Two Broker Situation

How do you feel about your behavior in this situation?

You should contact the REBNY Legal Line for more information. I don't think the first broker will have a legal claim to a commission here... but agree with fieldschester -- if the first broker has invested a lot of time with you, you should think twice before dumping him/her...

honesty is the best course. Tell the second broker about the situation. Most likely they will figure out some kind of referral fee to the first broker if you have spent a significant time with the first agent.

if you want to put in an offer on any properties the first agent showed you, she most likely registered you as her client at the open house. It's very unlikely the first agent will not demand a portion of the commission.

First off, I am *not* an attorney, but as a real estate broker who's been around the block a few times and discussed situations like you're describing with my sales manager, have some knowledge from the other side of the deal. The way I understand it, a broker needs to have "procuring cause" to be entitled to a sales commission. The easiest way to understand procuring cause is that that broker needs to have been the one to facilitate a "meeting of the minds" between buyer and seller. It's a number of events that the broker is involved in leading up to making the deal happen. Simply showing an apartment is NOT enough to establish procuring cause. You haven't even submitted an offer, the first broker hasn't presented an offer for the seller to accept or negotiated on your behalf at all. It's my opinion you're not in any peril by going through your new agent (especially if you haven't signed a buyer's exclusive agreement), though no one could control if the first broker comes after you for money. If that first agent did do that, though, in my opinion, they would clearly lose.

Your rights are furthers strengthened if the first broker is a REBNY member. It's my understanding that REBNY ethics guidelines say that the buyer can choose his/her representation at any point before the contract is signed.

Hope this helps, good luck to you.

I agree with MSADEWITZ: unless the first broker has a Buyer Agency form signed by you on file - you are free to put in an offer with any broker you choose. This "rule of the game" creates risk as well as an opportunity for us, brokers.

"This "rule of the game" creates risk as well as an opportunity for us, brokers."

So the industry sets itself up so that brokers are cut throat. Do we really believe that? What does it mean for clients if brokers are encouraged to act this way? What does it mean if the clients create these situations on a one-off basis?