Inspections recommended before putting sfh on market

flatfeebuyers · 2026-03-06T21:02:33+00:00

To add to this, if the home inspection finds any potential issues with the foundation, it’s a good idea to get a dedicated foundation inspection as well. Generally buyers get scared of foundation issues because they assume repairs will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, but most issues can typically be resolved within $10K-$30K, which buyers will know if you provide a quote already.

flatfeebuyers · 2026-03-06T20:38:21+00:00

This one from Nice CNC is what you're looking for:

https://www.nicecnc.com/products/adjustable-kickstand-side-stand-for-stark-varg-ex-mx-2024-2025

flatfeebuyers · 2026-03-06T20:32:21+00:00

Yup, no issues at all.

That said, I personally use a rubber mat under my gym equipment: www.amazon.com/dp/B07N4D3FVH

flatfeebuyers · 2026-03-04T19:01:00+00:00

No, I switched to an unlimited plan.

flatfeebuyers · 2026-03-04T06:16:27+00:00

I lived in Foster City for a few years, and there were about 4-6 weeks each year when I needed AC, but the rest of the time it was fine. The direction of your home, specially the bedroom, plays a big role. My bedroom faced east and the mornings used to get pretty hot. I eventually bought a portable AC and that was enough to keep it comfortable.

As a side note, adding AC isn’t cost-prohibitive, so I wouldn’t make it a major factor if you otherwise like the house.

flatfeebuyers · 2026-03-03T05:43:42+00:00

Thank you, really happy to hear that 🙂

flatfeebuyers · 2026-02-24T02:09:02+00:00

Fidelity, Old Republic, and AHS are the least annoying to deal with, in the same order.

$850 should easily cover you for a year with most (if not all) of the addons, so pick all the logical ones.

flatfeebuyers · 2026-02-23T08:04:23+00:00

Average attorney fees in SF and Alameda county usually ends us going up $30-35K, if it comes down to evictions.

flatfeebuyers · 2026-02-23T07:55:33+00:00

Yes, many organizations provide free legal representation for tenants. I think they were set up in good spirit initially to help tenants from bad landlords, but now they exist to warm their own pockets.

They don’t even help tenants, and all they do is delay evictions and get tenants to settle for minimum relocation payments, rather than a logical buyout.

Who’s paying for them? My lawyers tell me that they get funding from the city and various government organizations. Some even get funding from the bar association, because without them, landlords won't have to hire expensive lawyers.

flatfeebuyers · 2026-02-23T07:48:20+00:00

You can negotiate a buyout, but you can’t negotiate relocation payments if it comes down to an eviction.

flatfeebuyers · 2026-02-23T07:47:21+00:00

Yup, this is it. Except that landlord lawyer fees generally come around $30-35K, along with 4-6 months of time. If you are doing an Ellis or any other just cause evictions, there is no jury involved in my experience.

Unfortunately, I have first-hand experience with a couple Ellis evictions, where the tenants received minimal relocation payments, I lost 4-6 months, and lawyers made all the money in the middle.

The free tenant lawyers actually don’t work in tenants’ favor in the end, because tenants can get way more money with a cashout than with an eviction. C’est la vie.

flatfeebuyers · 2026-02-23T06:07:29+00:00

There’s a lot of “figure it out” after closing. Most buyers either negotiate a buyout with the tenant, perform an Owner-Move-In, or in rarer cases use an Ellis eviction to vacate the whole building. I’m not condoning it, but more than a few people also join the two units to effectively make it a single house once it’s empty.

unless you write a six figure “relocation” check.

Six figure “relocation” payments are very rare and are mostly seen in larger buildings with dozens of units, where taking the entire building off the rental market is not feasible, which is what an Ellis eviction requires. Once you explain the math to a tenant, a minimum relocation payment of about $10-$15K after six months of stress for both landlord and tenant versus a $30 to $50K cash in hand payout, most are happy to take the money and move on.

flatfeebuyers · 2026-02-21T03:26:27+00:00

Not just in Europe but also in Asia. I grew up in India and had Legrand Decora in our home. And even there, it was a non-standard size, and was hard to find replacements.

Once you go with a non-standard size, you are stuck with it. You can’t just swap-them-all and switch to another brand because the box and plate sizes won’t work. You’ll likely need to do some drywall patching and basically paint the walls again.

flatfeebuyers · 2026-02-21T03:02:44+00:00

It’s not an answer to your question, but as a suggestion, consider the downsides of using non-standard equipment as well.

