Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with broker

Lease AFTER moving in?

2bucksplus — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:58:23 -0800

New York City apartment question: Is it normal for my broker to tell me I will receive hard copies of my lease a "couple of weeks" after moving in? I found an apartment with a November 1st move in date in New York City. Everything was going well and I received two copies of the lease to review and sign. Initially I was told one copy of the lease would be returned to me within about 48 hours, signed by the management company. Now I am being told I should move in on the 1st and wait for a copy to be mailed to me within a couple of weeks.

Is this normal? It makes me feel very uncomfortable. Both the broker company and the landlord are large well known companies in the NYC area. Is there any law I can quote on this? What else should I do, besides getting everything in writing?

Not Quite the King of Queens

acorn1515 — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:06:31 -0800

NYC Filter - I'm moving to Queens in August, and on the hunt for both neighborhood/broker recommendations. Astoria appears to be out of the mix. My boyfriend's in law school out on Long Island, (waaay out) in Central Islip. I work in midtown Manhattan. We've decided to move in together at the end of July, and I've agreed to meet him halfway from where I'm at on the UES -- which puts us out in the Forest Hills/Kew Gardens area.

We discussed Astoria, but he will most likely be driving to school most days for 9 a.m. classes and is concerned about traffic. We discussed Bayside/Flushing but I don't have a car and am not big on giving up life with easy access to neighborhood stores as well as the Subway and all parts of Manhattan.

We're planning to drive out around Forest Hills and Kew Gardens this weekend and begin getting a sense for the neighborhood, but would be interested in hearing other suggestions for both where we might considering living, tips about apartment hunting in the neighborhoods, or any brokers you might recommend.

The dream is for a 2 bedroom around $1,500, but it's looking like a nice 1 bedroom (without a bus ride to the Subway) is more realistic.

Would you take this deal?

aquafortis — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 17:49:29 -0800

P/T rookie real estate agent in NYC: is 25% of 3% fair? I'm a freelance research analyst who's about to get my real estate salesperson's license in the state of New York to take advantage of an interesting opportunity. Someone who's involved as a partner in two unrelated corporate finance deals I'm working on offered to be my sponsoring broker and pay me 25% of his share of the standard 6% commission he's splitting with another broker for every condominium unit I help sell. Is this fair compensation for someone who's just getting started? The deal is I'd commit to two hours of on-site work per day, showing units and answering questions about the property by phone while there. Since the units average a cost of 1.4 million dollars, I'd stand to make around 21 thousand dollars on each one, give or take. Even if nothing sold for awhile, I have plenty of other sources of income, so that isn't a consideration.

I know NYC real estate law states that if you're working for commission, you can't be required to put in a fixed number of hours each week. However, I really don't have a problem with it, since left to my own devices, it's almost guaranteed I'd work far more. In effect, it puts a nice cap on the "part time" commitment, which is a lot of the reason I'd be making 25% and not more.

I'm inclined to think this sounds reasonable, especially given that the broker said it could be re-negotiated as take on more responsibilities and gain more experience. Other positives: the site is a few blocks from where I live and work, and two hours a day leaves me more than enough time for all my other projects.

I'm going to insist that everything be spelled out precisely in a work agreement --"good contracts make for good relationships"-- but I'd like some second opinions on whether or not this is a fair deal, and would be interested to hear your thoughts and experiences. If you can think of any books or websites I should be reading to get up to speed, I'd be glad to hear that too. Thanks!

Dump that Stock!

Static Vagabond — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:07:42 -0800

Stock market related questions-- help me drown in data! I want to improve my coding skills and virtually playing the stock market seems like it might be quite a fun way to do so, but I desperately need data to enable my endeavor.

So I'm looking for two elements really,

A detailed historical dump of the stock market, per smallest time unit possible, current I can easily find a daily current/high/low/average but I want to play around with minute (or second) values ideally but can't seem to find that anywhere.

Programming: Are there any stock-brokers that let you use their API (so you can program your own automated trader/interfaces) on a play account, for free?

The first element is the main one, I can essentially just play the stock-market offline if I have that, but it'd be great fun to actually link in with a play account on a (semi) real-time basis. Who knows, in a couple of years, maybe I'll try it for real.

Extra points for good resources on introductions to the various models used to predict the markets.

Any help appreciated!

Discount international brokerage

atrazine — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 22:34:01 -0800

Can anyone recommend an online discount brokerage that can execute trades internationally? All the online brokerages I've looked at that do international trades at all do them over the phone and charge a lot for these trades. I'm located in Dubai if that's relevant.

