What Is StreetEasy Experts?
The StreetEasy Experts Program (the “Program”) is an advertising program offered by Zillow’s StreetEasy brand that provides a new avenue for experienced agents to grow their business by connecting with NYC buyers and sellers (StreetEasy Connections) at no upfront cost. The Program is designed to ensure StreetEasy only succeeds when agents succeed: agents do not pay upfront to be featured as StreetEasy Experts, however, if a StreetEasy Connection results in a transaction, StreetEasy will collect a success fee when the deal closes.
The goal of the Program is to connect agents with buyers and sellers, based on relevant experience and quality of service. To improve the customer experience and promote successful transactions, StreetEasy strives to display the most qualified StreetEasy Experts on relevant listing and building pages across StreetEasy, based on factors such as deal history, customer feedback, and conversion.
StreetEasy’s goal is to be the most trusted and vibrant NYC home-related marketplace, and that means working with the best real estate professionals in the NYC market. Providing StreetEasy Connections at no upfront cost to service-oriented professionals with hyper-local expertise increases the likelihood that NYC buyers and sellers have a great experience each time they connect with an agent on StreetEasy.
Objectives of Our Program Performance Standards
These Standards describe the onboarding process, set out the support and reporting requirements, and establish general guidelines and policies. Capitalized terms without a definition will have the same meanings as provided in the applicable agreement signed by Agent or Broker.
Program Participation
The Program is provided on an invite-only basis. StreetEasy will determine (in its sole discretion) whether you qualify for the Program based on the closed sales deal history over the last 10 years included in your StreetEasy account. StreetEasy is only considering new applications for professionals with 3 or more closed sales deals in the previous ten years, or who are part of a team already participating in the Program.
StreetEasy may feature you as a StreetEasy Expert in any Experts Campaign in which StreetEasy determines you qualify. You have the ability to opt-out of an Experts Campaign for any reason, on the StreetEasy website or by contacting your Business Advisor. Requirements to participate in the Program, or to qualify for individual Experts Campaigns, are subject to change.
Experts Campaign types include the following, but are subject to change:
- Building Experts: Agents with deal history in a specific multifamily building advertised to potential clients
- Like Listing Experts: Agents with deal history in similar listings and multifamily buildings advertised to potential clients
- Townhouse Experts: Experts: Agents with deal history in nearby townhouses advertised to potential clients
- Listing Experts: Agents with sold listing history advertised as listing agents to potential seller clients on StreetEasy
- Buyers Experts: Agents with buy-side deal history advertised as buyer’s agents to potential buyer clients on StreetEasy
For clarity, if you connect with a potential client after being advertised to such potential client via any Experts Campaign, such potential client shall be considered a StreetEasy Connection.
If your application to the Program is accepted, follow these steps to complete onboarding:
- Electronically sign and return your StreetEasy Experts Agreement
- Download the StreetEasy Agent Tools app here (the “Partner App”). You will use the Partner App to update the status of your StreetEasy Connections
- Claim your sales deals that are missing from the last 10 years to maximize your eligibility and reach
- To activate your StreetEasy Experts account, schedule an onboarding session with your assigned Business Advisor
Note: the Program is performance-based. Your StreetEasy Connection volume and standing in the Program will depend on you providing a high level of customer service and your sales deal conversion rate, relative to other agents participating in the Program. Your assigned Business Advisor will provide feedback on your performance.
StreetEasy Connections – Support and Reporting Requirements
In addition to the obligations outlined in your agreement with Zillow, to remain eligible to receive StreetEasy Connections, you must:
- Respond to all StreetEasy Connections directly and within 24 hours
- Provide StreetEasy Connections with a consistently positive experience
- Provide daily updates on the status of StreetEasy Connections by signing in to StreetEasy.com > Experts > Connections or using the Partner App
- Update your Broker and StreetEasy within 24 hours each time a StreetEasy Connection: enters an exclusive listing agreement with you, accepts an offer, enters into contract, sets a closing date, or closes a transaction
- You must always notify your Broker and Zillow prior to a Transaction closing
- Provide Zillow with the transaction documentation described below along with anything else needed to pay Zillow the Success Fee within 14 days of the commission payment
- Perform real estate services in a timely, diligent and professional manner, consistent with industry standards and the Zillow Code of Conduct (provided below)
Transaction documents required:
- Closing statement (or similar)
- A copy of any invoice sent by you or your brokerage to the real estate attorney
- A copy of the executed contract and the commission check, including property address and agent name(s)
- Upon request, documents supporting the commission due to you
General Policies
- The agent advertised as a StreetEasy Expert must be the same agent to respond to inquiries from StreetEasy Connections to that StreetEasy Expert. If an agent is part of a team advertising in the Program, the agent must clearly reference the team lead and full name of the team they represent when responding to inquiries from StreetEasy Connections to their team.
- Agents who receive a compliance warning from StreetEasy risk being suspended or terminated from the Program if they do not make the necessary adjustments to comply
- Agents may only claim sales deals they have actively participated in, i.e. agent is named in the listing agreement or agent receives a share of the gross commission for the deal. StreetEasy may require verification of sales deal claims that involve other agents
- Agents who are suspended will not receive new StreetEasy Connections until they demonstrate compliance with Program requirements
- Agents with low customer satisfaction scores may receive a notice to improve, or be suspended or terminated from the Program
- Agents may not share StreetEasy Connections with any third-party, including other listing portals, for the purpose of generating a referral outside of the Program
- StreetEasy reserves the right to discontinue offering the Program to any agent, at its sole discretion
- Listing agreements entered into between a StreetEasy Connection and a broker remain in full effect throughout the term of such agreements, regardless of whether the agent supporting the StreetEasy Connection begins working under a new broker
- If an agent receives a StreetEasy Connection from another source and the agent has been in active, two-way communications with such StreetEasy Connection within the 30 days prior to receiving the StreetEasy Connection via the Program, the agent must mark the Connection as an “Existing Connection” in the Partner App and upload sufficient written evidence for approval by the agent’s Business Advisor (at Zillow’s discretion, to exclude this StreetEasy Connection from a Success Fee payment to Zillow
- Agents shall comply with the Zillow Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, Advertising Content and Image Guidelines, and the StreetEasy Listing Quality Policy. For clarity, the terms of the Experts agreement in place between Zillow and agent or broker will govern in the event of a conflict between such agreement and any of the foregoing terms.
Zillow Code of Conduct
Zillow believes that all people deserve to be treated equally and with respect, regardless of their race, ethnicity, nationality, class, religion, belief, sex, language, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, health or other status. Zillow chooses to work with professionals who both share these values and embody them in their interactions with consumers, Zillow employees, and other professionals. In the event Zillow determines that you are not upholding these values, Zillow may take action to ensure the integrity of Zillow’s services, including terminating you from the Program. Zillow may also terminate you in the event you are charged with or convicted of a crime, or Zillow otherwise believes your participation in the Program could harm the reputation and/or good standing of the services offered by Zillow.