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Hoping to get some input on this.
I'm currently negotiating a lease on a property to operate my business out of.
I have a broker who works based on a percentage of the transaction that is paid by the landlord.
We submitted an offer on the property (or a letter of interest) outlining the terms, conditions and fees (including those going to my broker).
Now we have a counter offer that was sent to my broker. He doesn't want to send me a copy of it. He says he "needs to review it, compare to the initial offer, talk to the listing broker, and then discuss it with me". I've asked twice to see a hardcopy of the offer and I haven't got anything from him.
Is this normal procedure? I'm getting annoyed with my broker given this is a large investment on my part and I feel like I'm being kept in the dark.
Ask your broker again to send the counter offer, and an appointment to go over this in detail. If you get any push back, call the managing broker of the firm.
Do you have a buyer agency contract with this guy?
That's weird. Out here any documents delivered to your agent are considered delivered immediately to you at the same time. In situations like this, I forward docs onto my client and tell them I want to chat with the listing agent before we discuss a response.
Thanks for the input. This is my first real estate transaction and didn't know what to expect but the broker not giving me a copy of the offer is irritating to say the least.
I just talked to him again and he's saying he will get it to me once he goes over the details with the listing broker.
I've been looking for a property to lease for the past year with a lot of difficulties. Most landlords are leery of renting the property for my purposes (a medical clinic); and this is only the second counter offer we've gotten.
I don't want to rock the boat too much and have the deal fall through so I'm just going to be patient and see what happens.
I don't want to be overly paranoid but I can't really think of any other reason for him to not show it to me is because he is trying to negotiate his fees. Can a broker legally leverage rental rates, and tenant improvement allocations against his commission?
And btw, I do not have a contract with the broker.
Not only is there no legal reason for him to delay while he talks with anyone else, there is legal reason for him to comply with your request immediately. Change your request to a demand: I demand you send me the counter immediately.
No discussion to be had with your agent. Just the counter in your hands. If s/he says no, you need to go or call the managing broker and make your demand.
Should you encounter further resistance, I would immediately cancel your relationship with this agent and agency in writing. Then contact another broker.
I don't often agree with people that say to "fire" an agent immediately, but this is unacceptable. My best guess is that there are some items he does not understand and wants to go through them with the broker first--whether for his benefit or yours.
That's fine to for him to spend some time learning, but he can also send it to you immediately and let you know he'll be able to answer any questions later.
Does the listing broker have an offer in on the same property? Ask him. That's what it sounds like. Maybe that will get him to move on this, especially if it's not true and just makes him look bad.
I, too, would call the broker. Let him know how much you want this place and your agent is not able to handle things at the moment without spending time to ask for the broker's help....so you'd like to be referred to the broker himself or an experienced agent who doesn't need to have all his paperwork checked by the broker.
Call agent and explain that your next call will be to the broker if that counter offer is not sent to you. If he doesn't respond immediately, call the broker.
Last edited by GotHereQuickAsICould; 07-01-2015 at 03:51 PM..
I don't work in commercial real estate but I understand that the business is completely different than residential real estate. Many of the norms for residential just don't exist for commercial. A more benign explanation could be that your agent is not familiar with commercial real estate and needs time to figure out what the other agent has proposed. It could be complicated and he needs to figure it out before explaining it to you, or he may have a mentor that he needs to run it by. Even if he is experienced, he may need time to digest it all and he may be swamped at the moment. Having said that, you are still the boss and you need to explain in no uncertain terms that you want to see it tonight....period. If it's complicated, you can both go thru it and come up with questions.
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