mellohome Reviews (READ WARNING!)

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Reviews for mellohome, a referral network that matches consumers with real estate agents.
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WARNING: Unlawful Kickbacks, Broker-to-Broker Collusion, False Marketing, Wire Fraud, Price Fixing.

mellohome 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.


Buying and Selling with mellohome

mellohome is a referral fee network designed to collect fees by matching consumers with local real estate agents willing to participate. mellohome operates as a licensed real estate brokerage in Texas as mello Home Services, LLC TREC License # 9006745, 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 mellohome, this information is simply sold to real estate agents who are willing to pay for it with 25%-40% share of their commission.

mellohome Pricing

mellohome 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

mellohome Editor's Review:

Last updated: 05 December 2024
First published: 05 December 2024

mellohome is a Texas licensed 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, mellohome is a real estate agent that "does not engage in actual real estate broker services." mellohome 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.

mellohome 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.

mellohome further claims to match consumers with "top-rated professionals," but there is absolutely no third-party evidence for this. The main qualification for real estate agents who participate with mellohome is their willingness to pay a referral fee.

mellohome is an affiliated brokerage of loanDepot. loanDepot is unable to collect referral fees from real estate agents directly due to rigid RESPA regulations. Instead, loanDepot is using mellohome'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.

mellohome plays fees down to consumers - it states directly "mellohome Services is a free service for real estate buyers and sellers," 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 mellohome because the price of the referral fee can be easily incorporated into their client's agreement with excessive commissions. mellohome receives the lowest score because this service is clearly biased and it claims to provide the complete opposite of what it actually does. mellohome 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.

FAQ for mellohome

What are the alternatives to mellohome?

mellohome directly competes with several broker-to-broker blanket referral fee schemes, including Zillow Flex, Realtor.com Opcity, Redfin Partner Program, Opendoor Brokerage, OJO Labs, Better.com Real Estate LLC, UpNest, Sold.com, Xome, HomeLight, LemonBrew, Radius Agent, ReferralExchange, Nobul, NAEBA, agentpronto, HomeStory, effectiveagents, topagentsranked, myagentfinder, Rocket Homes, Clever Real Estate, and others.

Genuine alternatives to mellohome are unbiased real estate platforms, open marketplaces, and consumer review portals that offer reliable information without any pay-to-play bias.

What are the pros and cons of mellohome?

Pros: there are none with mellohome. mellohome is a 'paper' broker that operates a consumer steering scheme with a network of independent brokers. Consumer allocation between brokers holds no tangible value to any consumer, either when buying or selling a home.

Cons: there are several main disadvantages to mellohome. First, consumers are hiring two brokers for the work of one. Second, mellohome takes a hidden referral fee, so the referred agent is unable to offer their full value to consumers. Third, mellohome only recommends paying agents to consumers, leaving out the vast majority of honest agents out of the scheme.

Summary: mellohome steers consumers toward their network of brokers and away from others. mellohome cannot legally organize brokers into a network because blanket referral agreements, price fixing, and consumer allocation between licensed real estate brokers in the United States are prohibited.

What is mellohome?

mellohome is a referral fee network designed to collect fees by matching consumers with local real estate agents willing to pay it. When consumers submit information to mellohome, this information is simply shared in exchange for an undisclosed fee with real estate agents in a process known as a blind match. mellohome is an affiliated brokerage of loanDepot.

Is mellohome legitimate?

No. mellohome is a consumer allocation scheme between licensed real estate brokers that increases broker commissions and limits consumer choices. mellohome's revenue comes from undisclosed referral fees. Blanket referral fees set by such networks range anywhere between 30%-40% of the entire broker's commission. mellohome is a pay-to-play scheme that offers biased matches for financial gain. The main qualification for real estate brokers who participate with mellohome brokerage is their willingness to pay a referral fee.

Where does mellohome operate?

mellohome currently operates in select areas across United States.

Contact mellohome:

5465 Legacy Dr Ste 450
Plano, TX  75024  US
mellohome User Reviews

mellohome User Reviews

Travis G.
3/14/2022 10:42:58 PM
Washington, DC
1 out of 10, would NOT recommend... The only thing you can count on with Mellohome is that they will put company interests ahead of yours. I utilized this program and they are now actively refusing to follow through with their referral agreement. I was notified multiple times that the program compensation was in the mail following home closing for complying with all requirements outlined by their onboarding agent over the phone. It’s never coming and I was actively misled by this company. The Mellohome company collected thousands of dollars for the referral, and all I received in return was a single email assigning me a realtor who lived over an hour away and was unfamiliar with the market I was searching in. Not a position you want to be in on top of the stress of buying or selling a home. Listen to your gut and do yourself a favor and steer clear from using this company. The Mellohome empty promises are not worth your valuable time, money, or peace of mind.
Lisa K.
8/11/2019 12:18:24 AM
Newport Beach, CA
Mellohome got my contact information when I applied for mortgage with Loandepot. They have been trying to get me to use their broker, but I am getting a mortgage from somewhere else. Learning about their broker referral fee is a good reason to place them on a do-not-call list.

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