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Archive for the ‘Real Estate’ Category

At their best, good brokers can function a lot like analysts, helping you to read your own mind. As one broker told me, “If I see that the buyers are close to ‘yes’ but faltering, I’ll just ask some questions to zero in on what the problem is. Once that gets to be clear, then maybe I can suggest other ways around it. Is the house too small? Well, how about building a new room over the garage? Is it too dark? How about a skylight?”

That kind of feedback from the broker can be positive and can help you sort through your preferences, set your priorities, and identify the home you want.
There are some brokers, however, who cross the line between guiding you toward a decision that you want to make and pressuring you into a decision that you’re not sure of. These are the brokers, naturally, that you want to avoid at all costs.
Steer clear of brokers who:
1. pressure you to buy a property “before someone else grabs it”
2. purport to represent you in the transaction
3. advise you not to consult an attorney
4. are evasive or ignorant when asked to provide detailed information about the property
Remember that Realtors are required to disclose adverse information on properties they represent. This is established by the Realtor Code of Ethics and in most areas by state law. How far the broker has to go to discover that adverse information is something of a gray area of the law. But as a general rule, brokers are not permitted to misrepresent the condition of a property or to withhold any vital information they know about it. If a hazardous-waste dump has been discovered in the backyard, for instance, or if the basement becomes an indoor swimming pool whenever it rains, the broker is obligated to tell you.
This doesn’t mean that all brokers will be completely forthcoming about problems such as these, but it does mean that you’ll usually have some recourse against those who aren’t.

This really isn’t critical. Nor does it matter, usually, whether you deal with an independent agency, one that’s affiliated with a national company (such as Coldwell Banker or Merrill Lynch), or a franchise of a national chain (such as Century 21, Realty World, or ERA). A large firm or a franchise affiliate may be able to offer a broader array of services — access to a mortgage banking subsidiary, for example — but a small firm may know more about the specific community you’re interested in. Far more important than the size of the firm, in my view, is whether you’re comfortable with and have confidence in the broker you’re working with.