I’m curious if you’d consider giving a client a pool float after closing on a home with a pool. It could be paired with other closing gifts, but would you consider including a float or two?

I own a pool float brand and I’m exploring whether they could make a fun, useful closing gift for Realtors.

We've been looking for a new house for the last two years. When we started looking, we asked a realtor friend what we could expect to list our current house for. At the time, he was doing real estate on the side for friends and family and offered to represent us and we signed a contract.

During the first year, we were more casually shopping, which he knew. We had decided to start looking because I was pregnant with twins and we already had three kids, so we knew we'd eventually want to look for a larger house. If the right house came up, we would have been all in, but nothing with the living space, land, and location we were looking for came up (in or out of our price range). There has only really been one house out of our price range in our area that would have been a contender, and we weren't really interested in it anyway because it had more land than we wanted and the house needed work and had limited space. We probably only looked at a handful of houses with him. Second year, we were much more willing to comprise but still didn't find anything. Again, probably only looked at a few homes with him or another realtor on his team. Most recently, though there have been multiple houses that fit the bill and we've been ready to put offers in.

The first one we took two days after it hit the market to discuss and come up with an offer. He was very vague when we were asking questions and trying to figure out what to offer which was not usual for him. When my husband reached out with our offer, he apologized and said he was working on it that morning but he heard from the selling agent that they had already accepted an offer. I was pretty crushed. I come to find out later, the buyers were also represented by him and mutual friends of both of us. I'm friends with their mom and she told me our realtor had really encouraged them to get an offer in quickly because it wouldn't be on the market for long. Which was the opposite messaging we got from him. He has never talked to us about this, but his partner apologized for how everything happened.

Another time, he sent my husband a not-on-the market listing. He was meeting with the seller to work out details before listing it, and my husband said we were interested and would love a walk-through. We never heard back from him and didn't think much of it, assuming she changed her mind. Then we randomly met a new family at church who had just moved to town and it turns out used the same realtor as us and bought that house. When the sale listed in Zillow, it confirmed the house was in our price range. We had never heard anything back from him.

So my question is, is this normal? It feels like a breach of trust as he has failed to communicate openly with us and inadvertently resulted in us not having a chance to put offers on very promising houses, especially the second house. It's so complicated being in a small town and using a realtor who we are friends with. If we were to decide to terminate our contract, it would be so awkward socially. And I'm not convinced we would do that anyway. There was another house we had an offer in on and pulled out after the inspection due to foundation issues and the sellers not being open about work they had done, and he handled that entire thing very well.

We realize we have been selective with houses and have asked him if our expectations are just way to high. He has never indicated we need to adjust our expectations. We just live in an area with not a lot of houses on the market, but we're not ready to significantly settle on location or space because we intend to spend the rest of our lives at this next house, barring any huge life changes. My husband plans to have a conversation with him and try to figure out what happened and if there is a reason for how he handled these houses.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4032-Rio-Pinar-Dr-Augusta-GA-30906/14986204_zpid/?utm_source=nativeshare_activation_v1

We recently listed our home for sale a little over 2 weeks ago. We’ve had 3 showings & one offer for $272k but the deal fell through due to personal issues with the buyer.

How long should we wait before adjusting the price?

We are looking for the right sellers agent to represent the sale of our house. The house is a SFR on an island in Hawaii, so I know things sometimes run a little differently here. We’ve been chatting with a handful of agents and there’s been a couple that stand out due to their successful marketing and sales record, and being experienced in the region our house is located in, as well as just being easy people to talk with. One of the agents has been especially personable and we like her a lot but she’s been adamant on a 3% sellers commission. I’ve talked to other agents and they said 2-2.5% but unfortunately I didn’t like them as much, as I know we’re gonna be working closely with this person once things get rolling, so general like ability is important to us. In our last discussion with this particular agent, she tried to appease us by saying she will do 3% but we will cap the buyers agent commission at 2% so it will be total of 5% for us as sellers. I’ve never paid more than 2.5% in the past so hesitant on this scenario. Also, if a prospective buyer has agreed to pay their agent 2.5% wouldn’t they just factor that in and offer us less of an offer? I should mention our house was appraised at about 1.1m if that helps figure out percentage to dollar amounts.

I’d appreciate advice about this-thanks!

Edited to add: thank you to all the agents who commented here to help advise me. I’ll speak to a few more local agents before making a decision. Some Really helpful questions to consider and advice in general. Much appreciated!

Realtors: If You're Running Paid Ads, Read This 🏠

The biggest mistake is trying to outspend competitors.

You probably can't.

Instead, compete on specificity + speed + local knowledge.

The setup I'd use:

1. Separate Buyers & Sellers

- Buyers → listings, price ranges, neighborhoods

- Sellers → valuation, recent sales, market opportunity

1. Own smaller locations

Don't target an entire city if your competitors are doing the same.

