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Elizabeth Weintraub
This Sacramento Realtor’s Last Closing of 2017 was a Dream Sale
Realtor’s last closing of 2017 made 2 families completely overjoyed.
When I first spoke to the seller of this home in June, I did not realize his home would become this Sacramento Realtor’s last closing of 2017. Both he and his fiancé were so charming and sweet, they captivated me. However, the home was in North Highlands. Now, I know not every agent in Sacramento is eager to take a listing in North Highlands. Some agents feel the price points are too low, but I will work with any reasonable seller who wants to sell. Doesn’t matter to me if the price is $2 million or $200K. Same process, same tools, same skills required. Sometimes the $200K sale is a lot more work. Sometimes the $2 million is a lot more work. But it’s all Sacramento real estate.
I fight for all of my clients, if that’s what it takes. And I really wanted to help this couple start a new life elsewhere. I get vested in my listings. The first thing I noticed when I visited their home was they were in the process of repainting the walls. The walls were gray. But they had chosen a bright white. The project was about halfway completed. I did not want to create more work for them but I also had to speak up. Yes, they needed to return the walls to gray. White? Bad color.
The back yard was a dirt racetrack. The house, a bit on the small side, with only one bath. But oh, did the home exude charm. Vaulted ceilings covered in wood planks. We put it on the market in mid-November and received a quick offer from a buyer who did not really appear all that dedicated to the purchase. Things his agent said made me think they were writing more than one offer in our tight market. Which is never good for a seller. And against the law.
We came back with a strong counter offer. Sure enough, the buyer wilted into the weeds. At that time, I did not expect it take so much longer to get another offer that it would be a Realtor’s last closing of 2017.
After the first offer, nothing for 3 weeks, despite repeated open houses, digital marketing and blogging about the home. Our days were sliding into Thanksgiving. Slower market. However, in early December, yowza, we received four offers, bam, bam, bam, bam. One of those offers prompted me to write a blog about the worst purchase offer ever.
It came from a Realtor who had showed the home during our last open house. My team member who hosted the open house sent me a picture of this agent’s business card, because she found it amusing. I, in turn — and I’m not proud of my behavior, btw — forwarded the image to my sister. We all joked about it. My open house agent said the Realtor handed her a second business card for some side venture, like running a hot dog business or something.
Well, I did not expect to get an offer from this particular Realtor, but we did. I felt bad that we had made fun of her. I should not have sunk to that level. So to be fair to everyone, we countered this Realtor’s buyers and others. In the end, we came to an agreement with a buyer on December 11th. What was amazing about our real buyer was her lender. The MLO managed to get the loan approved, funded and closed in 18 days. With 3 loans simultaneously recording for down payment and closing cost assistance!
This is pretty unheard of. Mind blowing. Remarkable. Further, we sold the 1954 home AS IS without any repairs or renegotiations. The agent on the other side was extraordinary. She returned every document on time, in an orderly manner, which almost never happens. I’d work with her again in a heartbeat. Such a dream sale once we found the right buyer.
But the nicest thing about this Realtor’s last closing of 2017 is the fact we made two families gloriously overjoyed. Just in time for the New Year, and the last closing of December for me.
On a side note, I had originally scheduled 5 more closings for the last week in December, but all 5 rolled into 2018. I put another into escrow this week, but yesterday, the investor canceled. Which is a blog for another day about how you can’t trust some 1031 investors. I had thoroughly questioned the level of commitment, because my gut said don’t trust the guy.
Oh, well. It’s been a good year, 2017. $36 million good.
Umbrella Trees are the Perfect Answer to Wet Gardens
Dwarf papyrus, also known as umbrella trees, love wet gardens in Hawaii.
In all of my research for a wet garden plant, the one type that kept popping up over and over was umbrella trees. They go by many different types of names. Papyrus. Egyptian Papyrus. Scheffleras, often a type of bonsai. What I really needed was expert advice. I am by no means a Hawaii gardener. But I am resourceful enough to find out who is.
In fact, I located an expert who grows and sells Dwarf Bonsai Scheffleras, Mr. David W. Fukomoto, president and founder of Fuku-Bonsai, Inc. He runs a business down the road from me in Kurtistown, Hawaii. I emailed him with my dilemma. People are so friendly on Big Island. That’s part of the appeal here. Unlike Sacramento where they will stab you in the back and then complain about the blood on their knife.
