The Real Deal New York

Neil Binder is a residential broker in New York City and the co-founder, with Marc Broxmeyer, of Bellmarc Realty, a Manhattan-focused residential brokerage. The partners founded the firm in 1979. Broxmeyer retired in 2010, and Binder, finding he did not enjoy running Bellmarc alone, acquired a brokerage in 2012 that specialized in rentals, AC Lawrence Real Estate. A year later, he made Bellmarc a franchise of Coldwell Banker.

The merger and the infusion of Coldwell Banker money fueled Bellmarc's growth to 550 agents. However, Bellmarc's Coldwell Banker and AC Lawrence relationships soured and devolved into courtroom drama. Binder initially ceded day-to-day management over to AC Lawrence co-founders Anthony DeGrotta and Larry Friedman, his new partners, as he planned to write books and blog. In August 2014, as the partners' relationship deteriorated, DeGrotta and Friedman sued Binder for allegedly embezzling money from the firm. The suit was eventually settled. Still, the instability, including a freeze on Bellmarc's bank accounts, prompted hundreds of Bellmarc's sales agents to jump ship, while the brokerage closed several New York City offices. Binder is the author of "The Ultimate Guide to Buying and Selling Co-ops and Condos in New York City."