Recommendations for a Buyer's Agent

The place you are interested in – check to see who is the seller’s Broker. If the Seller’s broker is a member of REBNY, they they will share commission if you hire a buyers broker. In Brooklyn, brokers who obtain exclusive listings that are *not* a member of REBNY will most likely blacklist you if you have a broker.

When I say this, i mean you will almost certainly go to the absolute bottom of their priority list. Why share a commission unless they are in dire jeopardy of an unsold property and losing the listing? No one will talk about it, admit it, or otherwise acknowledge this. So play your cards right when going to open houses and know who is REBNY and who is not.

As far as comps – proceed at your own risk. When you hire a “buyers broker”, they are usually paid by the seller. It is in their best interest to justify to you a price that gets the deal done. Again, no one will talk about it, admit it, or otherwise acknowledge this.

You can hire a buyers broker, keep your cards close to your chest and don’t admit how much you love a place. Assume they are the sellers broker if you believe in street smarts. All the usual positioning – – they are there for footwork and coordination only.

This is of course, just my opinion.

If you want a true buyer’s agent, you have to pay their fee yourself. Otherwise, they work for the seller.

Re negotiation, the standard practice is to look up comps, and if the ask is in the ballpark, offer 10 percent off ask.

Usually, people looking for a true buyer’s broker find one of the few who specialize in it. Usually they are out of state and need someone to find a few likely places.

If you have never bid before, you might find you lose the first few places. Or maybe that was only during the boom.

By the way, I bought through Corley and found them to be highly ethical and general all around good people. I recommend them. They represented the seller.

I agree with what others have said. Be very leery of the smaller brokerage firms: some of outright unethical and many do not co-broke, which limits your options for properties. As a buyer, you will not be paying any commission. That’s paid by the seller. In my opinion, it’s smart to work with a good broker from an established firm who you feel comfortable with. At the end of the day, it’s about having someone who looks out for your side of the deal and your interests. Someone to negotiate if need be and help you through the many details that are part of the process.

I’ve worked with Lori Mendelis at Corcoran and recommend her highly. She works out of the Brooklyn Heights office and is amazing! If you’re interested, here’s her contact info:
lmendelis@corcoran.com, 917-363-4464

Good luck to you!

Tracy,
To clear up a few things mentioned here. Buyer’s brokerage IS done in NYC. Brokers/agents work with buyers all the time to assist them in finding apartments. If they help a buyer purchase an apartment where they are not the listing agent then they have legally represented the buyer in that transaction. This is buyer’s brokerage. This is the dominant model in the NYC residential market where a vast majority of commissions are “co-brokered” which means an agent/broker other than the listing agent/broker brought the buyer (and represented the buyer’s interests in the transaction) and the commission (paid out of the seller’s proceeds at closing) is split between the seller’s broker and the buyer’s broker. There is no cost to the buyer for the brokerage service.

In recent years the term “buyer’s broker” has taken on a newish meaning where a broker works with a buyer – for a flat, negotiated fee, paid by the buyer – to help them find an apartment/home. This type of “buyer’s brokerage” is not typically done in NYC.

You can and should use a broker to help you with your purchase. Based on what you have disclosed above you can use a broker for any property you might be interested in – whether you have seen it on your own or not. And 99.9% of the time it will not cost you anything out of pocket. The brokerage commission paid in that transaction with be used to compensate your “buyer’s broker.”

Who should you use? You are doing the right thing – seek referrals, look at listings to see what the brokers are selling and where they may have some expertise. But MOST IMPORTANTLY – interview them yourself. Meet with them face-to-face to discuss what you are looking for, what your price range is, what THEIR experience is and see if you “click with them.” The relationship you will have with your broker/agent is important. Buying real estate is expensive, time consuming and stressful. The last thing you need to worry about is whether you trust your broker.

Also to correct some other misinformation from above:
1. “If you visit an open house and sign-in and don’t list “your” broker on the sign in sheet you can’t use a broker.” This is patently false.

You definitely can use your own broker to negotiate the purchase of that apartment. In fact you can use a broker even after you have made an offer to purchase on your own. The listing (ie: seller’s) broker won’t like it. The listing (seller’s) broker may try to tell you can’t do that but legally they are required to accept any broker up until the brokers’ names are entered onto the contract of sale. To claim anything other than this is just wrong. You can and should ALWAYS use a broker to represent you in the purchase of a property. If a selling agent tells you can’t then they are putting their interests in front of yours and their client’s for that matter.

2. “Since you did not list a buyers agent when your saw the property you might have to pay 3 to 6 percent of the price for his/her services.” Again this is totally false.

In NYC it is standard practice that the brokerage commission is paid by the seller. The vast majority of brokered transactions in NYC are structured so that the seller pays the commission. Some sellers – especially for-sale-by-owner sellers – will not pay brokers and if a broker represents you in that transaction then you will need to compensate your broker. But this is extremely rare and you will know it going in.

If you’d like to meet to discuss what you are looking for feel free to contact me directly. Kevin Clark. Realty Advisors Group 917-449-9333.

Good luck with your search!

tracyj – I recommend myself. Check out my comment history on this site and then take a look at my website blogs and bio. I am an independent broker. Here is a quote from someone that was considering my services a few months ago. I am now their buy side agent.

“My husband and I are relocating to New York in November and are looking to buy a townhouse in Brooklyn. We are in touch with a major brokerage and I have been getting to know Streeteasy.com intimately but I feel that a broker with real Brooklyn knowledge like yourself who is not tied to any particular mainstream realtor could be invaluable to guide us to understanding the current market, correct valuation, and what is involved if we decide to go with a building requiring serious renovation, so that in the end we buy the right property for us. Can you let me know if you would be available to help us with our search, and how that would work?”

Contact me if you think I can help. Good luck.