Ever since we bought a house in Hawaii several years back, nothing has really grown in the corner by our front steps. The sellers before us tried growing taro, but it did not survive. I initially sought this spot for red ginger that I got from Tutu’s Nursery, but it was clearly unhappy in that location. I dug it up before it died completely and transplanted it elsewhere.
The problem is when I dig down about 6 inches, I hit water. Most of my garden is very dry. We have another wet pool about 12 feet away and just in one location. I’m not sure what the makeup is of the Aina (land), mostly volcanic, I suspect. There is also the possibility the drip system is leaking but there doesn’t seem to be a loss of pressure.
Mr. Fukomoto advised me not to plant a Dwarf Bonsai. He suggested papyrus. Excellent idea. I am so grateful for his wisdom and guidance. There is an overhang from the garage that would limit the height of the umbrella trees, so I decided to search for dwarf umbrella trees. Seemed like a good place to look was Lowe’s. My new favorite home improvement store, since Home Depot is no longer in my good graces due to its political position. I sold my stock and bought Loew’s.
Sure enough, Lowe’s in North Kona had a bunch of dwarf papyrus. I bought three umbrella trees and have planted them in that wet spot. They won’t spread because the area is secluded, although they are invasive. Aren’t they cute? They are only about a foot tall now and I expect to manage them to around 8 or 9 feet.
How to Pick the Best Offer in a Multiple-Offer Situation
Your agent can help you to figure out how to pick the best offer.
Helping the seller to pick the best offer is an important part of a listing agent’s job. Sometimes we have only one offer so it’s a no-brainer. Although, I will say we received a full-price offer on another listing recently when the seller snapped, “I’m not taking THAT.” What? Why not? Because the seller expected buyers to fight over her home and to offer more than list price. She just didn’t share those thoughts with me until we received an offer. It was our only offer, too.
The only thing we could do was take it off the market and put it back at a higher price. I didn’t want buyers to see we had raised the price, or they might not want to buy it. They might misjudge the situation and think the seller is crazy. I wanted a nice clean presentation at the higher price.
Now, obviously, when we receive multiple offers much of the time there might be that one particular offer that stands out from the rest of average offers. Sometimes, I might suggest the seller counter only one offer. Other times I might suggest we counter two or three, even offers we don’t want. We make the counters outrageous that if they did accept, we might reconsider.
But the problem that happens more often than not is we will receive two offers that are very similar to each other. They might even be for the exact price. Then what do you do? How do you pick the best offer? One method is to consider the qualifications of the borrower. For example, how much is the earnest money? Who is the mortgage lender? We usually lean toward local lenders, btw. A loan officer with a recognized track record and local appraisal management companies.
Yeah, so what happens if all of those things are equal? Maybe the net is identical to the seller. Both buyers very strong, qualified, committed. What can make the difference then? In my experience, it boils down to the buyer’s agent. Who is the buyer’s agent? Is that agent difficult or cooperative? After all, we need to count on the buyer’s agent to educate the buyer throughout the process and manage her or his side of the transaction.
We are often in daily contact with the agent. Is the agent responsive? Quick to communicate? Professional? The agent can make or break the buyer’s chances of winning a multiple offer situation. One of the last determining factors when considering how to pick the best offer is deciding on which agent we want to be in escrow with. While Sacramento listing agents don’t pick the best offer themselves, we do help the seller to choose.
So buyer’s agents should think about whether it is really wise to be argumentative off the bat. How being pushy and aggressive is not the way to best represent their buyer. I’ve watched more than one deserving buyer lose the house because of their agent’s lousy attitude.
Hanging a Garage Tennis Ball Without Denting the Car
Garage tennis ball rests on windshield of an SUV in the garage.
My lean-to ladder was not gonna work yesterday to hang a garage tennis ball. I needed a fold-out step ladder and don’t have that at our house in Hawaii. So, I was a little bit nervous about stepping on the hood of my brand new car and denting it or maybe pushing out the windshield with my bare feet. It also occurred to me that standing on a footstool to reach the car was not a stable launching pad, either. Not to mention, keeping balance, yes, somewhat tricky.