Studying for Real Estate Broker's exam

selavy — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:36:29 -0800

I am studying for the Real Estate Broker's exam for California. I am awful at studying in general, and have little to no real estate experience. I am not currently a Real Estate Agent. I've taken the test once, and didn't score so hot the first time and I'd like to take it only one more time. Anybody take it and pass and have some words of advice, such as study methods, programs, or books?

Questions about a Bond investment. (And did I get screwed?)

kamelhoecker — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 13:55:02 -0800

In June 2007, I bought a 5-year bond with a 6.5% coupon on the day it was issued. I understand how bond prices rise and fall, generally as a result of interest rates and confidence that the bond issuer will be able to repay the debt. However, I have a few nagging questions about this investment... I paid $100 per unit, but on the first day, it traded around $96. A month later it peaked at around $99, and since then the price has slowly sunk and is currently valued at $83.99

My questions:

1. Is there an advantage to buying a bond at the time of issue vs buying it on the open market? Wouldn't seeing some history of the bond price be a huge advantage? Why get in early?

2. Why did the bond lose 5% of it's value essentially instantly?

3. How can I pay $100 for a bond, but historical price charts do not show that $100 was reached?

I have asked some of these questions to the people who sold me the bond, but I wasn't happy with the answers. This same investment company also sold asset-backed commercial paper to ultra-conservative investors and told them it was as safe as a GIC. (Whoops!) So, I'm looking for more details and information before following up with them.

Shady Broker Situation

theseampsgoto11 — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 22:15:22 -0800

My broker is trying to charge another fee to put someone new on the lease for the NYC apt. we've been living in for 3 years. Is this legal? Do I have any recourse? Brief backstory: About 3+ years ago, two friends paid a broker's fee and signed the lease on an apartment in Manhattan. One moved out and I sublet (legally) for a few months. Eventually, we added my name to the lease. I didn't pay a broker's fee, just $100 or so for a credit check.

Now my roommate is moving out and I found someone new to move in. Our broker is trying to charge this new guy a broker's fee for the new lease, even though I did the work. Is this legal? Do I have any options other than losing the apartment?

I'd appreciate any help - thanks!

Questions about tranferring money overseas

gfrobe — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 06:39:56 -0800

Need to transfer a large amount of money from US to UK and have a few questions about currency brokers and taxes. I'm going to be transferring 100k from a US savings account to a UK saving account and want to be sure I get the best exchange rate. Should I use a currency broker for this rather than my regular bank? If so, can anyone recommend a good reputable broker?

Also, what are the tax consequences of a transfer like this? Will I have to pay UK taxes on the money I'm bringing into the UK?

Negotiating with a NYC broker

pithy comment — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 08:53:07 -0800

Looking for advice in negotiating with a NYC apartment broker. I know they're all "scumbags" etc, but I find myself in the position of working with a broker and an apartment I want to go for. Yesterday in speaking with him I asked if there was any flexibility in his fee and he said "wish I could, but I can't." I pretty much just left it at that. The fee is 15% which is essentially 2 months rent. Insane! I have researched a bit and found that the apartment has been on the market a few weeks (longer than many), and we have another option, potentially with another broker. But my fear is that he'll just say, "OK, bye" because he can charge the full fee to someone else who walks in the door. What other bargaining chips do I have?

Can I make brokers make appointments with me to show my apartment?

sparrows — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:14:53 -0800

Woo hoo! Just one month left in my bad apartment. Since management now knows I'm not re-signing my lease for a second year, my apt. will need to be shown (by brokers) to potential new tenants this month. Are the brokers required to make appointments with me, or can they show up whenever they want? If they knock without notice am I required to let them in? I can't WAIT for this lease to end, it's been my only really bad experience in many years of NYC living. (So I might have some degree of leverage in that I could say in advance to brokers: if you respect my time by giving me notice, I'll agree to be politely neutral if your clients ask me about anything while they're here.)

There's no chance my place would be shown without me at home (nobody else has keys). And I work at home so I'm here most of every day/evening.

My lease only says my *landlord* is required to give me reasonable notice before entering; it doesn't say anything about the situation of the apt. being shown by brokers.

I'd like to put up a sign on my door that tells brokers that they must make appointments, they can't just knock with no notice. The problem is if you put anything on your door here, other tenants/kids will always rip it off for fun. So I can't count on anything staying on my door.

If I saw this question, I would say just ask the landlord/management co. -- but mine is nearly IMPOSSIBLE to contact (you have to leave many messages before there's even a chance of return contact) -- I have no onsite landlord, just a distant management company who manage many NYC buildings. When I was shown this place by a broker last year, it was empty (after a gut renovation) so I have no model of "how it worked last time." All I know is there were many brokers from various companies showing it, it wasn't an exclusive. And I don't know any neighbors enough to ask about how this was handled when they saw their apt. This is not a building where you can just ring a neighbor's bell with a question like that -- you would be met with suspicion and get no good information.

