RLTYco Raises $20M to Transform Real Estate Agent Services

Written by:

Steve Marcinuk

Date:

19 Mar 2025

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When Briggs Elwell was overseeing business development for Related Companies’ luxury rental portfolio, he noticed a stark disparity in how real estate agents were supported compared to traditional employees. This observation would eventually lead him to found RLTYco, which recently secured $20 million in mixed equity and credit funding to expand its comprehensive suite of agent-focused services nationwide.

“When you become a real estate agent, you’re a 1099, which means you’re a contractor, you’re not a W2,” Elwell explains. “You don’t have a salary, you don’t have benefits like paid vacation or healthcare.” This contractor status, while offering flexibility, leaves many agents vulnerable to financial instability and lacking essential business infrastructure.

RLTYco’s solution began with addressing a fundamental challenge in real estate: the unpredictable nature of agent income. Through their commission advance platform, RLTY Capital, agents can access pending receivables during the contract period, providing crucial financial flexibility. The platform serves a remarkably diverse clientele, from agents navigating unexpected life events to top producers optimizing their cash flow.

“Our most consistent customers are very serious producers,” Elwell notes. “They’ve realized as they’ve gone through our pipeline that they can tax deduct the majority of the fees, especially if they’re properly set up as an LLC.” This tax efficiency has made the platform particularly attractive to high-volume agents who run every commission through the system, maximizing their year-end deductions.

The platform’s versatility is evident in its wide range of use cases. Elwell shares how they’ve helped agents manage everything from unforeseen life events requiring immediate funds to more strategic financial decisions. The company’s expansion into healthcare further demonstrates their comprehensive approach to agent support. Through RLTY Health, agents gain access to over 250 healthcare providers at preferred rates, including major carriers like UnitedHealthcare. In one recent case, an agent whose policy was abruptly terminated found not only immediate coverage through RLTYco but secured it at a lower rate than their previous plan.

This understanding of agents’ needs led to the development of RLTY Tax and RLTY Legal, services that help agents optimize their business structure and tax strategy. During a dinner conversation, Elwell met a successful agent grossing over $3 million annually who had just written a six-figure check to the IRS for self-employment tax – an expense that could have been significantly reduced with proper LLC structuring. “Most agents we were finding out were actually filing under their own socials,” Elwell notes. “The reality is if you don’t have the proper legal entity set up you are likely leaving money on the table from a tax perspective.”

Looking ahead for 2025, Elwell hinted at several exciting developments beyond RLTYco’s current four pillars, including the possibility of new rewards and benefits for agents using the platform. “The more benefits we add, as agents start to use other products within our ecosystem, we can eventually start to say, ‘You’ve been such a great customer, we’re going to take care of your taxes this year,'” Elwell reveals. He also alluded to the potential for expanded educational offerings and additional services designed to help agents grow their businesses, though specific details have yet to be divulged. 

With strategic partnerships already in place with industry leaders like LegalZoom and UnitedHealthcare, and fresh capital to fuel expansion, RLTYco appears well-positioned to continue its mission of transforming how real estate agents operate their businesses. The company’s approach of identifying and solving real pain points in the agent experience, while maintaining alignment with traditional brokerages, suggests they’ve found a sustainable model for supporting the next generation of real estate professionals.