Hi guys. As you may have deduced from my name, I'm a Realtor in Northern California. Specifically, I work in the San Francisco Bay Area. I recently helped a pinball buddy buy a house, and as a closing gift I got him a pin. I'd love to start doing more business with the pinball community, so I've decided to extend the offer to all of you. Buy or sell a property with me (house, condo, apartments, investment, etc) and I'll take a chunk of my pay to buy you a pin. We all need to buy or sell eventually. Who wouldn't want a Realtor that loves pins, understands the space requirements and buys you one for a closing gift?

The simple rules are that the sold price must be $300,000 or above, and the more expensive the property, the nicer the pin. On the low end, this could be a Williams System 11, Data East DMD, Sega DMD, nice early SS, etc. On the high end this could be a NIB pin or "A" title.

It's relevant to mention that I didn't just get my real estate license. I have over 12 years of experience and multiple Top Agent awards. I am happy to meet with anyone for a free consultation to assess my qualifications, discuss your wants and needs, answer any questions you have, etc.

I wish I could help you all, but I only sell homes in the SF Bay Area. I am sure there are other Realtors on Pinside, so I'm truly hoping this idea spreads to other areas. If you're a Realtor and willing to do something similar, feel free to jump in on this thread and introduce yourself!

SF Bay Area guys, this offer has no expiration. PM me for my contact info or simply Google me.

Bryce Greenfield

Post last edited 8 years ago.

#2 10 years ago

GXH

genex

Pinside member

San Francisco, CA

11y 79,150 1,448 10

Dang, already bought my place in SF a few years back - this would've been awesome! Of course my place is so small that I barely have room for a pin

#3 10 years ago

RAN

Rando

Pinside member

Lutz, FL

11y 50,550 821 5 6

This is the best idea that I've seen all day.
And would definitely impact my decision on which realtor to choose!!

Now I just need to get transferred to CA, which is not an impossibility...

#4 10 years ago

BRG

IdahoRealtor

Pinside member

Eagle, ID

13y 137K 6,778 11 10

Quoted from genex:
Dang, already bought my place in SF a few years back - this would've been awesome! Of course my place is so small that I barely have room for a pin

That's okay. There's always next time! I'm still a good 20-25 years away from retirement.

#5 10 years ago

SKN

Skins

Star Pinball Restoration

12y 101K 4,375 47

Man, I just bought another house north of you bottom end and my realtor didn't even get me a gift basket. WTF?!? Sweet deal.

#6 10 years ago

BRG

IdahoRealtor

Pinside member

Eagle, ID

13y 137K 6,778 11 10

Quoted from Skins:
Man, I just bought another house north of you bottom end and my realtor didn't even get me a gift basket. WTF?!? Sweet deal.

LOL. To be honest, most Realtors don't give out closing gifts. I typically don't. I learned early in my career that if you get your client something small they don't appreciate it, and if you get your client something big....well, that gets to be way too expensive. So, this will be just for my pinball clients. Hopefully your Realtor did a good job. That's what really counts.

#7 10 years ago

WEB

Magic_Mike

Pinside member

Atlanta, GA

11y 56,550 2,985 20

Housing market must still be pretty soft in California.

#8 10 years ago

BRG

IdahoRealtor

Pinside member

Eagle, ID

13y 137K 6,778 11 10

Quoted from Magic_Mike:
Housing market must still be pretty soft in California.

The first skeptic. Welcome to the thread!

The CA housing market is leading the nation. Median Sold Prices are up 28% in the last 12 months. Business is good. I'm feeling generous. It's as simple as that. Plus, it's a small price to pay to inject more fun into my business.

#9 10 years ago

JIM

Captive_Ball

Pinside+ Frequent

Cypress, TX

11y 128K 7,186 17 86

Get a pin when buying or selling a house....make sure if in the SF area you are upsizing...make room for MORE pins, very sweet deal

#10 10 years ago

ROK

pinmister

Pinside member

11y 129K 7,643

Sounds like a good marketing idea. I am also a Realtor here in Colorado and RESPA regulations look down on any gifts. In most states it is not ok to give gifts to a seller or a buyer. They are not to receive anything of value from agents. Often times the state commission will look the other way if it is something small like a gift basket or flowers. The idea is to track all the monies involved in the transaction back to the state. I used to give kick backs, but not any more.

