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Who does the broker work for, seller or buyer?

judgerey

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I am an owner at HGVC, and have bought directly from Hilton (I know it was a mistake) and a resale (eBay through Judi Kozlowski). I have been working with Judi to get some resales for my father-in-law. My question is who does Judi (or any broker) work for, the seller or buyer? All answers appreciated. Thanks. :)
 

Keitht

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The obvious answer is that the broker should be working for the person who is going to pay the bill.
If working for the vendor then they should be trying to get the best possible price whilst still have a realistic probability of a sale.
 

Phill12

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I have yet to see one of these brokers who cares about you or the buyer!

They are looking out for only their best interest (money in their pocket ) and work both sides.

They will tell you the best price to list and then help buyer bring that price down.

All they care about and is why there in this business is to make money.

There is a timeshares company, realestate broker in our resort area that sells many timeshares and no upfront money and this is great.

We had a friend use them last year and they told him to sell within three months he should list for $6000 which was lower than other listings for his timeshare by $500. This was not fair to other sellers on their list.

He didn't like price being that low and them taking $2000 from sale but decided to do it.

After all this he would come out with $4000 but didn't have to hassle with worthless ads and playing games with buyers so did it.

He noticed that they leave sold, price reduced or excrow blinking on their list to show others they did sell units or in excrow.

They show no dates of listing or dates of sales so you have no way of knowing if this happen this week or two years ago.

They just state on a listing "just listed".

Problem is these people show reduced pricing and sold so anyone looking see's someone bought your resort for a low price and now you have no way to sell without also dropping your price.

Sure enough he gets couple calls from the broker saying he has a buyer sitting here now and is offering to buy his unit at $4500 which matched sold unit still on list from a owner that didn't care he lost most of his money.

He asked broker if he takes offer does all that money come off his take or does some come from the $2000 he is paying them and we all know that answer.

If he had excepted that deal he would have taken $2500 which was a joke and still the broker would have made their $2000.

To show how much they care they told him they had three other owners listing for same resort and if he didn't except this offer one of them would probably take it.

He asked how anyone could sell for so little because we are talking great resorts and it was stated that people get in trouble and just want out and will take almost any amount.

So as far as I can see when they tell you the going price in your resort, this number will get low-balled by thousands by the time your done and they still get their $2000. :rolleyes:

He refused the offer and canceled out with this broker because they are not working for him!:crash:


Remember the only one that cares about you is you!:banana:



PHIL
 
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rickandcindy23

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I agree somewhat with Phil, but I also want to emphasize how difficult it is to sell a timeshare. You can have the best week in the nicest resort, a supertrader, and will never get close to the developer price, but some people want to get that much, so they wait and wait, hoping for the higher price, but they only get lowball offers. So they refuse the deal and won't compromise. What goes on between the seller and their broker, even if it is the same broker you are using as the buyer, is still between the two of them. The seller may be a transaction broker, hoping to get both sides to a compromise, but you are still working with a person that is an unknown; a seller who is faceless and has motives for asking too much and not willing to sell for the price that is probably fair. :shrug:
 

judgerey

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Phil, based on your friend's experience, it seems like its better to be the buyer.
 
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Phill12

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Phil, based on your friend's experience, it seems like its better to be the buyer.


I agree with you!

As far as what Cindy was talking about this was not someone trying to get money back at resort prices.

The broker told him at what price they would sell which was $500 less than other's on the list were priced and this wasn't fair to them either.

He excepted the realestates pricing even though it was low and in fact it was lower by $2600 than the on-site resale office is selling.

The only good thing here is this is a realestate timeshare sales and not a upfront company so he was out nothing but time!:crash:
 

Talent312

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The legal answer is that "it depends." It depends on the contract between the seller and the broker concerning the listing, and on the state rules regulating brokerages.

Traditionally, brokers represented the seller's interest becuz it is the seller who engaged the broker to list the unit. They had no duty to the buyer at all, and technically, once they had a buyer's signature on the contract, they were done. Although, to get paid, they often assisted the parties with the closing.

Sometimes, broker, when not selling his own listings, will act as an agent of the buyer to assist in locating a property to buy. Care must be take to ensure that the broker does not steer the buyer to the broker's own properties. Such a broker is usually paid by splitting the commission with the seller's broker.

However, the modern trend is for brokers to act as "transaction" brokers, to facilitate a closing on behalf of both parties, unless the contract between seller and broker provides otherwise, in which case the broker is s'posed disclose that fact to the buyer.
 
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Phill12

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The legal answer is that "it depends." It depends on the contract between the seller and the broker concerning the listing, and on the state rules regulating brokerages.

Traditionally, brokers represented the seller's interest becuz it is the seller who engaged the broker to list the unit. They had no duty to the buyer at all, and technically, once they had a buyer's signature on the contract, they were done. Although, to get paid, they often assisted the parties with the closing.

Sometimes, broker, when not selling his own listings, will act as an agent of the buyer to assist in locating a property to buy. Care must be take to ensure that the broker does not steer the buyer to the broker's own properties. Such a broker is usually paid by splitting the commission with the seller's broker.

However, the modern trend is for brokers to act as "transaction" brokers, to facilitate a closing on behalf of both parties, unless the contract between seller and broker provides otherwise, in which case the broker is s'posed disclose that fact to the buyer.



What you are stating is more true when selling a house than a timeshare!

The honest timeshare resales companies like this one have maybe five brokers that all work together in the offices.

You list your condo with agent A and someone on vacation walks in and talks to agent -B.

They all see the same book and talk to the buyers and promise them they can get best price and they get people to make their offer. At this point if agent-A is working they ask and if not they call to make low-ball offer that they helped come up with and this is not fair to owners who already have listed with them at their price which in most cases is low to start with!:rolleyes:

I asked him why he listed with this realtor and not the resales office. He was told that they were selling for $2600 more with first year mf paid but had a few of his units on their books and told him to try this company.

Funny part is some of the old sales people from the resort resales dept work at this new place. :shrug:


PHIL
 

pcgirl54

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In real estate unless you are a Broker's agent the fiduciary duty is to the seller since they pay sales commision. If it is a co broke- another broker other than the listing agent/agency who has a qualified buyer who would receive commision from the seller is legally bound in the same way as if they were the primary broker. This is for Exclusive listing contracts in my home state.

Ethical obligations are bound to both parties.

Dual agency must be disclosed if you represent the seller and buyer since it is really a conflict of interest. You must tread lightly on both sides and not disclose anything to impact the sale that would be a negative to either party.

In all cases certain property issues,lead paint,failed septic ,defect of title, must be disclosed.

I am not certain if TS sales work the same way but it does involves someone paying a fee to sell. I am talking about realty agencies not postcard companies or Holiday resellers who own outright.
 

Zac495

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I don't know... I've worked with Seth Nock and I think he does care about his clients. I'm not saying he doesn't want a commission. But salespeople can have hearts just like other professions. For instance, Seth will take the time to listen to the type of vacation you like. He'll ask questions about when you travel, how often, etc. Then he'll give you advice as to which timeshare he thinks would be best for you. Of course he wants the sale. I'm just saying that it seems to me that he likes his job, believes in what he's selling, and is fair.

Others are weasels and don't care about anything but the bottom line.
 

summervaca

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Brokers need to make a living too. Obviously, I am not talking about lying, cheating, stab you in the back types, but brokers are salespeople and they should be compensated fairly for the services they provide just like everyone else. If they offer you a bad deal, don't take it - and never give anyone money up front.

By the way, I am not a broker, nor do I have any in my family;)
 
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