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Updated: May 1, 2009, 5:35 pm	Share    Print    Email

East Hampton - Two brokers and one homeowner's travails defend the exclusive rental practice. Prudential Douglas Elliman's Gioia diPaolo chimes in, saying last week was a wonderful, busy week and is responsible for her late entry.

Ms. diPaolo addresses the benefits of security and peace of mind. Some homeowners need the comfort of knowing their home is in the hands of a known and trusted agent who will schedule and accompany all showings, knows the fine points of the home and is accountable for the safety of the home, adhering to the specific protocols of the homeowner. They uncomfortable having unknown agents with access to their home.

"The listing commission on an exclusive rental is most often only 10 percent to 20 percent of the total commission, minimal compensation for effort involved. I rented a house last August ($200,000 range). The listing agent accompanied us on the showing, negotiated with the landlord, prepared the lease; received 10 percent of the commission as her listing fee. The transaction was smooth. I was happy to relinquish 10 percent!

Property courtesy of The Corcoran Group.

"An exclusive rental listor is more likely to spend time and money on marketing," she adds. In cases where exclusive sale listings are offered for rent - "If the sale is the priority, it is advantageous that the exclusive sale listor be the exclusive rental listor. Uncontrolled showings become confusing, interfering with the homeowner's priority. Without an alarm system with each agency possessing its own code, homeowner never knows who has been in his home or when. Seeing the same home 10 times in a row on line suggests a fire sale, especially if multiple agencies use the same photos.

"Most exclusive rentals are co-broked (unless otherwise stipulated by the homeowner) giving all agencies the opportunity to rent," diPaola says. "Exclusives ideally are not exclusionary but are inclusive." (Whoa! Operative word ideally. There is litigation about that going on right now, I understand.) diPaolo ends with, "exclusive rental listings represent a minuscule part of the rental market and most are at the high end."

In the interest of fairness, brokers who argued against exclusive rentals cited exceptions, including owners' wishes and high-end properties. As to knowing who and who was not there - what happened to leaving business cards and notices of showing which are sent to landlord (client) with name of customers regularly?

Another argument favoring exclusive listings (and Multiple Listing Service) from broker Jude Lyons of Westhampton Beach Realty: "I read with interest your discussion on exclusive rentals. Exclusive sales, and rentals too, are in the best interest of the owners. It allows the professionally management of the property. It gets the owner more exposure. The MLS system involves brokers from most of the Island and the country providing fabulous exposure."

Broker Lyons writes that rental listings particularly need exclusive management and reports a conversation with a home owner/landlord to support that assertion: "I dread every year. Calls start in September after Labor Day and it is broker after broker calling to see if I want to rent next summer. I have just gotten through Labor Day and am not ready to think about next summer. One day I had three calls from the exact same office. Don't they talk to each other?

Property courtesy of Prudential Douglas Elliman.

"I then go through the round of brokers who want to take pictures. Never mind, my house has been available for the past 10 years and the furniture is covered. My house has been photographed more than Paris Hilton! Holidays come; I finish putting the Christmas decorations away - the calls begin again. Want to make sure you are still available, they ask repeatedly, though I repeatedly tell them I will advise if rented.

"In February, I check out the internet to insert specifics for my house. There it is! Fifteen times in a row on the Internet. This is not good marketing. It looks like a sale in the discount bin at Walmart. Then we get to the Presidents' weekend and Easter time, another round of calls. At least once a season, some broker makes a mistake or deliberately puts a wrong price on my listing, requiring another set of calls from what seems like a million brokers asking have you changed your price?

"Spring comes. I go out to the house to check it. Lights are on. The door isn't locked; a window is open. I don't know who has been there. I'm told a key is important for walk-ins, but here is my lovely home left in a terrible state by I don't know who!"

Wow! From a landlord's point of view that sounds like one big nuisance, let alone a nightmare, though we don't hear how it feels when the rent money rolls in.

