True Gotham

Still away and back on Monday but here's a post that ran March 5th of this year that stirred things up a bit.

Respected blogger and real estate agent Noah Rosenblatt tells the story of his experience recently with one of the unethical agents in our industry on his award winning blog Urban Digs.

Surprise, surprise!  An unethical agent in our profession. Noah and I have discussed this on numerous occasions and  we're on the same page as far as exposing this type of stuff.  He doesn't name the agent or "her" company because it becomes a legal issue and opens us up for possible liability if we do so.

• Perhaps this agent is savvy and knowingly delayed, lied, and manipulated the situation to benefit her.
• Perhaps, she followed directions of her seller thus lying, delaying, and manipulating on the seller's behalf.
• Perhaps she's just an absolute moron...oh...no "perhaps" here.

The unfortunate part is that we will never know her motivation and can only speculate. That said, there is no question that she mishandled this process and was incredibly deceptive. I would also guess that she was protecting what likely was a direct deal that yielded her double the commission.  All the more reason for restructuring the way we do business in Manhattan.

Once again I am proposing that ALL direct deals should be abolished and the Department of State should require each party (buyer and seller) to have separate representation with each agent receiving half of the commission.  Way too much gray area and room for temptation as it is currently structured.  It also breeds horrible mistrust within the industry.  NO MORE DIRECT DEALS!  BTW, 95% of my business is representing sellers and I feel very strongly that a buyer should have their own representation in a transaction.  It would create more trust in the industry and fewer stories like this one.

Douglas,
For the most part, I am a seller's broker. I think it is unacceptable when broker's let the amount of commission they will get influence their behavior in any way. Having said that--yeah it happens.By the same token however I have had deals where I have cobroked my listings with another broker, and truly the deal happens despite the other broker, not because of them. I often prefer to do a direct deal, not because of the amount of money I make, but because there is so much more communication in a direct deal.I have had numerous experiences with brokers who truly don't care about their buyers, who will say stuff to me they really should not.And often they are quite desperate to close the deal, and neglect to mention things to their buyers in their hope that the deal will just get signed.
It is a complicated situation, and your posts regarding this are invariably well thought out and intelligent, but there is this other side as well.Alot of brokers working with buyers are just not very skilled negotiators, and don't know how to present their buyers in the best light, protecting and advising them while simultaneously trying to ensure that they get the property they desire.

An interesting perspective ls. I hear you loud and clear about inept buyer's agents or for that matter, inept agents in general. I have had similar experiences. Maybe the Department of state could also change licensing requirements that provide for certifications as a buyer'broker and seller's broker. Anyone certified could act on behalf of either sellers or buyers depending on the situation. I know this is a stretch but reform is necessary and will absolutely happen whether we like it or not.

Douglas,
I like the certification requirement idea.Reform is certainly necessary to weed out some of the bad behavior and set a higher bar.There are so many of us who are honest and do our job with skill and integrity, and it can be so disheartening that the worst of the behavior out there in a sense slanders us all. It's nice to see brokers like you out there blogging--keep up the good work!

No doubt there are many who are excellent and even some who go above and beyond. Unfortunately, the public latches on to the stories of the bad seeds and that is the stigma we fight daily. Thanks for the kind words but I think it's gonna take more than blogging to change our industry.