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Elizabeth Weintraub
Beware of Sacramento Agents Who Have a Dog in the Race
Not every Sacramento Realtor has a dog in the race.
You know what I mean about Sacramento agents who have a dog in the race, right? The underbelly of this business. Especially real estate agents whose sole business model is: no closing, no paycheck. When an agent must close a transaction or starve to death, it can be difficult for a client to feel comfortable with the advice that agent might offer. I get it. But I hadn’t quite had it put to me like a client explained a few days ago.
Basically, he said he was referring me to a co-worker who needed to list his home because I have enough business to be financially comfortable. Implying that it’s difficult to trust an agent who doesn’t. Granted, there are many types of Realtors in Sacramento.
It’s true that there are Sacramento agents who have a dog in the race, but I’m not one of those. I take listings because I enjoy the challenges and it’s rewarding to do a good job for my sellers. The money isn’t bad, either. But money is not my motivation. As a matter of principle, I probably charge more than most other agents, but I also provide services that warrant the highest commission and net higher prices. You might find that ironic but I don’t.
If a seller demands to work with a cheap agent, that seller can work with another agent who won’t do nearly the job I would do. No skin off my teeth. There’s another seller around the corner who values what I do.
And, yes, I find it amusing when a seller asks me if this is a good time to go on the market. I tell them don’t ask a Realtor if it’s a good time because an agent will tell you YES.
New Client: Is this a good time to hire you?
Me: Well, I dunno, maybe you should check back next year to see if I’ve retired.
Darn tootin’ it’s a good time to hire Elizabeth Weintraub! There’s a reason I rank in the top 5 agents in Sacramento.
Although, joking aside, I do tell clients if their home will be difficult to sell, then list it now. We have no inventory. It will sell quickly. We’ll push that price up, and I’ll take care of them all the way through closing. I will monitor the transaction and handle any blips. On the other hand, if you’ve got a stunning home and can afford to wait, then April 15th is prime time.
I’ll sell anything if it’s fun to do. I don’t need to have a dog in the race. But be careful of those who do. Sometimes buyer’s agent will try to threaten me and the seller. They say if we don’t do what their buyer wants, their buyer will walk away. You know my response is to that? That agent is an idiot. They don’t look for answers, solutions.
Still, I don’t hold that against them. Because they could very well be one of those Sacramento agents who have a dog in the race. Those are the ones who rarely make it to the finish line. They do not realize that a sure-fired way to make it in the real estate business is to take the agent out of the equation and focus on what is best for the seller.
Should a Sacramento Listing Agent Know the Seller’s Bottom Line?
No reason to share a seller’s bottom line with a listing agent.
Should a Sacramento listing agent know the seller’s bottom line? Well, you know, if you have to ask the question, generally the answer is no. I’m just a bit more vocal about it. When I hear sellers headed that direction, I ask them to please stop. Because I don’t want to know their bottom line. It’s none of my business, actually. When we settle on a list price for a home, it becomes my job to get that price. Let’s not muddy the waters or cause more confusion by talking about how much less we will take.
Besides, it might never come to fruition. If I believe I can get the price we list at, that’s the price I tend to get. My goal is to deliver a full price offer (or better). If I spend my time considering the seller’s bottom line, it is possible I could slip up. Not intentionally, mind you, but I do multi-task at times. If I don’t know it, I can’t blurt it. And I don’t want to know it anyway. It undermines the premise of a listing agent. My fiduciary is to my seller.
I talked with a seller yesterday in El Dorado Hills who tried to tell me they would be willing to underprice a home. That tactic doesn’t necessarily work very well in a market of strong inventory. There are more homes for sale in El Dorado Hills than in other neighboring communities. Although I asked her to please let’s just focus on the price she wants, the seller continued to talk about taking less for her home. She seems very eager to get rid of it. Makes me wonder what’s wrong with it. Plus, it makes me hope she ends up listing with me over somebody else who might take advantage of this situation.
I don’t want to know the seller’s bottom line. The bottom line to me is the sales price. Buyer’s agents ask me all the time how low will the seller go? Like, if I knew I would squeal, which I wouldn’t. Or, if I would be so stupid as to venture a number. Which not only violates the fiduciary relationship, making it against the law, but geez, such an extremely ignorant thing to do. I have no idea what a seller will or won’t do. Even if they tell me, I don’t know because I am not inside their head.
Another seller yesterday owns an over-improved property in a neighborhood of mostly 1970’s homes in Citrus Heights. His home burned down a couple of years ago and he rebuilt all but one wall. It’s basically a brand new home in an area with zero new homes. He sounded like he hoped he could get an extra $100K for this home. But I have my doubts about that. People want to buy a home in a neighborhood of similar homes. If a buyer wanted to pay $100K more for a home like his, they would do it in a neighborhood of comparable properties.
