Joe Greene

HI Jaydiva,

Joe Runfola said it best the last time this question was asked so here is a quote from him.

"Real Estate licensing (NY) is required by any person who performs a real estate act for another; and for or in anticipation of compensation or other valuable consideration.

Exceptions apply to ;
1) Public officers while they are performing their official duties,
2) Persons acting under court order (executors, guardians,referees,receivers, administrators)
3) Attorneys licensed in NY

4) Resident manager employed by only one owner to manage or maintain rental property when the leasing of units or the collection of rents is part of the manager's regular duties
5) Certain authorized tenant organizations and not-for-profit corporations enforcing the housing code of the city of New York."

I hope this helps.

All the best,

JOE GREENE
Broker/Owner
WEICHERT, REALTORS - House & Home
(917) 974-2600 (Cell)
joegreene@weichert.com - Sun Dec 27 2009, 15:11

BrooklynRealty

Please read this thread thoroughly to understand why it is illegal to discuss commissions with other Agents and in a public forum with other agents. It is also against Trulia Rules.

Joe Greene
WEICHERT, REALTORS - House & Home
609 Kappock Street
Suite 1A
Bronx, NY 10463
(718) 432-5000 ext.601 (Office)
(718) 432-2091 (Fax)
(917) 974-2600 (Cell)
joegreene@weichert.com - Tue Dec 15 2009, 06:35

Apparently we have scared away another one.

I think it was your badges Alan and Dunes. If I told you once I told you a million times: Badges? We Don't Need No Stinking Badges!!

And With That, I Bid You, Adieu.

Joe Greene
WEICHERT, REALTORS - House & Home
609 Kappock Street
Suite 1A
Bronx, NY 10463
(718) 432-5000 ext.601 (Office)
(718) 432-2091 (Fax)
(917) 974-2600 (Cell)
joegreene@weichert.com - Mon Dec 14 2009, 17:54

Hi Jfrelinghuysen,

Can I ask what your purpose is? I haven't really gotten what you are wanting from this conversation. Do you want Agents and Brokers to incriminate themselves like Josh just did (Josh please read the rest of this thread for the reason you really should pull down your post)? You don't seem to want to help. You don't seem to be acting as a devil's advocate. You just seem to be trying to get attention and if that is not the case, I would like you to explain what question or questions you would like answered. That way we can answer it and move on to the next person that has a question.

Also, I would like to say to Joel who started this thread on July 30, 2008 that I am Really, Really sorry that this has become what it has become. Your mailbox is probably overflowing with this ridiculousness.

And to Alan - How do you get a badge like that? I think I will send Pierre at trulia a little gifty and see if I can get one too :-P

And to everyone if I don't get a chance later: HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Joe Greene
WEICHERT, REALTORS - House & Home
609 Kappock Street
Suite 1A
Bronx, NY 10463
(718) 432-5000 ext.601 (Office)
(718) 432-2091 (Fax)
(917) 974-2600 (Cell)
joegreene@weichert.com - Mon Dec 14 2009, 17:17

HI All,

This is a great example of what a social network can be used for. Both good and bad. Let's be honest. MarkZ put himself in a Devil's Advocate position on a very public social network. If you don't realize that your life is on the internet, now you should. Is that right or wrong? I don't know. I do know that we all need to be very aware of how we conduct ourselves just as we would in any other social situation. What you say and do can bite you if you are not careful. MarkZ has now learned this lesson the hard way.

For those who are not in the Real Estate business, you are right that many agents should be more forthcoming with information that benefits you. The best way tomake things better is to complain to their managers, your local politicians and Real Estate boards. Make a big stink and this will change. There are thousands of agents out there that need better training. NYS still has some of the most lenient standards in terms of training in the country. I make it a point to train my agents to be as up front and honest with customers/clients as possible. I also train them in the law. They are not perfect and they are trying their best, but they won't make everyone happy. But they are trained well. They do not make the same mistakes twice.

To the agents out there who do not know the laws, but think they know it all (of course I know you are too self absorbed to realize I am talking to you) go take a course on agency, the code of ethics and possibly a primer on the sherman anti-trust act. It will do everyone some good. Better yet, get out of the industry. You give us all a bad name.

To those of you (I hesitate to say us for fear that I will be accused of self-aggrandizement) who have tried to be helpful to the agents, the clients/customers and even MarkZ (whose Identity has been exposed apparently) who was playing with people (be it for his own enjoyment, some idea that he was helping people or because he is a not nice person) I say kudos. Even though you might get yelled at for conversing with the enemy you are doing a great service to an industry that is all too often rightfully maligned. If enough people care to improve this business, maybe it will garner a reputation everyone can be proud of.

