This is a wonderful story about a smart woman. My client is in her mid-20’s and an ICU nurse at Stanford. At her mother’s urging, they were looking for a duplex where she could live in one and rent the other. We had looked early last year and there wasn’t anything she liked. I got a call when I was coming back from Thanksgiving in Reno and she wanted to see this one in San Leandro.
I called and they had offers, but we could still write. It had been sitting for 44 days and was listed for $699,000 moving into the holidays when business tends to be slower and people are looking for deals. So, I dropped off my bags and dog and met her to see the duplex. One unit had had a fire and the other had tenants. The back unit was completely remodeled. Everything was brand new. They didn’t even put a mirror in the bathroom.
We wrote a bit above $700,000, but I was told the other offer was higher and we would have to go $750,000. Was the other agent not telling the complete truth? Maybe, but the comps supported it so my client wrote for $760,000 and $10,000 back for some closing costs. He like my communication and wasn’t sure about the other agent involved. So, my client got the home!




The renters in the first unit have been there many years and that one is much more of an original build (we got extra home warranty coverage on it). There were a couple of caveats to getting this closed. We were to close on January 6, but the seller wanted to close a month later because he would have owned it one year and his tax account gave him the savings in taxes, so we agreed to that. My clients lease was up by the 20th, so my client was allowed to move in early, subject to a few conditions (including the seller paying the lock extension, which was in the $4,000 range).
The day my client moved in, I got a call that the hot water and gas stove were not working. I thought it must have been turned off at the main, but it was fully permitted and signed off on, thus the gas was working. The listing agent said it was our responsibility because we removed all contingencies. But, technically, my client didn’t own it yet (these are the pitfalls of allowing someone to move in before closing, which I typically do not recommend). We called PG&E to come check it out. Ironically, there had been an earthquake near San Leandro a week or so before my client moved in and it auto-shut off the valve (usually it takes a 5.0 earthquake or higher, which this one wasn’t, so PG&E was a little surprised it shut off).
At the end of the day, agents do a lot more than just show you homes and write offers. It takes some time to figure out who will fight for you in odd situations, who communicates well, and who has the experience to know to make the seller pay for the rate lock, for example, when it was what they needed.
If you want to work with an experienced agent, then give me a call.