Pied à Terre Realty
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Frequently Asked QuestionsQ: Are we a typical real estate company? A: Most brokers work for the seller to achieve the highest price for the seller. Pied à Terre Realty works for the buyer only and is trying to get the best property for the best price. Recently, a lot of traditional agents have started advertising that they will represent buyers. While this is legal in most states, even the National Association of Realtors, warns its members: "Buyer agency is a viable method of practicing real estate, but an agent should be cautious in his/her approach if he/she is not thoroughly knowledgeable about the entire process. Agents who are used to working with buyers as a seller's subagent need to be aware of the new duties and potential liabilities of buyer's agents before changing the form of representation they offer." ^ Back To TopQ: Are you in competition with other real estate brokers? A: Real estate brokers are paid by the seller. Pied à Terre Realty is normally paid by the seller but we represent the buyer only. ^ Back To TopQ: Do other real estate brokers do this as well? A: Over the last few years, many have also followed Pied ˆ Terre Realty's mission and utilized buyer's brokers but they have problems with conflict of interest between their buying and selling departments. They are 99% selling and 1% buying. Pied à Terre is 100% buying. Any licensed real estate agent can act as a buyer's agent, just as any licensed doctor can perform brain surgery, but if you were going to have brain surgery, wouldn't you want a specialist? What's the difference? The difference is training, experience, and commitment to knowing everything they can learn about their specialty. Any good doctor knows quite a bit about brain surgery. In fact, he or she knows just enough about brain surgery to know that you need a specialist if you need brain surgery. Would you want to use a part time brain surgeon? Ordinary agents list houses (most of the time)," "help" Buyer's (some of the time) (note: when "helping" a Buyer, the Agent represents the Seller and is duty bound to get the highest price and best possible terms for the Seller), act as dual agents (some of the time), and is some areas even work as "non-agents" (some of the time) so they can "put deals together." In other works, they are "part-time" Buyer's agents. By the way, you will pay the same price for an agent who is a "part-time" Buyer's agent as you will full time Buyer specialist, so why not get the real expert? ^ Back To TopQ: Where are your headquarters? A: We will be moving to a new office in Chelsea among many other high end businesses and art galleries at the beginning of 2007. ^ Back To TopQ: What will a Buyer's agent do for you? A: Information and Counseling
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^ Back To TopQ: Do you only specialize in new condominiums? A: Yes. With over 200 new developments in the ground in Manhattan and thousands worldwide, we feel the new condominium market is one of the premier investments for our clients. ^ Back To TopQ: Do you find rental properties? A: No, our company specializes in helping buyers to find new condominium properties. ^ Back To TopQ: Do large companies use buyer agents? A: Yes Buyer Agency is not something that started yesterday. In fact, it has been around for more than 30 years. But the only ones who knew about it were big corporations who made huge real estate purchases. They knew they needed someone they could trust who would research every available property to see if they were suitable for their needs, delve into property values to discover the real market value of the property, and negotiate skillfully with the Seller or their Agent. They needed their own representative that they knew would find the right property at the right price and protect their interests 100%. The only way to meet all these objectives was to employ their own Agent. A big corporation could afford to hire their own full time agent but up until the last 4 or 5 years the home buyer didn't have that alternative. Now, the buyer have that same level of service at no extra expense. There is a big difference between an ordinary Agent who is acting as a Buyer's Agent part time and a real, full time Buyer's Agent who is 100% committed to serving only Buyers. ^ Back To TopQ: What do others say about buyer's agents? Buying A Home Exclusive buyer's brokers work only with buyers and don't take listings. They're obliged to help you find the best deals and lowest price. Unfortunately, agency standards have changed so much in the past ten years that real estate agents themselves are likely to be confused about their obligations to buyers and sellers, even though in most places they are supposed to give you a disclosure form explaining your relationship. Bottom line: You don't truly have an advocate in your corner unless you both sign a contract saying so. Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine HOUSE HUNTING? SAVE BY HIRING YOUR OWN BROKER If you ever doubted the value of real estate agents who work solely for home buyers (as opposed to traditional agents who report to sellers, consider this: A recent study by U.S. Sprint found that 232 relocating Sprint employees who hired buyer's brokers paid an average of 91% of a home's list price. People who use traditional agents typically pay about 96%. On a house originally priced at$150,000, that's a difference of $7,500. Money Magazine SMART MONEY: A PERSONAL SHOPPER FOR YOUR DREAM HOUSE When Sallye and Jim Ryan wanted to move from their Tampa apartment to a three-bedroom home this spring, the busy couple used a buyer broker, Beth Tansey, to help. Within a week, they had bid on the house they now own. Sallye liked being able to delegate the house-hunting. "With both my husband and me working, it was a lot easier," she says. "I don't think I would have found this house that I really love without her. There are so many homes for sale here, I would probably still be looking. Because Tansey is a buyer broker, who exclusively represents the home buyer's interests, the Ryan's trusted her to find the best deal on a house that suited their needs. By contrast, a traditional real state broker is legally bound to work for the seller who pays the commission and therefore may be more intent on selling listed homes than finding your dream house. Even Realtors who don't hold the listing on a given house act as subagents to the seller. So unless a broker says that he or she is working for you -- brokers are now legally obliged to disclose who they represent -- you can assume the broker is working for the seller. Such agents must pass on information such as the buyer's income to the seller, who then has a better idea of what price to hold out for. Because these brokers are obliged to get buyers the best deal possible, they approach houses with a critical eye for apparent flaws. You'll still need an inspector to uncover hidden defects, however. Buyer brokers also show properties sold by the owner, which can be cheaper because the only commission is what you agree to pay your broker. Sellers' agents usually won't show these homes because they don't make commissions on them. Brokers representing buyers should also appraise the value of the house, negotiate the price, and pre-qualify you for a mortgage, sometimes at a better rate. Buyers' Agent brokers, for instance, narrow mortgage bids from 15 lenders nationwide to the three best offers -- and then get those three to rebid. "A well-trained, experienced buyer broker is a great asset," says Peter Miller, author of How to Sell Your Home in Any Market ($12, Harper Perennial) and other real estate guides. "You won't do any worse, and you may do a lot better. Usually, the buyer broker splits the sales commission with the seller's agent, just as a subagent who didn't have the listing would with the broker who did. So the fee still comes out of the sale price. Some people might assume that buyers' agents have an incentive to keep the price high. But again, the broker must get you the best deal. "In my experience, all of them do," says Stephen Brobeck, executive director of the Consumer Federation of America. A conflict of interest is more likely when a real estate firm that represents sellers assigns you one of its brokers as a buyer agent. That's why many people believe an "exclusive" buyer broker is preferable. If there aren't any in your area, and you have to use a listing broker, "make sure they disclose when they are showing you properties they have a financial interest in," says Brobeck. Business Week ^ Back To TopQ: Can you help me find a property outside of New York City? A: We specialize in helping our clients buy new condominium properties in Manhattan. We also have a network of Brokers we work with in 55 countries around the world. ^ Back To TopQ: Do you also work with international clients? A: While the majority of the property we deal with is in Manhattan, many of our clients are based elsewhere so, in order to give the highest levels of service, we work with brokers around the world who are familiar with the culture and language of our clients. ^ Back To TopQ: I do not know specifically where I want to buy; Is this a problem? A: While some buyer's are very specific, many are looking across a wide area, we are able to cover large geographic areas with brokers worldwide that we link into a cohesive team. ^ Back To Top |
Pied à Terre Realty Tel: (646) 722-6230 |
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