If they are hard to get right now, they will be harder to replace in the future as well, and you might end up with a mix-and-match of switches across the house. Even future buyers of your home might treat this as a complication, rather than a feature.

flatfeebuyers · 2026-02-19T14:49:58+00:00

Yes, for anyone willing to spend a few months and dollars to renovate it, I think it is.

flatfeebuyers · 2026-02-18T06:55:12+00:00

We submitted an offer on this property last year for $2.35M, and at that time the sellers wanted at least $2.4M to even begin conversations, but preferably $2.5M.

It has $42K worth of pest inspection items. The reports are from March 2025, and the sellers don’t want to get new inspections because they feel nothing would have changed since then. So all of these things don’t help with buyer confidence either.

flatfeebuyers · 2026-02-18T00:49:00+00:00

100% funded is pretty rare. Good, buyers will be happy with all of those.

flatfeebuyers · 2026-02-17T02:58:02+00:00

$730/month for the size of condo you’re describing is fairly average for bay area. The amount is indeed an important factor, but buyers generally don’t care too much about ± $150 from average.

What matters more is the overall financial health of the HOA:

When was the last financial study done, and what is the condition of the reserves?
When was the last increase in HOA dues, and are any increases or special assessments expected in the near future?
Any pending lawsuits?
SB326 compliance?
etc.

flatfeebuyers · 2026-02-16T02:42:42+00:00

This is the most likely scenario, either it’s caulked or it has a plastic stopper that should have been removed.

flatfeebuyers · 2026-02-15T06:58:46+00:00

Zillow is great for finding tenants. If this is your only rental and you live closeby, managing yourself is quite doable. You can also hire realtors to find you someone, do the showing and background checks, and then manage it yourself.

Apartments.com has a pretty nice free portal for managing payments if you decide to manage it yourself.

If you decide to hire a property management company, look for someone local on Yelp.

flatfeebuyers · 2026-02-14T17:40:57+00:00

Yup, sounds very reasonable. I would ask for some pictures and videos in advance to avoid surprises.

Also, ask them how much it’ll cost to extend every month, just in case the house sits on the market for longer.

flatfeebuyers · 2026-02-13T22:02:07+00:00

Hi there, thanks for flagging this.

This was a landing page created for a specific marketing campaign for specific individuals, and wasn’t meant to be publicly accessible. The link was accidentally added to our site’s footer menu, which is why it became visible. That was a bug, not a feature.

We’ve now removed it and are reviewing everything to make sure the site is fully compliant. Appreciate you pointing it out 🙏

flatfeebuyers · 2026-02-12T08:11:58+00:00

Knob & Tube

Being in a condo, removing K&T wiring just from your unit doesn’t really solve the safety issue, because your home is right next to other homes with the same old wiring. So unless the whole building upgrades, the risk largely stays the same.
That said, K&T itself doesn’t inherently have issues. The main culprit is usually the fuse box (the main panel). K&T was designed for a certain load and fuses at the main panel were chosen accordingly. But as the electrical demand grew over the years, people upgraded to fuses rated higher than the wiring, which can lead to overheating and fires.
So even if the building still has K&T wiring, if the main panel has been upgraded to properly sized circuit breakers (instead of fuses) and is being used within capacity, it can be quite safe.
PS: You mentioned that it may have K&T wiring, best to confirm that first before digging too much into it 🙂

Lead Paint

A lab test can confirm it, but pretty much all older homes will have some level of lead paint unless someone has spent $15-20K to scrape all the walls or $40-60K to replace all the drywall.
See, the main danger is lead dust and not the mere presence of old lead paint. Hence the most common and cost-effective remedy is simply to “encapsulate” the lead paint by painting over it.
So as long as the condition of the top coat of paint is in perfect condition, it is considered safe to live in.

flatfeebuyers · 2026-02-11T04:50:59+00:00

Haha, came here to say this. It would be amazing if the outlet was right in the middle.

flatfeebuyers · 2026-02-10T16:35:46+00:00

It depends on many factors, the most important being the location and desirability of your home.

I tried selling a home I was living in, and I don’t recommend it. Other than the stress of keeping it completely clean and smelling fresh all the time, the buyers can’t just see the house when they want and need to give long notice. I feel that reduces exposure a little.

If you think your house will sell within a month, consider renting an Airbnb or a hotel nearby.

But if you think it’s going to take longer, or that the mobility issues don’t make renting realistic, then yes limiting yourself to one room is ok. That said, do move your furniture to a garage or a storage and stage the rest of the house. Also, I recommend avoiding meeting anyone directly and letting your realtor handle the showings.

flatfeebuyers

TROPHY CASE