Having more money in the bank than you expected after you sell your home might sound like a dream, but that’s exactly the kind of service, PropertyGuys.com has been providing since 1998. The company established in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada is now North America’s largest private sale franchise system and comprises thousands of listings on its site from coast-to-coast. With 86 single unit franchise locations in Canada, and two master franchise locations in Texas and Florida, USA, the firm helps buyers and sellers connect directly as it believes that one size doesn’t fit all – especially when it comes to real estate.
Many people are looking for a viable alternative to real estate that proves to not only be less expensive but is much more transparent in the process. PropertyGuys.com helps by creating clarity around the transaction and making it easier for homeowners to sell privately, cutting out commission altogether if they so choose. The company’s model revolves around using a team of experts, with the seller located securely at the center of the journey. They rely on these experts at the right time during the transaction, including pricing consultants, marketers, real estate lawyers, innovative real estate brokerages, and contact assistants as well as the usage of a variety of online tools and resources at their fingertips. From the pricing phase to legal affairs and closing, PropertyGuys.com’s proven approach covers every aspect of the process offering both the buyer and seller peace of mind. Here, the sellers pay a flat fee for services instead of a percentage of their property’s price – how the traditional way does it.
“I love the fact that our franchisees have the freedom to use their strengths, and either learn the rest or find someone else who has complementary ones.”
The company focuses on being the future of the real estate sector. It understands that the industry is broken – having experienced relatively no change in the past 100 years. This presents endless opportunities to innovate and break through the system to improve it for everyone. That’s why the company challenges the status quo, flips the script, asks questions and designs services around the customer, not real estate agents. Its customer-centric approach empowers and educates buyers and sellers to have more control over their real estate transactions. Franchisees also offer a growing mix of marketing and support services designed to help their clients easily and successfully sell their home, including photography of the property, online publishing, signage, video services, social media campaigns and mortgage solutions amongst others.
Unlike its competition, PropertyGuys.com franchisees enjoy exclusive territories, support from Head Office and fellow franchisees, as well as benefit from the competitive advantage of a more appealing value-based product. After 22 years of growth, having helped over 95, 000 sellers across Canada, the company has no plans of hitting the brakes any time soon and instead is deploying an ambitious expansion strategy in the USA.
Although, PropertyGuys.com was created from a humble beginning—started by two university students, with a $100 and an idea to organize private sale for their local market by creating a bulletin board website -the idea took off locally and expanded via additional services and locations through franchising a few years later. This disruptive and successful model adopted by the company has enabled it to rank among Canada’s top 100 Franchises list and secure the Canadian Franchise Association’s Franchisee’s Choice Award for 10 consecutive years (2011-2020). It has evolved from a FSBO website to a full-service real estate program offering coverage from coast-to-coast in Canada and steadily adding more states in the USA. The brand is constantly innovating to add on new services that enhance the value to customers and verticals that could help even more users take control of their real estate transactions in the future like rentals, vacation properties, commercial and luxury properties.
Ken LeBlanc, President and CEO of PropertyGuys.com says, “I value the fact that we help people save money and take control of a process that typically doesn’t allow either. I love the fact that our franchisees have the freedom to use their strengths, and either learn the rest or find someone else who has complementary ones. I also value our work hard, play hard mentality and always believe that we have the hardest working team in real estate, but they certainly know how to let their hair down, too! The best of both worlds.”
He further adds, “What’s Next? –Those are the two words that we’ve asked ourselves since day one which has allowed us to grow. When it comes to the search for our next group of franchisees, we look for disruptors and like-minded individuals, who want to challenge the status quo and believe that real estate is broken. They do not need industry experience, but they need to be self-starters who aren’t afraid of putting in the hard work required to grow their business. Those who share our theory that there’s no such thing as having too much fun will also fit in well.”
The company offers a comprehensive one-on-one coaching program for each franchise location, with peer-to-peer learning support via a mentorship program as well as ongoing training through webinars, regional meetings, and national conference events. It also updates the internal communications hub with important updates, resources, and documents as applicable so that all the franchisees always have the most updated information and get the answers they need from those who have come before. After a week of training at the company’s headquarters, franchisees have all the resources and support needed to start and run their business while enjoying the freedom of managing their own schedule.
PropertyGuys.com looks forward to continued growth as it expands without borders by adding more franchise locations throughout Canada, the USA and other international markets in the near future. They will continue to welcome more talented franchisees, more savvy customers, and more value-driven services in 2020.