Bernard Laffer

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 commission to my clients. I pulled up the listing  just to get a sense of the home that she is interested in. The house is in a gated community in the Oakland Hills. It sits on a severe slop[e with a good portion of the yard having an extreme downhill slope. I also remembered that this development has a history of foundation problems.  This type of home requires careful investigation and consideration. You need to bring in a structural/ soil engineer to look t the foundation and the hill. Bringing in an engineer can create further problems because many specialists own a construction company. They inspect the job , write a report and provide a bid. I am very leery of this type of inspector. I take care not bring an inspector onto a property that might have a self serving agenda. The engineer that I use has a PHD from Berkeley, extensive hands on experience and does not do any construction work/repairs. He will offer drawings free of charge. He always gives an honest evaluation. I tried to point this out to the potential client but she was harping on how much money her friend is going to give her. They were offering 3% total commission and I would gladly credit her 1.5%, but this is a job that warrants a lot of work. You cannot go full steam ahead into a purchase of a property on a hill. Particularly one that is in a region of unstable soil. I explained that I would follow my normal program and that she needed to be careful with this home. She did not hear me. This is the type of situation where greed can get in the way of good judgment. Unfortunately many people hold Real Estate licenses that do not have any experience. They pay their dues and try to grab onto  a little income . Buying a home is not a joke. You need to be careful. Do not let greed get in your way of good judgment.