Considering Homes By Connect? What Every Rhode Island Realtor® Should Know
Choosing the right brokerage is one of the most consequential decisions a Realtor® makes—whether you’re newly licensed and looking for your first home in the business, or a seasoned agent reconsidering whether your current brokerage still fits.
Homes By Connect is a boutique, independent brokerage based in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, and we’re often asked the same questions by agents considering a move. We’ve gathered the most common ones below, with honest answers from broker/owner Katy Donovan, recently named Realtor of the Year by Newport County Board of Realtors®, and our team. The topics range from culture and mentorship to compensation and community impact.
For an overview of who we are and what we offer, visit our Join Our Team page. For the full picture, read on.
In this guide
- What is the office culture like at Homes By Connect?
- How does Connect Cares engage Homes By Connect agents in our communities?
- Does Homes By Connect accept new real estate agents?
- How does mentorship work at Homes By Connect?
- Why do experienced Realtors® choose Homes By Connect?
- How does Homes By Connect help agents scale their business?
- How does Homes By Connect help agents build a referral-based business?
- How do real estate commission splits and fees work in Rhode Island?
What is the office culture like at Homes By Connect?
Our culture is guided by three pillars:
- Connection
- Communication
- Collaboration
Of the three, collaboration is the one that most accurately embodies our brokerage culture. Our agents come from different backgrounds and bring different talents, and that variety is the point.
You see it most clearly in our monthly office meetings. They’re an opportunity for agents to come together in the same space, learn new policies and best practices, ask questions, and share experiences. Each agent brings value to everyone else. We all have the chance to “mentor” every other agent in our own way.
Real estate is dynamic. It’s anecdotal. It’s not just theoretical. It’s deeply practical, lived and learned through experience. Our office meetings turn that shared experience into a learning community for the benefit of all.
Compare that with what often happens at larger brokerages: agents work in their own silos. Mentorship doesn’t exist. Competition between agents supersedes collaboration among agents.
With nearly 700 Realtors® on our local board and nearly 7,000 across Rhode Island, the competition for business can feel cutthroat, sometimes even within a single brokerage. That atmosphere is isolating at best and toxic at worst.
We’ve built our culture intentionally. We’ve studied the best and worst of what other brokerages offer, paid close attention to what works, and committed to fostering a welcoming, collaborative environment that celebrates the talents of every agent, wherever they are in their career.
“Choosing Homes by Connect was the best career move I have made. The brokerage provides a collaborative culture and resources that allow me to focus on my clients while consistently hitting my sales goals. What truly sets us apart is the unwavering support from leadership and the tools for success provided to every agent.” — Karen Santos Dill, Homes By Connect Realtor®
How does Connect Cares engage Homes By Connect agents in our communities?
Homes By Connect is committed to making an impact on our community, more than just real estate, more than just transactions. Over the course of our five years in business, we’ve identified multiple nonprofits that meaningfully benefit from our support.
That support takes many forms throughout the year:
- A holiday pajama drive during the Christmas season
- Support for local non-profit organizations such as Women’s Resource Center, RI PBS, West Place Animal Sanctuary and many more
- A pop-up food pantry that ran for nearly a month during the recent government shutdown
- Annual participation in Newport Pride and Newport Out events
We look for opportunities to grow with our community, not just sell to it. Connect Cares is how we show that we care about more than real estate. We care about the communities we all live in.
Does Homes By Connect accept new real estate agents?
Yes, absolutely.
Homes By Connect accepts real estate agents at any point in their career. What matters most to us is identifying agents who are intentional about learning best practice.
For new agents specifically, our mentoring program is designed to synthesize theoretical knowledge with practical experience on a logical timeline. Our mentors guide new agents through their first transactions and remain on standby as the agent’s career grows. Education and mentoring are values we bring to every new agent who joins us.
“Here I was able to get my footing as a new agent and learn through hands-on experience and guided mentorship. The Donovan Group fosters an environment that encourages new agents to witness all parts of a transaction, from start to finish, and allows for new agents to learn and experience every possible outcome so that they are best prepared to step into the real estate world with confidence.” — Erin Donovan, Donovan Group at Homes By Connect
What we ask in return, from any agent, newly licensed or experienced, is the curiosity to keep getting better as a professional and a genuine interest in connecting with our community.
“At Homes By Connect, we are focused on service, not on sales. Service is relationship-based; sales are transactional. This emphasis is truly the best practice to grow a real estate business today.” — Katy Donovan, Broker/Owner
How does mentorship work at Homes By Connect?