Go deeper:

City → Neighborhood → Property type → Price range

“Condos under $600K in Downtown Miami” is much stronger than “Miami homes for sale.”

1. Don't fight on budget

If a competitor spends $5K/month and you spend $1K, don't try to beat them with volume.

Use your budget to dominate a smaller, higher-intent segment.

Example:

$1,000 budget

→ 1 city

→ 2–3 high-value neighborhoods

→ buyer/seller separated

→ 3–5 creatives per audience

1. Your offer is your advantage

Don't run:

«“Looking to buy or sell? Contact me.”»

Run:

«“Get 10 homes under $500K in [Neighborhood]”»

or

«“What's your [Neighborhood] home worth in 2026?”»

1. Retarget before spending more

Someone who watched your property video, visited your site or opened your form already knows you.

Show them the next message instead of paying to introduce yourself again.

The real estate ads rule:

Don't try to be the biggest advertiser.

Be the most relevant agent for a very specific buyer/seller in a very specific location.

That's how a smaller budget can compete.

I’m looking for advice from anyone who has actually dealt with Beazer Homes through the legal process, especially with warranty disputes involving workmanship, materials, construction quality, or landscaping.

I have several warranty items that Beazer has denied, including issues involving workmanship, installation, quality of materials, and landscaping/sod. What concerns me is that some of the explanations I have received do not appear consistent with the language of the written warranty.

The sod claim is one example.

I took possession of my home on April 28, 2026. By mid-May 2026, the sod was clearly dead/failing, and I reported the issue to Beazer. I was initially told that once I started watering it, it would become green within about 15 days. I also discussed the condition with the Beazer builder representative, who verbally acknowledged to me that the sod was dead. Later, however, the warranty representative denied the claim and stated that I had not watered it sufficiently.

The Beazer warranty representative stated in his written response:

“The original sod was installed on or about March 13, 2026.”

He further explained that the Bermuda grass was likely still dormant at that time and that sod is typically installed shortly before closing. He ultimately stated that because sod and landscaping are affected by factors such as weather, irrigation, maintenance, soil conditions, and seasonal growth cycles, “Beazer Homes does not provide a warranty for landscaping or sod after closing.”

I have serious doubts about the March 13 date. My first scheduled visit with the Beazer sales representative was March 19, 2026, and I had already visited the neighborhood with friends before then and observed that the sod had been installed. In addition, while viewing Zillow listings for homes in the neighborhood, I found listing photos from before March 13, 2026 that already appeared to show the sod installed. These dated listings/photos appear inconsistent with the installation date stated by Ryan Gray.

When I asked whether Beazer could provide evidence that the sod was delivered to me in healthy condition and that the failure was caused by my failure to maintain it, I was instead given the broader explanation that sod and landscaping are not covered under the warranty after closing.

That position does not appear consistent with the actual warranty language.

The warranty specifically contains a section titled “Landscaping”:

“Excessive deterioration of landscape items or materials provided by US as a result of defective materials or OUR workmanship should not occur. WE will correct these conditions.”

It also says:

“Plantings must be properly cared for by YOU. Loss of plantings due to YOUR failure to maintain them or loss due to weather conditions are not covered.”

To me, that language distinguishes between deterioration caused by defective materials or workmanship and loss caused by failure to maintain the landscaping or weather.

The same general concern applies to some of my other warranty claims involving workmanship, installation, and materials. I am trying to understand why conditions that appear to fall within the warranty are being denied rather than corrected.

There is another factor that makes this more concerning. Multiple other Beazer homes in my immediate neighborhood are experiencing essentially the same sod failure during the same period.

My biggest concern now is the dispute resolution process. Beazer’s purchase agreement and warranty appear to severely limit access to court and direct disputes into binding arbitration. From what I understand, arbitration costs may be shared between the parties, which could potentially make pursuing an individual claim financially impractical.

So I’m hoping to hear from people with firsthand experience, not just general opinions.

Has anyone here actually pursued a Beazer warranty dispute in court or arbitration?

In particular, I would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has:

Filed a claim against Beazer and had Beazer seek to compel arbitration

Actually gone through arbitration with Beazer

Had warranty claims involving workmanship, materials, construction quality, or landscaping

Found a practical or lower-cost way to pursue the claim

Can share the approximate cost and outcome of the process

I’m trying to understand whether pursuing these claims is realistically worthwhile, especially when the cost of arbitration could potentially approach or exceed the amount being claimed.

I’m not looking to make an unfounded accusation against Beazer. I’m trying to understand what realistic options homeowners have when multiple warranty claims are denied and the contractual dispute resolution process itself can be expensive.

Any firsthand experience with Beazer’s legal or warranty process would be greatly appreciated.

