Bernard Laffer

The downturn in the economy brought drastic changes to the real estate industry.  House prices plummeted, short sales and foreclosures became the norm, lending was faced with a slew of regulations that made home borrowing a rare art for. On the upside the real estate community (agents, mortgage brokers and appraisers) shrank. At peak there was one real estate agent for every 24 households, ...

A NEW CLIENT CONTACTED ME WITH THE INTENTION OF PURCHASING A PROPERTY IN THE Oakland Hills.It had been on and off the market several times.  She informed me that she had spoken to the owner and was informed that he had successfully fought off foreclosure for th second time. He retained the services of a specialist in distressed property. Upon checking the county records it was obvious that th ...

for the past 3 years I have rented my former residence to a wealthy man who is one of the owners of a large local business.  At the time he rented my home his credit was terrible because of credit charges that were left unpaid by is wife. He was going through a difficult divorce because hoe had taken up with his nanny. My house was only years old and in excellent condition. It is highly upgr ...

Recently I was referred to a potential client  by a lender. The client was interested in purchasing a property in the Oakland Hills. We spoke on the phone and the first words out of her mouth were” I have aan out of town friend who has a real estate license who is willing to write the contract for 1%. We discussed my services and I explained that I normally credit half of the buying commissio ...

The large real estate firms teach courses in how to compete with discount real estate brokers. The revert back to the old adage “ you get what you pay for”. I know one agent who tells client’s that he is the Bloomingdale’s of realtors and the discount brokers are Wall Mart.  They will also claim that by being part of a larger company gives them an internal network to sell their listings. They ...

I fight a constant battle with trades people, inspectors and home building suppliers to save my clients money and keep their costs down. What amazes me is how other Realtors get away without doing any of it.They tell me that I am making a mistake by getting involved with Client's updating a home for sale . Other  agents say that the clients do not appreciate my efforts and that I am going t ...

HAVE JUST RECEIVED GOOD NEWS. Several realtors whom I have known for years have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in price fixing  at the foreclosure auctions at the court house steps in Oakland.  When the FBI began investigating realtors many people thought that it was a one time thing. The Feds  would make a few arrests  and the investigation would go away. I knew different ...

I been an active realtor for over 15 years. I have never ceased to be amazed  at the actions of my colleagues. On the whole most know what they are doing and act in the interest of their clients but on occasion  I come in contact with a person of experience who does not have a clue as to what he is doing. A lot of real estate is handled by process. Procedures are formatted and as long as a ...

I know that I am kicking a dead horse but the market is definitely improving. I put a more expensive home on the market in Pleasanton. $1,050,000 .The house was on brokers tour on Friday. The tour was swamped ,at least 40 agents and 10 private individuals showed up .I have been going  into contract on at least on home a week . Every offer that I submitted was in a multiple situation. The mar ...