Basically I have to find out on my own. I haven't been able to google anything useful or definitive so far.

How can you maintain your NASD licenses once leaving your firm?

lawstudent09 — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 09:55:34 -0800

NASD licenses (specifically series 7 & 63) requires company sponsorship to obtain. Once obtained, you need company sponsorship to maintain the licenses. Is there a company who will maintain your licenses for you while you are not working in the financial industry? Perhaps for a fee on top of the annual registration costs? I believe you have two years from separation with your employer to obtain a new sponsor.

real estate broker PITA

frosty_hut — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 13:30:33 -0800

The real estate broker for our condo is a jackass...do we have any recourse? We just moved into a condo and have two issues. A few days after closing, and about a week after submitting our new address to the United States Postal Service, we were informed that our street address would be changed. We've gone twelve days without mail. The broker has been difficult to get any response from, and we got no warning that this would happen. Now we have to get our new address re-recorded everywhere--USPS, utilities, etc. No apologies from the broker for our inconvenience.

The other thing is that the inspection found a pipe leak under the bathroom sink before we moved in. It's still not fixed. You brush your teeth for three minutes, and the entire bathroom floor is flooded. We've been living with this for a week. This broker tells our real estate agent that he'll have a plumber call us, but it's been a couple of weeks and we've gotten no action. We'd like to get it fixed and bill the broker, but if he didn't select the plumber, we're thinking he'll find a way to avoid compensating us on that basis.

I'm wondering if any mefites have experienced inaction like this, and whether and how you complained. I found a complaint form for realtors in our state, and I want to submit it. My husband isn't sure. The thing is, the broker hasn't really defrauded us--he's just non-communicative, a foot-dragger, and a giant dick--none of which are technically pusnishable by law I suppose.

Any advice would be welcome.

Wondering about Zecco

ducksauce — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 07:34:25 -0800

Have you had any experience with Zecco.com? Are they reputable? I am thinking of opening an account with Zecco.com which, as far as I know, is the only no-fee online broker. They do charge fees for mutual funds and options, and I guess that's how they make their money, but I still don't understand how they can offer no trading fees.

PATRIOT Act + Roth IRA?

comwiz — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 16:09:38 -0800

What provisions of the PATRIOT Act govern the opening of my Roth IRA? I recently opened a Roth IRA through T. Rowe Price. In order to meet certain "PATRIOT Act" requirements, I am being required to mail in a W-9 form and photocopies of my Social Security card and drivers license to T. Rowe Price.

What part(s) of the PATRIOT Act require my IRA custodian to have these on file?

Is rent-direct.com a scam?

Frank Grimes — Wed, 30 May 2007 10:45:14 -0800

Has anyone used rent-direct.com to get a list of apartments in Manhattan? It's $249, but they say you don't have to pay a broker's fee and that you talk directly to landlords. My scam sensors went off big time.

Foreign Guarantor?

Anonymous — Fri, 04 May 2007 16:42:36 -0800

Not your usual NYC apartment question: Foreign guarantor in NYC? Help! Long story short, I'm a college student in NYC, and I've thought long and hard and decided that I most certainly want to live in an apartment next year. This is not questionable -- I'm currently without a home base to operate out of, and after many years of dorm life, I want to have a place to claim as home, or something remotely similar to that.

It turns out that the amount of financial aid I recieve will not change whether or not I'm in a school apartment or not, because I am listed as living abroad (which is true). Consequently, I've discussed plans with my parents, and they have agreed to pay for half of the difference between dorm board and rent, and the apartment I live in. I'll pay the rest.

Here's the problem: As I most certainly don't earn 40~50x the amount of my monthly rent, I need a guarantor. However, my parents have a foreign citizenship only and live abroad. I understand that a guarantor has to live in the US, and maybe even in the Tri-State area for New York apartment rentals. Is there any way to get around this, or to come to agreements with the landlord? Is there any way, with proof of employment/etc that my parents could be guarantors? I know I should ask brokers, but I figured that AskMe would provide succinct, relatively unbiased, and entertaining advice...

Thanks, AskMe!

NYC broker recommendations

twoporedomain — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 07:29:26 -0800

NYC broker recommendations and resources The boyfriend and I are hoping to move within Manhattan soon, and are in the uniquely advantageous position of having a flexible end-date to our current lease, having the budget to afford an apartment in our ideal neighborhoods, and having most of the moving and brokerage costs reimbursed by his company. This last point, combined with our laziness, means that we want to go through a broker. I’ve read previous threads about renting in New York (1, 2, 3, 4), and understand that there is a strong anti-brokerage firm sentiment here. But given that we’ve already decided to use one, can you help us out with the following:

1. Recommendations for (or against) a particular firm or agent? We are especially interested in brokers that cover Chelsea and the West Village areas. Personal recommendations or anecdotes are appreciated, as well as links to helpful forums.