At Homes By Connect, mentorship is the scaffolding we build around every new agent, a structured path that guides them toward best practice from day one. Our mentorship program was designed with intention, drawing on broker/owner Katy Donovan’s years as an educator before her 16-plus years in real estate.
“As a former educator, I really love the process of teaching, and I really love the process of learning.” — Katy Donovan, Broker/Owner
That educator’s lens shapes how we work. Our mentorship framework is simple: tell, show, do, review. Each step builds on the last, and each step is designed to launch a mentee into real success.
Daily support is built into the rhythm of the week. Mentees and team members meet with Katy on Mondays and Fridays:
- Mondays focus on the week ahead, including time-blocking strategies. Time blocking matters in a career that doesn’t follow a traditional 9-to-5 schedule.
- Fridays review the week’s wins and challenges and identify where additional support is needed.
This is a meaningful contrast with the big-box franchise experience. Larger brokerages don’t typically offer mentoring or teaching as a standard practice, and that gap can be daunting for someone new to the business.
A newly minted agent arrives with theoretical knowledge but no practical experience. Without structured guidance, many walk into their first transaction wondering where to even begin.
We embrace new agents who bring enthusiasm, a willingness to learn, and the drive to be their best. From there, we help them launch their careers with the structure they need to succeed.
Why do experienced Realtors® choose Homes By Connect?
Homes By Connect is always identifying talented real estate agents, and experience level is never a limiting factor. We’re equally invested in helping a brand-new agent get started and helping a seasoned veteran take their professional skill set to the next level.
Our monthly office meetings are the clearest example of this in action. The room includes agents who just started out alongside agents nearing the tail end of their careers. These meetings often focus on a specific topic that newer agents may not have encountered yet, and the anecdotal wisdom from seasoned agents becomes an invaluable resource for everyone present.
New agents learn. Veteran agents teach. Both walk out sharper than when they walked in.
“I’ve learned over 16-plus years in real estate that every day provides the opportunity to grow and learn.” — Katy Donovan, Broker/Owner
If you’re an experienced Realtor® with the curiosity to keep learning and a willingness to collaborate with fellow agents, Homes By Connect is a great place to be.
“After 10 years in the business, and two other previous brokerages, joining Homes By Connect felt like coming home. The award-winning brokerage immediately distinguished itself through its collaborative approach and exceptional accessibility to its broker, Katy Donovan. What that means for an agent is daily support, mentorship, and resources to ensure your success as a Realtor®.” — Elizabeth Fuller, Homes By Connect Realtor®
How does Homes By Connect help agents scale their business?
Any real estate agent in Rhode Island looking to scale up in 2026 is hitting headwinds. No matter where you’re working in the state, the same forces are at play:
- Persistently low inventory
- Mercurial interest rates
- Daily uncertainty in the broader economy
These add up to daunting challenges as agents work hard to service and sell real estate.
Scaling at Homes By Connect rests on two things working together: a customized strategy for your specific business and the marketing resources to execute on it.
Your Customized strategy
We collaborate with each agent to identify their specific challenges and create strategies to scale their unique business. There is no one-size-fits-all plan.
- For some agents, that means expanding networking capacity through engagement in clubs, sports leagues, or community organizations where organic conversations naturally happen.
- For others, it means better leveraging an existing sphere of influence, connecting their real estate skill set more intentionally with the people they already know.
- For others still, it means scaling up social media presence with support from our marketing team.
We take the time to help each agent build a success plan from the ground up.
The Marketing Resources We Provide
Beyond strategy, we provide robust in-house marketing resources designed to keep our agents visible and save them time:
Custom Digital Content
Monthly blog posts and ready-to-share social media content that you can use as-is or customize with your own voice. The work of creating consistent, professional digital content is already done. You just deploy it.
Email Marketing
Branded newsletters that keep Homes By Connect agents top-of-mind with their sphere. The marketing team handles the design and the regular cadence; you stay focused on the conversations these touchpoints generate.
Listings & Profiles
Listing promotions and personalized agent profile pages on our website are the digital presence that backs up your professional credibility when prospects are doing their research.
Robust Web Presence
Inclusion on our full-service, custom brokerage website. Your work is visible alongside the team’s work, with a brand foundation that signals you’re part of an established, professional brokerage.
