More NYC brokers serve as apartment managers for foreign buyers

The influx of foreign buyers into the New York City condominium market has added a new job description for brokers, according to the Wall Street Journal, as they’re increasingly managing the leasing process on behalf of overseas owners.

For these brokers, performing background checks on renters, collecting rent, paying utility bills and overseeing repairs and renovations have become as much a part of the job as selling apartments. While larger landlords outsource these duties to management companies, few such services exist for individual apartment owners, the Journal said.

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While some brokers do collect a small fee for the work, the true payoff is the change to exclusively list the high-end unit when the foreign buyer decides to cash in on his or her investment.

“What stops them from not using you again and going to someone else?” said Rex Gonsalves, vice president of Halstead Property. “Clients from overseas can easily be swayed by 10 different agents. They will go to me because I’ve handled their tenant for four years.” [WSJ]