What questions would you ask a potential selling broker

Anyone? Need some help please!

i would keep your contract with the broker under 90days

agree with bb re term, ask for their closed sales track record for the last 3 yrs, how they plan to market the property, who will cover the open house, the broker or someone on their "team", figure out yourself what you want to pay for commish and make that part of your agreement and make sure whomever it is plans on taking professional looking pictures and has a floor plan that doesn't look like it came off an etch-a-sketch. also, if your bldg doesn't allow open houses, what will the game plan be for showings - how much notice you need to make sure the place is spiffy.

Put yourself and your needs in place, outline them if you need to, then, proceed to ask each potential candidate how they respond in each instance. What is your aim? Each agency tends to have their own language in their exclusive agreements, their own culture, their own approach to how they do business. it is difficult to assume one general expectation as a general role. Do you want to give an exclusive for 6 months? a year? ask what the commission is, 1%? 2%? 5%? what do they offer in exchange for the commission? what is their marketing plan, I mean, really, I need to get back to work so that I earn a living :) but that's the idea.

Ask them about what listings they have now and how they're marketing
them; to talk about the last apartment that they sold, and what they
did right -- and (this is important), what they did wrong; what they
expect from you (hint: "Nothing" is the wrong answer -- you should
hear something about communication and access). Ask them how they're
handling the current credit crunch.

I personally would not take a 90-day listing -- average time on market is currently around six months -- and I would be a little suspicious of any agent who would, but that's just me.

There are many ways to skin a cat -- and many ways to sell an
apartment, so any one of many different approaches can work. What you
want to do is make sure that the broker is clear about what their
approach is, and then make sure you click with them.

Everyone should always be negotiable on price, but especially in this
market, make sure they are willing to talk about what kind of
marketing dollars you are getting out of what kind of commission.

ali r.
{downtown broker}

See this for a good idea of my approach:
http://www.theburkhardtgroup.com/about.php

Thanks everyone. This is very helpful. If I lock myself in for 6 months, can I rent it out sooner or do I have to wait? Is 4% a reasonable end goal?

lo888: you can absolutely anything you want, just make sure it's in the listing agreement. If you hire a really cute agent, you can put in the contract that she can only show the apt wearing cashmere sweaters because it matches your persian rugs best. just make sure whatever it is...IS IN THE CONTRACT...if they won't meet your needs and desires, hire a different one. You are taking the right approach by asking every knucklehead for info flow. good luck...peace

hey ali i like you, but dont be killing any cats "There are many ways to skin a cat" ;)

If you try for 4%, you'll get the argument that they will have to split it and other brokers so those borkers won't want to bring their clients by if they will only get 2% for their work. I've always thought that was b.s., but at least be preapred for it (certainly less weight in this market). We sold last year and had a tierd structure were we paid the full 6% if we got the broker's suggested ask price(which was higher than I thought) and paid less if the sale price was below a certain point. You certainly can get to 4% if your broker sells to an unrepresented pary and gets to keep the whole thing. Good luck.

I am voicing an opinion here because I am trying to do things a little different after 17 years with mostly big firms.

the burkhardt group Commission 3.5%= 2.5% to buyers broker 1% the burkhardt group Very important as I do not exclude any Firms, all will gladly accept 2.5%

My exclusive agreement gives you an out clause with 7 days written notice for any reason.

I offer the same full service as any firm in the city, please refer to my site regarding "Role of the listing broker". I am happy to meet with anyone to discus selling their home under this "new" model, after 17 years in this business and working 1000's of buyers, sellers, landlords and renters I know a few things.

Either way best of luck...it's tough out there!

Starfish - last year was the way to go!!! Wish we'd done the same! Tierred approach sounds good.

One final question - any harm in seeing more than one team from the same firm (can they find out?) The people we are seeing sold a friends' place recently. The other person who happens to work at the same firm sold 80% of the apartments in the building over the last few years. I don't happen to know any of those buyers so I can't ask how their experience was.

Whatever the stated term of the exclusive is, you should insist on a clause that lets you void the contract after N days (I suggest 90) if the broker hasn't brought you at least one bonafide, written offer within x% (I suggest 10) of the agreed asking price. That way, you can get out if the broker fails in one of the two key areas: pricing and selling.

No harm at all in asking to see more than one team from a firm, people do it all the time. I think it's polite to tell them up front rather than having them find it out in the office, though.

We haven't discussed the pricing side, but West 81st's comment brings that up: one easy way for a broker to win your business is to tell you that your apartment is worth more than the other brokers say it is. We call that "buying a listing." So just remember to discount the highest number you hear -- you want your broker to price the apartment at a number that impresses buyers as well as you!

ali r.
{downtown broker}

west81st & front_porch good points.
1o888 in terms of one team finding out or not, if they are in the same firm, some firms actually announce the new exclusive listings with pertinent details. Additionally, If they are in the same office within that firm, it might create tension if you do not tell them about it in due time. The benefits of each team, from what we know so far, seem to be helpful advantages in trying to sell your property. Who knows which team will sell it first, it depends on many variables. I am sure that you are examining, as you go, the merits of each and putting together a bundle of expectations for your sale. Equally important as the potential agent/broker's track record in dollar signs, it is also how comfortable you feel interacting with your team more often rather than not. Good luck!

