exceptional brokers to work with

"exceptional brokers" is an oxymoron. they are all the same -- out for the quick commission. see todays real estate section in ny times

not true, i have been in the business since 1972,i believe that i am exeptionally qualified to help anyone to buy or sell any kind of apartment in manhattan, i owned my own business since 1974 never had any complaints, i trained some 200-400 brokers over the years, some great, but to say that they are all out for a quick buck. i dont think so, its hard work, if i got $.25c for every hour i spent working i would be a very wealthy man. last year i exepted an offer i could not refuce and i am working out of a large firm. i am having having an open house tomorrow at 77 park ave, apt # 9-h pre-war condo 4ms, w/wbfp, nicely renovated asking $1,100,000 neg..between 1-3pm.1/28/2007. if that is not for you if got a (not yet on mkt, be the first) no board approval studio, renovated on east 57th street for $328,000 low mt.and you can finance 90% just fill out an application.and put 10% up and sign a contract.email me or come to my open house tommooorrow sunday 1/28/2007.i love this business we work hard and we are very professional at what we do, do not underestimate us. david a. day lisenced associate broker svp/ day@elliman.com

ow, my ears hurt

Hmm... I thought the "exceptional broker" level exam had some questions on keyboard usage and how to disable caps lock.

Or perhaps they replaced that question with "how many ~ should preceed a listing description".

Look, I'm not a broker, and actually, my wife and I sold our loft veru successfully last year FSBO. But having said that, I've had some great experiences with brokers in the past, and some lousy ones as well.And I certainly don't begrudge brokers the right to earn a (good) living - the good ones I've worked with have been attentive, intelligent, and hard working. The main problem I have is that I think a flat 6% charge is okay on real estate under $1,000,000. But our last place that we decided to FSBO sold for $2,475,000, and it sold in thirteen days. And the reason we decided to try FSBO was precisely because we felt that NO broker was worth paying 6% of that sales amount (which came to $148,500). Or perhaps I should say that we felt it was at least worth trying to FSBO and keep that money in OUR pocket. I really believe that on amounts over $1,500,00 there should either start to be a sliding percentage scale or a flat charge that is terraced of some kind.

There are absolutely some exceptional brokers, just as there are exceptionally bad brokers and whole bunch of mediocre brokers. Over the past ten years I've seen hundreds of apartments, sold a few, and bought a few. If you mail me at alohashirt99@yahoo.com I can give you a list of the handful I thought were excellent.

Fully agree with that sliding scale argument. There is a point when enough is enough. As to brokers, I have used about a half dozen to either sell or buy and I have to admit about 1 out of 3 seem to be both qualified and actually looking out for my interests. The whole industry is conflicted. They simply do not make money if you do not buy/sell, so there is an inherent need for them to push you in some manner to buy/sell. I do feel for brokers because real estate is a sport in NY and there are a lot of people pretending to play/taking up broker's time. Maybe they need to go to a hybrid hourly/commission rate to make people feel like the brokers are looking out for their interests (maybe you pay at the end if you never buy a place and the broker does not earn a commission). That way the broker makes money if they have to take you to 30 apartments and then you decide to not buy. And you are getting their undivided attention b/c they know they will at least get paid for helping you if you never buy a place.

Re: comment above, buyers have no incentive to pay a broker on a hourly basis to show them apartments b/c the seller pays the broker's commission upon sale, not the buyer

I know that. My point is is that there are a lot of people in the city that will have a broker show them dozens of places and then will end up not buying a place. That ends up taking a broker's time/money. I think brokers try to offset that in many instances by then pressuring other cleints to buy apts to generate a commission - that way they at least make money somewhere. My point is, if a broker made some money - not a lot - off the clients that were using them as tour guides (and never bought a place), they would feel less pressure/need to pressure other buyers into making decisions that may not be in their best interest. And, I said that the hourly fee should disappear if the client actually bought a place and the broker made a commission through the sale.

It is like any business. A few great ones.. many who are not so good. I would stay away from anyone who started just recently to make a quick buck.

Stay away from citihabitats. Bad experience with 3 brokers there. One of the brokers who flat out lied was a manager... scary.

Suzanne Steward at Corcoran is good.

Problem: The real estate market ahs been hot for 5+ years, 1,000's of brokers came into the business to make a quick buck.

Solution: Many of these brokers are now leaving the market since they now have to "work"

Conclusion: On average, you will find the best brokers tend to be in the business for over 5 years. As their time in the business goes on, their experience increases exponentially. Any broker in the business 20+ years has lasted for a reason. I fyou want to ensure a successful transaction, find an experienced agent, with an experienced broker. Anyone in the business less than 5 years may have gotten into it for a "quick buck" - which is HYSTERICAL - since the average closing takes 90 days - so if an agent starts on Jan 1, 2007 and gets a deal signed and sealed that week (highly unlikely) they won't close, won't make one red cent, until March 30....at which point their average take in NYC is $10,000 take home for the agent... divided by 90 days is $111/day, brokers tend to work 7 days a week - at least the successful ones, and in the beginning up to 12 hour days - this perception of a quick buck - is sad, for a profession that deal swith the most important purchase in a persons life. Sur ethere are scumbags out there, but there are also scumbag lawyers, doctors, nurses, cops, priests, nuns, politicians and the rest. So stop beating up on the industry and beat up on the individual crappy agent instead.

