The Linigers saw that the way to make real estate more professional was to shift attention and opportunity to the Sales Agent, the true backbone of the industry. They decided to offer what was lacking in the industry: the freedom and support that quality people need in order to develop to their full business potential. It made sense to them that if you began with this philosophy, success would inevitably follow. "People who feel like winners act like winners, become winners, and attract other winners to the company," said Gail Liniger, now RE/MAX International Chief Executive Officer.

The first priority in making people feel like winners was to change the traditional commission-split system. The Linigers looked to the 100 percent program, which had been tried many times, but never successfully. They added traditional services to the concept to increase the value of affiliation. In exchange for paying management fees and contributing their fair share to office expenses, Associates would receive the maximum percentage of their earned commissions as well as benefit from a wide variety of support programs and services. The Linigers names their concept "RE/MAX," an acronym for "real estate maximums."

As the"Above the Crowd!"® organization spread across the United States, Canada, Europe, and beyond, the RE/MAX Concept revolutionized the industry. Because of the value it places on its Associates, RE/MAX is regarded as the network that has done more than any other to improve the working conditions and lives of real estate sales agents.

Return to the Top of the Page

History of RE/MAX of Texas
Frank DeCicco, an intuitive businessman and entrepreneur, who had been in business since 1936, founded RE/MAX of Texas in 1977. DeCicco, his wife Jean, and their five daughters moved to Houston from upstate New York in 1965. They established Sun Aero Real Estate, but after five years the company was not growing as fast as their ambitions. In 1974, DeCicco opened Century 21's first Texas office, but he still was not quite satisfied. "I knew that something bigger and better was lurking just over the horizon," stated DeCicco.

DeCicco found what he was looking for in 1977 when he purchased the franchise rights for Texas from RE/MAX. He carried on with Dave Liniger's unconventional concept of allowing the agents to keep 100 percent of their commissions, with the stipulation that they contribute to the shared overhead expenses plus a small management and promotions fee.

"We're the greatest untold story on the face of the earth, because this is a program that should not have worked," DeCicco says. Old-line brokers and others in the industry tried to discredit RE/MAX, indoctrinating agents against Liniger's plan and even denying RE/MAX Sales Associates access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Colorado's state real estate commission audited the company's trust accounts weekly, and the state attorney general's office investigated RE/MAX after competitors complained the firm was violating fair trade practices.

Things changed in 1977 when Liniger decided to franchise. RE/MAX was not the first real estate franchise business, but it was the first to combine the 100 percent commission concept with franchising-and the combination sparked a revolution. That year the company's growth of Sales Associates exploded by 274 percent, and has been escalating dramatically each succeeding year.

In Houston, DeCicco jumped on the RE/MAX bandwagon quickly, but he admits the first 10 years were tough-even though the late 1970s and early 1980s were boom years in the market. Luckily, he was also selling real estate to survive. "It seems to me, if you're going to be in business where your only compensation is commission, the 100 percent is important," he says. "The key was finding enough Sales Associates who had the courage to cast themselves as individual contractors and agents instead of splitting their commissions."

Richard J. Filip began his association with RE/MAX of Texas in 1979 in a marketing capacity. He owned a company called Air Adventures that provided pilot instruction of hot air balloons. Frank DeCicco contacted Richard Filip about putting a balloon-marketing program in place for the region, which resulted in the sale of the first hot air balloon to RE/MAX of Texas. It was at this time that the now familiar red, white and blue hot air balloon was adopted as the official RE/MAX logo.

Richard Filip joined RE/MAX of Texas in 1987 as Marketing Director and in March 1990, became an Executive Vice President for RE/MAX Regional. In January 1997, Filip was named Chief Operating Officer and Regional Director for RE/MAX of Texas, and later that same year, in August, Mr. Filip became Regional Co-Owner. This occurred with the formation of a partnership between RE/MAX of Texas, Inc. and KEMCO, Inc., a company owned by Filip. Filip held the positions of Chairman of the Board and President, serving as Managing General Partner of the RE/MAX of Texas, Inc./KEMCO, Inc. partnership, doing business as RE/MAX of Texas, until June, 2002.

June 2002 marked the completion of the ownership transition process begun five years earlier, as Filip announced his acquisition of the assets of his joint partnership with DeCicco. Mr. DeCicco will henceforth serve in the capacity of Honorary Director for the company.

In the more than twenty years since Richard Filip joined the RE/MAX system, he has been integral to the continued growth and success of the RE/MAX organization in Texas, which now encompasses 184 offices and 4063 Associates across the state of Texas. Filip has been a licensed real estate broker since 1969.

Today the RE/MAX concept seems to be more practical than radical. "The same thing that's happening in the retail business is occurring in our industry," says DeCicco. "Mom and Pop operations are going out of business, because they're no longer able to keep up with the technology." RE/MAX has grown so phenomenally, it now offers its Sales Associates access to a worldwide satellite network system (RSN), which offers educational courses, keeps Associates abreast of the latest industry trends, and makes readily available the referrals of more than 72,000 other sales professionals across the globe.

RE/MAX enjoys Premier Market Presence in virtually every area served by "The Real Estate Leaders."® RE/MAX has captured the lion's share of the real estate market in every major market area they service throughout Texas: Austin, Corpus Christi, the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex, Houston, and San Antonio. RE/MAX offices in the Houston area have managed to outsell their next four competitors combined for the past eight years, maintaining an approximate 30 percent of market share for the past five years.

"RE/MAX ended 2001 with a phenomenal rate of growth in both new agent count, as well as new franchises. These factors contributed to a total sales volume that exceeded 11.8 billion. We have experienced astounding growth in every aspect of the real estate market. The record-setting sales volume, as well as the fact that RE/MAX was involved in over 70,0000 transaction sides across Texas in 2001, simply makes us the strongest real estate presence in the state. And we expect great things in 2002," stated Richard J. Filip, Chief Operating Officer at RE/MAX of Texas. "I expect 2002 to be even better because we are maximizing the use of technology with an expanded on-line service, and we are continuing to emphasize our policy of providing our Associates with elite educational opportunities, both with innovative programs offered through our Academy of Education, as well as through the RE/MAX Satellite Network (RSN), which keeps them apprised of the latest industry trends and enables them to pursue professional designations in the comfort and convenience of their own home."

In an October 2001 performance analysis of leading real estate industry brokerage firms by REAL Trends, a leading industry publication, researchers verified that ". . . RE/MAX-associated firms led the way in 1991 and in 2000." The average sales volume of RE/MAX offices participating in the study in 1991 was $90 million, compared with $170 million for offices reporting in 2000-an increase of nearly 89 percent. RE/MAX sales associates also led all others in number of closed transaction sides per associate.

In addition to these accolades, Entrepreneur Magazine, in its January 2000 issue, lists RE/MAX as the number one real estate services franchise. It also ranks RE/MAX as 17th among its Top 100 Franchises and 18th in the Top 30 Fastest-Growing Franchises category. Numerous factors are considered in the study including financial strength, stability and the system's growth rate and size.

The RE/MAX network in Texas is comprised of 4063 members affiliated with more than 184 offices across the state. Under the RE/MAX franchise name, these independently owned and operated offices provide residential and commercial real estate services. Where available, offices also provide loan counseling. Since its inception in 1977, the RE/MAX organization in Texas has experienced twenty-five consecutive years of growth, attracting Sales Associates who lead the industry in professional designations, experience and production.

Return to the Top of the Page