#11 10 years ago

BRG

IdahoRealtor

Pinside member

Eagle, ID

13y 137K 6,778 11 10

Quoted from pinmister:
Sounds like a good marketing idea. I am also a Realtor here in Colorado and RESPA regulations look down on any gifts. In most states it is not ok to give gifts to a seller or a buyer. They are not to receive anything of value from agents. Often times the state commission will look the other way if it is something small like a gift basket or flowers. The idea is to track all the monies involved in the transaction back to the state. I used to give kick backs, but not any more.

This is actually false. With respect, I think you've mixed up Section 8 of RESPA regarding "kickbacks". Section 8 states that Realtors are prohibited from receiving kickbacks for referring settlement service business such as mortgage & title. For example, if I refer a client to Chase Bank, or Chicago Title, I am not allowed to receive kickbacks for doing so. The idea is for us to recommend vendors for the quality of service they provide, not because they give kickbacks under the table (illegal!).

RESPA was passed to protect the client, and has no connection to client gifts. Client gifts of any amount are perfectly legal.

#12 10 years ago

CHR

Darth_Chris

Pinside member

11y 72,650 2,604

Wow, I wish we had more Realtor like you

Lately I'm seeing more and more pin fans who are sweetening the deals with pins. That other guy is offering 2 weeks of vacation in Hawai for a pin. Keep it coming.

#13 10 years ago

MIK

Miguel351

Pinside member

11y 81,400 4,571 3

OP
Quoted from IdahoRealtor:
The CA housing market is leading the nation. Median Sold Prices are up 28% in the last 12 months. Business is good.

Those numbers don't really reflect what's happening in the central valley. I've been looking for a house here for the better part of a year and inventory is WAY down, prices are falling(also because people were asking stupid money for this area), and there aren't that many buyers out there anymore so homes just aren't selling. Bay area and LA basin markets might be buzzing, but here in the chewy center of California, it's pretty much stalled.

Now that Obamacare is sort of up and running, it'll be interesting to see the economic backlash from employers cutting hours, reclassifying, and doing whatever they can to skirt it. It's the employees that'll take the real money hit in the end. I wonder how that will affect the housing market.

#14 10 years ago

BRG

IdahoRealtor

Pinside member

Eagle, ID

13y 137K 6,778 11 10

Quoted from Miguel351:
Those numbers don't really reflect what's happening in the central valley. I've been looking for a house here for the better part of a year and inventory is WAY down, prices are falling(also because people were asking stupid money for this area), and there aren't that many buyers out there anymore so homes just aren't selling. Bay area and LA basin markets might be buzzing, but here in the chewy center of California, it's pretty much stalled.
Now that Obamacare is sort of up and running, it'll be interesting to see the economic backlash from employers cutting hours, reclassifying, and doing whatever they can to skirt it. It's the employees that'll take the real money hit in the end. I wonder how that will affect the housing market.

I'm sorry to hear that. I don't closely follow your area because I'm 150 miles away, but I know it's a major agricultural region that's having a lot of water problems right now. I wonder how much that's affecting your real estate market.

For those of you who don't know, the CA Central Valley typically produces about 1/3 of the nation's food. For the last few years, Fish & Wildlife has been turning off the water pumps to protect the Delta Smelt Fish. They've killed millions of acres of crops over a handful of fish. Food supplies shrink. Food prices go up nationwide. Local farmers struggle big time. Unfortunately, the stupid fish is protected and there are no signs of compromise in sight. Apologies for the non-pinball rant. I needed to vent.

#15 10 years ago

DAD

TurboBengal

Inactive member

Louisville, KY

11y 56,400 495 4 134

OP
Quoted from IdahoRealtor:
The first skeptic. Welcome to the thread!
The CA housing market is leading the nation. Median Sold Prices are up 28% in the last 12 months. Business is good. I'm feeling generous. It's as simple as that. Plus, it's a small price to pay to inject more fun into my business.

Spoken like a true sales person. +1... 300K should be pretty easy in the SF market as well. Good luck for a good idea.

#16 10 years ago

ASS

guyincognito

Inactive member

11y 61,800 1,353

Now which Stern/JJP dealer is going to give me a free house with purchase of a NIB pin?!

#17 10 years ago

MEL

blondetall

Pinside+ Member

11y 99,300 6,269

Glad you finally got this on here. All my realtor got me was a pizza party at my housewarming, but it was nice of her to do so. Good luck!

