Nearly two acres at $10M+ in Silicon Valley — the extra land was upkeep, not usable space, so the advice was to walk away

S · Situation

In 2026, a $10M-plus buyer purchasing for their own use was touring homes with Kevin Mo and Marie Wang when one property caught their eye early: a Silicon Valley estate on a parcel of nearly two acres. On paper it had more land and better-looking numbers, and the intuitive read was that more land meant more value. The buyer's household, professional background and funding structure were not disclosed.

T · Challenge

Once the MK Group team worked through the buyer's actual requirements one by one, they came down to three: a relatively new house, a core location, and upkeep that would not be heavy after taking it on. The extra land was not something the buyer would use day to day, yet it would demand ongoing spending from the first day of ownership — landscaping, trees, irrigation, hillside drainage, and the upkeep of a long driveway. None of these are problems that surface after the purchase; they are costs bought together with the house. For a $10M-tier Silicon Valley home on nearly two acres, several tens of thousands of dollars a year in additional ongoing costs is common, and a single project — major tree work, a drainage system, or slope stabilization — can run from tens of thousands to more than a hundred thousand dollars.

A · MK Group's Approach

MK Group — Kevin Mo and Marie Wang — did not follow the intuition that a bigger lot means scarcity, and scarcity means value. They split the parcel into two ledgers: land the buyer would use, and land the buyer would have to maintain. The extra acreage produced no use value for this buyer and did nothing for any of the three core requirements — a relatively new house, a core location, light upkeep — yet it would become a maintenance obligation for the next decade. And the next buyer, when the time came, would run exactly the same numbers. The team ultimately advised the buyer to pass on the house. As Kevin put it in the video (paraphrased): the value of a buyer's agent is not only getting a client into a house; sometimes it matters more to steer them away from a choice that looks beautiful and does not fit them — there is no reason to prepay, on the next buyer's behalf, for land you will not use yourself.

R · Outcome

The buyer passed on the property of nearly two acres. This was an advise-against decision: the home ultimately purchased, its neighborhood and its price were not disclosed in the video, and neither was the client's feedback.

1. On a large lot, separate the land you will use from the land

On a large lot, separate the land you will use from the land you will have to maintain. If most of an extra acre on the map is slope, long driveway and dense trees, what you are buying is not living space but a decade of maintenance obligations.

2. Carrying costs belong in the purchase price from day one. On

Carrying costs belong in the purchase price from day one. On a $10M-tier home of nearly two acres, several tens of thousands of dollars a year in additional routine upkeep is common, and a single tree, drainage or slope-stabilization project can run from tens of thousands to more than a hundred thousand dollars.

3. "Will the next buyer pay for this too?" is a question to ans

"Will the next buyer pay for this too?" is a question to answer before making an offer. Do not bet on the next buyer's preferences with parameters you will not use yourself — the next buyer will run the same numbers when they take it over.

4. Part of a buyer's agent's value is advising against. Map the

Part of a buyer's agent's value is advising against. Map the real requirements first, then hold the listing's parameters against them, rather than being led by paper numbers — more land, better-looking figures.