RE/MAX NEXT just celebrated its five-year anniversary and the brokerage is expanding in more ways than one.
The brokerage, which has grown to 60 brokers, announced the purchase of a Motto Mortgage franchise. Motto Mortgage is a boutique mortgage brokerage that provides access to wholesale rates and multiple loan products.
Mike Opyd, co-owner and managing broker at RE/MAX NEXT, said the time was right for the brokerage to expand outside of real estate. “Motto has always been on the radar, and we have enough agents that we can support making that financial commitment,” he said.
RE/MAX NEXT’s move to purchase a Motto franchise follows an industry trend of mainly larger brokerages either purchasing or partnering with mortgage lenders, title companies and other affiliates. But Opyd explained that Motto operates differently than many other mortgage companies.
While other lenders offer their products to clients, Motto does the footwork of helping clients find the best deal available on the market. “Motto shops around and makes the wholesale companies compete; and they can do almost any kind of loan available with wholesalers and lenders,” Opyd said.
He noted that the company is separate from the brokerage and will still be accepting clients, regardless of whether they’re working with a RE/MAX NEXT agent. Opyd says the purchase also helps his agents by providing an in-house lender at all times to help get questions answered quickly.
The new revenue from the mortgage company will also help the company continue to expand and add more technology solutions and possibly make future purchases of affiliate companies, according to Opyd. “We have our eye on title and insurance and new development and creating construction entity,” he explained, adding, “Ours is a long-term vision designed to help agents build biz from scratch and make them successful.”
He noted that last year, the brokerage cleared $166 million in sales. Opyd and company plan to reach $200 million this year — a big goal considering the cooling market. “Our ultimate goal is to reach $1 billion in five years,” he said. “We set crazy goals that are achievable. That’s literally how you keep agents.”