In-house real estate service way forward

Titanium Planners has overcome the remuneration difficulties associated with providing real estate to its clients with the set up of an in-house real estate service.

The dealer group has its own licence in which it is able to assist clients in buying and selling a home or investment property, researching property, re-financing or consolidating debt, professional property management and conveyancing.

The in-house capability allows the dealer group to be flexible with its fee structure, whether it be fee-for-service or commission, allowing the planner to be remunerated whilst the client gets a property that is value for money, Titanium distribution manager Mark Finch said.

Traditionally, after the real estate agent, the dealer group and the planner have each added their fees, “it just becomes an expensive situation”, Finch said.

However, he said offering the service in-house allows the offering to become a wholesale arrangement rather than a retail arrangement.

Finch believes real estate is an asset class that many planners would like to offer their clients.

“Australia’s population is still growing, there’s housing shortages in a lot of areas, so property looks like a very attractive asset to some clients,” Finch said.

“I’m sure plenty of other dealer groups will be looking at [real estate] going forward.”