Dennis Greenstein Quoted in The Real Deal

The article "Exclusive contracts: A close look at the fine print" in the May 2006 issue of The Real Deal reports that exclusive sales contracts from New York City's major firms show big differences in the little details and the manner in which Manhattan's biggest brokerages compensate their agents varies depending on the nature of their company's exclusive sales contracts. Some brokerages leave the commission amount to be filled in later. Some firms mention specifically that they will pay for advertising. Others calculate their commission as 6 percent of the total sales price, including household furnishings -- the proverbial kitchen sink -- thrown in.

No attorneys The Real Deal talked with faulted brokerages for having contracts favoring their own financial ends; there's nothing illegal or, by industry standards, unethical about the contracts. "The most important thing if they're a broker selling is to get a contract to detail the terms for compensation and when the compensation is due to them," said Dennis Greenstein, a partner at the law firm Seyfarth Shaw. Greenstein said he has had sellers sign sales contracts, do their own sales without the broker, and then express surprise when the broker with the exclusive-right-to-sell contract asks for a commission. The recent real estate boom created remarkably expensive co-ops and condos throughout the city. But a stratospheric rise in apartment prices hasn't corresponded with a rise in apartment owners' real estate savvy, attorneys say. And they've had years to hone their skills. The exclusive right-to-sell contracts of today are similar to ones from years or even decades past, attorneys say. "These are probably very similar," attorney Dennis Greenstein said, "to what I saw 20 years ago."