Seller's Agent Has Somehow Become Our Broker

I don't know why they would handle things this way, but I'm pretty sure the listing agent would have been entitled to commissions for both sides of the deal if things had gone as you expected -- as would be, of course, the brokerage.

I would certainly write a letter to the manager of your "broker" detailing his turdiness, abrasiveness, lying, and this strange arrangement. So he'll get an extra bonus from his brokerage. Just kidding ... but anyway you have nothing to lose by doing so, and nothing to gain by being nice to him. And maybe the manager will slap him around a little.

Tell us the name of the agent, the firm etc.
Share with us.
We are the keepers of such information.

I don't see why you couldn't hire a broker to represent you, as long as you haven't signed the contract yet.
Check out Keith Burkhardt, who often posts here. He rebates 2/3rd of his "share" of the commission to you, and you won't have to deal with the tire any more.

Damn auto-correct! Turd, not tire.

maly, it's important to clarify. the i-phone in particular is an intrusive pain in the ass. it really seems to think it knows what i would like to write. west67th once pointed out that his i-phone should have had some issues (self-implosion). i hate to misquote, and i don't recall exactly. but can you just imagine what his i-phone tried to do his first few months? that seems worthy of an article to me. but he likely didn't record the changes.

You should never just be appointed another agent from the same firm without your consent unless you or the seller specified that you did not want the listing agent handling both sides of the deal. If for some reason that is the case, unless the contract has already been signed you have the right to select your own agent from whatever firm you would like to represent you.

Welcome to New York State real estate agency.

First of all, this happens ALL THE TIME, sorry, npaik. I have bought a couple of upstate properties where this happened to me. I went in without an agent, so the brokerage appointed me one. In one case I never met the guy until the day before the closing.

Second thing, please remember that although your money actually pays for everything--you are the buyer, you are the only one in the room with the money--remember the seller's agent does not work for you. The seller's agent works for the seller.

Therefore, unless you have a special agreement to the contrary, what the seller and the seller's agent decide on their contract is strictly none of your business. That is not your side of the deal. If the seller decides to pay 20% commission, or 0.5%, and they agree to it, it is none of your business.

Obviously the agreement they make might affect the price the seller is willing to accept, but you have moved past that stage already. How they work out compensation is, I repeat, not your business. And alanhart is of course right about the commission.

Now, what many agencies do is select a "designated" agent to sort of take care of the buyer in the deal.

In one case of my purchase, the listing agent had her business partner act as my agent. They both worked for the same brokerage.

I am hoping someone will tell us why the BROKERAGE has this policy. So far as I know, my brokerage does not do things this way. This, I am fairly certain, is a brokerage level decision and there must be a liability or other legal reason for it. I hope an expert steps in and tells us.

If you hate the broker they gave you, and if you have not signed anything, you can ask your attorney what your options are.

If you have to submit a co-op package, to work with a broker you despise sounds like some kind of hell to me, so I hope you change things around before you get to that point.

If it is a designated agency situation it soundslike they went about it completely the wrong way, they should have explained it, and had you sign an agreement to it...

"When we submitted the offer to the listing agent, she told us that a different agent at her firm would handle our offer."

"Obviously, this firm is doing this so that they can keep the entire commission from the seller"

Not to defend the firm for anything else, but this is obviously NOT the reason THE FIRM did it, because in the case described to you as what would happen vs. what actually did happen, THE FIRM was getting both the buy side and sell side of the commission anyway.

Now, as far as I understand it, a buyer is allowed to hire their own broker at just about any time in the transaction to represent their interests. So, you can ask your attorney about this, but you might want to go and find a broker to represent you now, go take another look at the property and they may have some ideas for you, and then have your attorney advise the seller's attorney that you ARE represented by a buyer's broker and give them the name, put it on the contract, etc.

StreeteasyNewbie- I am an attorney, as well as a broker and just from the facts that you decribed above, there are serious legal issues there. Feel free to provide me your email and I will tell you exactly what to do. Bottom line, what the seller's agent has (is) doing to you is illegal and self-serving and will cost you money.

Fluter, I do not know what agency you work for but this does not happen all the time. Agency disclosure is necessary by New York State Law. Does your agency uses a disclosure form?

Especially, if the seller's agent is representing the seller and the buyer or has both sides of the deal they need to have the sellers and the buyers sign a disclosure form. Usually if a buyer is assigned another agent within the same brokerage (Dual Agent with designated Sales Agents) it is because either the seller or the buyer does not feel comfortable with one person representing both interests. However a buyer MUST sign something that allows dual agency with designated agents. This is state law and a buyer always has the right to choose their own representation. This issue has less to do with who gets the commission then proper agency disclosure and agents representing the interests of all parties involved.

Just to clarify, this happened to me as a purchaser of real estate, not as a real estate agent.

The disclosure form I describe above was presented to me with the actual contract--so much for "at first substantive contact". I signed the part allowing the designated agents, just as npaik describes.

At the time I didn't understand what I was signing, really, and I didn't care. It had no effect on my deal, as near as I could determine. Later I became a licensed real estate agent and I understand why the form was presented, but not the motivation.

So what I still don't understand is why a brokerage does this--why is it advantageous to have two agents, in my case business partners, working for the same brokerage, become involved in the same deal for the same commission at the 11th hour?

This happens a lot in upstate New York, by the way.

Still waiting for somebody to explain this. There must be a reason. Taxes? E&O? Commission splits?

Streeteasy Newbie and Fluter chcek out this link - it explains everything regarding dual agency and disclosure:

http://www.dos.state.ny.us/forms/licensing/1736-a.pdf

@jacobst,

I'm not defending what selling firm did, but how is it "illegal?" Potential buyer came in without representation, the listing agent told them about representation ("another agent will handle your offer") and is putting that agency in writing as part of the contract signing process. What's deceptive -- let alone illegal-- about that?

ali r.
DG Neary Realty

according to the facts above, there was no disclosure...as a broker, you should know this...