In this particular case, the seller’s bottom line is probably way too much. A lesson he won’t learn until it’s been on the market for half a year. Maybe it’s better for another agent to invest that time. I don’t mind being the second agent. Sometimes, I will accept overpriced listings if the seller is reasonable. But in this case, I don’t know if the individual in question is a good risk for me to undertake. I can envision him developing frustration because things aren’t working out the way he imagined. I’ll take blame for my own mistakes but not for somebody else’s. Besides, my own are much rarer.
The #1 Agent at Lyon for January Earned Ranking from Hawaii
Elizabeth Weintraub, #1 Agent at Lyon for January, earned ranking from Hawaii
If you want to be the #1 agent at Lyon, all you have to do is spend a couple of months in Hawaii. That’s my message for today. Because that’s the only way I can figure out how to explain the surprise announcement yesterday from Lyon Real Estate. I am not making this up. Yup, Elizabeth Weintraub was named #1 agent at Lyon for January, 2018. It was a big shock to me. January was a slow month. Just like December. Seasonal sales typically slow a bit in December and January, which is why I go to Hawaii to work from our vacation house.
Further, leaving Sacramento when it gets cold makes sense. The thought occurred to me that I could work from Sacramento and watch the trees lose their leaves. Alternately, I could go to Hawaii and eye sailboats on the horizon. Bonanza idea! Let warm breezes wash over me every morning when I park myself on the lanai to work from my laptop. Well, you know which I picked.
It wasn’t easy, either, for the #1 agent at Lyon for January. Hey, I had to cook for myself, shop for myself and figure out how to work the TV. Did my own laundry. Washed my own car. Figured out how to buy a Paddleboard, a touring Lahui Kai, which I loaded on top of my car, removed by myself and hauled to the beach. Oh, and I shipped said new vehicle and picked up the Subaru at Kawaihae Harbor. Big accomplishments.
Wow, those two months were busy. I also made 2 trips to Oahu from Big Island in January. Celebrated New Year’s Eve with Hella Rothwell, dinner, show and dancing. Then, went back with my husband when he came out in January to visit Pearl Harbor. Learned how to cook on gas grill, a new thing for me. Murdered many geckos. Killed a cockroach. Fixed our sprinklers. Harvested red ginger. Eradicated termites.
Along the way, I closed 5 listings in January. I also listed 6 more and put 5 of those into escrow. Out of my 5 listings that closed, only one was a dream sale, no hassles nor challenges. Two of those listings I sold 3 times due to crazy buyers who could not commit. Another was a nightmare of epic proportions dealing with unreasonable idiots. But all idiots are pretty much unreasonable. I don’t like to play hardball but will when circumstances warrant.
So, see, if you want to be the #1 Agent at Lyon, all you have to do is spend a couple of months in Hawaii. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Introducing Our New Ragdoll Kitty at Home in Land Park
New Ragdoll kitty in guest bath sink in Land Park.
Choosing our new Ragdoll kitty from my friend JaCi Wallace’s litter of kittens was really tough. We couldn’t stay there all day because JaCi had to show a home way the heck out in Yuba City from Wilton. Or we just might have visited for another 8 hours until dinner. They were all so adorably cute. Who doesn’t love a kitten? Even people who say they are not cat people tend to love kittens. And besides, we all know deep down just about everybody is a cat person, even those who say they are not.
They are just a person who has never met a sweet cat. Perhaps their encounter is only with alley cats who scrap for food in the dumpsters? Or, the kind that poop in their garden and then spray the fence? Cats endear themselves to you, even if you don’t want them to. Because they are smart. They know how to manipulate. Budding Realtors could learn a lot from a cat. Ways to worm into graces.
Then they purr and your heart melts. Because we all want somebody to adore us, and cats tend to do that in spades. A new Ragdoll kitty will rub all over you, smear pheromones on your face. Sit on your slippers. Twirl a tail around your wrist. Laugh at you.
Toss kittens a toy and they show their utter delight. You can watch a kitten play with a puff ball for hours. Bat rings from a milk carton that slide across the floor. Chase crumpled aluminum foil. They don’t need store-bought toys. Mischievous creatures, you never know what they might do. OK, there is a downside if they claw your sofa, but if you keep their nails trimmed, you can train them not to. You do not declaw a cat, ever. That is cutting off their toes at the knuckles and it is considered inhumane to do.
We have the perfect cat household. Plenty of litter boxes. Four cat trees. A big toy box. No carpeting. Sturdy coverings on our furniture. We made a mistake with our previous kitty, Horatio, because his temperament was too forceful for our sensitive Flamepoint Ragdoll Jackson and sweet Ocicat Tessa. They are aged 8 and 6 respectfully. They both developed a series of illnesses due to stress. But Horatio was a Siamese and more than a year old.
