Realtor search vs. no realtor?
We are looking to buy an apartment in the Boerum Hill, Fort Greene, Downtown Brooklyn, Clinton Hill and Prospect Heights vicinity – not so interested in all the new condos. So far we’ve been hopping around to a lot of open houses and making isolated appointments without having an official realtor. My question is two…
We are looking to buy an apartment in the Boerum Hill, Fort Greene, Downtown Brooklyn, Clinton Hill and Prospect Heights vicinity – not so interested in all the new condos. So far we’ve been hopping around to a lot of open houses and making isolated appointments without having an official realtor. My question is two fold. One, what are the advantages of committing to a realtor rather than continuing looking on our own (I doubt that establishing a relationship with a realtor is going to cut down on my obsessive internet searching)? And two, can anyone recommend a realtor that knows the above areas mentioned above who is reasonably straightforward?
Any leads would help….
Since the buyer pays nothing for the broker, why not? We found a very good broker through a personal referral who did a lot of the searching for us, even visited houses to rule out ones that would not fit our needs. We also continued to search on our own, but the house we bought came to us through the broker. He was also helpful in guiding us through the process. I would mention his name, but then I would just be flamed and accused of being the broker and posing as a buyer. 🙂
Also, I would hesitate to take a broker’s referrals to inspectors or lawyers. Find your own who will be totally impartial.
henrystreet, or any other home hunters:
We will be listing our 2BR/2BA Prospect Hgts condo very shortly. Planning to do the sale ourselves. If you are interested in details, please email me at kevinonbianchi@yahoo.com.
Thanks and good luck!
If you really enjoy the internet enjoy the search I do recommend a broker to close your deal In Brooklyn no mulitiple listing so it is ofice – office :o(
GOOD LUCK
You don’t need a broker. I tried using one, thinking that she would be able to access more listings than me, and she didn’t. She just sent me the same tired old ads I had already seen, and she didn’t know anything about the nabes. There must be some people out there who can add value, but in this day and age, with the availability of listings online, you can probably do pretty well on your own. Plus in Brooklyn, a lot of sellers with brokers don’t like it when buyers have a broker, because then they will have to share their commission/split it in half. The selling broker will thus likely be biased towards buyers who do not have a buyer’s agent. Good luck!
5:53, horse puckey. You can always see listings on your own. Just call.
Yes, I agree that in a softer market you’ll do fine without an agent. On the other hand, if you meet one you really like, it can be a help to guide you through the process, esp. if you’re buying a co-op for the first time. They can also help get you in to see listings during the week etc. rather than being limited to open houses.
You don’t commit to a broker. You are free to look at stuff a broker (or multiple brokers) shows you, and free to look at stuff on your own. Do both.
Normally I think having a broker as a buyer is fine. I never do anything in life without being so self-sufficient I’m doing most the research myself anyway. It’s a given for me. I just see a broker as extra help I don’t have to pay for.
But this is a unique market, and if you are really familiar with the neighborhoods that interest you then you don’t need to use a broker. Get a RE attorney lined up and be all prepared financially, and you’re good to go. If you’re looking at coops, do research on all the paperwork coop boards typically request. Ask your attorney in advance. That way you aren’t going crazy scrambling once you’ve got an accepted offer. You can also ask the broker repping the seller of the coop for a list of everything requested by the coop board when you find an apartment that interests you. If they say they don’t know, tell them to find out. It’s their job.
In my experience you can do it on your own. My husband and I were frustrated with our experience with a broker from one of THE agencies in the city. More than half the time we researched and then we looked at townhouses with with the agent but we felt we had done all the work. She showed us things that were not listed in the paper or the net but they were all wrong. We stopped working with her and regrouped and decided to look on our own, scouring everything on the net. (Sounds like that is what you are doing already.) FYI agents are very very reluctant to show you things for sale by owner and from smaller agencies. Back scratching…
Finally we found a great place and got a lawyer to do the contracts and my husband negotiated the price.
The agents don’t want you to know this but we negotiated a considerable deal for everyone in the end. Say the house agent gets the traditional 6% of the sale. If both buyer and seller agents are involved they split it and get 3% each. In our case however, the seller agent opted to take 4% instead. (More than if he had split it with another agent.) The buyer made more because they only had to cough up 4% instead of 6% of the sale. We made out because we offered less than another buyer but because of the deal mentioned above the buyer and the buyer agent made more with our lower offer.
Presto Magico.
The lawyer did not charge much to go over the paperwork.
Be empowered and be open to doing it on your own.