Johnson, most recently chief executive officer of a business-to-business application service provider named signOnline Inc., opened one retail location at 8215 SW Tualatin-Sherwood Rd. in mid-August, and plans to open a second in Bellevue in October. The Tualatin office is the 37th Commission Express office nationwide. "We had a transaction the second day we were in business and we're adding more every day," Johnson tells GlobeSt.com.

Johnson says only about 20% of his business is commercial, in part because he restricts those clients to lease renewals and other simple deals that will close quickly. The average transaction is about $6,000 on the residential side, and about $15,000 on the commercial side. Johnson says he's brokered two commercial sales since he's been open, one a small office complex and the other a small strip mall.

"I must meet the broker in person on the first occasion so that the master documents can be signed and notarized" says Johnson, who also formerly ran a similar business for trucking invoices. "After that, subsequent transactions can be done by fax, generally in a couple of hours."