A new Ragdoll kitty at 12 weeks seems like a great option to blend back into a 3-cat family. Ragdolls are sensitive and relatively docile when they mature. We haven’t named him yet, but look at that mask on his face! JaCi calls him Blaze but we’ll probably choose another name. Maybe not. What do you think?
P. S. Thank YOU, JaCi!!!!
Coming Back to Sacramento After Working From Kona for 2 Months
After working from Kona for 2 months, it’s time to return to Sacramento and navigate Honolulu airport.
You would think after missing my flight on Hawaiian Airlines and working from Kona for 2 months, I would be prepared for anything that could happen. Because there is a strange thing that happens when you’re in tune with the rhythm of the islands. It’s about developing a relaxed state of constant awareness of your surroundings. Will it rain? Will geckos dangle their heads out of the air vents in the wall to say hello? Will you squash a centipede while barefoot? Will whiteflies invade the under-side of the leaves on the Leea Guineensis and hibiscus? Will a ballistic missile threat wipe us all out?
I mean, everything was going so smoothly on my last day. Since throwing away all of my food in the last trash pickup, I managed to pick up more food. Washed the laundry. Packed my luggage for the following day, which is basically putting my laptop inside with all of its plugs and accessories. Headed out to my lanai for one last morning, which is a great place to be working from Kona for 2 months. It offers a 180-degree view from Keauhou Bay to Honokohau Harbor. This puts me in a different state of mind when I talk to clients and agents from my lanai. Focused but not overly invested in anything painful, if you know what I mean.
Time to go home, though. Back to my husband, our kitties, my team members, my office, reconnect with my house again. Then, all of a sudden, no more silence. My security system began screaming at me. Change the sensor battery on the garage door. WTF? Obviously, I have never maintained a security system before. No idea what a sensor battery could be. Googled it. Watched the video on how to remove the battery. Hopped in my just washed car and hightailed it to Target. Grabbed a handful of 2032 batteries, up and down ladders, changed it out after ripping it off the wall because the idiot installer attached it upside down.
Oh, just use double-sided tape, said the security people. Like everybody has double-sided tape lying around the house? After all was said and done, turns out I changed out the wrong battery. The correct one was right in front of my face on the garage door. Good thing I bought more batteries.
Surely the following day would turn out easier. Just lock up the house, close all the window coverings, grab an Uber to the airport. Landed in Honolulu without a hitch. Three hours until my return flight to Sacramento after working in Kona for 2 months. Three hours to think about my transition to reality. I closed 6 sales, took 6 listings and put 5 of those into pending status over the slowest months of the year. All while working from Kona for 2 months. Something to be proud about.
I checked my gate for the flight to Kona, Gate 61. Because my sister had asked for pineapple, I decided to ship some to her from the airport. The first shop could not find an order form to save their life. They suggested I walk to gate #20 at the other end of the airport to their other store and order it from there. They did not like my idea of picking up the phone and ordering it by phone. What the hey. It’s not like I had anything else to do. I walked the 20-minute trek to the newer section of the airport with high-end shops to accomplish my goal.
When I got back to the older part of the terminal, I popped in to the Hawaiian Premier Lounge to charge my cellphone and check email. Kept an eye on the time. My flight began boarding at 3:30. At 3:25, I left to make the 5-minute walk to Gate 61. Except, when I got there, it was empty. No passengers. Uh oh. Sinking feeling. Spotted a guy who looked confused and he, too, was heading for Sacramento. Then an elderly woman, well, older than I, showed up. Where is the plane, they both asked?
I glanced up at the monitor. Our plane was at Gate 22. I cannot miss a flight a second time, especially after already missing my flight last Tuesday because Hawaiian Airlines did not send an email to check-in. Both of the stranded passengers said they were going to follow me. I asked: Why would you follow a person who missed her last flight? Guy replied, “I don’t know you very well, but you don’t seem like a person who would miss her flight.”
Fortunately, I found an alternate way to get there, on a shuttle bus. The guy who ran the shuttle bus was like 94, and moving very slowly. He had to listen to me ask exactly, and I mean by minutes, how long will it take for the bus to get here and how long does it take to get the other side of the terminal. Answers. Now. Yup, my two other passengers seemed glad they had followed me.
Finally, squeezed into the line. Sacramento guy asked: Is this the end of the line? If you have to ask, you can’t stand next to me.
An Air Force Reservist in the window seat on the plane finished a Mai Tai as I slipped in the aisle seat. Flight attendant asked if I wanted one. Sure. And where are our nuts? I even had the Air Force dude chanting, where are my nuts? Landed at 11:30 PM and after working in Kona for 2 months, yup, it feels a bit strange to be home. Of course, I managed to make it to my 11 AM listing appointment on Saturday morning and, wouldn’t you know it, nobody was there. Eek. Welcome home, I guess.
