What the broker won’t tell you?

Real estate brokers are being gradually replaced by modern technological solutions, which connect tenants with landlords quickly and at minimal cost. However, brokers are still very popular, and that is why tenants who use their services should be well informed about the principles of cooperation with them.

Brokers have relatively little responsibility

According to the requirements of professional diligence, the broker must be privy to the legal provisions of the contract. Hence, the question arises: what is the actual responsibility of the broker?

If a legal counsel prepares a contract for a tenant in which there are errors, it is the legal counsel who is responsible for them.

A broker plays the role of a person who contacts both parties and makes sure that the transaction takes place. However, he is neither the owner of the building nor the author of the contract.

With that in mind, one should give up thinking about a broker as someone who is the guarantor of security or a necessary side of the transaction.

You will get what the broker have exclusivity on

Owners of some buildings give brokers the so-called exclusivity, which guarantees a specific agent the “right” to conclude a contract in a given location.

Although the price for renting and the quality of such a building may not necessarily be the best, the broker can count on a better commission there than in places for which he or she has no exclusivity.

That is why exclusive surfaces will also be the ones that are most often shown to the tenant.

Before the tenant sees the property better suited to him, he may have a long trip around “the best locations in the city” behind him… However, these locations would be, frankly, the ones that the dealer would like to rent the most and where he would earn the most.

You can require transparency and clear cooperation rules from the broker

Few tenants realize that brokers do not have “fixed”, pre-determined commissions.

In fact, the amount of commission varies depending on the building and its owner, and this can significantly affect the advisory process.

Is the amount of commission for the agent in individual locations a secret?

No! The tenant, for his own good, should always know the amount of remuneration that the broker will get from the landlord. It is enough to ask: “how much commission will you receive for selling this property?”.

Another matter is that for the lease process itself, it would be best if the commissions were always the same amount. Then, the assessment of a particular building would not be affected by the broker’s remuneration.

It is for this reason that Realko24 goes for the fixed transparent commission – 1% on the value of the contract. Every landlord pays it, regardless of the type or size of the space he offers. Thanks to this, transactions made by Realko24 are among the fairest on the market.