As the African real estate industry relies more on Agents for sales, slow settlement/payout has been identified as one of the biggest bottlenecks capable of slowing down growth considerably. This is according to multiple professionals I spoke to. Accounting processes and reconciliation are still manual and tedious in many Real Estate development companies.
The current process looks something like this:
A Realtor closes a prospect, and shares company account details. Payment is made with proof of payment shared with the realtor who forwards the same to the company Accounts department for confirmation.
Major Realtors, I spoke to say this process described above could take between three to seven days depending on how big the Estate developer is.
Some Estate developers acknowledged this. One narrated how his accountant spends so many hours past official closing time in a bid to hasten the process. The Executive Chairman of a popular Estate Development company confided in me how one of his realtors was pissed because her commissions were delayed as the accountant was swamped and couldn’t confirm payments quickly.
Sytemap split payment feature to the rescue
At HouseAfrica, we have studied this issue for a while and as a company set up to provide solutions to the myriad of challenges hindering the growth of Africa’s Real Estate industry, we believe the Sytemap split payment feature is a major breakthrough for this issue.
With Sytemap Split Payment, these payout settlements can be done within seconds providing a win-win for both agents and real estate developers.
How Sytemap Split Feature Works
Sytemap for Agents (part of the full Sytemap Suite) allows Real Estate developers to onboard their Agents seamlessly. It also allows savvy marketers and individuals (with a large network who want to become Realtors) to set up shop quickly with minimal work and cost. Each Agent on Sytemap gets unique IDs or URL links they can share with their contacts. This can serve as their mobile Point of Sale (POS).
A contact or potential buyer who visits the Agent’s link will be able to make a choice in their preferred land locations and fill out a form for the required details. The plot is marked sold once payment (which can be done online or via Bank transfer to a special dedicated account created for the customer at sign-up) is made. The Agent instantly gets credited his/her commission.
A user who chooses to do a bank transfer has about 48hrs to make payment during which the plot is marked as ‘hold’ with a blue colour on the map. The plot is released after this time if payment isn’t confirmed.
This solution reduces the workload on Real Estate developers’ Accountants, increases Agents’ confidence and ultimately fuels the growth of Real Estate developers.
Estate Developer can start using Sytemap today Click here
Realtors or Interested in becoming one, get started here Click here
