If you have researched commission advances, you have probably run into eCommission, Tongo, and RealCommissions. They are well-known names, and they are also oriented toward residential real estate, a different product and a different target market than commercial leasing. This page explains the difference and why a commercial leasing broker is usually better served by a commercial specialist, covering all three in one place rather than treating them as direct commercial competitors.
The gap is structural. A residential commission generally pays in full at one closing, on a sale that is scheduled to close within a few months. A commercial leasing commission splits between execution and occupancy, with the second half frozen behind a build-out that can run much longer. Providers built around residential sales underwrite for fast, single-event payouts on a known closing date. That is a poor match for a leasing commission whose back half depends on an occupancy date months out. The deeper, non-branded version of this argument is in the guide on why specialists beat generalists.
eCommission is one of the oldest and largest providers, operating since 1999 and having advanced close to a billion dollars over that time. Its service is built around residential transactions: pending residential sales, short sales, active listings, and commercial resale sales, with advances tied to a sale scheduled to close within about 120 days. It funds up to the full net commission to a cap of around $20,000 per transaction, often within an hour, with a grace period for delayed closings and broker sign-off required. The key point for a leasing broker is that this is a residential-sales product oriented around a closing event, not a commercial leasing product oriented around an occupancy trigger.
Tongo takes a different shape. Rather than a one-off advance, it offers a commission-backed line of credit that an agent can draw on deal by deal, accessing up to around 75 percent of a pending commission up to roughly 60 days early, priced from about 3 percent per 30 days, and it has built a broader financial platform around that. Its eligible transactions are residential: residential sales scheduled to close within about 60 days, and residential leases. It is a residential product with a line-of-credit model, which is again a different structure and market than a commercial leasing commission stuck behind a build-out.
RealCommissions is the most explicitly residential of the three. It states that it serves licensed residential agents and funds commissions on single-family residential transactions, including townhomes and condominiums, and that it does not work with broker-owners. It advances up to the full net commission, funds quickly, offers a grace period and a substitution program if a contract falls through, and approves based on agent performance rather than credit. As a residential-only, sales-oriented provider, it is not built for commercial leasing.
A provider built around commercial leasing treats occupancy triggers and build-out delays as routine, reads leasing commission agreements fluently, verifies faster, and prices for a payout that may sit for months rather than closing in weeks. That fit is the whole argument, laid out in the guide on why specialists beat generalists. Cash For Commish works only in commercial leasing, with a published flat fee of 3 1/3 percent per month, which is exactly the profile a residential-sales-oriented provider is not designed for.
Confirm current terms before publishing.
These providers are oriented toward residential transactions. eCommission centers on residential sales, Tongo on residential sales and leases through a line of credit, and RealCommissions on residential sales only. A commercial leasing broker is generally better served by a commercial specialist built for occupancy-triggered commissions. Confirm each provider's current scope directly.
A residential commission usually pays in full at a single closing within a few months, while a commercial leasing commission splits between execution and occupancy and can sit for many months behind a build-out. The structures, triggers, and underwriting differ, which is why fit matters.
Because they share the trait that matters most to a commercial broker: a residential orientation. Grouping them keeps the comparison clear rather than splitting it across three pages that would each make the same point.
This guide is general information for commercial real estate brokers and is not financial, tax, or legal advice. Competitor details, including market focus and terms, were sourced from public information as of June 2026 and must be re-verified before publication.