Joe Greene
WEICHERT, REALTORS - House & Home
609 Kappock Street
Suite 1A
Bronx, NY 10463
(718) 432-5000 ext.601 (Office)
(718) 432-2091 (Fax)
(917) 974-2600 (Cell)
joegreene@weichert.com - Sun Dec 13 2009, 18:35

Hi MarkZ,

Actually it is my fault that this thread was restarted (a year and a half later), and you are right to be upset that no agent told you that commissions are negotiable, but I have to ask, if you asked any of the agents if their commission was negotiable or if there is an industry standard. We know from this conversation that an agent does not have to negotiate his/her own commissions and that there is not an industry standard. What did you do when interviewing agents to prepare yourself for the interview? This seems to have become your personal gripe session, so I suggest that you gather a bunch of your fellow sellers who have been equally wronged and go after the appropriate parties for breaking the law if that is what they did.



Those of us who are chiming in to tell these reckless agents who are trumpeting their commissions to stop are doing so because we know that there is not enough being done by REBNY and NAR and NYSAR and the Department of State to combat this lack of knowledge on the part of so many agents. We are trying to fill in the holes in their education if we can (although it is usually for naught). We are the few, the proud, the slightly more educated, trying to help police our own kind who tend to give this profession a bad name.

Joe Greene
WEICHERT, REALTORS - House & Home
609 Kappock Street
Suite 1A
Bronx, NY 10463
(718) 432-5000 ext.601 (Office)
(718) 432-2091 (Fax)
(917) 974-2600 (Cell)
joegreene@weichert.com - Sat Dec 12 2009, 15:35

Hi MarkZ,

I HAve held off getting involved in this, because this conversation has become somewhat ludicrous, but I have been fairly appalled by how many of the agents have handled this and how the lack of understanding by the lay-person has been "spun" as a fault of the Agents trying to explain their legal situation. The reality is that the law was made to protect the lay-person. Unfortunately we have too many agents who do not know how to explain this. In fact, they do not even know the law. If I discuss my commissions with Debbie Rose we are considered to be conspiring to put the public at a disadvantage. If I see that Tony charges x% and Glenn Charges y% I may change my commission structure to compete with them instead of purely discussing and negotiating my commission needs directly with the seller. This puts the public at a disadvantage (as per the anti-trust laws). If you do not like that, I am sorry, but that is how it goes.

You say :
"Your colleagues ask for and hold out for 6%. They certainly act like 6% is the standard."

They do this because they are either grossly uninformed (although this is still a crime. Ignorance is not a defe.nse), they have a legal business model that alows them to state their own commissions in a public forum (like Foxtons did) or they are knowingly committing a crime. That is the bottom line. I do hope that the DOJ peruses these threads. There are too many bad agents out there doing bad things to the public. Good luck to all and I hope this thread ends soon.

WEICHERT, REALTORS - House & Home
609 Kappock Street
Suite 1A
Bronx, NY 10463
(718) 432-5000 ext.601 (Office)
(718) 432-2091 (Fax)
(917) 974-2600 (Cell)
joegreene@weichert.com - Sat Dec 12 2009, 14:58

Hi Joel,

I agree with Laurie Mindnich of Options Realty. "the more reputable the firm, the higher the commission will be" is an answer that is rife with problems and inaccuracies. Stay away from answers like this.

The reality is that NYC Brokers are hurting as much as or more than others. Most have never seen a market like this. Go out and find the best Broker you can and negotiate with them. Negotiate every aspect of their contract that you can. Bring in several. Talk to friends and co-workers and see who they recommend and why. More importantly find out what they did not like about the experience.

I will say that you do get what you pay for with some brokers. That is one of the reasons that Foxtons went out of business. That said just because someone is charging the most does not mean they will do the best. Make sure that they communicate, understand the ramifications of Agency fully (see this link for a brief synopsis http://www.realtor.org/toolkits/consumerf01 ) and that you like them. Check their references. Do your homework on them. And don't choose a big company just because it is big or a small company just because they are small.

All the best,


JOE GREENE
Broker/Owner
WEICHERT, REALTORS - House & Home
609 Kappock Street
Suite 1A
Bronx, NY 10463
(718) 432-5000 ext.601 (Office)
(718) 432-2091 (Fax)
(917) 974-2600 (Cell)

joegreene@weichert.com - Wed Nov 11 2009, 05:52

HI Clonic,

I agree with Richard. Speak with the agent's Broker or Manager to see if you can get a more capable agent assigned to you. You should not be stuck with someone you feel is incapable of helping you effectively.

JOE GREENE
Broker/Owner
WEICHERT, REALTORS - House & Home
609 Kappock Street
Suite 1A
Bronx, NY 10463
(718) 432-5000 ext.601 (Office)
(718) 432-2091 (Fax)
(917) 974-2600 (Cell)

joegreene@weichert.com - Sun Dec 13 2009, 19:41