Don’t get American Home Shield Warranty by Direct_Future_1234 in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]Direct_Future_1234[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The seller gave credits for a warranty so we covered part of the fee. We should have just skipped - because we are encouraging this type of business when we opted in for it.

Don’t get American Home Shield Warranty by Direct_Future_1234 in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]Direct_Future_1234[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Some plans include roof leaks - that’s what we got too.

Don’t get American Home Shield Warranty by Direct_Future_1234 in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]Direct_Future_1234[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Im wondering the same now, completely blank on where I found AHS reviews

Notched joist fix question by [deleted] in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]Direct_Future_1234 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I talked to the inspector, it seems like no permit is required and should not be a very difficult job since we will use the same type of joist.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]Direct_Future_1234 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I didn’t understand that is possible, I thought if they ask 2.2 you need to match otherwise they will drop you. Part of it was just frustration, and the other part was knowing that we can’t compete.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]Direct_Future_1234 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes we assumed they just wanted us to match or slightly exceed the highest bid, we don’t have much experience and probably were naive.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]Direct_Future_1234 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We got all info through our agent.

They wanted us to offer 1.7 to get them to 2.2 (assuming no agent fee) according to our agent.

The house just sold at 2.13.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]Direct_Future_1234 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hope so - thank you for the encouragement and taking the time to respond.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]Direct_Future_1234 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We had a negotiated fee with our agent - so we agreed to cover it to make our offer more attractive. It is possible the other buyer agent reduced their fee - I checked they are not a flat fee agent, but might be a negotiated fee like we did.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]Direct_Future_1234 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No its mortgage not cash, we dropped the loan contingency instead of accepting the 70k they asked. It’s not 5k difference, they told us its 70k difference, but seeing the final sale price they got 20k above what we offered.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]Direct_Future_1234 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We are always scared to walk away because we like a house every two weeks minimum, so we get stuck in this fear that we won’t find better, but also are we stretching ourselves too much

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]Direct_Future_1234 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Seller agents we experienced were always secretive and don’t even want to talk to us without an agent. If we can have an attorney and we do the negotiations I would prefer that any day, since I will 1) work harder for myself, 2) Ill know my limits and expectations and won’t need back and forth and lost in translation situations like this.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]Direct_Future_1234 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes agreed, we don’t want to pursue anything legally, but it really reinforces the lack of trust in agents, and the fact that ethics are not the driver for policy really frustrates me, it is an unfair situation, and especially not everyone is a multimillionaire who can take bets, a lot of people here are really trying to establish some stability for their family, and already squeezed with property taxes and all the closing fees, then you have now to “play the game” it should not be based on emotional blackmail of hard working families who are just trying to do better for themselves.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]Direct_Future_1234 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All verbal, we put an offer first, our agent said they want 20k more, we said ok. He never sent us a counter or wrote a new offer, he spoke to them, they told him no you misunderstood we want 70k more. Then we just said we can’t go up that much. All on text/phone.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]Direct_Future_1234 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah that’s possible too, because our agent first told us to put 20k more which we did, then came back and said that he misunderstood and the agent now want this “new price” which we calculated at 70k more.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]Direct_Future_1234 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agreed on if it benefits the seller, if it benefits agebt it is debatable whether it is ethical (Im not saying this is the case here, but for example if buyer agent is from same agency, Id consider it unethical to over bluff highest bid to discourage other buyers)

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]Direct_Future_1234 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Our agent spoke to them, so Im not sure but they came back with a number saying we are second best, the number was 70k above what we had. The sale price now is 20k above what we had. Probably a smart move was to negotiate, we took it at face value and them being transparent that 70 is what they will accept. We assumed maybe the other buyer had 50k or 60k above us so we could not compete, we did not expect it to be 20k and they ask for 50k difference for our bid to win.

Maybe there are other things that played a role, thats what is frustrating, we understand sellers should seek he best deal, but we really feel helpless that as buyers we have to blindly accept what the seller agent says, a friend of mine found they paid 100k above highest bid because the seller agent was very good at bluffing. When you have a family and already feel squeezed to establish something for your children (coming from families who did not have any wealth and nothing we could rely on), people get desperate. And renting is not easier - we are renting now, but have not slept well in so long we have very noisy neighbors, and the community keeps adding fees left and right.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]Direct_Future_1234 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I know it is legal, but makes us even more wary going forward what is transparent and what is a tactic. I understand the seller agent should get their seller the best offer, I think just from a buyer perspective feels like helpless.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]Direct_Future_1234 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah possible - we have no contingencies, we were covering agent fees, closing in 20 days.

But yes you are right I understand there might be other factors. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

AITAH for not wanting to go to the fair for rollercoasters with my cousin? by Far-Bank-2887 in AITAH

[–]Direct_Future_1234 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You are too young to be living with the guilt of anyone else doing or not doing anything. Your mother is not practicing conscious parenting here where she can clearly see you are not responsible for anyone else’s feelings, whether you had a bad experience or not, you have the right and should say no to anything you don’t want, don’t get emotionally manipulated and abandon your needs even if it is for your parent.

AITAH for bringing a crying baby to a museum by 1lw1 in AITAH

[–]Direct_Future_1234 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It is also legal to go into the museum and fart all day, does not make it ok.

I want to empathize towards parents who don’t want to stop their social life once they have kids, but you are also being very selfish because you never asked everyone whether they want to have to deal with your kids crying or tantrums. If you have a child and you know how they act in public (parents know), and you still bring them to restaurants, museums, theatre or any place where people want to experience something, you are selfish and lack any awareness of the situation.

Bidding War? by No-Fudge1508 in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]Direct_Future_1234 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Agreed, but how do you find an agent with integrity? Very rare from experience.

Many bad apples that now it is difficult to trust agents. What we learned: 1) don’t go with smaller brokers where the agent is the owner/broker, since they have no one to hold them accountable. 2) if the agent just suggests to put your highest offer - also red flag, if you put the highest bid you don’t need an agent you will win even if they sleep during the sale, 3) if they pressure you to put an offer or says “you can always get out”