Claude told me something today that sounded too good to be true: “Compass offers a concierge service where the brokerage pays for staging, painting, landscaping, decluttering and other preparation at the agent’s expense, as part of marketing the home. This is a broker-level program rather than an individual agent model.” WOW. The brokerage PAYS for…
Today I asked AI: What happened to the proposal to eliminate home sale capital gains tax? The answers were unanimous: Gridlock. No movement. The proposed laws range from raising the exemption to $500,000 for solo homeowners to completely eliminating the tax for sales of primary residences. Everyone talks about the need to build more housing….
This weekend, some home buyers dropped in on the open house I was hosting. This beautiful home is the hills of Montclair, a charming part of Oakland known for its views. They were visiting from another state and thinking about moving to the Bay Area. Visiting open houses is an awesome way to discover neighborhoods….
AI consultants are telling real estate agents how to use AI to generate neighborhood overview videos. Like, instead of going into the neighborhood and shooting video. As someone who actually is a local resident and expert in Berkeley, Rockridge, and the Bay Area, and who has created content online since the Internet was invented and…
With a title like that, you probably think I’m going to talk about paint colors, changing the toilet seat, or should you add splashes of wallpaper or not. Probably the most important decision you will make once you buy a house is…drumroll: Which brand of cordless power tools will you commit to? Why is this…
With relish, I devoured the Wall Street Journal “Retirement Rookies” article by Stephen Kreider Yoder and Karen Kreider Yoder. The title was “We Considered Leaving the City in Retirement. We’re So Glad We Didn’t.” Mind you, this isn’t the “city” as in New York; some people insist that’s the only city that deserves that moniker….
Is the reward worth the risk of collaborating with a flipper / developer to update an older home in an affluent neighborhood before selling? The idea of transforming a million dollar home into a $3 million property — rather than selling it to someone else who will do just that — is worth exploring. Partnering…
“Eighty-two percent of home buyers express regrets about their recent property purchase. Their most common regret: buying a home that requires too much maintenance.” (Clever Real Estate survey) Is fear stopping you from buying a home when you really want to own and invest in your future, instead of renting? The answer is to address…
Does your house have the comfortable feel of an old shoe? Are you embarrassed to have people over? Or if you do, are you constantly apologizing and wondering what your guests think? Susie thinks: “check!” “check!” and “check!” A little known technique to re-invent your house is to do what real estate agents do when…
Open houses provide an invaluable opportunity for prospective buyers to explore properties firsthand at your leisure. Open houses are usually held on weekend afternoons, open to the public. Rather than private home tours, open houses give early home buyers the chance to explore neighborhoods and home features without “bugging” your agent over the weeks, months,…
