***Official Real Estate Thread***

[Senor Sopa]

Early in her career, my wife cut her commission to help the buyer close on a house. I gave her a ton of crap for that. You negotiate on price, not your commission. In the right market, if you're buying, your agent should be working to get you repair credits which are a form of a rebate.

Last time I sold, 20 years ago, we negotiated on the commsission. Sellers can pull that in a hot market. We considered using a friend as the agent, he would have sold for 150,000 less than what we got.

If you really, really want the buy the place, make the sellers agent be your buyers agent. Pretty strong motivation for the agent to nab both sides of the commission. You can also try adding the contingency of "must accept on offer" in your bid.

Tips from my mom-in-law broker/realtor.

 

[ghost_of_lewis_samuels]

No offense to any real estate agents out there,

But there are some really dumb, ambulance chasing-style agents out there selling real estate that simply puppet what other RE influencers tell them, with zero analytical considerations for what they do.

That being said, you could probably say that about __________________ industry as well.

there's just a low barrier to entry - so you get a lot of hacks. but there are good ones

 

[Mr Doof]

If you really, really want the buy the place, make the sellers agent be your buyers agent. Pretty strong motivation for the agent to nab both sides of the commission. You can also try adding the contingency of "must accept on offer" in your bid.

Tips from my mom-in-law broker/realtor.

When we bought in 1997, tried to make sure the R.E. company was representing both seller and us. Idea was the company would make it work despite the salesmanship (should be saleswomanship in our case).

And we were!

Frankly, as far as I could tell, the real/best use for both agents was having nicely printed forms upon signing instead of Xeroxed forms and having useful assistant (ours was in middle of facelift recovery and difficult to schedule with) who was barely more than 15 mins late to appointments.

 

[sdsrfr]

On the central AC I replaced myself 5 years ago (1962 Worthington unit in the attic - still running after 55 years with its 3-ton Carrier Commercial Condensing unit outdoors - built like a Brick Sh*thouse - had to cut it up in place with a Sawzall) I had a real slow Freon leak. There's oil travelling around and around with the Freon - I think the leak was in the evaporator indoors and the oil was getting into the drain which would clog. I started using anti-clog pads or pills you put in the condensate drain pan - good for a season. They have a new in-line one now as well (link below). Also, if you can, prime the drain trap with water at the beginning of the season. If the trap is dry the unit will pull air in trough the trap and if it pulls enough it can pull the water in that's trying to go through the trap as well, overflowing the pan or getting water into the fan. They should usually self prime but if you're in there changing the filter anyway might as well.
Drain Guard

My HVAC 101 tutorial included a demonstration using a shop vac to pull the clog out of the drain.

Literally saw the hose bunch up as it pulled the clog across and then go slack when it cleared, big flow of water ensued.

tech said I could do this any time i wanted to sanity check the line without having to go into the attic.

 

[npsp]

My agent also managed to save me a ton in closing costs by pushing some things onto the seller that I had expected to be on the buyer or a 50/50 split.

My inspectors report was a thing of beauty and gave me multiple outs. Ghosted them for 48hrs and got a pretty chunk back despite the bidding war. The seller told me on keys day they fully expected me to walk after seeing the inspectors report.

Inspection reports can be gold for the buyer.
On the buy side, my wife has a couple of really good, thorough inspectors that don't miss anything. This is key for getting either repair requests taken care of on the sellers dime or credits at closing. She uses these same guys to write an inspection report for houses she's going list so the seller can fix anything before it goes on the market. This helps get a higher selling price and takes away the buyers ability to negotiate for repair credits at closing.
She just closed on a small place for one of here clients. For some reason the seller disclosed that the place was re-piped for both hot and cold water. On a walk thru, she noticed that the angle stops under the sinks were most likely original and the hot/cold supply to the clothes washer were coming up from the floor vs dropped from the attic. Based on this she asked the inspector to confirm that the place had original piping. He did and she was able to negotiate a $10K credit for her customer.
On the flip side, a few years ago, she negotiated a $18K roof replacement credit for a buyer. Now, the couple that bought the house are getting a divorce and selling. They never fixed the roof.... Well, now the place is in escrow and that $18K is $24K and she had to break the news that the buyer is asking for a roofing credit....

 

[hammies]

 

[PJ]

My HVAC 101 tutorial included a demonstration using a shop vac to pull the clog out of the drain.

Literally saw the hose bunch up as it pulled the clog across and then go slack when it cleared, big flow of water ensued.

tech said I could do this any time i wanted to sanity check the line without having to go into the attic.

Good to know about the vacuum method.

In 1991 my house came with an almost empty R-22 Freon tank in the attic right next to the AC unit with an old and dry cut-off Freon hose on it with a rag wrapped around the end. I just ignored it and dragged my air compressor hose up there to unclog the drain with some pressure the first time. Afterwards I realized that's what the old Freon tank was for, and the rag sealed the hose into the drain.

 

[r32]

Here are the people behind the huge land purchases SW of Sacramento around Travis AFB base.

Aside from Hoffman (co-founder LinkedIn) and Powell Jobs (Tech Titan), Flannery’s (former trader at investors reportedly include Marc Andreessen (VC Titan) of the private venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, former Sequoia Capital partner Michael Moritz (VC Titan) and Stripe co-founders Patrick and John Collison (billionaires), as well as entrepreneurs Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross.

