Home is now more meaningful than ever. Home is a sanctuary, it’s where we find refuge, comfort, and our loved ones. And now it’s also the office, the gym, a school, playground, and more. From Los Angeles to the Bay Area, our agents are adapting their business to serve their clients like never before — from within their own homes. In this series, we take a closer look at a day in the life of our extraordinary Compass agents in the place they know best.
Q + A with Compass agent Nina Hatvany
Where’s home for you?
In Pacific Heights, in a central location so that I can walk or take a short drive to check on all our listings. I am also walkable to Natalie, Vanessa and Paul’s homes so that I can drop by occasionally (with advance notice, of course).
There is no perfect time to buy when it comes to prices… What’s important to focus on is whether the home or investment works for you right now.
Tell us about a recent deal or client service. How did you/your clients overcome obstacles? What was the outcome?
We received a low offer on our listing on the Presidio Wall, 3555 Pacific, from a man who lives nearby, a few days ago. The seller was outraged and really didn’t even want to deal with it. Eventually though, he calmed down and issued a counter offer at $7,350,000 – just a tad below the asking price. Since the house had been on the market for a while, that was obviously not going to work in my mind. I braced myself for several days of tough negotiations and was sure it probably wouldn’t work out.
Then, when I got alerted to the great press on the house in the San Francisco Chronicle, which was just heartwarming, I decided not to send it to the sellers right away as that would just make them dig their heels in, but I did send it to the buyer’s agent as an FYI. Once the buyer got it, he thought it was so nice and complimentary of the house that it would reignite interest in the property and he had better get on with it. So he just signed the counter offer “as is” this morning! We are all celebrating and the house is closing in seven days.
All three of my adult children (Natalie, Vanessa, and Paul Hatvany Kitchen) have joined me in real estate to form Team Hatvany. It is such fun and so rewarding to get to work with my family every day, and I consider myself incredibly lucky in that regard.
What trends have you noticed among SIP homebuyers? What is the most wished for home feature?
Outdoor space! Everyone who is staying in the city right now wants more interior space for home offices, rather than open plan living, as well as usable outdoor space to retreat to.
What is your favorite feature of your own home?
My husband and I both have our own home offices on separate floors which is great for sheltering-in-place. The way it is laid out, his office is upstairs in a lofted area so it is somewhat open to the downstairs living room. My office is off the living room, so we can call out to one another when it’s time for dinner or need advice on a deal. He is in real estate law so we have a lot to talk about!
Give us a tour of your home office. Did you redesign or enhance due to Shelter-in-Place orders?
I put some more effort into setting up both my laptop and home computer for Zoom usage and arranging the wall background and art so that it looks attractive and not distracting during calls. Other than that though, my home office was already pretty set up!
What do you look for in a home?
I love high ceilings and great views. I’m particularly fond of the northern views of the San Francisco Bay and the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. As an immigrant from England so many years ago, those were the aspects that drew me to San Francisco and I appreciate and admire their beauty every day!
What evergreen advice do you always give your clients?
There is no perfect time to buy when it comes to prices. You will always be a month or a year behind the peak or the bottom of the market whether you are buying or selling. It’s impossible to time it precisely. What’s important to focus on is whether the home or investment works for you right now, and whether there are enough factors (interest rates, your own financial situation, inventory) that come together to make this a good time for you personally to make a move. Particularly when you are talking about a primary residence, if you get a lot of years living in and really enjoying the home, I always consider that a good investment as it’s where you spend most of your time – now more than ever!
Everyone who is staying in the city right now wants more interior space for home offices, rather than open plan living, as well as usable outdoor space to retreat to.
How did you find your way to your career in real estate? Why do you stay?
I got involved in a townhouse development project while at Stanford and that piqued my interest in real estate. I subsequently got my general contractor’s license so that I could oversee development projects and the renovation of my own homes. Once I began buying and selling more projects, I thought it would be smart to also get a real estate license. Once I began practicing real estate, I fell in love, and the rest is history!
I am particularly fortunate now that all three of my adult children (Natalie, Vanessa, and Paul Hatvany Kitchen) have joined me in real estate to form Team Hatvany. It is such fun and so rewarding to get to work with my family every day, and I consider myself incredibly lucky in that regard.