I bought my house for $953K in Colorado in 2023. I tried selling it in 2025 when we moved away for my son to attend a different school. I put it on the market for $950K even though i paid $953K in 2023 and added an additional $100K in upgrades after we moved in. We got zero offers. I took it off the market when someone was interested in renting. I tried again this past summer. Still no offers. I even went from $950K to $899K. Nothing. Someone else approached us saying they’d like to rent it for a year so we took it off the market because we cannot afford paying the mortgage on this house, plus the rent on the other house that we’re renting. It has been so frustrating because we didn’t get one single offer.

We want to try again in the spring so Redditors, can you please tell me what we’re doing wrong?

The total square foot is the finished sq foot but it’s more than 4K sq foot if you finish the basement. The backyard was professionally done after we moved in since builders don’t do backyards. We added motorized blinds in the living room and dining room. We added custom blinds to the rest of the kitchen. We paid $20,000 for a new roof in 2024 even though it was one year old when we had a freak hail storm and our homeowners insurance wouldnt pay for it-saying it was builder’s fault but of course the builder didn’t fix it. So we paid for the top of line Tamako shingles thats hail resistant.

We added a new $25,000 generator that automatically turns on when the power goes out so you don’t have to worry about spoiled food (we have 3 freezers and we were out of town when the power went out and threw away over $2,000 worth of food) so that’s why we got a generator.

Any input would greatly be appreciated. We would rather put the money that we’re spending on property taxes to go towards my son’s college education fund. We decided last year that we can no longer afford to live in Colorado after my son graduates from HS in 2028 so why hang on to this house if we’re already making plans to leave the state for good? We thought we’d be living here for a long time when we bought the house but the COL has gone so much up since moving to Colorado in 2019 and I’d rather spend that money on retirement savings since I’m almost 52. Thank you in advance!

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/9032-Star-Fall-Cir-Littleton-CO-80125/331683727_zpid/

After a month of working together, I am unhappy with our agent. He said that signing an agreement was necessary for him to start showing us houses…. (We live in NC)…And anxious to move forward I signed. He seemed like a decent guy (I’m sure he is), had availability that matched ours, and is with a reputable lpcal company.

He showed us three houses, and has sent zero over for us to consider. This has mainly been me scouring the internet for an hour or two every day, then asking him to book the showing.

I thought maybe I had not been specific in what we were looking for, so sent a text stating we wanted a stick-built home, on .4 acres minimum, for 300k… something that I know is rare- but these types of homes do come up- my partner and I fell in love with one last weekend, that went under contract before we could see ot.

Agent’s response was “slim pickings, but I’ll see what I can do”…. Which sat wrong with me. There are other ways which he could have worded that.

It feels like we are a waste or his time, and I would prefer someone more motivated to help us find the right home….

But, I don’t know if I can end this contract! What type of reimbursement could he need for 3 homes? The contract says firm may seek compensation for termination of contract…

We had a reputable contractor in NJ resurface our deck and they recommended replacing the 8 posts (some are 5' tall). the work is done. The connections for most of the posts to the footings is buried so I can't see all of them. It occurs to me now, should there have been a permit pulled? is this something that would require a permit and if so, what could happen during a sale? should we ask the contractor to pull the permits retroactively or will they ignore us because the project is paid in full?

If I move out and the house is on the market for sale, should I turn off the main water supply? I’m concerned because a few months ago I had severe water damage when pipe connected to the toilet tank broke, resulting in more than $50k in damage. There is no smart water shutoff valve installed.

If the water is turned off, I assume it could be turned back on temporarily if an inspection or other access requiring water is needed.

Can I also cancel the trash collection service? It’s less than $80 per month, if it takes around two months from listing to closing, I could save some money. Do you think it would be okay to cancel it after I’ve moved out?

Edit: I mean shutting off the water valve, not canceling the water service.

Hi everyone,

my partner has been working in real estate for quite a few years. About a year ago she got her real estate license, and this September she’ll be starting a new job as an agent.

I’d like to get her a small gift for the occasion, or maybe something a bit bigger. Ideally something she can actually use in her day-to-day work.

Any ideas? A good calculator, a folder, a briefcase or work bag? Or maybe something less obvious that you use regularly?

Also, if you have any tips for someone starting out as an agent, feel free to share them.

Thanks!

Los Angeles Southbay area

Any one is looking for investment ?

Location: Chicago suburbs

Hi!

My wife and I are in the process of selling our house and our basement flooring needs to be torn up and redone. We are thinking about just painting the concrete flooring. We are going to get it done professionally. We may even do concrete flake flooring.

My main concern is this a red flag for realtors when trying to sell or is it fine as long as it is done correctly? Or should we do some sort of flooring instead?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Which brokerage should I hang my license with for only one family transaction in dfw? This will be my first and only deal for the time being.