Guides
Guides
In-depth, answer-first guides — written to be useful, not to rank.
-
Fees & marketing
How do I compare Realtor commissions when every agent includes different services?
A lower rate isn't a lower cost and a higher rate isn't better service. How to normalize listing proposals so the fee comparison actually means something.
Read the guide → -
Reading the stats
Does an agent's sales volume matter — is the top producer the best choice?
Volume proves an agent can win business. It doesn't prove they'll do the best job on yours. What production numbers actually tell you, and the questions that matter more.
Read the guide → -
Reading the stats
Does days on market matter when choosing a listing agent?
Fast sales impress, but DOM is mostly a pricing and market signal — not an agent skill score. What the number can and can't tell you about a candidate.
Read the guide → -
Choosing an agent
Does a Realtor need experience in my exact neighborhood?
Sometimes hyperlocal experience is decisive; sometimes it's a sales pitch. The honest rule for when 'I know this neighborhood' should drive your hiring decision.
Read the guide → -
Reading the stats
Does sale-to-list ratio tell you whether an agent is good?
Agents quote 'we sell at 103% of list' as proof of skill. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it's a pricing strategy dressed up as a track record. How to read the number.
Read the guide → -
Choosing an agent
How many real estate agents should I interview before choosing?
Most sellers interview exactly one agent — the single biggest unforced error in the process. The right number, what changes it, and how to make three interviews actually comparable.
Read the guide → -
Market rules & diligence
Selling a Marin County home in a fire zone: what does AB 38 require?
For sellers, executors, and trustees: which Marin properties need an AB-38 defensible-space inspection at sale, when documentation is due, and what your listing agent should handle.
Read the guide → -
Market rules & diligence
Does a Napa vacation rental permit transfer when the home is sold?
Buying a Napa home with a vacation rental permit? Non-hosted permits can transfer to a new owner — hosted permits can't — and with new applications closed, the difference is most of the property's rental value.
Read the guide → -
Market rules & diligence
Selling a Portland home? You likely need a Home Energy Score before it's listed
Portland requires most publicly advertised homes to carry a Home Energy Score before listing — in the ads, in the RMLS entry, and in the home during showings. What sellers, executors, and out-of-state owners need to know.
Read the guide → -
Market rules & diligence
Buying in Rossmoor: what's the difference between a condo and a co-op — and does your agent know?
Rossmoor's 55+ community in Walnut Creek spans 23 Mutuals with three different ownership structures. Why condo vs co-op changes your financing, fees, and agent requirements — for buyers and the downsizers selling into it.
Read the guide → -
Market rules & diligence
Buying a Seattle condo? Read the resale certificate like it's the inspection
Washington law gives condo buyers a resale certificate covering assessments, reserves, litigation, and pending special assessments — plus a short right to cancel. What's in it, what to look for, and what your agent should do with it.
Read the guide → -
Fees & marketing
What should a listing agent's marketing plan actually include?
'We'll put it on the MLS and hold open houses' is not a plan. The components a real marketing proposal specifies, what's genuinely optional, and how to compare plans across agents.
Read the guide → -
Choosing an agent
Should I use a friend (or family member) as my Realtor?
The most common way people choose an agent is also the least examined. When hiring a friend works, when it quietly costs six figures, and how to do it without wrecking the relationship.
Read the guide → -
Choosing an agent
How do I choose the right listing agent to sell my home?
A working framework for choosing a listing agent: the six factors that predict outcomes, the questions to ask, and why most sellers get this decision wrong.
Read the guide → -
Choosing an agent
I interviewed three Realtors — how do I decide which one to hire?
Holding two or three listing proposals with different fees and plans? How to normalize them, the traps in the numbers, and a clean way to make the final call.
Read the guide → -
Estates & probate
How should an executor or trustee choose the listing agent for an estate property?
For executors, trustees, and fiduciaries: why estate sales need a documented agent-selection process, what probate experience actually means, and how to build a defensible file.
Read the guide →
No guides in this topic yet.