So much deals with agent ineptitude, an absence, of professionalism and management control. Where to look for information? A real internal office - communication breakdown and procedure, exclusive or not, on how to pass along information. Updates, buddy, updates.

East End real estate sometimes is too strange a business.

Lona Rubenstein is an accomplished author residing in East Hampton. Her new book, "Getting Back in the Game: Finding the Fountain of Youth in Cyberspace" can be found at local booksellers and online at www.gettingbackinthegame.com. For more real estate news and views contact Lona at lonafirst@aol.com.

Comments

Joseph Kazickas from East Hampton says:
Interesting story. We are generating more leads than we can handle at hamptonsrentals.com and need agents. Get in on the ground floor. Call me at 631-495-3404 or email jkazickas@rosehipre.com

springs resident from East Hampton says:
I agree with Peter- what a lack of professionalism- agents are independent contractors,poorly trained in most cases or just used to doing it their own way often the wrong way- and no one regulates anything- as the clients- meaning the sellers and landlords are routinely under-represented by their so called agents-

laurie mindnich from Riverhead says:
IDX feeds don't show the listing agents, just the companies, when a full consumer view is sent that originates from a property search on a company website- it's different than an mls search, but good for the consumer either way. My error in wording- check your feed under "full consumer". That's the beauty of the feed: if they choose a company with whom they want to work, all listed properties are at their perusal, and can be viewed with the agent of their choice (as opposed to having to jump around company sites). It substantially increases a seller's exposure to have their property on the majority of real estate websites, as well as benefitting buyers who have chosen a real estate agent with full access to for-sale properties. Not to mention the oversight in place to avoid various legal entanglements.

North Sea Citizen from North Sea says:
Well most of the South Fork, east of the canal, does not and will not subscribe to MLS. Its been a long running debate and most brokerages do not want it. The ones who do, still do not post all their listings to the system. Brokers prepare simple leases and contracts all over the country, but Long island is not permitted yet largely due to the lawyer lobby, as they make too much money. Anyone can prepare a contract and anyone can sign one. Its just not smart if it becomes to complex and you don't understand it. Further a landlord or a tenant can pay the brokers commission, there is no rule, just local customs. I do agree that the realtors course and license test is a joke, letting in way too many incompetent people. An exclusive rental only truly serves the broker as a way of making money when sales are slow. Just wait and see when sales pick up, how many exclusive rentals are dropped as the brokers become to busy. The real estate market is largely driven by personal income. Perhaps if they made the real estate license law equivalent to a series 63 would it weed out a lot of the chaff..

Peter from East Hampton says:
Interesting that the tenant was "happy to relinquish 10 percent." It is the landlord, not the tenant, who pays commissions. And the broker prepared the lease, huh? Sounds like practicing law without a license. The ignorance and lack of professionalism among the real estate community is disgraceful. The NYS license exam is a joke, and because agents are "independent" their offices can exert no control or supervision -- not that they try, or know any better.

aggravated agent from Sag Harbor says:
The main point here is that maximum exposure of the rental listing via MLS is to the OWNER'S advantage, as well as to their agent. The agent is supposed to be working for the client, their landlord,and should do what is best for their client- and that means maximum exposure- FOR THE LISTING-

real estate broker from north fork says:
The MLS or Multiple Listing Service of Long Island requires the listing agent posting the listing to provide the agent's name and contact information- along with the name of the agency that is automatically entered at the top of the posting- they are- required fields- if this info is not provided, the listing will not post-

laurie mindnich from Riverhead says:
It's great to see dialogue from both perspectives. We don't do rentals, but just tonight received an inquiry on a property for rent, with an mls #. Rather than get involved in something that we haven't focused on, we've sent the potential renter the listing agents name and # (the mls feed only shows the company). Absent the presence of the rental in the MLS, it's difficult to presume that she'd have found it- in this case, it's certainly to the listing agents benefit that it was put on the MLS, because that's where she looked, and located the house. That she contacted a non-rental company didn't hurt, either, at least from the listing company's perspective!

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