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Elizabeth Weintraub
Week of Highlights for a Sacramento Realtor
What a busy week of highlights for a Sacramento Realtor. Have you ever wondered what a top producer does all week? Well, I managed to take two new listings and sell them, with all that entails. Fast strategies, professional photos, tweaking, uploading, writing, managing and publishing last Wednesday. That included promoting both listings at my midtown Lyon Real Estate office meeting and obtaining preview comments from touring agents. Which of course I passed on to my respective sellers.
There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes for a listing agent. Answering buyer calls, calling buyer’s agents, discussing the property, details, providing suggestions for offers. On Wednesday, for example, I worked from 7 AM to 8 PM; until taking off for Ella Dining Room and Bar for Valentine’s Day with my husband. Our main course arrived on plates reeking of bleach. The bleach smell was enormous. We both noticed it. When we brought this to the attention of the waiter, we were told perhaps we were unaccustomed to the smell of truffles.
Geez, Louise. Fairly insulting on so many levels. Makes ya wanna smack ’em. Ella servers should have just apologized, removed the offensive plates and apologized again. Instead we were drilled. Told we were wrong. I was unhappy with the service and vocal but my husband was less upset. Well, he is from Chicago. I would never treat any of my real estate clients that way by arguing over such nonsense.
Earlier in the day I visited a home in Carmichael to assess value and figure out why the public records do not match the configuration. The highlights for a Sacramento Realtor week always include listing appointments. The Carmichael property contains a duplex and a single family home on one lot. I also visited another home in Natomas on Thursday to assess that particular situation. Parking was at a premium when I pulled up, so I left my car at an angle in the driveway. Blocking a car that wasn’t going anywhere anyway.
The seller had another listing appointment after me, although I told her it’s fine as they will pale in comparison. Ha! That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. When I left, I noticed a man and woman walking in circles in the street who suddenly made a beeline toward the house. I guess they noticed my name on my license plate, so that made me chuckle. I’d be worried if I were them. But I’m not them. I hopped in the car and stopped at a store on my way home. A place I had never been in Natomas. It was getting dark. My phone jingled when I got out of the car, so I started reading my emails as I walked toward the store.
Hey, nobody expects a handmade speed bump in the middle of a parking lot but I stumbled directly into it. Just like a cartoon character. Down I went on the pavement, knees first. Still holding my cellphone, the backside of my phone case slammed into the asphalt. Thank goodness I wasn’t wearing heels but flat shoes. Phone saved. My hands will heal. Case is still intact, too. Yay! Can’t be without a cellphone. Not and still have enjoy highlights for a Sacramento Realtor.
Friday morning, time to take our new kitty to the vet for the last of his shots. He has a name now, Ziggy. For Ziggy Stardust. The cat clinic insisted he come for an office visit before I could schedule a neuter appointment. They want to meet him first and charge me for an office visit. However, the appointments to neuter at River City Cat Clinic in Land Park are scheduled out to mid-March. Bradshaw Animal Hospital it is. Whatever happened to: here, neuter this kitten? You kids get offa my lawn.
Walking in the door with Ziggy back at my home office, I received an offer for one of my listings. Later in the day, another offer, followed by another. Working those listings, yeah! Three offers and two listings. One buyer obviously didn’t make it, but I managed to put my two listings from Wednesday into pending status on Friday. Geez, we didn’t even make it to the open house. This is what happens when everything is dialed in and systems are in place.
I also closed two listings this past week. Two condos. One at Woodside Oaks on Wednesday, the Alicante Villas, and another condo at 4800 Westlake Parkway in Natomas on Friday. Definitely need more listings. Good thing I’ve got more appointments set up for this coming week. I would hate to get bored and have to work on my taxes.
The Story of Closing 4800 Westlake Parkway in Natomas
4800 Westlake Parkway #1805 is one of 8 three bedroom units.
People tend to believe that all agents are the same, but the owner of 4800 Westlake Parkway knows better. She bought this condo in Natomas from my team member, Barbara Dow. So when it came time to sell, she listed with Elizabeth Weintraub. That’s because I take the listings for the team. I am a listing specialist. My team members are exclusive buyer’s agents. This is how I predict real estate will be in the future. Agents will pick a specialty and not try to do dual agency nor work both sides of the street.
