Why work with a buyer’s broker

I love talking about this topic and I can go on for hours, but don’t worry.

It wont take that long to make my point, which is…
EVERYONE purchasing a home in New York City should work with a buyer’s broker

First of all, working with a buyer’s broker is Free!!! It’s Free!!!
Thats it! I shouldn’t even need to make any other points.
The seller pays the commission and both brokers split it equally.
How great is that?

The rest of these points I’m about to make are just icing on the cake:

The main reason for a buyers broker is not to find you an apartment. The main reason is representation.

Would you walk into a courtroom without an attorney and represent yourself?
I wouldn’t. It’s a no brainer right?
So if having an attorney to represent you in court is a no-brainer and you PAY your attorney
Having a real estate broker represent your purchase free of charge… you see what I’m getting at?

You’re most likely about to spend the most money you’ve ever spent, so keep that in mind.

It’s so important to have an experienced agent working for you and consulting you, every step of the way.
There are so many things that can happen throughout a deal and having someone who knows the business inside and out is invaluable.

And we’re free.. ok, ok

Now lets get to the most important part of the transaction, at least in my opinion. Negotiating.

Finding an apartment online is not the hardest thing in the world these days.
But what happens when you like one and you want it?
You may think; How do I present an offer? How much do I offer? What if theres competition? Is the listing agent telling me me the truth? Am I paying too much?

A really good broker like myself can help put things in perspective.
We can do a comparable market analysis on the property and use that in conjunction with our experience and market knowledge to determine what the property is worth and help devise a negotiating strategy.
A good broker will help you get want you want.

The Search! Every home for sale nowadays is listed online and anyone looking for a new home is going to want to search themselves too.
In the day and age, a broker isn’t here to find you an apartment that you can’t find yourself.
We are here to help you narrow down your search and save you time.
There are so many things we can point out about a listing, a building, a neighborhood, etc. to negate listings that you may have otherwise wasted lots of valuable time seeing. In addition, we can set appointments for you and get questions answered for you
about specific properties. Make sure you can afford the purchase or get approved by a co-op. The brokers role in the search or at least when I do it, is helping you make it as efficient as possible and saving you time.

And then of course theres the board package!
If you are purchasing a co-op or a condo there will be a board package.
With a co-op it is crucial to present a pristine board package so you don’t get declined by the board.
This is a big deal, requires lots of experience, and needs to be put together perfectly.
If you got this far in the process, it’s not worth the risk losing your dream home over a poorly done board package.

That’s just scratching the surface, but I’m going to end it here, because I think Ive made my point.
Now there are a lot of brokers, so hopefully you work with someone who’s experienced, professional, hard working, reliable, ultra responsive, working in your best interest
Ok. I’m describing my own work ethic. But it’s important to work with a good broker.

That’s it for now
I’m Scott Rubin, your New York City Real Estate Broker
Thanks for reading!