We were referred to Helen Pastorino by a colleague at Google. We were purchasing our first home in Los Gatos. In addition to my Google responsibilities, I travel extensively and have board of director responsibilities. My availability was limited, and it was not uncommon to arriveafter a long flight to view homes. We found a home that we liked and intended to make an offer—against Helen’s strong recommendation to keep looking. After much consideration, we located a modern home, ideal for us, with spectacular views of the valley, floor-to-ceiling windows,and close to town on acreage. Sold! This custom home had a shower that needed replacing, so Helen negotiated holding twice the bid for the shower. It turned out that not only the shower needed repaired, the entire bathroom floor had to be replaced at an additional $27,000, which was not part of the money held from the sellers to correct the shower. Given that the home was in the multi-millions, my wife and I agreed among ourselves that we would pay this. Helen disagreed and found a loophole that caused the seller’s insurance company to cover the additional cost. We now have a fully remodeled bathroom suite of our choosing covered by the seller’s insurance. It took, time, persistence, steadfastness, insurance knowledge, and creativity—but $37,000 was ours to remodel the bath.
