Is it unethical to have more then one broker?

Just tell her you're not working with her any more (at least exclusively).

In light of how half assed real estate agents do their jobs in New York City, I'd say working with more than one is not unethical at all.

Please don't try to be ethical when using a broker. The favor will not be returned in kind, anyway.

Well said gcondo & luchiasdream. NYC brokers are a JOKE at best! USE as many as you want!

Just disclose this to them. Will avoid bad situations down the road if they know that they are not exclusive.

Keep in mind, though, that to the extent you need the services of a buyer's broker (and I don't know your situation well enough to say whether you do), if you use multiple brokers each of them is less likely to see you as a priority. In this market, they may be so starved for deals that this isn't a problem, but in better markets this may be more of an issue.

The other thing is you want to avoid confusion later on. Keep track of which brokers are showing you which properties, and make sure that once one shows you a property it's off limits to the other brokers.

These days, I think a broker will take what they can get and be happy

they are not the boss of you. basically you need to fight them off with a stick. save contact info if one impresses you, then do your own search and when visiting open houses say you do have a broker but they wasn't able to make it. when you find a place you love and are 100% ready to make an offer or maybe need a kick in the ass, then dial up the broker that impressed you, when you need them. not before. beware of these people and maintain full control of the situation!

Glamma, I totally agree with your strategy.
I ended up not using a broker altogether, and it is proving to be a good strategy as well, as I prefer to have one less person in the chain to the seller.Nevertheless, If buying a coop, I would have add a broker to the scene once I have several buildings and try to hire someone that has a good knowledge of the neighborhood and boards.

Why did you want one again?

just joshing.
sure it's ethical...
send out an e-mail blast to every lic. broker in the area your looking for with your needs and desires, budget then sit back and..........................

Battle Royal

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm just kidding.......don't do that!

Why did you want ONE again?

This is one of the reasons I don't work with "off the rack" buyers.

Exactly, 30 yrs. How would these people like it if the attitude of their clients was "F 'em; just use them & abuse them."

If your broker is not performing to your satisfaction, tell her/him; as long as you haven't signed anything, you should be OK.

thanks for all your comments! great advice! i dont know why i was working with a broker. i thought they would help me find place or negotiate a good deal for me. boy was i wrong.

i will defintely tell her whats up and now see as many brokers as i'd like or none at all. Can you do it with none at all? just go straight to the seller? is it harder to negotiate a good deal if you dont have a broker?

"No one owns a buyer" When I'm looking to buy I talk to a bunch of brokers, why not?

But don't make commitments, oral or written, that you don't intend to fulfill because that's not right and could get you into legal trouble. Don't lie, in short.

It would also be very nice if you'd keep track of who showed you what. But the broker should be doing that.

Definitely you can go straight to the seller, or straight to the listing broker. "Harder" to negotiate depends, you might have to convince the listing broker (or the owner) that you are financially qualified or they won't go forward with you after your offer is presented. Because they have to find a "ready, willing and able" buyer and if you don't have the $$$ you are not able.

If you have a buyer's broker, that broker, who is legally obligated to represent your interests and get the best possible deal for you, could tell the listing broker, "Yeah they've definitely got the $$ for that offer" without you dumping a lot of personal info into the lap of the person who is trying to get as much $$$ from you as possible.

Other thing--it's clear that I have access to listings that buyers working on their own can't seem to find. I don't quite get this, but it seems to be true. Not a big factor at all unless you're overly particular.

{Manhattan real estate agent. 917-365-0876}

This whole thread is why I get so stressed whenever a broker at an open house asks if they can send me listings. I want to be nice to my "real" broker who is showing me places, but hasn't gotten me my place yet. I am a particular buyer and what what I want, very specific criteria, and while hard to find, it is out there (Saw 2 apartmets in last year that would have worked). Although, I do get the feelign that the OH brokers will run one search, send it to me, and that will be it.

Why on earth would you like to be dealing with several people sending you the same listings! Maddening!

Do yourself a favor and have one broker/agent work for you. Interview them to find out experience level, area expertise, mortgage knowledge (I would never use a "one stop" agent - loans, real estate etc) and most importantly local industry reputation... primarily the individual not the company. Check to see if they have any disciplinary actions against them & if they & or their company is insured - Errors and Omissions insurance. It is all easy to do & any agent worth their salt will happily provide to you.

Additionally, ask for the names AND phone numbers of their last 5 buyers they represented & call! Ask how well their agent represented them in the sale, did their assistant do most of the interactions and did the transaction go as smoothly as possible - most transactions will have some hurdles and bumps to get thru, how was that handled? WHEN did the transaction complete - April 10 1999???!! Are they related to the agent????

Finally commit to a 30 day trial buyer broker agreement and extend 30 days at a time to give you some control.

Any agent who has a problem with the above will have one of three issues to avoid like HIV -

Ego & a controller - yuck! It's your money, your dwelling and there is no place for their fat head
Lack of experience - embarrassing but agents all started somewhere however, practice on someone else
Just plain old dishonest - don't worry about hurting feelings, they have none.

As far as agents sending you emailings of listings expecting compensation, I seriously doubt that is legally enforceable... by the way, those who hint at those claims are to be avoided!

Only if you're married to them.