These resources mean you spend less time building marketing infrastructure and more time doing what actually grows your business: meeting people, building relationships, and earning their trust.
How does Homes By Connect help agents build a referral-based business?
The least expensive and most effective way to build a real estate business is through repeat clients and referral clients.
- Repeat business comes from clients you’ve worked with before, people who’ve experienced the value of working with you and built a relationship of trust.
- Referral business flows from multiple streams. Most often it comes from current and past clients sharing their experiences with friends and family. It can also be built through genuine connections within your community.
Knowing how powerful these two streams are, we focus on building each agent’s repeat and referral base. Unlike older models still used at other brokerages, we don’t encourage buying leads, and we don’t believe in the efficacy of cold calling.
“The key to building a thriving real estate business is to leverage your authenticity and your real estate skills simultaneously to become the real estate advisor of choice for your sphere.”— Katy Donovan, Broker/Owner
Homes By Connect agents are the trusted real estate advisors to their individual spheres, and they’re good people. Our mandate is to challenge each agent to build authentic relationships and networks that foster organic conversations about real estate. That might look like:
- Hosting an event at the pickleball club
- Joining a mahjong group
- Becoming a member of a local chamber of commerce
- Serving actively on a community board
We work in tandem with our agents to create flourishing professional connections, connections that produce transactions and income while also creating meaningful relationships.
How do real estate commission splits and fees work in Rhode Island?
One of the best-kept secrets in real estate is also one of the most important: how agents get paid. How are we compensated in a transaction? What does our brokerage take? Many agents feel uncomfortable bringing this up, and there are legitimate legal reasons that make money conversations in real estate difficult.
But this is our occupation. We need a clear understanding of how we’re paid and how much.
At Homes By Connect, our focus is transparency. We believe we’re extremely competitive when it comes to how much our agents keep in their pockets, and we’re happy to discuss every detail with you.
Here’s the vocabulary you’ll want to know as you evaluate any brokerage.
Company Dollar
The amount or percentage of your transactional compensation that you’re required to share with your brokerage. Larger franchise brokerages typically require Company Dollar payments to both the local brokerage and the national or international franchise.
Most brokerages require Company Dollar for the duration of your affiliation. Some tie the percentage to your production, meaning the percentage decreases as your production increases, but that reduction usually resets at the start of each year.
Other brokerages take a different approach with a Cap.
The Cap
A limit on the amount of Company Dollar you pay your brokerage from your transactional compensation over a set period, usually one year. Once you reach that Cap, you keep 100% of your transactional compensation, minus standard administrative or transaction fees, until your Anniversary Date resets the cycle.
At Homes By Connect, we’ve set a competitive Cap that gives our agents a realistic goal to hit, and once you reach it, you stop paying Company Dollar for the rest of your year. Your Anniversary Date reflects the month you joined our brokerage, not the calendar year.
Transaction Fees
A flat fee charged on every closed transaction, often several hundred dollars per transaction. Many brokerages have begun using these fees in addition to Company Dollar to capture more revenue from their agents.
Brokerages will often suggest that agents pass this fee on to their clients. In practice, most agents don’t feel comfortable doing that and end up paying the fee themselves.
Homes By Connect does not charge hefty Transaction Fees. We charge a nominal administrative fee to ensure documentation compliance is maintained, nothing more.
Monthly Fees
Recurring fees due to the brokerage every month. Depending on the brokerage, these can include desk fees, printer fees, technology fees, administrative fees, MLS fees, Errors & Omissions Insurance, and various hidden fees.
We keep our Monthly Fees low. In fact, ours are primarily a “pass-through” for costs you would otherwise pay on your own:
- MLS dues
- Errors & Omissions Insurance
- A small technology fee that supports our Homes By Connect website
In short, we’re happy to have honest money conversations with Realtors® thinking about making a move. Transparency is our standard, and we work hard to help our agents keep more of what they earn.
Have questions about how compensation would look for your specific situation? Email Katy directly for a confidential conversation about the numbers at katy@homesbyconnectre.com
Ready for a Confidential Conversation?
If you’re currently at another brokerage and exploring your options, we understand the conversation needs to happen quietly. Every email to Katy is confidential. No pressure, no obligation, just an honest exchange about your situation, your goals, and whether Homes By Connect would be the right fit.
The same goes if you’re newly licensed and looking for your first home in the business. We’re always happy to talk through what joining HBC would actually look like for you.
Email Katy directly to start the conversation.
Or visit our Join Our Team page for more information.