2. I’ve read that late summer/early fall is the worst time to look for apartments. How true is this? And does going through a broker mitigate this at all?

3. How long can we expect this process to take, given that hopefully most of the legwork will be done by someone else?

Thanks all!

Should I get a real estate broker license?

KimikoPi — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 23:56:35 -0800

How is having a broker's license useful for doing one's own or a family member's real estate investments? I am thinking of getting one. Do any brokers out there do a lot of their own investments like flipping properties?

Selling a High-Profile Site

Anonymous — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 20:55:46 -0800

I run a community website that receives around 2 million pageviews a month. I'm finding that I don't have the time to run it these days - and I'm considering selling the site. It's in kind of a "hot" area and I think I could sell it for $2 million. How does one find buyers for something like this? I don't want to put it on eBay or another public site selling service like SitePoint because of the potential backlash from the community. Are there brokers that will represent you and present your site to companies that might be interested? Any links greatly appreciated.

Stocke Brokerage Recommendations

Maia — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 16:33:51 -0800

Any recommendations for a good online stock brokerage? I'm thinking cheap... what does the hive think about E*TRADE?

How do you verify the broker you are dealing with is legit?

pinksoftsoap — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 15:02:27 -0800

How do you verify the broker you are dealing with is legit? I've been looking around for an apartment and this would be the second time I'm going to be working with a broker. I hate them with a passion but it's nearly impossible to find anything decent in my neighborhood without one. I saw an apartment that I liked and have an appointment to meet the broker later this evening with my application and tax forms. Problem is, I found him on craigslist, I've never met him (I was late for my apt. viewing so he left it unlocked for me to just go in), we are meeting at a Starbucks, and the only way I know of contacting him is by cell phone. I worry that he could not be a broker at all and I hesitate to give him any of my confidential information before verifying this. How can I make sure I'm dealing with someone who really is representing this apartment and is a legitimate real estate agent? His office is quite a ways away from me and I hope I don't need to go there; plus, the apartment seems to be an excellent deal so I don't want to procrastinate. Please advise!

Low cost marketing for one woman business?

swiffa — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 16:03:28 -0800

My mom opened a mortgage broker business this year. Advertising budget is under $800/month, local radio and cable have both been unable to come in under that budget. Currently running newspaper ads in 3 or 4 pubs. No responses. Any low cost innovative ideas to help her reach potential customers?

Selling a valuable domain

maxwelton — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 11:51:31 -0800

I own a "valuable" domain. Are there "agents" available to professionally market it for me? How would I choose such an agent? The domain is a three-letter .com which is an acronym for a dozen fairly common terms, and is a "dictionary word" in Spanish, German, etc. There is a vowel in the middle position, so it is pronouncable in English as well and indeed is part of everyday life for people in parts of the United States. Appraisals have been in the high-five to low-six figures. A forum of domain traders generally thought I'd be "leaving money on the table" to sell for less than $50K, even to a reseller.

Here's the thing, though: I've had the domain listed on sedo.com for about two months, with lots of offers in the $3K-$10K range, and one for $25K. I don't need to sell (read, if I can get enough, I will, otherwise, I'll hold onto it), and have set $40-50K as my lower limit, based on feedback, gut feeling, and some sentimental attachment (the latter two obviously don't mean anything to potential buyers).

I've owned the domain for more than ten years, and it has a "google page rank" (whatever that is) of 6, though a search of adwords suggests not a lot of money would be made parking the domain. The domain has hosted my business for years, though I have recently moved the business pages to another domain I own in order to possibly sell this one--people find me by word of mouth, so the actual domain my business is hosted at isn't that important.

Is there a method--perhaps a brokerage that would actively market the name in exchange for a percentage of the sale--that would be more likely to achieve my goals than simply hanging it on sedo or like services? I feel especially that I have no insight on how to market to folks whose languages I don't speak but who might find the domain valuable.

How to avoid paying an insane broker's fee when renting a Manhattan apartment?

Afroblanco — Sat, 08 Jul 2006 13:41:04 -0800

How to avoid paying an insane broker's fee when renting a Manhattan apartment? My roommate and I are looking to move into a 2-bedroom apartment on Sept. 1.

All of the brokers that I found on Craigslist say the same thing - "You're moving at the worst time of the year, and our fee is 15% of annual rent."

There don't seem to be too many non-broker options.

What are some strategies for getting around this? As far as I see it, Craigslist has already failed us.