What can I carry?
Bring a comfortable monthly limit, not only the lender's maximum.
For buyers
Buying a Home in the Bay Area
I help Bay Area buyers understand pricing and navigate first purchases, relocation, trading up and investment property.
Most buyers here lose on information, not on money
Buyers are not gone from this market. They are selective. And the ones who keep losing are usually not being outbid by much. They are being out-informed.
The core issue is that Bay Area list prices do not mean what they appear to mean. Some are set low on purpose to create a bidding situation. Some are aspirational and will sit for months before a price cut. Reading them literally is how people overpay on one house and never even tour the one they could have won.
So the first thing I do is teach you to read them, and then on anything serious I pull what actually sold nearby and tell you what I think it really trades at.
How I work with buyers
Education first. Before you look at houses we go through what you can genuinely carry each month, which is a different number from what a lender approved, and through the whole path from today to keys.
Then the honest part. I will tell you when a house is wrong for you even when it costs me the deal. Every disclosure package and inspection report gets translated into plain language, in English or Russian, so you know what is normal for a house of that age and what is a real problem.
The full seven-step process is written out on the How I Buy page.
Three questions to bring to the first conversation
What am I buying?
Identify the property questions you cannot answer from photographs.
What is it worth to me?
Compare sale evidence with the compromises you would live with.
Buyer situations I handle most
- First-time buyers
- Relocating into the Bay Area
- Trading up out of a starter home
- Investment property
- General buyer representation
And across all of them, a large share of my clients are Russian-speaking. The entire process can happen in Russian if that is easier.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to be pre-approved before we look?
Yes, and pre-approved rather than pre-qualified. In a competitive Bay Area situation it is the difference between an offer that gets read and one that does not.
How do you get paid as a buyer's agent?
It is set out in the California Buyer Representation Agreement we sign before I show you homes. Compensation is negotiable and agreed between us. Nothing about it is standard or fixed.
Buyer resources
Buying a Home
You learn how to read the price, property file, condition and offer terms before you commit.
Learn more →First-Time Buyers
The whole process explained before you need it, not while you are panicking about it.
Learn more →Relocating to the Bay Area
Moving in from out of the area, often from another country, without buying in the wrong place.
Learn more →Trading Up
Two transactions, one plan. The sequencing gets decided with your numbers before anything lists.
Learn more →Investment Property
Numbers before emotion, on every single one.
Learn more →By county
Buying in your exact area
The method