How do I choose a broker?

I work for a small shop, and usually clients come in by referral -- you house someone, then you get their sister's college friend, or their work colleague, or whatever. From the client side, that means it makes sense to ask your college friends, work colleagues, etc. who they used and liked.

You will also find brokers have specialties -- this one works with a lot of tech clients, that one is particularly well versed on Gramercy -- and that's a way to connect too. People hire my deskmate because he's enthusiastic and a tough negotiator, while people hire me because I'm a hand-holder who is good with boards. It's perfectly acceptable to ask an agent what his/her specialty/style is, and what value they're providing for your money (even if it's coming out of seller's commission).

Most importantly, just as if you had to choose an accountant in a hurry, pick someone who seems honest, someone who seems smart, and someone who you "click" with. Moving is a stressful process, and you want to feel like you're hiring an ally, not someone who you're suspicious of.

ali r.
DG Neary Realty

Could I ask why all of a sudden you want a broker to help you? I am not really against buyer's brokers because they do not cost you anything at the end of the day. Just curious since most listings are out there one way or another, is it that you want someone to schedule appointments for the apartments you are interested in that are not listed? concerned about placing an offer, board package, etc.

But Ali makes a good point regarding how one normally would find a broker and a lot it comes from friends, family, etc, who have used someone that they felt did right by them. For instance I have a broker who i would recommend in a second to any friend of mine as I know he would do his best for them.

2-3 months seems like an incredibly short time to find, buy and move into a new place regardless of whether you're working with a broker or not. Buying is a big decision, and as Mikev points out if you've been diligent a broker isn't going to lead you to a lot of new places that you haven't considered before. It seems like it would be far wiser to get a flexible rental agreement in place (or even just sucking it up, getting a new rental, and realizing that you're going to have to move twice in a year) rather than rushing a purchase and locking in a place that isn't really right.

I am really not convinced about the need for the buyers broker. I am looking and have a hot list of some 20 properties from streeteasy. I have spoken with a couple of potential buyer brokers and they constantly tell me that I should pay more than my budget, despite the evidence I have that there is a long list of apartments in my price range in the areas I am looking at. One broker I spoke told me "I have clients with 250K to 500K more than you looking in the same area so you should go to Brooklyn". Why on earth does the buyers broker want me to spend more? Because they get the commission in the end, that's why, just like the sellers broker. It's a flawed system. When I presented the potential broker with some of my streeteasy examples, all they could come back with was that they knew the coop approval 'black magic' and without their help I would never get into a Manhattan coop. Although I may have all the financing necessary for a purchase, that isn't enough and without their help I would not be able to present myself in an acceptable way to the board coop. I have to say, I have found Corcoran agents especially obnoxious. It is as if they have all been through the same cloning process and have the same b**lsh*t sales script they inanely recite.

I had a similar experience with a buyer's broker, prior to going on my own and buying in a new development. We were first looking at one price range and while I would agree i needed to raise it because of what was available, the broker the minute he knew what i was preapproved for wanted me to vastly increase what i wanted to pay. First of all the formula's are flawed because just because i qualify for 1.3 million mortgage, does not mean that it will not bankrupt me if i actually did that. On top of that for the few weeks that he was "helping" me out, he sent me a list of apartments that i could find on streeteasy on my own, and told me to go to open houses and let him know if i was interested in anything. Well then what was he actually doing for me?

The broker that I ended up using, I met through an open house that she was hosting in the building that I ultimately purchased in. The apartment that she was representing was an estate, and one of the bedrooms looked out to the brick wall of the building next door. Loved the spacce, didn't love the wall, but liked her personality and the fact that she didn't try to "sell" me. That was fall of 2009. I decided that I needed her knowledge of how real estate & the market worked in NYC as I was looking at pre-war coops, and coop boards need some navigation.

She helped me put together a list of the buildings that met the parameters I was looking for...and then we sat back and waited to see what came onto the market. I ultimately purchased another estate condition apartment in a different line of the building where I first met her. Her past experience with the building helped us to put together a successful board package. We got together again an hour before our board meeting and she prepped us on some of the things that she thought may be discussed. I found that she was right on target and was very comfortable at the meeting. Needless to say, her insights & experience in the market, and this particular building really made the difference for me.

