about $120,000 without a negotiated buyer rebate. Enkasa rebates consultation service fees to any client who uses Enkasa to represent them as their agent in purchasing a home.
Listing Services
- MLS Listing
- Zillow, Trulia, etc. Listing
- Accept and Deliver All Offers and Counteroffers
- Hold Open Houses
- Professional Photography
- Professional Floor Plans
- Yard Signage Installation
- Spare Key Lock-box Installation
- Schedule Inspection Services
- Schedule Private Showings
- Closing Duties
Buyer's Agent Services
- Find the Property
- Accept and Deliver All Offers and Counteroffers
- Recommend Other Professionals
- Attend Inspection Services
- Schedule Private Showings
- Negotiate Needed Repairs
- Closing Duties
Enkasa Homes Editor's Review:
Enkasa is a California brokerage that operates under a DRE license #02155340. Enkasa claims that: "Buyers don’t pay Enkasa anything. We charge sellers industry-standard brokerage commissions." First of all, buyer agents never work for free. Second of all, there are no industry-standard brokerage commissions in real estate. All commissions are eventually paid by the buyer when s/he writes a check (or takes out the new mortgage) on a newly-purchased property. Sellers lose equity due to costs of listing commissions, but buyers pay all closing costs including the costs of buy-side commissions built into the final accepted offer on a home.
Buyers in reality pay for Enkasa’s services through a Buyer Agent Commission (BAC) concession, typically offered by the seller’s agent to the buyer’s agent when a property is advertised on the MLS. In California, where Enkasa is licensed, a buyer can negotiate a rebate from this "blanket" BAC amount to reduce the cost of commissions financially. This rebate is a tax-free, fully negotiable amount is that converts an "industry-standard" BAC commission into a competitive rate.
Enkasa further claims that "because we help you buy sooner, we’re more efficient than other brokers, so we don’t charge you any extra fees for helping you plan your home improvements." Sooner than what? This is an empty statement with an unfounded claim that choosing Enkasa somehow will allow a buyer to purchase a home faster. The costs associated with "helping buyers plan for home improvements" are simply bundled by Enkasa into the Buyer Agent Commission revenue it will receive at the closing.
In the real world, the home buyer can openly negotiate tens of thousands in tax-free rebates with highly competitive agents and often use that money to not just "help plan home improvements," but to renovate a home.
According to their website, Enkasa’s Contractor Consultation costs between $299 and $1,299. For comparison, a Buyer Agent Commission (BAC) offered at 3% for a $4 million home (not uncommon in California) is about $120,000. If a buyer is able to negotiate a buyer refund at 50% of BAC from a competitive and a highly-qualified agent, that refund amount adds up to $60,000 in tax-free cash due to the buyer from their agent after the closing of the transaction.
The United States Department of Justice has made it clear in the 2020 settlement agreement with the NAR that buyer agents do not work for free and to advertise services as such is a deceptive practice. Provided that Enkasa’s services can be unbundled, the best way I can describe the financial incentive offered by Enkasa is a credit of $1,299 for the "consultation service fee waived for any client who uses Enkasa to represent them as their agent in purchasing a home." In another word, if you are a home buyer looking for a $4 home in California with Enkasa as your buyer agent, their brokerage may receive about $120,000 in Buyer Agent Commission as a fee before they credit you $1,299 as a cash incentive, an equivalent of a 1% cash rebate where the 99% of the BAC is kept by the brokerage.
Consumers should further carefully read Enkasa Terms of Service, where, for example:
…You will only be permitted to pursue claims and seek relief against Enkasa on an individual basis, not as a plaintiff or class member in any class or representative action or proceeding; and …
…You are waiving your right to pursue disputes or claims and seek relief in a court of law and to have a jury trial on your claims…
… Enkasa provides services, including the transaction assistance, on an "as is" and "as available" basis. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Enkasa does not provide any express or implied warranties, conditions, or representations regarding the services, including transaction assistance, or any information provided in connection with the services and Enkasa, its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, employees, contractors, agents, partners, suppliers, and licensors (collectively, the "Enkasa parties") disclaim any and all warranties, representations, and conditions of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory, including all warranties or conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, quiet enjoyment, accuracy, or non-infringement. Enkasa makes no guarantee that the services will function without interruption or errors…
…You acknowledge and agree that the Enkasa parties are not liable, and you will not seek to hold the Enkasa parties liable, for the conduct of third parties, including operators of external sites, and that the risk of injury from such third parties rests entirely with you. Enkasa makes no warranty that the goods or services provided by third parties will meet your requirements or be available on an uninterrupted, secure, or error-free basis. Enkasa makes no warranty regarding the quality of any such goods or services, or the accuracy, timeliness, truthfulness, completeness or reliability thereof…
In conclusion, the advertised premise where "Enkasa charges industry-standard agent commissions, so buyers and sellers don’t pay anything more than they would with other agents" is plain false. There are highly competitive agents who will compete for buyers’ with buyer agents rebates; there are no industry-standard agent commissions in California. In some states, such as Oregon, buyers cannot receive rebates due to anticompetitive state-specific rebate bans, but Enkasa is not a licensed broker in any of these ten states.
Because of such blatantly false advertising methods for services offered by Enkasa brokerage, this editor cannot possibly recommend them to any home buyer. The truth has a habit of revealing itself, and the deceptive advertising notions employed by Enkasa, as described in this review, should be enough to raise a common sense alarm for a savvy consumer.
The real estate industry likes to operate on false notions that "buyer agents work for free" and that "commissions are standard" because real estate brokers do not like to compete with each other on pricing. Yet the commission buyer rebate is the single largest line item for savings when buying a home. When shopping for a buyer agent, or a contractor, there are no gimmicks and there are no substitutes for open negotiations and multiple bids with clearly defined pricing schedules. There are no standard rates in the housing industry: everything is negotiable.
As always, we encourage consumers to post unbiased feedback about this business with any sentiment. If hiring this brokerage worked for you, or if it didn’t, other California consumers need to know.