The seller was a little confused as to why, but she went along with our strategy. Soon enough she figured out why she hired me as her Sacramento listing agent. It became clear early on. Not only do I sell a lot of homes in Sacramento, but I pride myself on producing spectacular results. I am very analytical. No way do I just stick my finger in the air and say, oh, the wind is blowing gently this morning, so the price for this condo at 4800 Westlake Parkway should be XYZ. I consider the comparable sales but I also take into consideration market demand, Bay Area buyer views, price point and more.
When you look at the square footage of this condo, it comps out around $256,000. Yet, I suggested a list price of $269,000, knowing full well there are no comps to support it. Sometimes I say forget the comps. Look at the market. Now, that’s not to say another agent could take that price and run with it, because no other agent markets the way I do. My systems are my own. I always go a few steps beyond what I should do. This is part of what makes me different.
We received an offer that was $4,000 lower, which was too low in my opinion and the seller agreed. The following day, we received another offer at $3,000 over list price, based on conversations with the buyer’s agent. I helped to guide the agent to that number. I also talked with a resident who disclosed an amazing fact. She told me there are only 8 three bedrooms in the entire complex! That statistic alone meant a higher price, in my mind.
After we went into escrow, the buyer asked for repairs. Buyers often do this because they don’t want to listen to their buyer’s agent and they think there is no harm in asking. To help facilitate the transaction, I sent do-it-yourself websites and instructional materials on how to do the repairs the buyer asked for herself. This made the buyer feel comfortable and she backed off the request for repairs.
However, when the appraisal came in, it was $5,000 low. I talked the buyer into splitting the difference in cash, so the seller still sold over list price. It meant that the buyer brought in more money to close. Also, there were no credits, no repairs. We closed escrow yesterday. The seller made a nice profit over the 5 years she rented out the condo and gained $100K+ equity upon resale. We steer our investment clients in the right direction.
I should mention that I listed this condo at 4800 Westlake Parkway while I was in Hawaii last month, and I also sold it from Hawaii. This is now the highest priced sale at 4800 Westlake Parkway. Think about this when you look for your next listing agent. I was able to do all of this without even looking at the property myself, much less being physically in town. Sacramento Realtors are not all the same. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759 and put 40 years of experience to work for you.
Sacramento Home Buyers Who Offer Less Than List Price
Buyers who offer less than list price in a sellers market probably won’t buy a home.
The way I see it, the problem with Sacramento home buyers who offer less than list price is it’s often a case of the blind leading the blind. I’m sorry, there is just no other way to say it. You’ve got buyers who have probably never bought a home in their lives trying to figure out how much to pay. And you’ve got a buyer’s agent who probably doesn’t sell very many homes. The agent most likely has had little, if any, training about appraising a home.
Often, these are buyers who offer less than list price because they saw an HGTV show. In those mythical fairy tales, buyers are always offering less than the amount the seller asks. Talk about overly generalized. We have a Sacramento sellers market, which means sellers can hold out for and will get list price. Very few homes for sale, high demand, hello?
Further, many agents struggle with deciphering comparable sales. They might notice a comparable sale in the neighborhood that sold for a higher price and try to compare it to the the home their buyer wants to buy. The difference might be a slight variance in the lot size. But they don’t know enough to figure out that maybe the back yard of that larger lot is filled with high tension power lines. So a smaller lot size does not equate to a lower sales price for the home in question. It is very likely they also don’t realize an appraiser might give only an extra $5,000 for a slightly larger lot. For many reasons, they hand out bad advice to a buyer.
Bottom line is most buyers who offer less than list price don’t get the home. The buyers wrongly blame the seller for being stubborn when they should be looking elsewhere for answers. These guys should be examining their own inadequacies. Coupled with the skills lacking in the agent they hired. Because that’s what caused them to lose the house.
Also, take a moment to realize that comps are not the only way to figure out the value of a property. Sometimes it really does boil down to the amount the seller will accept and the sum a qualified buyer will pay. That is the true definition of market value.
