Editorial Policy: How We Write, Source, and Correct Our Guides

Kale Realty publishes free guides for real estate agents: brokerage comparisons, fee breakdowns, and answers to the problems agents bring us. We run a brokerage, so we are not a neutral party. This page explains who writes the guides, where the facts and quotes come from, how we check them, and how to tell us when we get something wrong.

By D.J. Paris, president of sales and marketing at Kale Realty and host of the Keeping It Real Podcast. Last updated November 6, 2026.

Who writes our guides

D.J. Paris writes or edits every guide on this site and reads every page before it goes live. D.J. does not sell houses. His job at Kale is recruiting and supporting agents, and his other job is hosting the Keeping It Real Podcast, where he has interviewed nearly 700 top-producing agents, coaches, and industry leaders since the show launched in 2014.

That is where the advice in our guides comes from. When a guide tells you how to handle a commission objection or what to say when you call your sphere, the method comes from agents who do that work every day and explained it on the show. We name them and cite the episode. We would rather show you who said it than ask you to take our word for it.

Our conflict of interest

Kale Realty is a Chicago brokerage, and we want agents to join it. Every guide on this site ends with a short note about Kale, and our comparison pages put Kale's pricing next to our competitors'. You should read them knowing that.

What we do about it:

• The advice works anywhere. Our agent-problem guides are written for agents at any brokerage, and none of the fixes require joining Kale.
• We say where competitors win. Every comparison page has a section on what the other brokerage does well, and some guides tell you that staying where you are is the better choice.
• We show the math. When we compare costs, we show the fee structure and the assumptions, so you can rerun the numbers with your own production.

How we use quotes

• Quotes are copied word for word from the source. For podcast guests, that means the episode transcript, checked against the audio wherever the transcript is unclear. We don't paraphrase inside quotation marks.
• Every quote is attributed. We give the guest's name, their company at the time of the interview, and the episode.
• We don't invent people or stories. If an example in a guide is a hypothetical, we say so.
• Transcription errors stay visible. If a transcript garbles a word, we either fix it in [brackets] or leave the quote out.

How we use numbers

• Every outside number names its source and date. For example: "NAR 2026 Member Profile" or "Redfin, August 2026." Where we can, we link to the original.
• A number a guest gives on the show is cited to that guest and episode. We present it as what they said, not as an industry statistic.
• We don't publish a statistic we couldn't verify. If we can only find a figure secondhand, or the source contradicts itself, we leave it out or say plainly what the problem is.
• Estimates are labeled. When a brokerage doesn't publish its fees, we write "not published," or we show a clearly labeled benchmark and the assumption behind it. We never present an estimate as a quoted price.

How we write about other brokerages

Brokerage fees come from each brokerage's own website, public fee schedules, published filings, or reporting by a named publication. Many brokerages negotiate splits one agent at a time, and franchise brands set fees office by office, so your agreement may differ from what we show. Each comparison page says when its pricing was checked. Before you make a decision, confirm the numbers with the brokerage directly.

We don't publish anonymous complaints about other brokerages or their people, and we don't speculate about anyone's finances or motives. Brand names belong to their owners.

How we use AI

We use AI tools to help us research, organize transcripts, and draft. AI does not decide what's true on this site. A person checks every quote against its source and every number against its publisher, and D.J. reads each page before it's published. We never use AI to generate quotes, statistics, reviews, or testimonials.

We're particular about how our writing sounds, too. Our Kill the AI Speak list is the same checklist we use on our own pages.

Dates and updates

Every guide shows when it was published. When we change facts on a page, such as fees, rules, or numbers, we update the date and note what changed. Real estate rules move quickly. The NAR settlement, the 2026 MRED membership change, and the Compass acquisitions all changed pages on this site, so check the date before you rely on a figure.

What our guides are not

Our guides are general information for real estate professionals. They are not legal, tax, or financial advice. Where a guide cites Illinois law, such as the Condominium Property Act or the Real Estate License Act, we name the statute so you can read it yourself. For your specific situation, talk to your managing broker, a real estate attorney, or an accountant.

Free guides and your email address

Every guide on this site can be read in full without giving us an email address. A few guides offer an optional printable version that asks for your first name and email. If you request one, we email it to you, your details go into our CRM, and someone at Kale may reach out to you about the brokerage. You can unsubscribe at any time. Our privacy policy has the details.

Corrections

If you see a wrong fee, an outdated rule, a misattributed quote, or anything else we got wrong, email dj@kalerealty.com. Please include the page and what you believe is correct. We read every message. When we're wrong, we fix the page and add a dated note saying what changed. Competitors are welcome to send corrections about their own pricing, and we'll update the page once we can confirm the change.