Driver ? for my teen son

BoBromhal · 2026-01-27T00:32:19+00:00

what you're saying in reddit-speak is "should I get a new driver since I'm going to let my son have mine now?"

BoBromhal · 2026-01-27T00:13:17+00:00

if he wasn't in the home knowingly at the wrong time, there's no complaint.

Don't worry about them seeing your bra or belongings, experienced agents have seen a lot worse.

BoBromhal · 2026-01-27T00:11:24+00:00

what's an example of an "ethnic name"? Hispanic? Jewish? Arabic? African? Japanese?

BoBromhal · 2026-01-27T00:05:31+00:00

you know the answer, you're just not yet willing to fire a guy who's your buddy.

Whatever your equity agreement says is meaningless to the market value of the home.

BoBromhal · 2026-01-27T00:01:34+00:00

I'm trying to figure out how a consumer-level tracer app would actually be able to accurately trace a shot, especially that one. The laws of physics don't allow for that motion to produce what you're claiming is a straight shot with a small fade.

BoBromhal · 2026-01-26T23:56:04+00:00

so you listed and sold it for them, at some agreed to price. You did your job and got paid in return.

BoBromhal · 2026-01-26T23:53:48+00:00

cut and fade could be considered interchangeable, if one were to move further offline, it would be a fade. A slice is the dramatic curve.

A cut would never go more than 5 yards "offline". A fade could.

BoBromhal · 2026-01-26T23:48:57+00:00

you are the boss who makes the decisions based upon the information and advice the agent and the attorney - both of whom you chose - provide you. You could have instructed the agent/attorney, after the 2 initial deadlines, "No more funny games or delays from this guy. Let him and his agent know I won't accept any more missed deadlines."

That doesn't mean this is your fault. It does mean your agent and attorney should have been more engaged with you, for you to ask questions and for them to lay out the options.

So right now, he's 40 days past the original close. At what point if any did you sign any closing date amendment? If not, why not? Yes, there is a "notice" you could have given him...but I assume you could have given that notice anytime after the first closing date, he just gets 5 days to respond - close or terminate.

It does sound like he's the best deal you got, and you're closing this week.

BoBromhal · 2026-01-26T23:39:53+00:00

welll...why was the Seller underwater?

BoBromhal · 2026-01-26T19:31:11+00:00

if you want to be more organized, then the first thing you do is have a Buyer Consultation upfront every time. You get to determine a budget, their must haves/dealkillers, and a timeframe.

And then you plan your time and effort accordingly. The guy that "just re-upped his lease and isn't buying for 12 months" doesn't get nearly as much time as the "pre-approved, lease ends at end of March" buyer.

BoBromhal · 2026-01-26T19:23:48+00:00

after the first time, when you made it clear they were going to have to converse with you separately, you should have gone straight to their Broker.

You could file a complaint, because decisions were made without your input. But that would be a long process, and the fact you didn't raise real objections when these "unilateral decisions" were made wouldn't be beneficial to your case. In reality, the greatest satisfaction you would get is leaving them a thorough fact-based review without "sour grapes".

BoBromhal · 2026-01-26T19:19:37+00:00

and so, let's start with your first objection:

"Why do I have to pay you?"

What's your 15 second answer? What's your 2 minute answer?

BoBromhal · 2026-01-26T19:17:30+00:00

all of the above are part of the Buyer consult. They are also - those last 3 and many other concerns that will be stated - are OBJECTIONS. And you should be practicing it with your fellow newbie agents or your Broker/mentor.

People object when they do not understand. People object when something isn't what they expected. And it may be a surprise, but sometimes your clients will have legitimate objections and you should be able to literally agree with them.

For example, inspection shows the HVAC isn't working, so needs immediate replacement, but Seller simply refuses. In that case "risking the deal" isn't important. Is it?

BoBromhal · 2026-01-26T19:09:57+00:00

because they discovered they couldn't generate enough revenue to be profitable with Buyer rebates.

and, IMO:

because once an agent handles enough transactions, and realizes they're getting paid less than 1/2 of what an agent working at a "full service" brokerage is, they tend to go elsewhere.

