SCREEN PLAY FADE IN: INT. SIMON'S OFFICE - DAY
SIMON HARRISON, a seasoned broker in his 60s with a calm demeanor and an air of integrity, sits at his desk drinking beet juice that actually looks like blood. He types on his computer, pensively, the light from the screen reflecting off his glasses.
SIMON (V.O.) As a seasoned broker in The Hamptons since the late 1980s, I've always welcomed healthy competition. Avoiding unnecessary friction is key to success. While nobody wins in court, sometimes I choose to go there. This screenplay is meant to pull back the curtain on the patterns and practices that are real. I've used pitch marketing text from another company that's real, in quotes, yet other details have been changed. Can't make this up.
INT. SIMON'S OFFICE - DAY (SPLIT SCREEN)On the other side of the split screen, we see a SEEDY BASEMENT. Young, overworked computer geeks hunch over screens. SLICK CON ARTIST LOOKING BOSSES bark orders. Roaches on the wall, smoke from inner offices...
SIMON (V.O.) I'm not a lawyer, don't pretend to be, but I'm grateful for the hundreds of NY lawyers who have managed my firm's deals. Local lawyers hire me as their broker often enough to flatter me. But that's a red herring for another time. This is a story staggered only by days, and maybe weeks by the time you read it, with more segments to follow.
EXT. NEW YORK CITY STREET - DAYSIMON walks with his friend JAKE (mid 70s, concerned if not anxious), down a quiet street near the beach in the Hamptons. They both have fishing rods on their cars.
SIMON So, Jake, what's the story with the last apartment uptown? I know you had a few of them but this is the last one if I recall.
"Are you using hopkins or topwater plugs?"
JAKE I'm bringing both, not sure what the surf looks like up close. On the apt, the tenant just passed away after 30 years of rent control. I need help selling it and I'm getting calls from brokers that scan the obits I guess. Can you sell NYC from here?
SIMON We've done it before, but it isn't in my wheelhouse, so we find another like me in the city to play point. I'll get on it later today.
INT. SIMON'S OFFICE - DAY Simon, now back in his office, speaks on the phone with another broker, KAREN (40s, confident). The split screen shows KAREN in a bustling NYC office.
SIMON Karen, can you circle a CMA for me? I need a Current Market Analysis for a friend's apartment.
KAREN Sure thing, Simon. I'll get right on it. Are you referring the seller or the buyer?
SIMON (V.O.) I've brokered deals outside The Hamptons, often referring inquiries to those as familiar with their markets as I am with mine. It's not easy to find qualified pros—it’s an 80/20 business where 20% of brokers do 80% of the work. Karen is one of them. The standard referral split, industrywide, is usually 20% of the side referred which ends up at 10% of the whole brokerage. That's because most brokerage splits involve a buy side and a sell side, equally, and those are split in-house amongst company and agent. Example on 20,000 total commission is 10,000 goes directly to buy-side company, that then splits with their agent representing the buyer; same with the sell-side or listing company with their agent. If the listing agent and the agent that brought the buyer are on a 50/50 split with their respective companies then there are 4 portions of 5,000 each. The referring side pays 20% of the half referred, ($2,000 leaving two of those portions at 4,000 instead). It's standard fare in the industry across the country, and similarly across country borders as well.
INT. SEEDY BASEMENT - DAY The camera focuses on the COMPUTER GEEKS, typing furiously, creating a listing presentation. The SLICK BOSSES, RANDY (30s) and MIKE (20s), oversee them, barking orders.
RANDY Get those comps re-imagined. Make it look good. We need this listing.
MIKE And push that off-market angle. It's key. Don't take NO, start at short value for a quick sale that we can triple up on. Call me if they have other ideas, I'll sit with 'em.
INT. JAKE'S APARTMENT - DAY Simon and Jake stand in the living room, looking over papers.
SIMON Jake, this apartment needs work, but I've seen worse. The comps suggest it’s worth between $1M and $1.2M. List at $1M, more people come and possibly bid over. List at $1.2M, bids might come in under the ask.JAKE So, what should I do?SIMON I'll get you someone local to the apartment, just gotta get robust data and then wade through the characters on who is best for point, but it's not new to us even if we are in The Hamptons.INT. SIMON'S OFFICE - NIGHTSimon reviews notes sent by other brokers. He frowns at the screen.SIMON (V.O.) I reviewed notes Jake got from other local brokers, not sure how he found them, but they're recognizable big company names. The marketing photos of most comps are doctored so hard in the lab that they're misrepresentations that sellers are actually responsible for, and for buyers it's hard to see it through the fluff sometimes. I saw the pitch for one listing which raised my hackles a bit. The quote in bold is not part of the screenplay format, it's real, and it came from a Compass brokerage team.
CUT TO:INT. SEEDY BASEMENT - NIGHT (SPLIT SCREEN)The young geeks finish the listing presentation. Randy and Mike review it.
RANDY Good. Send it.
INT. SIMON'S OFFICE - NIGHT Simon opens the email from the firm COMPASS.
SIMON (V.O.) (Reading the email) " It was great speaking with you on Sunday. I am so glad you reached out about your apartment. I think the space is incredible, the location superb, and the apartment has so much potential!...
