Using Broker Ethical Question

If the broker introduced you to the place they are owed a commission. So just bend over and take it -- --- ---. Unless you specifically hired them as a buyer broker, the agent represents the seller. The real question is whether the broker should dump you, since you obviously have no appreciation for the time he did take to show you a few properties, time he or she could have spent with someone else.

wow - that is harsh. Would you hold that if all this guy did was forward me listings I already had from Streeteasy? If he hasnt even seen the places i am interested in? Has not provided me any comps? D

brokerzrule, you are an idiot.

newbie08, you can talk directly to the seller or seller's broker whenever you want and you don't have to fire your existing broker to do it. It is your money and your deal, if you think you need to talk to the seller or seller’s broker, than do it. Take over the negotiation if you have too. Your broker should still get the commission, but what do you care? If this deal falls through, that would be the best time to dump that lazy ass broker.

Thanks Juiceman - could I be pulled into to any dispute between the brokers over the commission? Would it be okay - if i just told my broker that I want to handle the negotiations directly?

Harsh? You are buying a piece of property, looking for real advice, not a babysitter, or do you still need your specific form of coddling?. Typical buyer who changes his story, in your first post you mentioned he showed you a few places, then all of a sudden its just a couple of emails. What next? You dropped your pants and didnt get a blo*wj#b, so now you are upset? Maybe you and the Governor can get together, swap stories and see if he can pass more laws against real estate brokers.

I doubt there would be any dispute about the commission. Your broker is your broker and he brought you to the place and deserves the commission. You playing a larger role in the negotiation doesn’t translate to your broker getting less. Man, if commissions were based on actual value add most buyer brokers is the city would be out of a job.

I assume you have already tried to talk to your broker regarding where he is falling short of your expectations?

Hey - you need to stop with the crass talk - this is forum for discussion not a whipping post without any susbtance; you are not adding any value to the discussion other than offending the querier.

Brokerzrule is right that the agent will and should be paid, but not for the reasons he cites. That commission isn't payment for any service to you; it's a finder's fee for bringing you to the deal and making sure you close.

As for whether the agent will object to you handling the negotiations, the only reason for him to object is that he might think you'll mess up the deal. His job is to do whatever it takes to get you to a closing. If that means holding your hand, he's supposed to hold your hand. If it means leaving you alone while you negotiate directly, he's supposed to do that. It's his job to read you and manipulate you to ensure that you buy. That's what the seller pays him for when the deal closes.

Maybe that's a crude simplification of the agent's role, but it is fundamentally true.

thanks Juiceman and West81st - very helpful.

I agree about the commission he /she is definitely owned the commission if deals goes through. I thinks it called "But if it wasn't for me" you might of never been introduced to the property rule. Whatever the rule I'm sure the legal eagle team of Mel/ Aboutready can look it up in their law books. Since this is the case I would make the broker work hard for it. Have him bring you breakfast in the morning so you can read the contracts on a full stomach.

I think brokersrule may be an act--someone posing as a broker to make brokers look even worse than they generally are perceived to be. As horrible as most brokers are, they aren't usually this bad--or crass. Many might be abrasive and overly aggressive or willing to spin the truth, but I've never spoken to any who literally talk like prostitutes.

Remember, they are called real estate AGENTS meaning they act as an agent or representative. If the one you deal with does not represent the seller and property, they are YOUR agent, or a 'buyer's agent.' They do not represent the seller. If you no longer want someone to represent you, you tell them not to. Whatever the broker is entitled to by having brought you to the property the first time, the broker can work out with the seller's broker. You signed nothing and are not contractually obligated to the broker who showed you around in anyway. If because of brokerage rules they are entitled to split the commission and show up at your closing to collect money from the seller, so be it, but that is the seller's affair.

That said, no point completely alienating the broker who introduced you since they may be good for something. You might instruct him/her that you have firmly decided to handle negotiations personally and have instructed the seller that ALL communications are to go directly through you. But you might also explain that you would very much like the broker to assist you in coordinating the signing of the contract, assembling the coop board packet (if this is a coop) and arranging the closing if an agreement is reached. These items are a pain in the butt and it's nice if the broker could earn some of his/her commission by doing these things. Remember, they work for you as YOUR agent and you can accordingly DIRECT your agent as to what assistance you would and would not like. While any decent broker will abide your wishes when clearly expressed (not a bad idea to put things in writing), if your broker does not listen, then immediately take it up with the management of the company.

Kylewest, are you a broker yourself who is embarrased by your co-workers? I used to be an agent and one of the reasons I left the industry was because it was filled by people who were almost as crass as Brokerzrule. I dont think she is an exception at all.

Maxny, I understand why you might have though I am a broker, but no, I am not a broker. And I do not think very much of the profession. Every profession has 'bad apples' but RE seems to attract an especially large number of people who really give the field a deservedly horrible reputation. There are some who pride themselves in placing integrity first and value transparency in their dealings. They are very hard to find. And while I do not question that many may be quite crass when speaking among themselves, I think it is not as common to hear profanity and analogies to sex acts when they are actually walking clients through open houses and the like.

Most people do not understand the legal relationships between brokers and clients, and that is why I weighed in. I actually believe most brokers don't quite understand the nature of the relationship either. The result is that many agents run roughshod over clients who don't have legal backgrounds, a strong knowledge of real estate, or very self-possessed personalities. Adding to the problem is that most real estate attorneys aren't that good either.

That's why it's worth reading boards like this, for whatever it is worth, and to educate yourself as much as possible when entering the market as a seller or buyer. No one is going to take care of your interests better than you are.

What broker could resist making fun of the whining prima donna buyers on this board. The most airheaded receptionist at my office runs circles around the best "advisors" on this board.

I think spunky has a new provocateur joining the fray.

Perhaps the only effect of the cooling RE market that no one will shed a tear about are all the brokers who will no longer be able to make a living because, suddenly, they realize what wasn't apparent in full-steam-ahead-bull RE market: they really suck at what they do.

Wow, look who is lecturing people about the unemployed, kylewest actually has time to devote to studying and tracking individual posters on this board. Next he'll be dragging some poor agent around town to look at apartments he cant afford.

brokerzrule- you are not adding any value to this discussion- so really, its you that seems to be unemployed by just taking inappropriate potty mouth jabs at people and acting unprofessionally.

I came across a video clip that I think brokerzrule made of himself in action. As you can see from the video he comes across as professional as he is on this board.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ts8vMvO32w0&feature=related

Spunky --- thanks for the video!! That and the Spitzer soap opera are making this an entertaining Monday!!!
Newbie08 --- West 81st is totally correct. Good luck with landing the apt. You'll forget about all the problems relatively soon; it's small beer stuff.