Buyer having problems with broker

kylewest: about 3 months ago

fatrabbit: I may have mucked up the details. Without being a REBNY member I believe the attorney may have trouble collecting a commission. In any event, an attorney or broker cannot just appear post-contract and announce they are to be given 1/2 of the seller's commission. So post contract, there is no point in bringing in "a broker." What you need is an attorney.

fatrabbit: about 3 months ago

Kylewest, it is not correct that for an attorney to act as a broker in New York, the attorney must file the paperwork but not take the test. New York is one of only two states where any licensed attorney may act as a broker.

kylewest: about 3 months ago

Before you do anything, remember that the goal here is to close the deal on the terms you agreed to. The point is not to teach anyone lessons or prove a point. Any action you take should further the deal in a constructive way and not just help you vent. When it is all done, jam up whomever you still want to with letter to NYS agencies, brokerage bosses, etc. Without more info, it is hard to give more precise advice. Want to share any specifics of your frustrations?

front_porch: about 3 months ago

Hi Razorback (I'm from Little Rock)

You have bascially two levels of recourse. If the person you are working with is not a sponsoring broker -- and chances are that they're not -- then they have a boss who can be complained to. At a large firm, you can call and ask for their "manager" -- at a small firm, you can call and ask for their "sponsoring broker."

And then you can explain to that person whatever troubles you -- note that you are in the middle of a deal, and you need X, Y, and Z to complete it.

If the person you are working with is a sponsoring broker, then your complaint should be made to the Department of State, who licenses us all. You can find license information for any agent or broker of the New York State Department of State web site.

Good luck!

ali r.
{downtown broker}

kylewest: about 3 months ago

Couple things incorrecct in fatrabbit's response. I did not get from the original post that the broker you do not like is the seller's broker. If that is true, then your best bet is to work with an attorney you like, trust and who really knows his/her way around NYC RE. Explain the situation to the lawyer and let the lawyer truly represent you--you can pretty much avoid dealing with any parties other than the lawyer you hired. The lawyer will act on your behalf in arranging all closing details and can ask that the seller's broker go through the attorney with all communications. What is wrong in the above response by fatrabbit is that the attorney CANNOT act as your "broker" unless specifically licensed by NYS to do so--all attorneys can be brokers in NY but must make the requisite special filings first to basically be given a broker's license--they just don't have to take a test. The other wrong information is that you cannot really bring a broker in at any time. The contract is signed and the terms set. If the contract does not state the commission is to be split and specifically name YOUR broker, then there will be no commission for any broker you bring in at this late date. There is really no mechanism to bring a broker into the deal on your side at this point--it'll just be bizarre and gum up the works. Frankly, another broker at this point adds little value since it is the attorneys who pretty much take over now.

If it is not the seller's broker, but in fact your own broker who is annoying you, then just stop dealing with him/her and go through your attorney and have the lawyer inform your broker that you no longer want or authorize the broker to do anything or speak to anyone on your behalf. They'll simply show up at the closing and collect the 3% commission they are owed.

fatrabbit: about 3 months ago

You realize that the broker is representing the seller and not you so this person is not your broker. In fact, you can bring in someone to represent you at any time up until the closing. The seller's broker may not like it but that's too bad. The seller's broker has a fiduciary duty to the seller not to do anything to jeopardize the deal. We used an attorney friend to represent us since under NY law all licensed attorneys may act as brokers. Good luck!

razorback: about 3 months ago

I am in contract on my very first apartment (I'm the buyer).I enjoyed working my broker up until my offer was accepted. Since then this broker has become very manipulative and dishonest (I don't want to go into details here in case he/she reads this). I am in the process of putting together my board package. I am very uncomfortable working with this person at this point, but I also don't want to do anything this late in the game to jeopardize the deal.

Do I have any recourse?