The Amazing Story of a Sacramento Real Estate Miracle

A Sacramento real estate miracle does not happen every day.

No Sacramento Realtor expects her client to call, late on Sunday no less, just as The Oscars are starting, to excitedly announce he has written an offer on her listing with another agent. Yet, stranger things have happened in Sacramento real estate. Things that can make clients believe this is the way they always occur, and anybody can do it. When my client first uttered those words last night, I thought he was joking. We closed escrow in 2013, but I recall his transaction like it was yesterday, even though I’ve sold hundreds of homes since but few are a Sacramento real estate miracle.

This guy was originally a referral to me by another agent. He claimed to have overpaid for a home he owned in north Sacramento, which he needed to sell, and yes, it wasn’t worth what he owed. He also wanted to buy a home in Elk Grove during a super-heated real estate market. Selling and buying concurrently is a delicate balance, but even more so in a hot market. That scenario typically requires careful planning, including contingent offers. I took him on as a client as a favor to the referring agent, and because he needed a miracle. Fortunately, I can perform miracles.

I sold his home in north Sacramento for a lot more than it would likely appraise at to a cash buyer from San Francisco. That buyer’s agent did not know the neighborhood. Negotiated a 6-month rent back at less-than-market rent for him, so my client did not have to move. At the same time, I helped him buy my short sale listing in Elk Grove through my team member. The sellers received a number of offers for this short sale but they decided to take my team member’s offer for this client because they believed, even though it was contingent upon selling his home, that I would sell it. They had faith in my abilities. Some other agent, maybe not, but I perform. I can do a Sacramento real estate miracle.

Ordinarily, you cannot submit a contingent offer for a short sale to the bank because the bank will say come back when the home is sold. But I calculated by the time the bank raised that particular objection, I would have sold his home. And that’s what happened. Basically, this was a guy who was underwater, and I moved him from north Sacramento into a four-bedroom, two-story home in Elk Grove. All the stars aligned. It was a Sacramento real estate miracle.

You can imagine my shock when this guy said he had written an offer through another agent on one of my listings. The agent is his buddy, a long-term friend, says he, the guy who had initially sold him the home in north Sacramento. Then he apologized, said he was sorry. Well, that makes two of us. Of course, I immediately realized that he did not write an offer for any of my listings. I’m not sure which home he is trying to buy, but it’s not one of my listings, and he confused me with some other top Sacramento agent. Not only that, I checked MLS and his home was not on the market, it is not for sale, so he is not buying anything. Sellers generally do not accept offers from contingent buyers if that buyer’s home is not for sale.

I don’t see a Sacramento real estate miracle happening here.

I am very successful with selling and buying a home at the same time, in part because other listing agents in Sacramento know I will perform as well. They know my reputation. If you need to both sell a home and buy a home, call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759.