James Swansburg
By Melanie Epp
“I’m trying to change the world,” says James Swansburg of Landmax Canada. “This is a big goal.”
He wants to revolutionize the world of real estate, one step at a time.
Swansburg describes himself as a “computer programmer first and a managing broker/Realtor second.” His company’s main product is real estate presentation software.
Designed to link to the “View Brochure” button on Realtor.ca, the technology allows agents and consumers to view and share extensive knowledge about individual properties, including custom web presentations such as Google map ‘polygon’ outline of the land, Google Street View, Google Earth 3D with parcel outline, Microsoft Birds-Eye View, a video tour of the property and all documentation in PDF format, including zoning, bylaws and utilities.
Landmax, which means location first (land) and maximum knowledge (max), is a start-up company based in Kimberley, B.C. and focused on efficiency and empowerment – something that Swansburg thinks the current system lacks. Although similar technology has been on the market for years, he says the real estate industry hasn’t embraced it for some reason.
“Realtors working as independent contractors spend all of their resources on personal promotion, with the goal of personal contact with prospective buyers,” says Swansburg. “Under the current ‘chauffeur model,’ the brokerages spend their resources on recruiting and babysitting these independent contractors.” This leaves the two in constant conflict. While agents work hard to promote themselves, brokerages bring in new Realtors for them to compete with.
“This business model of brokerages being landlords for independent contractors dominates the current real estate model,” says Swansburg. “There is no alternate, but Landmax wants to change this.”
Currently the real estate landscape is dotted with independent offices, staffed by independent contractors. This model makes it impossible to manage the office, never mind implement change or evolve, says Swansburg. He would like to see brokerages return to the employer/employee business model, where the staff has a duty to their employer and in return, gets fairly paid for their efforts. In Landmax’s model, they would assume control over the operations of their branch offices, meaning one overhead, with one office per real estate board in Canada. “All work done by staff would belong to the employer,” says Swansburg. “All clients would belong to the employer.”
Consumers aren’t happy with the current system, says Swansburg, adding that this is particularly evident in all the “flack” coming from the Competition Bureau. It is Landmax’s goal to provide a new solution for consumers, as well. There are many tools out there to help consumers find that perfect house, but Swansburg says they’re not unified. Consumers have to visit site after site and piece together the information theselves – a process that can be both frustrating and time-consuming.
Similar to how a financial institution works, consumers will be able to enter any Landmax office to seek information at any time – from anyone. Not only is this great news for the consumer, it will also make the agent’s job easier as well. Landmax’s model will give agents more time to provide better service, all in a healthier, less competitive work environment.
“What we’re building will be consistent across Canada. Once you’ve learned how to search and filter and play with our Landmax products and work with our presentations, then it doesn’t matter where you are in Canada, you’ll get the same experience,” he says. “If we improve the experience in British Columbia, then that rollout will go across Canada. We can constantly keep improving the experience as the technology continues to evolve.”
Swansburg thinks the model will appeal to agents and brokers alike. He’s chosen a corporate structure that gives a voice to all employees and pushes shared ownership by all staff. “With a voice,” he says, “change is possible. The industry can evolve.”
Landmax is currently seeking like-minded brokers and agents to join their team. As the company is in its early stages of development, the fine details are still negotiable, making it a good time to get on board. For more information, visit www.landmax.ca.
“If you go to LinkedIn and type in “change the world,” says Swansburg, “there are a lot of people who would like to change the world. It has to be done one footstep at a time – baby steps. Someone has to do it, and right now that’s me.”
