Broker: Recruit an athlete or a player?

No, you should definitely try and get someone who is not familiar with the neighbourhood you want to live in. Your research , common sesne and all evidence pointing to the contrary should be suppressed.

Definitely take advice from Canadians.

depends what kind of service you are looking for. If a broker is especially good at comparable sales analysis and devising a bidding strategy from relevant comps and applying adjustments, this can be done in any bldg with sales volume. If you want more of a nhood expert who knows every bldg detail inside and out and all about the local happenings, then sure, look for an agent who does a lot of trades in your target nhood. There are many different kinds of buyers out there, with different levels of expectations on what they want from their buyers broker

Where do you find the kind of broker who will help you devise a bidding strategy based on comps and condition?

It is imperative to enlsit broker familar with the neighborhood in which you want to live. It's not always as simple as price point. Is the property near the things you like? Also, the cooperative process can be pretty different Uptown Vs Downtown. A neighbood expert can really guide you to a place you will love to live.....

Re borkers. The groupon of RE!

Let me send you 10,000 daily emails of potential transactions!!!'

not talking price point, I am talking about being able to provide a client with an accurate comparable sales report once a target unit is identified. in general, I am simply saying that some buyers only care about having someone hold their hand, explain the buy side process, and to provide guidance and wisdom on a road that likely has a few bumps on it. other buyers only care about service level, prompt availability, understanding what they want without having to be explained it 5 times. and then there are other buyers who enjoy searching inventory and going to OHs on their own, but really want expertise on 'fair market opinion' of a property they target, a strong comps report, a clear bidding strategy, and a handle on negotiation tactics.

this is not to say one is more important than the other, or that one is imperative and the other is not. it simply is to point out that 1 buyer may want X while another buyer my want a focus on Y.

thartonb -- putting aside that i am only a buy side broker and that happens to be what I focus on (hopefully people know by now I dont troll these forums), you can simply do your own interview of brokers you encounter in the field or ask family/friends if they have a broker that they would recommend over to you.

If your priority is on comps analysis, bidding strategy, etc., you can ask the potential buyer broker for a sample report on a property that recently sold or to explain how they service their client once a target unit is identified. How do they select a comparable sale, no kidding...many brokers haven't spent a lot of time on understanding what kinds of individual sales would count as comparable. many brokers only focus on recency of sale, not relevance of sale. How would they apply adjustments once a comparable sale is found to account for time, view (floor), condition, size, or luxury features like private outdoor space of a fireplace. Do they have an understanding of where the market is right now, where is your submarket performing right now? Where did it come from? Whats actually happening out there? To me, those are the meaty things a buyer broker should focus on in addition to the service component and passing on the wisdom accumulated from past work in a nhood, or in general.

I agree with Noah that if you want to audition potential brokers by giving them a sample problem and getting them to answer it, you can get a pretty good idea of what their thoughts, service, etc. are going to be like.

ali r.
DG Neary Realty

Most people can get comps on their own just by seeing a bunch of stuff at their price point. If you're looking at $1 million apartments and you see 10 of them, and only one makes you go "yowza!", well, that's your own personal comp right there. Your own eyes and good comparative sense are your best tools.

To me, the best thing a broker can do is get you inside an apartment to see it. Take a day, ask your broker to get you inside your list of apartments on that day, and hoof it. It's much easier getting inside to see an apartment if you're working with a broker, than merely hoping that apartment has an open house at some point down the road.

What's really important is what's on *your* list. All the comps in the world that a broker provides might be nice on paper, but if the apartment doesn't appeal to you, who cares if somebody tells you you're getting "a great deal"?

Full disclosure: I believe an apartment is a *home* to be *lived in* and *enjoyed* by the person buying it. I don't look at it as an investment. If you make money when you sell it, great. If not, it was still home sweet home and provided a happy retreat for hopefully many years.

Definitely a "sample" question.

"All the comps in the world that a broker provides might be nice on paper, but if the apartment doesn't appeal to you, who cares if somebody tells you you're getting "a great deal"?"

im a bit confused? the comps report i am talking about is 'after' the buyer finds that yowza apt u mention or another target unit of interest. everything up to that point is service level, including, being prompt and getting you IN to that desired apt and the education that comes with questions along the way.

no reason sending reports on units the buyer has no interest in, or sees online but isnt sure if it works or now