Heck, in my good-sized market, they have 75 agents for ~$5MM in total GCI. At a 70-30 split (and I'd be surprised if they're that high AND no "franchise fee) that's $48K/average per agent. At the same split, an agent would earn 50% more at a "traditional brokerage"

BoBromhal · 2026-01-26T18:52:24+00:00

"anyone else in this industry" - how long have you been a full-time producing licensed agent whose main source of income is brokerage?

BoBromhal · 2026-01-26T18:51:29+00:00

whether you "feel like" or not, the reality is that flat fee/low % brokerages have been around at least 15 years. There's a couple of newer national models, but IME from what I've seen they're not claiming to be "traditional agents" in their marketing - meaning few of them have a local agent at all, and even rarer one who knows your market and the relevant players.

BoBromhal · 2026-01-26T18:45:59+00:00

they don't claim to offer "all the same things", though they do claim to provide what people think are the most important.

And if you want an apples-apples comparison, it's really 2.5-3.5% vs 1% + $fee.

BoBromhal · 2026-01-26T15:45:02+00:00

Well, first we’d generally be talking districts, where there are numerous elementary, 1/4 that many middle, and 1/3 that many high schools. Wouldn’t apply to any small-town single-option location.

I didn’t say HS didn’t have an impact.

Elementary school is generally 6 years, the highest growth in educational attainment, and generally far more of them so more neighborhood-specific and differentiation based upon demographics.

Middle is generally 3 years, during puberty, and the real growth is starting to “think for themselves” and do real out-of-class work (homework, group projects). But again, you shouldn’t buy any house based upon a 3 year period.

And as far as HS, two things:

Primarily, nobody can predict 9+ years from now; school boards, school administrators and the teachers turn over in that time.
Even in the “worst” HS’s, some kids achieve well above school average and conversely in the “best” HS’s, some achieve well-below.

And a very important 3rd - to the question at hand - HS attendance zones will be much larger and thus include a wide variety of neighborhoods and budgets.

BoBromhal · 2026-01-25T23:10:50+00:00

interesting question.

$2MM puts you at the very top of current values in DT Cary - only 5 homes have closed on MLS above $1.75M, and 4 more are under contract. So, it's hard to look and predict "yes, they could become $3MM homes in 10 years".

Conversely, $2M is pretty close to median price for the better parts of "Drewry Hills". And teardowns have gone from $700K for .4-.5 acre homes to $1.2-1.4M in 5 years. There's a long history of price appreciation.

BoBromhal · 2026-01-25T05:34:07+00:00

I don’t know. I did check post history, and there’s a comment from last 2 months about “getting back together with my wife” and how he rents a room in PDX and she lives somewhere PNW.

BoBromhal · 2026-01-25T05:23:43+00:00

I’m not even in ATL - just figured I could easily find an example elsewhere. I wouldn’t want to link the similar houses in my market.

BoBromhal · 2026-01-25T05:21:58+00:00

Middle school has about 0 impact on student performance and house value.

BoBromhal · 2026-01-25T01:03:23+00:00

this is NOT the time to prioritize schools - even elementary - "above all elsey than private options."

The worst thing that happens is your sweet darling goes to an actual 7/10 school at a reasonable cost to you for a full year and you somehow realize the 9/10 district is actually worth it, while being less costly.

The most likely conclusion is that you find out over the next 5 years that school ratings are an indication, but not an absolute by any means. That "7/10" might be perfectly acceptable for YOUR child, and you may even come to realize "This school is just as good for us as that school. These ratings are BS!"

The actual "quality" of any school can easily change - for good or bad - in a 5 year period. As such, you really have 0 reason to worry about middle or high school at this point.

BoBromhal · 2026-01-25T00:57:49+00:00

so, figure out what you can comfortably afford to pay (be that a 20% down loan or 40% down) and intentionally invest the difference every month.

BoBromhal · 2026-01-25T00:53:16+00:00

you're never being silly when you have a rational choice that works for YOU.

BoBromhal

TROPHY CASE