#18 10 years ago

ROK

pinmister

Pinside member

11y 129K 7,643

OP
Quoted from IdahoRealtor:
This is actually false. With respect, I think you've mixed up Section 8 of RESPA regarding "kickbacks". Section 8 states that Realtors are prohibited from receiving kickbacks for referring settlement service business such as mortgage & title. For example, if I refer a client to Chase Bank, or Chicago Title, I am not allowed to receive kickbacks for doing so. The idea is for us to recommend vendors for the quality of service they provide, not because they give kickbacks under the table (illegal!).

RESPA was passed to protect the client, and has no connection to client gifts. Client gifts of any amount are perfectly legal.

With respect no you are mistaken. Offering a substantial gift as part of getting a listing needs to be disclosed usually on HUD-1 settlement statement as part of the transaction. You are offering something of value as part of the transaction. RESPA guidelines do apply in California and according to the California Real Estate Commission, your offer is against regulations. You may want to check it out before you get a violation.

#19 10 years ago

LEB

pinbum

Frozen

Unknown

11y 62k 2,179

Let the guy give away a pin, who cares.More problems in the world than somebody trying to bring in business with a gift. Problem is we dont have more people like him. I applaud what your doing, and the hell with the so called do gooders.Now if you were trying to get state or county type contract work for gifts that could be a problem.

#20 10 years ago

ARD

Jean-Luc-Picard

Inactive member

Unknown

11y 75,550 4,510 17

Thinking of buying a house next year in the East Bay. Hopefully with a layout to fit 20-25 pins. lol

#21 10 years ago

MPB

Mycal

Pinside member

10y 51,150 291

OP
Quoted from IdahoRealtor:
I'm sorry to hear that. I don't closely follow your area because I'm 150 miles away, but I know it's a major agricultural region that's having a lot of water problems right now. I wonder how much that's affecting your real estate market.
For those of you who don't know, the CA Central Valley typically produces about 1/3 of the nation's food. For the last few years, Fish & Wildlife has been turning off the water pumps to protect the Delta Smelt Fish. They've killed millions of acres of crops over a handful of fish. Food supplies shrink. Food prices go up nationwide. Local farmers struggle big time. Unfortunately, the stupid fish is protected and there are no signs of compromise in sight. Apologies for the non-pinball rant. I needed to vent.

There is a lot more to this than protecting the delta smelt. It is all political. When congressional reps were running around the valley blaming the 2" fish for their woes in 2009, it was the third year of severe drought and less than 5% of the irrigated fields in the state were fallow.

If anyone is interested in the real details of the political water grab, check out this article. http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=24398

#22 10 years ago

BRG

IdahoRealtor

Pinside member

Eagle, ID

13y 137K 6,778 11 10

Quoted from pinmister:
With respect no you are mistaken. Offering a substantial gift as part of getting a listing needs to be disclosed usually on HUD-1 settlement statement as part of the transaction. You are offering something of value as part of the transaction. RESPA guidelines do apply in California and according to the California Real Estate Commission, your offer is against regulations. You may want to check it out before you get a violation.

Again with this? I'm trying my best to be patient with you. I'm very familiar with the rules, and keep my business fully compliant. The purpose of the HUD-1 is to show all cash expenses and credits buyers and sellers have in the transaction. It has nothing to do with client gifts. Client gifts are the Realtor's prerogative. Please stop dumping on my thread with false information. I don't wish to derail the thread with further debate on compliance. Thank you!

#23 10 years ago

MIK

Miguel351

Pinside member

11y 81,400 4,571 3

Quoted from Mycal:
There is a lot more to this than protecting the delta smelt. It is all political.

That's all you need to know right there.

#24 10 years ago

PVC

patrickvc

Pinside member

Phoenix, AZ

15y 71,350 2,156 22

My realtor has been in the pin biz since the 70's. Best I'd probably get is an old em I'd take one.

#25 10 years ago

SBS

o-din

Pinside+ Addict

11y 158K 58,799

If I sell my house, where will I put the pin?

#26 10 years ago

IFY

detroit_pinball

Pinside member

Clarkston, MI

12y 39,900 330 15

My Realtor is only taking a 2% commission on the sale of my house; they are also representing me on the new house build.
I didn't choose her on the discounted commission, I chose her because being a salesperson myself,and interviewing a slew of other agents, she definitely was the best of the bunch and demonstrated the skills to sell a house at the best price in a timely manner. Getting a discount in the commission or gift, is just an added bonus, and would never choose an agent for that reason.

its a nice offer though, but cash is always King around here...
Scott
Detroit Pinball

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