Good Park Slope RE Agent
We’ve been looking to buy a place in Park Slope on our own for about a month now and have realized that we won’t be able to figure out everything without getting an agent. We haven’t done well negotiating so far and are not sure on determining fair market value on the homes there. Can…
We’ve been looking to buy a place in Park Slope on our own for about a month now and have realized that we won’t be able to figure out everything without getting an agent. We haven’t done well negotiating so far and are not sure on determining fair market value on the homes there. Can anyone recommend a local agent in Park Slope to use?
Best,
Ben
I am selling my apt thru a park slope realtor. She worked on my behalf last year then due to circumstances I had to pull my apt off the market. I went back to her this year again to try to sell. She has put in the hours as broker and has been very diligent in vetting and followup all along. A few weeks a go we received an offer by a couple who came to my first open house and then had their “broker” call my realtor and she said if I accept the offer of her clients she gets 1/2 of my brokers commission. For nothing more than sending her “clients” to an open house!
Granted, i’m paying the commission regardless of who it goes to but jeez….all the woman did was send people to an open house listed in the NY times and all over a website of one of the bigger park slope real estate companies. Seems like total b*shit. I gave an exlusive listing and anyone can say “my” client and get a cut of the commission? Seems pretty crappy for an already crappy biz. grrrr grumble
in all seriousness, what don’t you understand about the process? all you need to do is go to the library and take out some books on real estate buying and you can find out almost anything a broker will tell you. Seriously, I know this from my own experience.
you DON’T need a broker. I think they really don’t add any value or help at all. They are ultimately working for no one but themselves, not the seller or the buyer. I have found that especially living in nyc, if you use the NY Times, you will find almost all, if not more, listings than any individual broker will show to you. Some brokers will not show you exclusive listings. Also, if you do not work with a broker, you will most likely have a seller with one, and then in that case, they should treat you as if they are working for you and the buyer, and should try to negotiate the best deal for everyone involved. I think brokers do not deserve all the money they make on a deal. I think it can all be done without them at all.
If you had trouble negotiating, you can also consider getting a book on it too, “Getting to Yes; Negotiating an Agreement Without Giving In”.
Can you talk a little more about yr negative experiences?
Try Bobby Fagan of Tanner Fagan Real Estate. He’s from Windsor Terrace/Kensington / Park Slope area and is experienced. You can contact him at 718.680.6888 or bf@tannerfagan.com
best of luck,
allan s.
The brokers out there will run a broad spectrum in dilligence and integrity. Even the recommended ones may not be to your liking for whatever reason. One of the biggest you ivestments you may make in your life unless your business is making investments. Here what the broker has to say, go get educated in the process, find out how to get your own comps, learn how to research the property. Advice is worth every penny you pay for it.
I’ve had luck with Phillip Hale with Tungsten properties. I went through 4 agents, each at different (larger) firms, before settling on him. Other agents would more or less exploit my lack of knowledge on the nabes (I really just moved here), and try to make me buy something outside of what I was comfortable paying. Phil gave invaluable advice, and did a great job in finding several places that had what I wanted. I don’t want to post his personal contact info, but just google search tungsten and you can find the number to his office
I have a different take on this, from a different perspective. As an architect, I often go with clients, sometimes just potential clients, to look at houses they are making an offer on, so I see a lot of properties, and meet a lot of agents.
Without fail, what I have noticed is that when working with multiple agents a buyer is often pressured into buying something quickly. The agent knows that he or she has a big potential to lose a sale if the buyer sees a better property with another agent. If the agent is confident in his or her relationship with the buyer, then he or she is more likely to work with the buyer until they find just the right property. This means less pressure on the buyer and a better chance of finding exactly what the buyer wants.
I’ve gotten to know a few agents very well this way, often meeting them over and over again as we meet the client at different properties. Laura Denise Milkowski (see contact info in my first post above)is one of them. I would be happy to recommend her to anybody looking in Brooklyn. Looking in Manhattan? I’ve got someone else who’s really great there, too.
We worked with Jesse Temple who has lived in park slope for 40 years (he’s 40) and is a very talented broker.
Despite how some here say brokers may work Jesse works for his clients… he’s nominally affiliated with Charles Rutenberg but only because that arrangement allows him independence. (Jesse was 12 years at douglas elliman before that)
I highly and strongly recommend him. He’s a tough negotiator but a nice person. His skin is thick, but his sensibilities are not. Because he’s been doing this so long he’s used to all the antics and was a huge help to us in keeping us calm throughout the process. A lot of realtors are simply bananas. We met enough of them in the 3 years it took us to find our house.
He honestly is not usually someone to work with buyers, as someone posted here, it’s not usually what most brokers like. If you’re serious and you know you are going to buy, I think he or any good broker would take you on as a client.
Please tell him Sarah sent you, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.He’s amazing.
Jesse Temple (917) 459-8018.
good luck!!
p.s. any Qs about park slope you can also field here… most of us love sharing advice and opinions about real estate and related topics.
oohlala: I’m curious what you didn’t like about Trish?
I also agree with the above comments that there’s no reason not to go with a couple brokers. I tend to look on my own, since everything is on the internet, for the most part; however, last time around I used several brokers.
Sorry, I guess Pigeon and Slopefarm expressed my advice better. The idea of a “buyer’s agent” is almost unheard of NY – even if someone proposes such a thing to you, it’s a marketing ploy to get you into the company.
I picked Corcoran b/c personal experiences – they did a great job selling our old place, but in the end, the buyers were screwed (misrepresentation by the Corco broker and lack of due dilligence by the buyers’ attny).
In other words, caveat emptor.