There is no single best brokerage to join in Richmond, VA. The right one depends on how many deals you close, how much help you want with paperwork and marketing, and whether you need leads. Keeton & Co is a strong pick if you want a local, broker-led firm: on our comp plan a 20-deal agent with $200,000 in GCI keeps about $173,800 after every brokerage cost, plus a President’s Club trip.
Suggested photo: the Keeton & Co Glen Allen office during a weekly sales meeting.
Should you trust a broker’s answer to this question?
I’m Daniel Keeton, CEO and principal broker of Keeton & Co, and I own the firm. I’m biased. To make that easy to check, every figure about another company below has a source and a date, our own numbers are labeled as ours, and I say where another model fits better. Keeton & Co is a Virginia-licensed real estate firm.
What does “best” mean when you pick a brokerage?
| What matters | Why | How to check |
|---|---|---|
| Total cost, not just the split | Monthly, risk, review and post-cap fees add up | Ask for a full-year fee schedule |
| Who handles transactions | Outside TCs cost $300–$500 a deal | Ask if coordination is in-house |
| Leads and appointments | Pays only if leads convert | Ask for monthly lead and appointment counts |
| Training and a broker you can call | Matters most in years 1–3 | Ask who answers the phone at 8 p.m. |
| Staff per agent | Shows how much help is real | Ask for staff and agent counts |
Run every firm through the same 12 months of your own deals before you compare (here is how).
What is Keeton & Co’s commission split?
| Level | Split (agent/company) | Annual cap | After cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–20 deals | 70/30 | $20,000 | 100%, $200 transaction fee (capped) |
| 21+ deals | 80/20 | $20,000 | 100%, $200 fee |
| >$7M prior-year volume | 85/15 | $20,000 | 100%, $200 fee |
| >$9M | 90/10 | $20,000 | 100%, $200 fee |
| >$12M | 92/8 | $20,000 | 100%, $200 fee |
A separate leads plan with its own split is also available for agents who want company-generated appointments. Ask us for the current terms.
You can switch plans every quarter. Agents can change compensation plans every quarter, so your plan follows your career instead of locking you in for a year.
Keeton & Co is a brokerage with services: you get the support a team gives you, but you keep your own branding and identity. Choose from Leads, Listing, Field tech, Transaction, Marketing, Showing help and Technology services. See all seven services.
What does a year actually cost at each kind of brokerage?
Same agent everywhere: 20 homes, $400,000 average price, 2.5% commission, $200,000 GCI. For the eXp and cloud columns I assume an outside transaction coordinator at $400 a deal and office space at $300 a month, since neither is included.
| Annual cost | Keeton & Co | eXp Realty | Typical national cloud brokerage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Company split / cap | $20,000 | $16,000 | $12,000 |
| Post-cap transaction fees | $1,200 (6 × $200) | $3,000 (12 × $250) | $3,420 (12 × $285) |
| Transaction coordination | $5,000 (20 × $250) | $8,000 | $8,000 |
| Risk, E&O, broker review | Included | $1,250 | $1,000 |
| Sign-up, monthly, annual fees | $0 | $1,169 | $1,149 |
| Office space | $0 | $3,600 | $3,600 |
| Total cost | $26,200 | $33,019 | $29,169 |
| Agent net | $173,800 | $166,981 | $170,831 |
| President’s Club trip | +$3,000 | — | — |
eXp figures: 80/20 split to a $16,000 cap, $149 start-up, $85 monthly cloud brokerage fee, $25 broker review and $60 risk management per transaction ($750 annual cap), and a $250 capped-status fee (exprealty.com/income, join-exp FAQ, cap deferment policy, all accessed Oct 31, 2026). The cloud column uses one national cloud brokerage’s published U.S. agent plan as of Sept 1, 2026. A cloud model can still win for a low-overhead agent who works from home and does their own paperwork.
Who are the other Richmond options?
| Firm | Model | Public signal (source, date) | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| eXp Realty | National cloud brokerage | 80/20, $16,000 cap (exprealty.com, Oct 2026) | Self-sufficient agents who value revenue share |
| Long & Foster | Office-based, Mid-Atlantic | 50+ years operating (newsroom, June 2024) | Agents who want a long-established name |
| Samson Properties | Regional, Chantilly HQ | ~5,500 agents in 36 offices; entered Richmond 2021 (BizSense, Nov 2023) | Agents who want a big regional platform |
| Mission Realty | Large team at a national cloud brokerage | #1 Mega Team in Richmond, RealTrends Verified 2026 (missionrealty.com, Oct 2026) | Agents who want to work team leads |
| Keeton & Co | Local, broker-led, 3 offices | Figures below (Keeton & Co, Oct 2026) | Agents who want support, leads and coaching |
What is in the row with my name on it?
| Keeton & Co snapshot (Oct 2026) | |
|---|---|
| Agents | About 104 (83 Richmond, 7 Charlottesville, 14 Lynchburg) plus 17 referral agents |
| Staff | 23, about 1 per 4.5 agents |
| Leads | 1,500+ a month; 300+ ISA-booked appointments a month |
| Earnings | Top 10% average $180K net; last year’s top agent $476K net |
| Reviews | Over 1,600 five-star Google reviews |
| Recognition | INC 5000 (2023) |
| Revenue share paid to agents | $25,050 (2023), $34,931 (2024), $55,641 (2025) |
What you get: in-house transaction and listing coordination; Keeton HQ, our back office with live cap tracking, CMA and offer tools, native e-sign and listing operations; Kai AI; the Keeton & Co Home Search App for $75 a month (about $2,500 a month to buy independently); Follow Up Boss, a Ylopo website, Homebot and Maverick AI calling; IMPACTRE live and online training, a mentor program, broker and sales help hotlines, showing help and weekly sales meetings; in-office printing, a podcast room, headshots and Canva templates.
Two agent stories: Katie M. closed 12 deals ($36,381) in year one and 30 deals ($183,451) in year two. Josh H. went from 14 deals ($34,694) to 27 ($105,593).
When someone else fits better: if you close a handful of deals a year from home and never need a TC, a cloud model’s lower cap may cost you less. If you want to be on a big team’s lead flow under a team brand, a mega team may suit you.
Why do agents choose Keeton & Co?
| Pros | Honest trade-offs |
|---|---|
| Broker you can reach, three local offices | $20K cap is higher than some cloud caps |
| TC and listing coordination in-house | 70/30 start until you reach 21 deals |
| Leads and ISA-booked appointments | Leads plan has its own split |
| Tools and training included | Central Virginia only |
So who should you call?
- Newer agent who wants training and a mentor: Keeton & Co or a large office-based firm.
- 20+ deal agent tired of paying for a TC and office: run your numbers against our table.
- Self-sufficient, low-overhead agent: compare eXp and the cloud options.
Read more about Keeton & Co, see how to join, contact us, or call me at 804-373-2223 for a confidential conversation.
Keeton & Co, a Virginia-licensed real estate firm, Glen Allen, VA. Competitor figures are from the cited sources on the dates shown; Keeton & Co figures are company data as of October 2026.
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