Do resale brokers work for buyer or seller?

[Salf777]

So like most I stalk all the websites looking for contracts all the time. My first resale purchase went very smoothly. I recently made offers on various sites for some smaller contracts and it’s been weird that the replies to these offers have all come back like 3 days later saying “that listing is now under contract” and actually today I received a response from an offer I put in in February saying that the listing is under contract?? Almost a month later. I understand the broker maybe trying to get the best price for their seller but on all of these I probably would have moved up And negotiated. My offers weren’t so low they were out of line with what I see people have been paying on here.
so does the broker work strictly for the seller? I’m just curious
not looking to disparage any brokers look I understand they want contracts to sell for the most money and applaud them for that then they make more money and so does the seller and prices stay high. i was just under the impression that they work for both buyer and seller and had my offers been presented timely I might have paid more than what they got.
again not looking to start a negative thread just trying to get more informed going forward

 

[MICKIMINI]

Here's the other side of this ugly relationship. They are transactional brokers and work for both. Not the best arrangement, for sure!

I recently sold a contract and found out after, the broker already had a customer for the contract. The broker tried to get me to lower my listing price by $10 BEFORE it was listed by telling me it was worth $118 not $128. I dropped my list price by $2.

Since the broker had a buyer already (without telling me), an offer was made within an hour. The broker insisted the buyer only was able to pay $120 and was tapped out. I countered $122 and we made a deal. It was only after we made an agreement hat the broker happily told me about having a buyer in the wings. I cleared a profit on the contract but kick myself for not standing my ground.

I really liked working with this broker but was then soured by the obvious conflict of interest. Apparently the broker was working for the buyer and not me, the seller who is paying the commission! Commission would have been higher so I don't quite understand this strategy for the company.

I guess it depends on who you work with. I've had both good and bad buying and selling experiences. Just keep trying and reward the good brokers and move on from the bad. Good luck!

 

[Salf777]

Here's the other side of this ugly relationship. They are transactional brokers and work for both. Not the best arrangement, for sure!

I recently sold a contract and found out after, the broker already had a customer for the contract. The broker tried to get me to lower my listing price by $10 BEFORE it was listed by telling me it was worth $118 not $128. I dropped my list price by $2.

Since the broker had a buyer already (without telling me), an offer was made within an hour. The broker insisted the buyer only was able to pay $120 and was tapped out. I countered $122 and we made a deal. It was only after we made an agreement hat the broker happily told me about having a buyer in the wings. I cleared a profit on the contract but kick myself for not standing my ground.

I really liked working with this broker but was then soured by the obvious conflict of interest. Apparently the broker was working for the buyer and not me, the seller who is paying the commission! Commission would have been higher so I don't quite understand this strategy for the company.

I guess it depends on who you work with. I've had both good and bad buying and selling experiences. Just keep trying and reward the good brokers and move on from the bad. Good luck!

Yes I really don’t need the extra points. I had a great experience with my first purchase and I kind of wish there was an MLS type listing although I do have fun going to all the sites and looking. I guess the DVC market is healthy if brokers can wait that long to respond to offers. So that’s good for us. Again trying to be positive here but if it were me I would be in touch with every offer and try to help the person making the offer heck if this one doesn’t go thru then at least you have a relationship with the person making the offer for future business

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

They are transactional brokers and you do acknowledge that part with them. I find it a bit mixed with different brokers on the ones that who seem to be attentive to both sides and others lean one way or the other.

If you really are interested in a contract though you should either call or at least follow up the email offer with a phone call.

 

[Sunnyore]

I wonder if it depends on which website you're using? I haven't done too many bids myself but the 3 I did so far I got a response the same day within a couple of hours twice and one an email the next morning. All 3 were at different websites companies. The one I bid fairly low on and lost, the agent was nice enough to explain to me what would be a more appropriate bid for a small contract. Maybe I've just been lucky to have decent experiences.

 

[OKW Lover]

Just wondering if the OP would share the name of that broker. It might help others in their decision on who to use.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Just wondering if the OP would share the name of that broker. It might help others in their decision on who to use.

The OP could share the broker but what I've observed is that every single broker has probably gotten similar complaints and others have had perfectly fine experiences. Even down to the same agent. The one response weeks later is a bit crazy but the several days can happen.

 

[Salf777]

I really don’t wish to to publicly share the names as I said I don’t wish to make this a negative thing. Also I have seen negative comments on here about the broker I used and had a flawless transaction with them
it happened with several different brokers and I asked because when I purchased my contract not that long ago every offer I made was responded to immediately but that was also the height of COVID and maybe they needed the business then so they tried for every sale. Now prices look higher and maybe the brokers are Busier and can try and “finesse “ each sale rather than just try and get a sale! which again I understand and that’s why I asked the question because it seemed to me they working more for the seller so I was just trying to understand and maybe adjust the way I go about things.
also truth be told I was so aggravated by the late responses I just deleted the emails! I look at every site and made offers so honestly I can’t even remember which firms I made the offer with.
thank you all for the input

 

[OKW Lover]

Do the brokers earn their money by a flat rate for each sale? Or is it based on the value of the sale? If the former then they are more inclined to try to get the price down so the sale is completed. If the latter, then they have an interest in getting the highest price.

 

[Eric Smith]

So like most I stalk all the websites looking for contracts all the time. My first resale purchase went very smoothly. I recently made offers on various sites for some smaller contracts and it’s been weird that the replies to these offers have all come back like 3 days later saying “that listing is now under contract” and actually today I received a response from an offer I put in in February saying that the listing is under contract?? Almost a month later. I understand the broker maybe trying to get the best price for their seller but on all of these I probably would have moved up And negotiated. My offers weren’t so low they were out of line with what I see people have been paying on here.
so does the broker work strictly for the seller? I’m just curious
not looking to disparage any brokers look I understand they want contracts to sell for the most money and applaud them for that then they make more money and so does the seller and prices stay high. i was just under the impression that they work for both buyer and seller and had my offers been presented timely I might have paid more than what they got.
again not looking to start a negative thread just trying to get more informed going forward

I've only bought two contracts, but both times the broker was little more than a middle man for us. They handled the back and forth of the negotiation, but we never got pressured about what we should offer. Once we agreed on the price, the rest of our interactions were with the title company.

 

[Eric Smith]

Do the brokers earn their money by a flat rate for each sale? Or is it based on the value of the sale? If the former then they are more inclined to try to get the price down so the sale is completed. If the latter, then they have an interest in getting the highest price.

The sites that I've seen charge a flat percentage of the purchase price similar to how a realtor would operate. I don't know if that is how it is done in every situation though. They would technically have an incentive to get the highest price, but in the end they probably don't really care about a difference of a few dollars per point as it won't greatly affect their bottom line.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Do the brokers earn their money by a flat rate for each sale? Or is it based on the value of the sale? If the former then they are more inclined to try to get the price down so the sale is completed. If the latter, then they have an interest in getting the highest price.

All that I've seen have a percentage they charge based on the sale. Still, it can be a lot of work to bring it up a couple of dollars if the sale price is in a "normal" range. Working with volume would likely be more profitable than spending a few days eeeking out an additional $30 or $40 commission.

 

[DVC Doctor]

The goal of brokers is to make a fast and easy sale....that all

The commission difference between a few thousand dollars is relatively small for harder work

Easy $10,000 sale @ 6% = $600
Hard $12,0000 sale a @ 6% = $720