My best advice to you is not to choose your broker based upon the firm (Corcoran, Halstead, Brown Harris all are good companies), but really look at the broker. Brokers are independent contractors. If you have found some buildings that you are interested in, try to meet some of the brokers who have experience with them - find the one with the personality that suits your own.

fhsack - that's a great story. I wish we heard more of those on this site.

zombyw00f - keeping fhsack's experience in mind, have you seen any co-op buildings you liked, even if you didn't like the particular unit? That's a great way to start. You can find the agents who have sold in the building and see if any of them have any new listings coming. In that way, you get the benefit of an agent who knows the board and who may know of something waiting in the wings. It's a bit more work for you, but you have come this far! Because you are pressed for time, working directly through the listing agents who know these buildings may be the best way to go.

If you're looking at new construction condos, I would say make sure you have a fantastic attorney if not a buyer's agent. A buyer's agent can help push your deal if the listing agent has multiple units available and may be bogged down with other deals and therefore less responsive.

If you simply feel you need someone to negotiate on your behalf, that's a different story. Ask your friends for a recommendation for a tough negotiator with proven results. The fact that you HAVE to move is a piece of information you may want to keep to yourself, in any case. A buyer's broker will not disclose that information if you ask to keep it under wraps. A seller's agent is required to share that tidbit with the seller.

Tina Fallon
Realty Collective, LLC

First question you forgot to ask yourself is whether you care about getting a buyer agent commission rebate. Also, it makes sense to use a buyer agent in NYC as they have faster/fresher data and because listing agents are contractually obligated to co-broke with them, so you have nothing to lose.

The Hauseit guys wrote a pretty complete answer here www.hauseit.com/how-to-choose-a-real-estate-agent-in-nyc-buying-home/

A buyers broker will help you save time during the purchase process and especially in preparing a board package. For example, pet friendliness was critical to me so if I saw listings I liked that didn't specify if they allowed pets, I just asked my broker to check it out before I wasted any time on calling/emailing or visiting. She did all the leg work for me although I found most of the listings I liked on Streeteasy. And while she did show me one or two apartments that were slightly above my comfort zone but definitely feasible financially "for comparison", she never tried to persuade me to buy one of those versus something more in line with my original budget. (The mansion tax makes it easy to draw a line in the sand at $1mm with or without a broker. At least it did in 2008, I get the feeling the market is different. I definitely see the value of engaging a buyer's broker or at least looking into the Burkhardt Group which provides services such as negotiations and board package preparation but does not find properties for you, and offers a substantial rebate on the broker's commission. Keith Burkhardt is a Streeteasy contributor and highly reputable. If you don't want to go with a standard broker, I would definitely contact them.

I am a real estate broker (since1987) and a mortgage broker (since 1990). I not only offer a rebate, but besides being very experienced in negotiating the purchase of property I can have the buyer pre qualified for a loan or even obtain a commitment letter before a contract is signed. I also can do no closing cost loans.
Ellen Silverman
Licensed Mortgage Broker, NMLS #60631
Licensed Real Estate Broker
Tel:212-786-9682

The most important thing is to find a broker who is honest and who you trust. There are so many sketchy brokers out there who are looking out for themselves rather than for you. The best place to start is with a referral, so you can get firsthand information about the broker and that person's experience with the broker. You can also ask a broker you are considering working with for a few referrals (any good broker will be able to put you in touch with some past clients who can give you an assessment of the broker). There are a lot of people on this thread talking about rebate brokers. I worked with a "rebate" broker, Dan Gotlieb of Digs Realty, to buy my apartment, and he was fabulous. I have recommended him to many people, all of whom have been really happy with him. He gave me a huge rebate - 2% of my purchase price back (which was tax free, so amounted to a HUGE savings for me), but more than that, he was fabulous to work with throughout the entire long and stressful process of buying a home. I needed a lot of hand holding, and he was there with me every step of the way, never pressuring me (in fact, talking me out of apartments that weren't right for me, either because they had a land lease or for other reasons). I felt like I had an ally through it all, and I came out of it calling Dan a friend. Ultimately, I go back to finding someone who you like and who is honest - it will help take the sting out of the brutal process of buying in NYC.

I am closing on a purchase tomorrow, and I certainly second the recommendation for using Keith Burkhardt. I am a California real estate attorney purchasing a coop from an estate sale. Can you think of a harder transaction to handle?!? Keith's team is outstanding, and I will honestly miss ranting to him about the inefficiencies of the NYC real estate process. Other than locating the property, he is an absolutely a full service firm. They schedule and attend all property visits, negotiate the sale, drag the closing to the finish line and will give you as much or as little hand holding as you need. Prior to working with Keith, I was being represented by a "full service" broker recommended by a friend. Since I realized that I was finding all the properties and contacting her, I wondered what was the real benefit. You simply could not pay more for better service and this will be my third home purchase.

Easy: Keith Burkhardt