Merger joins two innovators of the alternative compensation model in the South Florida Market

 United Real Estate Group recently announced a merger with Charles Rutenberg Realty in Fort Lauderdale, noting CRR’s alternative agent compensation model is uniquely aligned with United Real Estate’s goals and business practices.

CRR’s approximately 1,000 agents, who serve Fort Lauderdale, Miami and South Florida, currently receive 100 percent commission, a structure that lines up with United Real Estate Group’s transaction-fee model. This will allow current CRR agents the freedom to continue their normal operations during and after the transition.

 “Our mission is to greatly enhance the benefits and, in some cases, the financial trajectory of our agents’ careers,” said Rick Haase, president of United Real Estate. “We are also excited to be able to work side by side with Cynthia Benchick as she continues her incredible success building CRR’s strong image and reputation in South Florida.”

As a part of the merger, Benchick, co-owner and managing broker, will continue to lead CRR in Fort Lauderdale.  “The entire Florida real estate market is growing, and we want to stay at the forefront,” said Benchick. “I have always looked for the best opportunities for my agents. I can say with confidence we will continue giving our clients the level of service they have come to expect while growing beyond what we could’ve done without United.”

CRR founder John Nestor is enthusiastic about the merger of these two innovators of the alternative compensation model. “I was inspired to start CRR out of necessity [when I] heard the complaints of agents who were unhappy about losing 50 percent of their commission to their broker,” said Nestor. “We’ve since expanded inside and outside Florida using our 100-percent commission model. Today, United Real Estate gives Fort Lauderdale the opportunity to become a part of a larger organization built on the same principles, and I know they will be successful.”

“Fort Lauderdale is just the beginning for us,” added United Real Estate Group CEO Dan Duffy.  “United will grow alongside exceptional leaders like John and Cynthia, giving more agents the opportunity to keep what they earn while providing high-quality service to their customers.”

Luxury real estate advisor Nirka Burns brings her expertise to 57 Ocean

Nirka Burns has joined 57 Ocean as a sales executive in Fortune Development Sales, the project’s exclusive brokerage.

Born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, Burns brings the experience of both living and working internationally to her practice. With an extensive network of international and domestic brokers, Burns prides herself on discreet client representation, personalized service, and attention to detail. 

She began her real estate career in Tampa, Florida, where she oversaw the sales of high-end residences.  Following the birth of her second daughter, Burns moved to Miami’s Brickell neighborhood, where she quickly became an expert in the area’s rapidly growing market.  

Burns joined ONE Sotheby’s International Realty in 2013, eventually working for the brokerage’s development division where she helped launch The Fairchild Coconut Grove, a luxury bayfront condominium building by architect Max Strang.  She later went on to join the sales team at One Thousand Museum – Pritzker Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid’s first and last residential skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere. During her time there, Burns traveled extensively to seven countries to promote the award-winning project and was hailed for opening new doors to several key markets as well as creating strategic alliances in major U.S. cities.

ONE Sotheby’s International Realty welcomes Katherine Gale

Katherine Gale is the newest broker associate at ONE Sotheby’s International Realty’s Delray office. As part of a prominent real estate family whose legacy reaches back to 1922, Gale is the great-granddaughter of Daniel Gale, founder of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty and the daughter of international real estate developer Stan Gale, chairman and managing partner of Gale International.

Gale hails from New York, where she specialized in the Manhattan luxury sales market. Along with years of experience assisting with real estate transactions in New York, Florida, and Asia, Gale brings her extensive knowledge of the South Florida market as well as her consistent enthusiasm for real estate to ONE SIR.