I hope everyone is finally enjoying this amazingly gorgeous weather and we finally are out of winter!
Breakout those picnic tables, barbecues, hot dogs, spicy mustard, sauerkraut and hamburgers, cause summer is a com’in.
I hope you have put down your pre-emergence crabgrass control, for this weekend is the last time that it will work effectively against crabgrass this late spring and summer!
Make sure you spray all your weeds now before the warmer weather approaches so you do not burn out spots in your grass.
Have you tested the acidity of your soil? Good time to do it and there are plenty of companies online where you can send your soil away to determine how many lbs. per 1,000 sq. ft. of pelletized lime you will need to apply.
Now for my topic for this week!
Do you really know who is really representing you? Did your agent explain and go over all the details of your agency agreement as to their representation?
Yes, I know, they say they will be representing you and have your best interests in mind. However, do you know what their real obligations are as a seller’s or broker’s agent?
A seller’s agent has, without limitation, the following fiduciary duties to the seller: reasonable care, undivided loyalty, confidentiality, full disclosure, obedience and duty to account.
Carefully read and understand what these words mean to you as a seller; is your agent following these obligations to you?
I do not like to criticize our industry; however, so many agents do not know the laws of agency and do not stay on point and follow them, because they sometimes get so close to the purchasers that they forget who their loyalty is with.
Does your agent provide reasonable care, (provide you regular feedback, present all offers, allow outside agents to access your property for showings or do they provide excuses, unbeknownst to you, that they say that are sick, unavailable or out of town, or can’t be shown until the open house; although only their agents have access and get the first opportunity to bring customers in to purchase.
When your property is listed as a public listing there are many times in the sizzling hot market it is treated as an exclusive in-house pocket listing and avoid allowing other offices to show and maybe you as the owner don’t care about this situation.
However, the more potential buyers have the opportunity to view your home, Condo, Townhome or co-op, right from the get-go, the greater the activity and the more you will maximize the possibility of multiple offers!
More important do you know how your listing agent is splitting the total commission? Again, there are offices that do not provide equal compensation to the selling broker and there are many instances that a greater portion of the total commission goes to the listing office, who, many times does less of the work in getting to the closing table than the competent, hard-working selling agent, who “shook the tree” and was able to bring the qualified buyer into the sale.
I ask, “why should the selling agent earn less than the listing agent? So you as the owner read and know how your commission is split?
You should cognizant of all the information on your listing contract and make sure that the monies paid out are equal and not favoring your listing agent.
The selling agent deserves equal compensation. From my personal experience, this appears to run rampant in the Queens area, especially in Flushing and other areas throughout Nassau and Suffolk and New York City too, where fees are ridiculously below what a knowledgeable and credible agent should earn.
But then again, it is up to the listing agent to make that decision as to what they are willing, not obligated to pay out; but the seller has the last say and should be aware of the inequity that is occurring today.
They say in Wall Street, “Bulls make money, Bears make money and Pigs get slaughtered.” And as they say, “what goes around, eventually comes around.”
Make sure your listing agent is providing equal compensation to all, so that the playing field is a level one, so we all can earn a living. What’s fair is fair!
Does your agent provide undivided loyalty to you and not the purchaser?
Most agents do not know or even understand what dual agency is and rarely take that type of listing. In this type of agency, their total loyalty is to neither seller nor buyer.
I call this transaction agency, as they do down south and my firm belief is that is the way it should be in New York State. The reason I feel this way, is really simple; the seller is going to come down only so much, based on actual market value, which many times, sellers really don’t follow, but go by their feelings, which are never relevant to actual market value.
The purchaser is only going to increase their offer only up to a certain point and then they may lose that initial euphoric feeling that they had when they first made an offer, especially if it drags on; been there, done that!
More important, let’s face it, many times your agent may get closer to the buyer and forget about who they are legally working for.
Does your agent expose and tell their buyers or outside agents confidential information, that could jeopardize your sale or cause you to receive less money or maybe cause your property not to sell.
Maybe you are in a middle of a divorce or some serious illness and agents talk a lot and the word gets out, so “confidentiality” is without limitation an extremely important factor that your agent should be aware.
Similar to lawyer/client confidentiality, some information should not be provided and a bit of secrecy of certain facts should not be provided or discussed with any outside party, unless the seller says so!
Next week I will continue with agency relationships, and talk about, broker agency, buyer agency, full disclosure, obedience and duty to account, so stay tuned for Part 2
Phil Raices is the owner/broker of Turn Key Real Estate at 7 Bond St. in Great Neck. He has earned the designations as a graduate of the Realtor Institute and is a certified international property specialist. He can be reached by email:Phil@TurnKeyRealEstate.Com or by cell (516) 647-4289 to answer any of your questions or article suggestions or provide you a free comparative market analysis on your property.