The group is said to be led by Jan Sramek, a 36-year-old former Goldman Sachs trader who has spent the last few years securing funds from Silicon Valley luminaries for the project.

They plan to build a whole new city from scratch.

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The group has launched a new website "California Forever"

Home - East Solano Plan

Learn more about the East Solano Homes, Jobs, and Clean Energy Initiative, a proposal to create a new walkable community in East Solano County.

californiaforever.com

"California was built on its pioneering spirit, its boundless optimism, and the utter conviction that if we work hard, and together, that our best days still lie ahead, waiting to be built, for our children, and their children, and for all the generations to come. California Forever is committed to building a place that embodies these ideals. Join us."

 

[ElOgro]

The group has launched a new website "California Forever"

Home - East Solano Plan

Learn more about the East Solano Homes, Jobs, and Clean Energy Initiative, a proposal to create a new walkable community in East Solano County.

californiaforever.com

"California was built on its pioneering spirit, its boundless optimism, and the utter conviction that if we work hard, and together, that our best days still lie ahead, waiting to be built, for our children, and their children, and for all the generations to come. California Forever is committed to building a place that embodies these ideals. Join us."


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No wave pool? 5/7.

 

[abalone]

If you really, really want the buy the place, make the sellers agent be your buyers agent. Pretty strong motivation for the agent to nab both sides of the commission. You can also try adding the contingency of "must accept on offer" in your bid.

Dual agency is illegal in a handful of states, and there are some valid reasons. I mean, don't you want the agent working for you, only? Unless you're in a bidding war, I guess, and the only way to get the house of your dreams is to pay off the agent by getting them both sides of the commission bucket.

 

[r32]

Fresno going to explode even more than it's already exploding.

45,000-home (!!!) mega-development nears approval in Central California.

The project, called the Southeast Development Area, would transform the city of Fresno. In a 124-page proposal for SEDA, Fresno officials call it the “final frontier” for the city. The area, which is currently mostly rural, covers 9,000 acres.

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/mega-development-central-california-18347004.php

This new development (green) would be on the exact opposite side of Fresno from all the new communities already being built on the north side (red).

No way the current highway and roads in Fresno could handle this kind of increase in traffic. It's already starting to look like mini-LA if you've ever tried to drive through around 5pm.

 

[StuAzole]

It’ll take a decade or three to develop, build and sell that many homes in Fresno. Infrastructure will develop along w it.

 

[sdsrfr]

I love some quality NIMBY fear mongering.

my wife sent me something about the Leucadia apartment mega expansion this morning but don’t have anythibg more credible than a nextdoor rant.

 

[r32]

I love some quality NIMBY fear mongering.

my wife sent me something about the Leucadia apartment mega expansion this morning but don’t have anythibg more credible than a nextdoor rant.

Marea Village, approved in 2022, sister project to the luxury Alila Marea Beach Resort.

Marea Village | 1900 North Coast Highway 101

1900 North Coast Highway 101

mareavillage.com

94 rental apartment units
19 'affordable' housing units
34 hotel units
4 mixed-use commercial buildings
2 commercial buildings

 

[r32]

I want to see more building, more developments, more people, and more traffic in Socal.

Why not find out just how many people we can pack into SoCal. Let's get those density numbers up.

 

[sdsrfr]

I want to see more building, more developments, more people, and more traffic in Socal.

Why not find out just how many people we can pack into SoCal. Let's get those density numbers up.

Don’t forget there‘s also 1967 Vulcan Ave across the street from Marea well into framing and 3 way stop sign leading to the 5.

and Piraeus Point on the way!

 

[GromsDad]

When I was a kid Stone Harbor was mostly little houses like this. In 1987 I helped build a house that at the time was one of the nicest beach block houses in that town. That house is now dwarfed by everything around it. Its insane what prices have done along the NJ coast in the past 20 years. Its become nearly impossible for a kid who grew up in these towns to afford to raise their own family there.

 

[casa_mugrienta]

I want to see more building, more developments, more people, and more traffic in Socal.

Why not find out just how many people we can pack into SoCal. Let's get those density numbers up.

Vote YES on SB10

SB 10 - California YIMBY

SB 10 makes it easier for cities to zone for smaller, lower-cost housing developments of up to 10 units to address California’s housing crisis. Current laws can prevent local governments from zoning for smaller, less expensive housing. Even small projects…

cayimby.org

 

[Senor Sopa]

Marea Village, approved in 2022, sister project to the luxury Alila Marea Beach Resort.

Marea Village | 1900 North Coast Highway 101

1900 North Coast Highway 101

mareavillage.com

94 rental apartment units
19 'affordable' housing units
34 hotel units
4 mixed-use commercial buildings
2 commercial buildings

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You forgot to mention the 6 bicycle racks.
Of more interest. This is currently pretty much a vacant lot. The adjacent hotel fills it for parking cars on the 4x a week cliffside weddings. Where will the valets go once their lot is gone?

sdsrfr, is that your view?

 

[Lance Mannion]

There's plenty of open space in San Diego county to build homes on.

None of it is on the coast.