Is It O.K. to Cheat on My Broker?

The simple truth is, yes, you have a perfect right to work with as many brokers as you want to. But if you do, brokers won't work with you. Working with buyers takes an enormous amount of effort, finding properties, planning itineraries that make geographic sense, considering the seller's broker's schedule, and on and on, not to mention the expense of a car service,which we pay for out of our pockets. If we go through all this multiple times, and then you buy a listing we either offered you or were about to offer you through someone else, our time is wasted. We are on straight commission, and all we have is our time. And we have to give your name when we make an appointment, so we will know if you're working with someone else. So sure, work with more than one broker if you want. But don't be surprised when they drop you, as will your current broker. If you're really not being helped by your current broker, switch to another, but tell your current broker, and don't try to work with both brokers at once.

When I would meet new clients for the first time I would talk to them about the different forms of agency because many buyers assume that the agent is working in their behalf. This is very important! I choose to work as a buyers agent so they were not customers but instead clients. I also told them that we were not married but temporarily engaged and if the relationship wasn't working out well we were not married. People will start to sense after awhile if you are sincere. Also if you stumble on or hear of a listing make them aware of it, but most times those listings turn out to be under contract or even sold, I called those sucker ads to make the agents phone ring. A good agent will be following very intensely to the properties you look at because many time house hunting is an evolutionary process and do give them your honest no holds bared reaction to everything. Again if after awhile things are going as you want well the relationship was an engagement. Good luck.

It is curious to me that the headline-writer equates with "cheating" what seems to me a common-sense practice. You're on what may well be one of the most important shopping expeditions of your life. Are you only going to visit one store?

Unless you have some kind of signed contract with your broker, how does this in anyway represent "cheating"?!? As if you owe your broker for showing you those properties? You don't

It might be that the person who wants to switch brokers is nothing less than the Hamlet of Homebuyers, i.e., in the words of Laurence Olivier, he cannot make up his mind. I know how he feels. I've been trying to get away from Brooklyn for almost a dozen years. The Connecticut Valley is beautiful but very hot in summer. Maine is gorgeous but a long drive and very cold in winter. Cape Cod is paradise but is falling into the sea. One house is too run down, another house is too gussied up and not to my taste. A third house has too little land, another has too many acres (how can you possibly patrol forty acres?). The poor broker(s) who must contend with such a buyer. That buyer must content himself with a perfect home in the great hereafter.

I look forward to this column...so would like to see NEW one.

The age of entitlement, part 1: Dear Ask Real Estate, I have seen every listing in my price range, but I didn’t like any of them. I don’t want to admit that my expectations might be unrealistic, and would prefer to blame my agent. Is that ok? Is it possible the agent knows about some secret listings? Can I just replace the agent and wind up seeing the same listing with the new agent? Signed, Unlucky buyer From Ask Real Estate: Dear Unlucky, Finding a way to blame others for what you don’t understand about yourself is all the rage. Agents also tend to be lazy and diabolical, forgetting to show you listings you can’t afford, and purposely not telling you about ones you can just for the heck of it. After all, why show your buyer a listing in their range you know they will like when you can keep it a secret, and not get paid for all the time you spent running around with them? Before you ask yourself whether you need to pay more for what you want, or accept a place that doesn’t check off every box for you, let the agent know that they have disappointed you, and send them packing. What is wrong with that lazy lying agent anyway, and the FAKE listings they took you to? Sad! Be best, Ask Real Estate

Pocket listings in a real estate market like NYC are highly unlikely - realistically how many sellers wants to sell their property without marketing to a wide audience (ie; the internet) and competitive bidding? I wouldn’t. Also if you know the broker has shown you everything marketed in your price range I think you do owe them some consideration for their time and effort. Your hope for a pocket listing sounds like a fantasy property you wish existed.

I was recommended by my Broker to another Broker, who was more attuned to the market I was in! It worked!!!

Sounds like the problem may be that nothing exists that hit all of your requirements, in the neighborhood you want. As stated, pocket listings are usually for high-end apartments. Everything that is available is likely on NYT, Zillow or StreetEasy.

Far too many shoppers have spent too many hours watching house hunting/improvement shows on television and expect the sun, moon, and stars while only being able to pay for a book about the sun, moon, and stars. Hot real estate markets command a premium price....and there are many people who can afford that premium price. It's probably not you! Keep your expectations realistic and turn off the television home shows that will only provide you with unrealistic goals.

There are a lot of lousy agents out there I have met some of them, but the question writer does not state a reason for dropping his broker. Pocket listings? Unless you are in the very top .5% of the real estate buying publc in terms of price, pocket listings are not an issue. If you want your agent to find pocket listings, have her ask around. The likelihood is you won't find one.

I am one of the very hard working buyers agents in a large city. Buyers need to understand how many hours and how hard we work for them. To assume we are disposable is not fair and does a great disservice to the very good buyers agents who obtain better deals for their clients than the client can get for themselves. Not to mention holding the clients hand throughout the process. If you are not satisfied with your agent, have a conversation. If your agent cannot provide solutions then move on and have respect for their hard work on your behalf which they did until that point for free.

Just go on Street Easy and search yourself. You will see everything that is available. Make sure to fire your broker in advance so you dont end up paying 3% for something you found. 2 Tips: --Try searching apartments with 1 fewer bedroom than you want. Some listings have an "extra room" which cant legally be called a bedroom (because they lack a closet or large window) but might work perfectly as an office or children's room. Other times a room has been carved off with french doors but is not technically a separate room. --Try searching nearby neighborhoods. 1 block into Chelsea or "Far West Village" might find you exactly what you are looking for.

Statistically speaking, about half the real estate brokers are below average in one or more real estate-related metrics. If you end up with one of those, you are of course free to move on to another agent (within the constraints of any contract you may have signed with the agent/agency). Nothing against real estate agents; the statistical bit applies to doctors, lawyers, plumbers, et al. (except in Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average").

I certainly think the headline on this article is way misleading. If you are the buyer, you are free to go where you want. Maybe a useless strategy as the story notes, but no cheating involved. Of course, if you and your broker do not hit it off, moving to another may make the process more pleasant. If you are the seller, you can try to cheat your broker, but first consult a lawyer on the hole you might dig for yourself.

“You don’t like what’s available at the price you’re willing to pay” That pretty much about sums it up for many buyers in expensive markets who don’t want to look outside popular neighborhoods