I recommend Joseph Altman at Douglas Elliman at 575 Madison.

Can you please tell us why #13? Is he a good guy?

OR

Are you his aunt, girlfriend or wife?

#12 says
"So stop beating up on the industry and beat up on the individual crappy agent instead."

This isnt about a few bad apples, the entire industry is corrupt, from the bead brokers on down. Head brokers encourage the quick buck mentality, they are looking for bodies to fill those empty desks. They throw all the shit out there and then see what sticks.

Citadel management was the worst. Blatantly Lied about square footage to the tune of 85 square feet. Canceled open houses at last minute, failure to return calls. Also, whoever runs 296 East 2nd street--think its Louise Forbes at Halstead. NEVER returns a call, getting a showing there is like pulling teeth. They act like its your privelege to schlep over there. Really annoying. No wonder that unit is still available.

It is your privilege #16, learn how to kiss ass a little more and doors will open.

It'd be my privilege to kick you in the ass #17.

good #18, at least you have some spunk and werent planning on bribing your doorman to kick my ass for you.

#19 I don't have a doorman, nor do I prefer to have one. Please do regale me with your views on how & why it is my privilege to interact with a real estate broker (of which I am certain you are one).

I've bought and sold a couple of houses on Lawn Gyland and am now purchasing a co-op in Manhattan. If you're a buyer, it's hard to avoid brokers, although I have rejected the co-broke thing. If you're a seller and willing to WORK HARD, you can sell it yourself but don't kid yourself, I've done it and it's fun to me, but it is work. And you need to spend some reasonable money on marketing.

On this apartment hunt, I've found Corcoran agents to be great about returning phone calls and emails and very pleasant people. If you have a choice as a buyer, I would go through them. But as a buyer I wouldn't let anybody be my "broker" although I had two agents try to push their way into the job.

I have challenged agents who lie about square footage, I took a tape measure with me to showings and pulled it out and measured. Agents who lie about square footage, which is so easy to verify, will lie about anything, so handle at your own risk. Personally I would try to avoid them but of course you're chasing the apartment so you may not have a choice.

An independent agent who does not co-broke is handling our deal.

Douglas Elliman has been mentioned already a few times and I agree - I am working with an agent there now and it has been a very good experience. Very professional people and well trained on the ethics side. I have no complaints and would highly recommend them.

I have read through all the comments, and through I am a little late, my comments are as follows; Just like everyone else, I have had some very bad experiences and some great experiences. I tend to gravitate towards a broker that I see put their money where their mouth is, meaning if you know the business, when not invest in the business. It's like going to a dentist who never uses a dentist for their own teeth. My point is I like to work with a broker who is out there investing in the market, and who can give me their experience as a buyer, not just as a "salesperson". The one I have found who does that is Hazel M. from HMC Property.
I am also of the mind set that brokers can spin their wheels very easily, and in the same manner that I don't go to a bank and sit there talking about investment and then don't really want to invest. I don't do that to brokers, because their time is actually money. I have notice that the best brokers only work with referrals, and walk-ins are only worked with if they sign a paper saying the are only working with that specific broker. I guess it is understandable.

There are just as many good real estate brokers out there as there are good used car salesmen. The majority want to push a lemon on you just to make the sale.

From my own experience, it's pretty bad out there. My first broker urged me to "buy buy buy" before the prices go "up up up". Praised everything on every apt and really wasn't looking out for my interests. The second one found a place that I was interested in but priced way above the comps. I asked her for her opinion on what the offer should be but she wouldn't give me a straight answer. Her reply was "an apt is worth as much as one wants to pay". That's fine but I don't need MY broker to tell me that because I'll hear it from the seller's broker. They weren't adding "value" with their services. I'd say most Manhattan brokers are out there to make a quick buck and just get a deal done. They aren't really interested in helping either the seller or the buyer. No wonder the industry has such a bad reputation.

"They weren't adding "value" with their services"

...that's the key. Unfortunately the bar for becoming a broker isn't very high and the ones who actually understand what 'adding value' means are the ones who deserve to earn their keep.

Hi, I'm an international buyer looking to buy a studio or 1BR condo on UWS (my son will go to college there). After a few weeks of searching over the internet I picked one broker and decided to stick with her exclusively to not make her work for nothing. She sent me some listings and went to 1 open house for me and urged me to buy buy buy and bid at least 25% above asking price cause there was a lot of interest and it would still be a real bargain (apartment is on the market for 1 year already). I hesitated and did some research on my own and found out about the bad financials and bad condition of the building, the lobby, etc. and that the apartment wasn't all that fabulous. I informed my agent about that and she replied she thought I wouldn't mind the condition of the building. She put a lot of pressure on me, calling all the time, sending URGENT e-mails to act fast, the market is heating up etc. although she knew that I couldn't even see the place myself for another few weeks - she just told me to trust her...