As the Occupy Wall Street protesters have shown, passion and a couple of signs are all that’s needed to start protest. And that’s all David Huber has.
For the past week, the 25-year-old Fort Greene resident has been standing outside his local Corcoran real estate office on Lafayette St., protesting what he says is a company-wide policy of unethical behavior.
“I’ve had bad experiences from as low as the broker I’ve dealt with to as high as the vice president,” said Huber, an editor for an architectural journal.
The drama began after Huber worked with a Corcoran broker to buy a Clinton Hill studio for about $210,000. It would have been Huber’s first real estate purchase. The deal fell through unexpectedly when Huber’s lawyer realized that the property’s seller had not obtained a permanent Certificate of Occupancy – a document issued by the City Department of Buildings and required for almost all real estate transactions. As New York’s caveat emptor (buyer beware) law protects sellers in cases like this, Huber admits Corcoran isn’t legally responsible for knowing there was no certificate. But Huber argues that remaining within legal bounds is the bare minimum a real estate company should do to help its customers.
“I think the public needs to be warned of the unwillingness of the company to take responsibility for the situation,” he said.
Huber plans to continue his protests next week.
