Compare Xome and LemonBrew
For Sellers
For Sellers
For Buyers
For Buyers
Answer: Both Xome and LemonBrew function as a referral fee network that enables broker-to-broker collusion with use of blanket referral agreements.
Buying and Selling with Xome
WARNING: Unlawful Kickbacks, Broker-to-Broker Collusion, False Marketing, Wire Fraud, Price Fixing.
Xome) 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.
Xome is a referral fee network designed to collect fees by matching consumers with local real estate agents willing to participate.
Xome operates as a licensed real estate brokerage in California under BRE License #001932600, 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 Xome, this information is simply sold to real estate agents who are willing to pay for it with 25%-40% share of their commission.
Xome Pricing
Xome 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
Xome Editor's Review:
Xome is a licensed real estate broker that collects a 25%-40% referral fee from all real estate agents that participate. Agents are accepted into the referral program at no upfront cost, instead, all fees are back-loaded into the agent’s commission and result in a much higher cost to consumers.
All agents in Xome Agent Network must pay Xome a referral fee for each closed deal and report on the progress with private transaction details using Xome portal. Xome itself does not create an agency relationship with consumers and has no financial obligation for the actions of Referred Agents.
Consumers work with these agents through separate written agreements. The terms of any agreement between consumers and real estate agent in the network are not endorsed or recommended by Xome.
All real estate agents using Xome pay a referral fee depending on the final cost of a house. On a $250,000 house, the agent could pay around $2,800 in fees to Xome. This amount could be easily offered as a refund or commission savings to consumers, but instead, it becomes a deterrent for real estate agents to offer competitive terms.
Xome Agent Network plays fees down to consumers, but it rigidly locks every participating real estate agent into a referral fee attached 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 this process works under the Business and Professions Code and RESPA.
Clearly, real estate agents only sign-up with Xome because the price of the referral fee can be easily incorporated into their client’s agreement with excessive commissions.
Xome receives the second lowest score because this service is clearly biased and it claims to provide the complete opposite of what it actually does. Xome must be well aware of this issue but continues to operate on pay-to-play methodology in order to collect fees that needlessly make home buying and selling more expensive. In the end,
Xome is a referral fee network that operates a limited pool of real estate agents willing to pay 25%-40% of their commission for each lead.
Where does Xome operate?
Buying and Selling with LemonBrew
WARNING: Unlawful Kickbacks, Broker-to-Broker Collusion, False Marketing, Wire Fraud, Price Fixing.
LemonBrew) 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.
LemonBrew is a referral fee network designed to collect fees by matching consumers with local real estate agents willing to pay it. LemonBrew Realty NJ LLC operates as a New Jersey real estate broker under a license number 1863793, 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. In exchange for matching you with a LemonBrew Partner Agent, LemonBrew Realty is compensated by the said Partner Agent with an undisclosed percentage of their commission in a process known as a "blind match."
LemonBrew Pricing
LemonBrew revenue comes from undisclosed referral fees. Referral fees set by such networks range anywhere between 25%-40% of the entire agent's commission.
Listing Services
- This Service Does Not Represent Sellers
Buyer's Agent Services
- This Service Does Not Represent Buyers
LemonBrew Editor's Review:
As a home buyer or home seller, LemonBrew is not representing consumers as a real estate agent. Instead, the company shares consumer's information for referral fees with various real estate agents, vendors, advertisers, and other third parties. LemonBrew does not control or supervise any Partner Agents, and LemonBrew is not responsible for their actions.
LemonBrew claims that all conditions between consumers and a real estate professional are governed by a separate legal agreement that does not involve LemonBrew, but we find these claims to be false. Using its website, LemonBrew engages in a process known as price-fixing because it offers consumers a portion of Partner Agent's commission as a cash rebate at closing using the network. For, example, for home buyers, LemonBrew sets a $3,750 buyer's commission rebate amount when buying a home valued at $750,000. This is about a 10% rebate from the typical 2.5%-3% buyer's agent's commission. It is easy to see that while LemonBrew likely collects about 25%-40% in referral fees from the broker's commission, the consumer only receives a 10% rebate. LemonBrew pay-to-play bias doesn't just cost consumers thousands in junk fees, it also results in improperly negotiated commissions.
For purposes of the present discussion, brokerage fees are always negotiable and no broker should set rates and rebates for other brokers. Each firm should establish its own policy as to its fee structure and charges, amount of commissions, and rebates. Price fixing is prohibited by federal antitrust legislation. Individual agents must never discuss, or set rates with brokers outside of their own company.
By setting rates and rebates for Partner Agents across the United States, LemonBrew operates with a sole purpose to collect referral fees, where such service effectively results in lower quality of service, pay-to-play bias, and a "blind match" with agents willing to participate.
Consumers using LemonBrew have zero control over what agents the company shares their information with. Instead of being “sold as leads” consumers looking for a competitive and fair representation can consider negotiating directly with real estate agents, or with help from unbiased consumer-focused online services that do not collect referral fees.