Run your own numbers.
REAL caps your brokerage cost at $12,000 a year. After that the cost is per-transaction, not percentage. Stock and revenue share compound on top. Move the inputs to see how the structural argument lands at your production level.
Gross commission income across all your sides this year.
What you typically earn on one side of one transaction.
Stock and revenue share compound across years.
After 30% split + $1,800 desk fees.
After $12,000 cap + $1,710 post-cap @ $285/tx + $520 CBR, brokerage + signup.
Illustrative. Stock-path values flagged [VERIFY] in the canonical are modeled conservatively. Compounding stock appreciation not included.
Modest downline assumption: ~1.5 attracts/year, each producing ~$90K GCI. Revenue share comes from REAL’s 15%, not your 85%. Tiers 2–5 add a 1.4× multiplier.
Want to walk through these numbers with the actual math from your last 12 months?
Send your 2024 production. I’ll model REAL direct against your current brokerage’s real terms — cap, split, desk fees, royalty, the whole stack. No pitch. If REAL direct isn’t the right move for your profile, I’ll tell you that.
Assumptions: $12,000 REAL individual cap (85/15 pre-cap split), $285/transaction post-cap fee ($129 for Elite Agents), $40/transaction CBR, $750 annual brokerage, $249 year-1 signup. Traditional comparison: 70/30 split with $150/mo desk fee. Stock figures illustrative — canonical [VERIFY] items (capping award, attracting shares amounts) pending REAL confirmation. See ROVIGOESREAL-COMPENSATION-CANONICAL.md for full math.
The numbers are the easy part. The structural case is in the essays.
Calculators show take-home. Essays show why the structure produces that take-home — and what to watch for when a competing offer obscures the math.