I would never give a broker more than 90 days, last time I sold it was 60 days exclusive, the apartment sold in 50 days (funny that).

lo888- I totally agree with ali's last comment-
1. It happens all the time that brokers within the same firm compete for listings.
2. Beware of a broker "buying a listing" as Ali says.
3. Ask the broker what their strategy would be for selling in today's market.
4 Ask them for a phone number for a referral from a SELLER they have represented in the past who can attest to their value.
5. I notice you refer to the two broker "teams" from this same agency-- make SURE that whoever will be doing the actual showing is not someone's assistant but one of the actual "lead" brokers on the team. As ever showing could potentially result in a sale you want to be sure that the agent showing is experienced and knowledgeable. Large Teams in my experience tend to be the kind that "collect" listings and hope that a certain percentage of them sell. Small teams and individual brokers tend to be more committed to giving more of a "full service " approach.
Best of luck!

I'm fairly certain that I sold my place as quickly as I did because of a couple of things the broker did:
(1) held an open house every weekend until it was in contract;
(2) recommended we set an initial, reasonable "reach" price; gauge reaction of those at open house for 3 weeks; and then did a serious reassessment and made a realistic price adjustment based on feedback from lookers and overall market.

The point of #2, I've said before, was based on "when you have to eat sh-t, take big bites and don't nibble at if forever." Nickel and diming your way lower and lower is a waste of valuable time and pointless in my view.

(3) make sure the broker you select isn't pushy, obnoxious, someone who can't shut up. they should be good listeners, give people space, not use bull market crap lines with buyers about how the place will "definitely go up" within 3 years in value.

A couple looked at my place a few weeks it being on the market. It was the first apt they'd seen and they loved it. They were not represented by a buyer's broker. When they told my agent they were interested, should told them she wouldn't accept a bid until the looked at a few more places--that it wouldn't be fair to them if they didn't. the couple went away and 2 weeks come back and made an offer after seeing a dozen more places. Our final sale price was ultimately exactly where I said I wanted to end up after a realistic assessment of the market at the time. THAT is the kind of broker I would look for. I loved her and ultimately my b/f and I sold 2 places with her, did a sublet with her, and used her on the purchase of a new place. There are wonderful, honest brokers--don't settle for anything less. It's hard to find them in a business replete with conflicts of interest and ripe with opportunities for self-dealing. But good people do exist. Look until you find one.

kylewest-- SPOT ON COMMENTARY, not to mention I always appreciate someone who writes well and formulates their ideas coherently!

Kylewest - LOL at eating sh-t! Let's hope We don'have to deal with the runs every 3 weeks!

lo888- the standard term for an exclusive agreement is 180 days or 6 months. In the past brokers were willing to negotiate on the term and do 5 months or 4 months. in this market, they will have to work harder & longer so I doubt that you will find a decent broker willing to take a 90 day exclusive (I know I wouldn't).
You can list it for rent at the same time that you put in on the market for sale (you just sign two sep. exclusive agreements).
Feel free to interview different teams & individual brokers from the same firm- there is nothing wrong with that at all.
4% is highly unrealistic especially if you sign with one of the "bigger" firms. Most brokers will not show an apt to a buyer if their side of the commission is less than 2.5%. (Only way to get away with 4% is if your exclusive broker has an unconventional model where he/she gives the buyer's broker 2.5% & they keep 1.5% for themselves-i.e. similar to Burkhadt).
Do not choose a broker/team solely on the commission. (As a side note- unfortunately, there are a lot of buyer's brokers who won't show their customers an apt. that's listed at 5% if they can show a comparable apt that's a 6% commission. so sometimes you get more traffic if you offer a higher commission).
i totally agree with nycbrkerdax's 5th comment about "teams". Make sure you know who will be showing your apt- many teams or "top" brokers send their assistants to show apartments. If the team has 20 exclusives it's virtually impossible for the senior brokers on the team to show all 20 apartments.
As far as what to ask the brokers your interviewing, everyone here gave you some great suggestions. I would add that you ask each broker if they have a customized marketing plan/strategy for your apartment, how often they'll hold open houses, where will they advertise, how much time they have to devote to your apartment & how knowledgeable are they about your building and comp. apts.
Ask them to show you a list of comp. apts that are currently on the market and a list of comps that went into contract recently as well.
sophia.anzaroot@elliman.com
http://www.prudentialelliman.com/mainsite/agents/agents.aspx?BID=SOPA