During this economic decline, homeowners, real estate professionals, landlords, and property management companies face extreme difficulty in selling and leasing real estate. Even in the best of times, fierce competition exists within many markets to effectively price properties and incentivize prospective tenants and homebuyers.

Clearly, lowering the list price of a home proves the most common means of encouraging a transaction. However, that means less money in the hands of the property owner and Realtor^®. Moreover, a Realtor who wishes to lower the list price of a property may find his or her client unwilling to accept less than their perceived value for the home. In such cases, the Realtor may be contractually obligated to list the property according to the client’s demands even if it prolongs or eliminates the likelihood of a transaction.

Mwendo’s patent pending business model allows the seller or seller’s Realtor to unilaterally lower the effective sale price of a home by offering a post-closing rebate or reward to any perspective purchaser or lessee. By utilizing Mwendo.com to advertise a property, upon closing a transaction, the Realtor pays Mwendo the reward amount. Mwendo in turn disburses the reward to the new homebuyer or tenant. These rebates cut thousands of dollars from the price of the property for buyers and lessens the Realtor's tax burden at the end of the fiscal year.

For example, a real estate sale transaction may proceed as follows:

Many benefits exist to offering a reward:

• The lowered effective list price hastens the likelihood of a transaction and may increase the total number of transactions a Realtor may process in a given time and possibly increasing the Realtor’s total commission across a portfolio of properties.
  
  
• Given that Mwendo.com is considered an advertising medium, any and all fees paid by a Realtor are considered a tax-deductible marketing expense. Whereas simply lowering the list price reduces a Realtor’s commission.
  
  
• For the homebuyer, the reward is essentially free money that may be used for moving expenses, repairs, additions, etc.
  
  
• Unlike services where a rebate is offered from the buyer’s representative, with Mwendo, a prospective homebuyer is not obligated to use a particular Realtor. The homebuyer may select any Realtor of his or her choosing, represent him or herself, or have his or her attorney handle closing obligations. With Mwendo, the reward is tied to the property, not the Realtor. This is particularly relevant since breaking a relationship with an existing Realtor may be considered a breach of contract with financial implications to the client.
  
  
• The US Department of Justice extols rebates as a means of making homes more affordable to the general public and increasing competition among Realtors.