Early Commission Service Opens in Oregon

PORTLAND-If you want to give up a percentage of your commission, Steve Johnson will give you the money long before the deal closes. The native Oregonian has purchased the Northwest franchise rights for Commission Express, which pays brokers their deal commission before it closes in exchange for between 8% and 14% of the amount they are set to receive.

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.