Teams are a great place to learn and a hard place to stay. According to the National Association of REALTORS®' October 2026 analysis, 47% of the agents who leave team-based firms go to another real estate company. Team-based firms were also among the most likely to call agent retention a top challenge, at 20%.
I'm Rob Bergeron, Owner–Realtor of Winner Realty in Louisville. I ran my own team before I started my own brokerage, so I've been on both sides of this conversation. Here's how to leave well.
Why agents outgrow teams
Most agents join a team for leads, training and support. That's a fair trade early on. It gets less fair when you're generating most of your own business and still paying a team split on top of a brokerage split. It also gets hard when you want to build your own name and every sign, ad and review belongs to the team's brand.
That's not a knock on teams. It's just a stage. NAR's data shows agents move most in the middle of their careers, and that's often exactly when a team agent is ready to run their own book.
Step 1: Read your team agreement before you say a word
Your team agreement is a contract, and it decides most of what happens next. Look for:
- Notice period: how much warning you owe the team
- Pending deals: who gets paid on deals that close after you leave, and how much
- Leads: whether leads the team gave you stay with the team
- Non-solicitation: any limit on contacting team clients or recruiting teammates
- Fees you owe on the way out
If it's unclear or unfavorable, talk to a real estate attorney before you resign, while you still have leverage.
Step 2: Know who owns the listings and contracts
In Kentucky, it isn't you and it isn't the team leader. It's the principal broker. Kentucky regulation 201 KAR 11:121, Section 7(1), makes the principal broker the owner of all written brokerage contracts, including listings and purchase contracts. If you're leaving the team but staying at the same brokerage, those contracts don't move. If you're leaving the brokerage too, they stay behind. I go through all of this in How to Switch Real Estate Brokerages in Kentucky. Indiana agents can read the Indiana version.
Step 3: Sort out your name and your marketing
In Kentucky, a team name is registered by the principal broker, not by the team. Under 201 KAR 11:105, Section 4, the principal broker registers the name with the Real Estate Commission, and a team name must end in "team" or "group." If you start your own team at a new brokerage, the new principal broker has to approve and register that name.
Plan to update every live profile, bio and pinned post on the day you move. Kentucky treats every webpage and social post as its own advertisement, and the brokerage name has to be visible without scrolling.
Step 4: Tell clients the right way
Clients you're actively working with may want to come with you. They can, but they'll sign new agreements with your new brokerage, and you can't pull a pending contract away from your old one. Be honest, be brief, and don't trash anyone on the way out. Your reputation is the only thing that fully comes with you.
Step 5: Leave on good terms
You'll co-op with your old team on deals for years. Give real notice, finish what you owe, hand off files cleanly, and say thank you. The agents who leave well get referrals back. The ones who don't, don't.
Solo, a new team, or a new brokerage?
Some agents leave a team but stay at the same brokerage. Some go solo somewhere new. Some start their own team. If you're producing most of your own business, run the math on a plan that lets you keep more of it. I lay it out in Real Estate Commission Splits Explained.
Where Winner Realty fits
Winner Realty is an independent brokerage in Louisville, licensed in Kentucky and Indiana. Agents who leave teams usually want two things: to keep more of what they earn and to keep getting deal flow. We offer a 100% plan at $595 a month, an 85/15 plan at $100 a month, and a 60/40 plan at $50 a month, each with a $295 fee per closing. And our agents get residential and commercial leads in their inbox every morning at 6:30, without buying portal leads.
Book a time with me here, or text or email me at (502) 305-8915 or Rob@thewinnerrealty.com. You can see all three of our plans on our Join page.
For the bigger picture, read Why Real Estate Agents Switch Brokerages: What the 2026 Data Shows.
Frequently asked questions
Can I take my clients with me when I leave a real estate team?
Clients can choose to keep working with you, but they'll need new agreements with your new brokerage. Listings and pending contracts belong to the principal broker, so you can't move a pending deal. Check your team agreement for any non-solicitation terms first.
Who gets paid on my pending deals after I leave a team?
Your team agreement and your brokerage's policy decide it. In Kentucky, no statute or regulation splits commission between a departing agent and the brokerage, so it's a contract question. Read that section before you give notice.
Can I keep my team name if I leave?
Not automatically. In Kentucky, team names are registered with the Real Estate Commission by the principal broker. If you move, your new principal broker has to approve and register the name, and it must end in "team" or "group."
How common is it to leave a real estate team?
Very. NAR found 47% of agents who leave team-based firms move to another real estate company, and team-based firms are among the most likely to call retention a top challenge.