Freelance Writer
I am writing a piece for the New York Times Real Estate section on choosing the right broker/brokerage to sell your property. I’m looking for folks who were disappointed by the broker they chose or the services he/she provided. I’d also love to hear from anyone who was surprised, in a good way, by the…
I am writing a piece for the New York Times Real Estate section on choosing the right broker/brokerage to sell your property. I’m looking for folks who were disappointed by the broker they chose or the services he/she provided. I’d also love to hear from anyone who was surprised, in a good way, by the level of service they received. Also, does anyone have strong feelings about going with a big firm, like Corocran or BHS, verusus a smaller, local, less corporate entity?
Please email if you’ve got thoughts–and you don’t mind seeing your name and details in the paper.
Thanks,
Hope
Agreed, Corcoran deliberately leaves listings active beyond the properties are in contract, then leaves them “in contract” well beyond closing. I’ve seen this too. Our house was repped by a Corcoran broker when we bought it and he did that. It really seems it’s a company-wide thing.
Anyway, my contribution would be this observation – the best brokers are the ones who specialize specifically in the neighborhood your property is located that you are selling. Best of all, get the ones who actually live in that very same neighborhood. You’ll do way better because they are more invested and more knowledgeable about the area. Also they will already have a list of people who have been looking for properties in that neighborhood.
The absolute worst is when the broker is clearly talking up only what he/she read on the internet about the neighborhood and giving wrong or no information about schools, subways, other amenities.
What about those brokers that keep long-sold properties on their website and mark them “in contract” for no good reason? I don’t know if they are being insidious (want to appear as if they have more active listings than they actually do), lazy (in which case do I really want to use you as my broker?), or stupid (again, why would I use you). Corcoran, especially, does this. I know this for a fact because the building I live in is marked as “in contract” on their site when it was sold a year ago to my new landlord. It pisses me off that I have to wade through a bunch of fake sales prospects and makes me never want to use a Corcoran broker.
If you’re looking for bad experiences with mortgage brokers I’ve got a lovely story of bait and switch, deception and outright lies.
Choosing the right broker has very little to do with the firm be it large or small. It is the individual one works with that determines the level of service, there are good and bad employees in any company. I’m sure brokers who need the publicity that this article will generate will have all their friends write in and praise them and their company. Good luck in producing an unbiased article.
I’ve been working with Corcoran, one broker in particular, but have met quite a few at open houses. They have been great. No high pressure and seemingly completely honest and on my side. I’m always surprised at the negativity coming from people on this site towards brokers, Corcoran in particular. No, I’m not a broker.
I’ve been working with Corcoran, one broker in particular, but have met quite a few at open houses. They have been great. No high pressure and seemingly completely honest and on my side. I’m always surprised at the negativity coming from people on this site towards brokers, Corcoran in particular. No, I’m not a broker.
I order to get both sides of the story, you may want to interview the tWhat.
I have bought and sold 2 properties in the last year, both townhouses. I had a fantastic experience with my Corcoran broker. I began the process of looking for a townhouse over 4 years ago. His patience and good advice were priceless – and yes, we did have 2 big deals fall through at the last minute and all the usual headaches. Although I am an experienced real estate investor with homes in other states, I think going with a townhouse expert who is also a very smart guy made a huge difference to us. He also has a partner who did a great job selling a house for us. We received a price well above what we expected, and I can honestly say it was pretty much due to the way they handled the whole process. I should also confess that I am no fan of brokers, finding much of them pretty useless. But there are exceptions, and we certainly found one.
Feel free to reach me if you have any questions. my email is andrecom@earthlink.net
Absolutely: hopereeves@mac.com