Bad idea, or depends on the family/people involved?
I am a real estate professional. I’ve been in this industry for almost 10 years, and I’m pretty good/knowledgable in all things residential real estate related in our city. Recently, my cousin (khala’s daughter) and her husband decided to sell their home. The same home that I (as well as many others) advised them not to buy for a multitude of reasons. They bought in a rural area, because they were consumed with “barra ghar” and it was a big, cheap dabba type cookie cutter new build. They proceeded to dump $$$$ into upgrading it, making it the most over improved house in the neighborhood. Again, against my gentle coaxing not to. Not my problem though. Fast forward a few years, to now when they realize their mistakes and want to sell. My cousin asked me to run a market analysis for them and to advise as to what they could expect to sell the home for. I obliged, and they did not like what the information I gave.
Now, my cousin is my age, however she was raised in Khi, came to the US when she was 17. She’s always had a tad of an inferiority complex, for whatever reason. We have a very strange relationship. She’s my best friend, but also my worst “frennemie”. We’ve had our ups and downs, the downs mainly on account of her arse of a husband and his tez zabaan and karak attitude. There also is a bit of competition between us at times, mainly on her end, as her arse of a husband, had sent a rishta for me before her.
Anyhoo, they went ahead and listed their home with a gori agent, way over what I told them they could get for it. After 4 months of nothing happening, she started asking me why the house wasn’t selling, and what should she do with the agent, blah, blah, blah. I told her it was overpriced.
The house finally sold after they dropped the price, and when they got the offer, she and her husband asked me to look over the contract, and kept calling me for advice. My husband started to get peeved, because he felt they should not be asking me for advice, if they chose to go with another agent. I told him it’s fine, they’re family, rehnay do. He said no, anytime anyone else in the khandaan buys or sells, they all go through you, tho inka kya masla hai?
So now the house is sold (at the exact price I predicted it would 
) and they are in a temporary apartment while they look for another house. They are still using that same gori agent to buy their new home, and it did slightly make me a little mad, because when you buy a home, it doesn’t cost you anything…agent commissions come out of the seller’s net. It could have been a very $$$$ commission for me, and when helping family, I almost always give a generous kick back. Long story short, she’s been calling me all day asking for second opinions about the houses they are looking at, and now my husband is getting really ticked off. He says that I need to tell them to stop consulting me unless they’re willing to pay me for my time and opinions, lol!
I get his point, but at the same time, I don’ want to be snide and offend them, because knowing her husband, it would start draamay and jhagray in the family all over again, and I don’t care to get tangled up in all that again.
Do I:
a) answer their questions politely
b) listen to my husband and ask them to stop consulting me as they have their own agent
c) just avoid them/the topic all together?
Discuss.