I held the ball, string, hook, and pen in my hands, with a scissors in my mouth. Well, let’s just say thank goodness the garage door opener on the ceiling was handy and available to grab. Stepped very gingerly, slowly and carefully. Never quite planted my feet firmly on anything, balanced more on the edges.
At my age, breaking a hip, that does not escape my thoughts. Suddenly, I had visions of me lying on the garage floor with geckos dancing over my bloody body and cracked head. Unable to move. Unable to call out for help. Yup, encouragement not to fall.
It’s odd that I hung a ball at all. To be honest, I used to make fun of people who hung garage tennis balls. I could not understand why they couldn’t figure out how far to pull into the garage. I thought only the mentally deficient hung a garage tennis ball.
But you know what? I have changed my tune. For me, I don’t have a lot of room in front of my car in the garage. This means when I pull up close to the wall, I can’t walk in front of my car to get to the laundry. I need that path wider to carry a laundry basket. I don’t walk in front of my car in Sacramento. But I do in Hawaii. Here, I need a shorter distance between the garage door and my trunk. And a longer distance in front of my car.
The answer? Well, what other than a garage tennis ball? I bought a Genie ball online with complicated instructions that involved using a lot of math to compute how far down to hang it. It also involved calculating the distance from point A to point B and point C. To the tip of the garage door. They designed the system to align perfectly so closing the garage door moves the ball up to the ceiling.
I think they were worried people would walk into the tennis ball otherwise. However, when I pondered this situation, I could not foresee any time when I would be in the garage and my car was not. I suppose my husband could take the car to the grocery store, and I’d have a sudden urge to do laundry, but that is unlikely.
Seriously, how much trouble can you get into smacking your head on a garage tennis ball anyway? The ball I bought is made out of some sort of silicone. If it sits on my windshield for months, so what? I do not think it will harm glass or melt.
I am proud of myself that I didn’t bother with the A to C and just hung the darn thing from the ceiling. It works like a charm, too. So what the hey that I am a Sacramento Realtor with a ball stopper in her garage. Now I probably fall into old fart territory. When I screwed the eyelet into the ceiling, I noticed a hole next to it. Hmmm. Yes, I had forgotten. Obviously, the sellers had a tennis garage ball and they took it with them.
Darn it all to hell anyway. After all the discussions we had about what stays and what goes. They are not allowed to do that. That garage tennis ball was a fixture! LOL.
Christmas in Kona is a Celebration of the Aloha
Elizabeth Weintraub shoots a selfie on her lanai in Kona on Christmas Day.
Christmas in Kona seems to be a ritual in my life that I didn’t really set out to do. But when I look back at the places where I’ve spent Christmas over the past 10 years, more than half of those places have been in Hawaii. Mostly on the Big Island. So we bought a house in Hawaii. As a result, spending Christmas in Kona has been different than staying at a resort. At our house, I have the opportunity to connect with neighbors and make new friends.
My husband could not come for the holidays this year, but Christmas in Kona is not a big deal to him because he is Jewish. He can eat Chinese food any day. LOL. Pizza is just fine with him.
Even without him here, I’ve got a sense of community. Not to mention the Aloha. It’s a way of life. Peaceful and respectful. Warm and content. A couple of my clients sent me Christmas greetings yesterday by text, which was welcome as well.
While spending Christmas in Kona last year, my husband and I were invited to our neighbors’ house for Christmas dinner. Without him here this year, I went to my neighbors’ alone. As you may know, I am from Minnesota, and so are my neighbors and their family. Buzz, Jean, Joe and Jennifer. You know what that means? Green bean casserole with fried onion rings. Yum! And of course, I brought my liliko’i opera cake. We had so much food. Roasted turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, salad, a nut roll (that name escapes me) and a variety of sweets.
Clockwise, from front Elizabeth, Buzz, Jean, Jennifer and Joe.
I can’t put my finger on exactly why this Christmas dinner was so much fun, but the company was entertaining and amusing. I love these people! Plus, just as we were discussing ways to remove geckos from your house, Buzz mentioned they have not had any geckos for a long time. He spoke too soon. Just as he said that, we all turned around to catch a baby gecko crawling up the wall. Oh, well, more liliko’i?
Looks like this Sacramento Realtor has 5 more days of work, two more escrows to close, and then it’s off to Honolulu for a New Year’s Eve party. Where did this year go?
My Christmas in Kona sunset on Christmas Day.
