Working with Real Estate Brokers

1. Residential Brokers

Most live/work residential space for sale is listed with  residential brokers. As a prospective purchaser you can respond to ads, listings and open houses without engaging your own agent.  In order to enlarge the search and have your own expert, you may engage an agent to represent you as the buyer. Your agent typically receives a percentage of the selling broker’s fee. One caution: if a property is being sold without an agent, your own broker might not bring it to your attention. Often some of the more affordable artist space projects are not listed under brokers, you can find them listed in our database, artspacefinder. 

Be sure to check our section on Purchasing Space and what it has to say about working with brokers. 

2. Commercial Space Brokers

Many brokers specialize in commercial and industrial properties. Some are experts in certain locations, some represent large territories.  Be sure to outline your space needs. Large brokers do not typically deal with small spaces such as individual rental studios, but even so they may refer you to agents who represent such spaces. Smaller, locally based brokers may be great sources for studio spaces. They often know of empty upper story commercial spaces in old downtown buildings, vacant storefronts, bits and pieces of industrial space for lease, etc.