Mortgage Maze

Splits and Caps Daily: Action for Agents

November 10, 2025

📈 Market Move:

Funnels and Fines

Zillow’s back in court — again — this time accused of turning its Premier Agent and Flex programs into a pay-to-play system for its mortgage arm, Zillow Home Loans.

A new class-action suit says agents who funneled buyers toward Zillow’s mortgage business got rewarded with more (and better) leads — while those who didn’t were quietly punished. The problem? That kind of setup might violate RESPA and a few state laws, since agents are supposed to act in their clients’ best interest, not chase corporate brownie points.

The lawsuit claims buyers were unknowingly nudged toward Zillow’s loans, often without realizing their agent’s paycheck (and pipeline) depended on it. The bigger picture: Zillow’s “super app” strategy — where they aim to own every step of the home-buying journey — could be crossing lines regulators don’t love.

Zillow says it’ll “vigorously defend” itself, but between this and other Flex-related lawsuits, it’s clear the company’s one-stop-shop vision is starting to look a lot like a one-stop headache.

🌟Quote of the Day:

“Do not underestimate the power of starting small.” — Robin Sharma

📊🤔 Agent Poll Results

On 11/7, we asked: With all the buzz around private/off-MLS listings, how do you feel about them for sellers?

The results are in!

• 🚫 Not for me — full transparency wins every time: 33.3%

• 🤷‍♂️ Depends on the situation — flexibility matters: 44.4%

• ✅ Love them — some clients prefer discretion: 0%

• 🕵️‍♀️ I play both sides — whatever keeps the deal moving: 22.2%

Grab bag! Love it. Do what works!

🎉 Fun Fact of the Day: 

Buying Bubble: 💸 The first U.S. real estate bubble popped in 1796. Speculators went wild buying frontier land in the West — then found out… no one wanted to live there. Classic “buy high, panic low.”

📚 Book Recommendation:

“Mastery” by Robert Greene — If you want to crush it as an agent, this book is like a blueprint for becoming untouchable at your craft. Greene breaks down how legends — from Da Vinci to modern pros — go from clueless beginners to absolute masters by obsessing, practicing, and learning from the right mentors.

In real estate terms: you’re not just collecting leads or closing deals. You’re intentionally learning the market, the neighborhoods, the psychology of buyers and sellers — until you can operate faster, smarter, and more instinctively than anyone else in your area.

The takeaway: stop chasing shortcuts, start mastering your craft. Skill compounds. Reputation compounds. Commission compounds.

If you want to stop being “just another agent” and actually become the one everyone calls when it matters, read this book.

You did the work — now let results catch up.

What did you think of today’s edition?
Hit ‘reply’ to this email and let us know!

Crash Expert: “This Looks Like 1929” → 70,000 Hedging Here

Mark Spitznagel, who made $1B in a single day during the 2015 flash crash, warns markets are mimicking 1929. Yeah, just another oracle spouting gloom and doom, right?

Vanguard and Goldman Sachs forecast just 5% and 3% annual S&P returns respectively for the next decade (2024-2034).

Bonds? Not much better.

Enough warning signals—what’s something investors can actually do to diversify this week?

Almost no one knows this, but postwar and contemporary art appreciated 11.2% annually with near-zero correlation to equities from 1995–2024, according to Masterworks Data.

And sure… billionaires like Bezos and Gates can make headlines at auction, but what about the rest of us?

Masterworks makes it possible to invest in legendary artworks by Banksy, Basquiat, Picasso, and more – without spending millions.

23 exits. Net annualized returns like 17.6%, 17.8%, and 21.5%. $1.2 billion invested.

Shares in new offerings can sell quickly but…

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