Guides · Bay Area buying
Do the reading before the bidding.
Short guides, written the way the rest of this site is written: arithmetic first, no mystique. Each one ends at the calculator.
Reading list · updated July 2026
Who pays the buyer's agent in 2026?
July 2026
The settlement made your agent's fee a number you sign. The three ways to pay it, with the math.
Answers: Do I have to pay my buyer's agent out of pocket now? · Can the seller still pay my agent's commission?
Pre-approval to keys in eight steps, with real Bay Area timelines.
Answers: How long does it take to buy a house in the Bay Area? · How long is escrow in California?
Every record on the house is public. A Saturday-morning checklist, source by source.
Answers: How do I check a house's permit history? · How do I find comps for a house myself?
The paperwork now comes first, and a portal-only search misses real inventory by rule. The 2026 on-ramp, in order.
Answers: Why do some Bay Area listings not show up on Zillow? · Do I have to sign an agreement before touring homes?
Four free checks kill more deals than any inspection. The order to run them in.
Answers: Why is home insurance hard to get in the Bay Area hills? · What does a non-warrantable condo mean?
The commission bill at every Bay Area price point — and the lower-offer mechanism, with its failure modes.
Answers: How much is a buyer's agent commission on a $2 million house? · Is a flat-fee buyer's agent worth it in the Bay Area?
Six complaints, the agents' best answers, and the data — a fairly kept ledger of the whole argument.
Answers: Are real estate commissions negotiable in California? · Is a buyer's agent worth it in the Bay Area?