In closing, if a buyer is so certain a home is not worth the asking price, why not make a full price offer anyway? If it doesn’t appraise, the seller is likely to renegotiate. But the buyer will never get to that spot if the buyer doesn’t go into escrow. When it does appraise at the sales price, just close escrow. Get on with your life. Arguing gets you nowhere. Five years from now it will make no difference whatsoever.
Dealing With Difficult Tenants When Selling a Home
Don’t let difficult tenants prevent you from selling a home.
Mostly all renters turn into difficult tenants when selling a home. It’s just a matter of degree. Why wouldn’t it be? Tenants do not want to move against their will and they worry the rent will go up if they stay. None of that makes them cooperative when selling Sacramento rental homes. In fact, difficult tenants can blow a sale or make it even harder to sell a home in the first place.
They are intimately intertwined with their living space. Sometimes, and you might find this hard to believe, they forget that they do not own the home. After all, if they’ve lived there a long time, it starts to feel like it’s their house. Not the owner’s. Especially if they have an axe to grind or something. Like, maybe they asked for certain items to be repaired or replaced and felt ignored. Perhaps they believe the landlord did not give their requests priority. Payback is a bitch. They don’t mean to sabotage the sale, oh my goodness, no, but they just can’t help themselves.
Difficult tenants have stories they tell themselves over and over. They rationalize why it’s OK to say horribly untrue things to buyers coming through the home. Tenants do it in the interest of full disclosure, as though they are the owner; they feel almost a duty to describe some of the most despicable things you can imagine. In full gory detail.
You can’t tape their mouths shut with duct tape. Although, I can see how some landlords would like that solution. They feel if they spout off enough crap, the home won’t sell. And maybe it won’t. Some seem to forget that a 60-day notice removes them from the premises. And in some cases, the owner might have other legal reasons to promptly evict them.
So . . . is it a good idea to let difficult tenants stay in the house when you’re trying to sell? My answer to that is maybe, maybe not. Perhaps the seller needs the income? The best way to ensure cooperation is to bribe them. Give them a break on the rent if they “assist and don’t resist” the sale. Perhaps add a move-out bonus when it closes escrow to make sure nothing sneaky goes on. You get a lot further with honey than vinegar in this business.
Just don’t let them fool you. They are not happy you are selling.
Affordable 3 Bedroom Sacramento Pocket Condo at Roundtree
802 Roundtree Court, Sacramento, CA 95831 is a condo in the Pocket.
Here is the 3 bedroom Sacramento Pocket condo you’ve been waiting for. The HOA dues are affordable and you get a community swimming pool and clubhouse. This is the Roundtree Association, just south of Gloria Drive off of Florin. The dues are $255 per month. Plus, you’ll find easy access to freeways and to downtown Sacramento, which means you will love the location. It’s one of the communities that always looks so tidy and well kept. A place you would be proud to live.
This Sacramento Pocket condo is a two-story, with all of the bedrooms on the second floor. It’s laid out more like a townhome than a condo, with a front door and a back door. There is also an enclosed patio in the front and a back enclosed patio, so you get a little bit of the outdoor environment.
When you come in the back door, you’ll enter the kitchen area, with granite-looking counters and it is fully equipped. This means you get a free-standing microwave on the counter, a built-in refrigerator, electric range and a dishwasher. You will find a dining bar on the other side in the formal dining area. The living room is enormous. Plus, there is a half bath on this level. Perfect for entertaining.
The master bedroom is bigger than the other two bedrooms, and each features newer carpeting and ceiling fans with light fixtures. There is a full updated bath on this level, with a separate tub, a separate shower, and a long vanity.
You get a covered parking spot right outside the back door, so it’s not too far to carry groceries to your Sacramento Pocket condo from the car. When I was there preparing my inspection, it was very quiet for a Saturday afternoon.
What else can I say? How about this? You owe it to yourself to come to our open house on Sunday, February 18th, from 2:00 to 4:00 PM, hosted by Josh Amolsch from the Elizabeth Weintraub Team. If you like, you can see the virtual tour here.
802 Roundtree Court, Sacramento, CA 95831, is offered exclusively by Elizabeth Weintraub and Lyon Real Estate at $210K. Please call Elizabeth at 916.233.6759 for more information.
