If you’re an agent who only thinks about taxes come April, you’re doing it wrong.
At least that’s what the experts at Nimbl told us when we asked for their advice on how agents can make sure they’re sleeping well come Tax Day.
“Real estate agents should be thinking about taxes all year long, not just on April 14th,” says Shane Rowely, Cofounder and President at Nimbl. “Most tax systems are created for W-2 employees. They’re simple. They’re predictable. But for real estate agents, we know income comes at different times.”
One of the main tools that Nimbl uses to help agents stay on top of their paperwork is virtual assistants. These employees can help agents scale up their business by taking on administrative tasks, giving agents back valuable time they need to build their network and close deals without leaving them vulnerable come tax time.
“I really think that the entire industry is shifting towards virtual support,” explains Eleonora Srugo, a top-ranked Douglas Elliman agent who works with RLTYco. “The teams that are properly using virtual assistants are really thriving and saving a lot of money.”
Partnering with Nimbl is just the latest phase in RLTYco’s mission to give agents access to some of the same stability and benefits enjoyed by W-2 employees. As 1099s, the majority of agents are on their own for everything from taxes to healthcare to vendor referrals; RLTYco is working on changing that.
“It tries to formalize an industry that doesn’t traditionally have a formal or professional corporate culture,” says Srugo. “There isn’t a unified mission or culture, and RLTY strives to bring that to agents.”