Do I Have to Give Up My Own Realtor to Get Cashback?
No. You keep your own realtor, your own lender, your own lawyer, all of it. The only requirement is order: start with HiveRewards before your professionals begin working on your purchase. Start with HiveRewards. Keep everything else. That's all it takes to get paid. The cashback is funded from the budgets professionals already spend to find new clients. Industry analyses put a realtor's cost to win one new client anywhere from several hundred dollars per lead to several thousand per closed client, depending on the channel (NAR 2025 Member Profile; Deal Machine OS lead-cost analysis, 2026). Nobody has to be replaced for the money to exist. You are not switching to a discount service. You are changing where the journey starts.
Why do people assume they have to switch realtors?
Because most cashback services in Canada work that way. Discount brokerages and rebate platforms usually require you to use their in-house agent. The trade is real: you get money back, but you give up your choice of realtor. That model is why the question exists.
HiveRewards is built the other way around. It is a starting point, not a replacement. Any realtor. Any lender. Any lawyer. The professionals you choose stay exactly who they are.
How can I keep my own realtor and still get paid?
Because of what the cashback actually is. Every professional in a home purchase spends real money finding each new client: ads, lead purchases, referral fees, networking. When your purchase starts through HiveRewards, that client-finding cost is already covered, and a portion of it goes back to you at closing instead.
Your realtor still earns their fee for the work they do. Nothing about their pay for the job changes. What changes is the cost of finding you, and that is the money that becomes your cashback.
What does "start with HiveRewards" actually mean?
It means HiveRewards is registered as the referral source before your professionals begin real work on your purchase. In practice:
- You register with HiveRewards first. It takes a few minutes.
- You tell us who you want to work with, or ask us to connect you with someone.
- The referral is disclosed and documented with the professional's brokerage before closing.
- You buy your home the normal way.
- Cashback arrives after closing, usually within 1 to 14 days.
The realtor cashback is arranged through a licensed real estate brokerage with full referral disclosure. It is a structured, documented arrangement, not a side deal.
What if my realtor has already started working on my purchase?
Then that side of the cashback is usually off the table, and we will tell you so honestly. Once a realtor has done real work on your purchase, showing homes, writing offers, HiveRewards cannot be registered as the source of that relationship. The order matters because the referral has to be true.
But a home purchase involves up to six professionals: realtor, mortgage broker, lawyer, home insurance broker, home inspector, and financial advisor. If one side has already started, the others may still qualify. The earlier you start, the more of the purchase the cashback can cover. For exact timing rules, see when you have to start with a cashback platform.
Does my realtor lose money on this?
No, and this matters. Your realtor's fee for the work of buying your home is not touched. The cashback comes from the client-acquisition side, the budget every professional already spends to win new business. Many realtors like the model, because a referred client costs them less to acquire than a cold lead. HiveRewards is built to work with professionals, not around them.
How much cashback are we talking about?
On a $450,000 home with the minimum down payment of $22,500, using both a realtor and a mortgage through HiveRewards:
| Source of cashback | Approximate amount |
|---|---|
| Realtor-side cashback | $1,620 |
| Mortgage-side cashback | $1,026 |
| Combined total | $2,646 |
Amounts are estimates. Actual cashback depends on the home price, the down payment, and the participating professionals. Full math: how cashback works when buying a house in Canada. HiveRewards operates across Canada with the exception of Quebec.
The short version
- You do not give up your realtor. You do not give up anything.
- Start with HiveRewards before your professionals begin real work. That is the whole rule.
- Your professionals are paid normally for their work. Cashback comes from client-acquisition budgets, not from their fee for the job.
- Already started with one professional? The other sides of the purchase may still qualify.