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Elizabeth Weintraub
Is it Bad for Sacramento Real Estate to Sell in One Day?
Do you believe that you bought that home in Sacramento too quickly or, as a seller, do you believe that you were too fast to accept an offer for your home? Is it bad for Sacramento real estate to sell in one day? Welcome to the club of anxiety. Lots of people harbor those kinds of thoughts, but that’s all they are, just thoughts, passing thoughts, bubbles of self doubt, short moments of questions that should be allowed to pop through your brain to briefly make an appearance, bow, and then slink away somewhere to quietly die.
This is how Sacramento real estate happens today. Sometimes you sell in one day. If you are lucky. We are ensconced in a real estate market of low inventory. Lots of buyers are scouring the new listings every day, looking for that special gem. If your new home listing fits those requirements, bam, it’s sold. There is no shame in selling a house in one day.
Last week I put a bunch of new listings on the market, and one property in particular, well, the first few days were a little slow. No phone calls, not much activity for 24 hours. Then, out of the blue, an offer arrived. It was the sole offer. Not really astonishing given the fact that there were no inspections nor opportunity to view the interior until after offer acceptance. While this did not sell in one day, it still sold fairly quickly.
The seller asked if he should take the offer. It was over list price by a few thousand, which to this experienced Sacramento real estate agent is a sign of urgent and serious commitment by the buyer, followed by perhaps a hope harbored by the buyer that the few thousand extra will be recouped upon inspection — the answer to that game-playing strategy when I’m the listing agent is generally NO, because I bring that possibility to my seller’s attention at inception. Plus, I hail from Minnesota; I expect people to stay true to their word and don’t much care for those who lie. The seller could not believe that we received an offer so quickly. The implication was should he wait to see if a higher offer would arrive?
We had received no phone calls and no inquiries. I suggested he take it. When opportunity presents itself, you can be cautious, but you should proceed. I had that lesson engrained in me when I was a kid — only fools kick the door of opportunity closed. Sure enough, though, a few days later, we received another offer not as attractive. The first offer is usually the best.
Selling is just the beginning. Closing is another journey.
Bad Times Ahead for HAMP Rate Resets on Loan Modifications
If you pay your mortgage through a HAMP loan modification originated in 2009, be prepared to be hit with a major rate reset beginning as early as October of 2014. As I read the Treasury FAQ about Hamp rate resets, it became crystal clear why so many of my Sacramento short sales lately involve homeowners who have been approved by the HAMP program. My business of selling Sacramento real estate and especially short sales does not lend itself to helping sellers do loan modifications because, contrary to popular belief, I am not a lawyer. I am a real estate agent and I sell homes. To that effect, loan modifications affect my business only in a peripheral sense.
However, I vividly recall when the Home Affordable Modification Program, HAMP, was initiated by the government in 2009 to help homeowners stay in their homes. When it first began, many homeowners were rejected for HAMP and, having no other course of action, they turned to short sales, which meant eventually moving out of their homes, and not the preferred alternative. But over the years, the government and the banks got their acts aligned together or maybe the banks just figured out how to extract more money from the Treasury, and a large number of distressed homeowners received loan modifications.
One of the key qualifiers for the program was to be employed, so that left a lot of Sacramento homeowners in the dust. For those who managed to hang on by hook or by crook to a job, they probably were qualified for a loan modification. Like the bandage it is, though, a HAMP loan modification is only a temporary solution.
I advised people back then that doing a loan modification might be similar to putting a gun to your head and just not pulling the trigger for a few years. When you’re desperate, you’ll grasp at anything that keeps you in your home. I understand that. People tend to hope for the best. The sad thing is life over the years did not get proportionately better for many people in Sacramento. My husband, for example, lost his job in journalism in 2008 and has yet to recover.
The flaw in the HAMP program, if you will, is the fact interest rates reset after 5 years and every year thereafter. So if you took out a loan modification in 2009, your rate could go up by 1% and your payments could jump by $200 this October. If you took out a loan modification in 2010, you’ll be hit next year. And the rate continues to reset year after year. It doesn’t get any better than you have it right now.
Which is why some sellers will find they can no longer afford to pay their mortgage nor stay in their home due to the HAMP rate reset, and they will turn to the best Sacramento short sale agent they can find, which will be me. I have sold more short sales in the Sacramento area than any other real estate agent since 2006. I know how the banks negotiate, how to get your short sale approved and, best of all, you’ll be done with it now and forever. There is no out-of-pocket cost to you, all fees are paid from proceeds at closing. You can call the #1 short sale agent in Sacramento: Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759, at Lyon Real Estate.
The good thing — if there is such a thing as a good thing when it comes to short sales — is the fact that if you were approved for a HAMP loan modification, you are practically guaranteed to be approved for a short sale.
Installing Granite Countertops Flush With a Cabinet is Cause for Woe
AFTER: New granite in bath remodel
Not every bath remodel turns out exactly the way it should be most often due to contractor error. Just because a guy is cheap doesn’t mean he’s any good, just like your Sacramento real estate agent who agreed to work for a discount, which is not this writer. I recall from many years ago the guy who put in the granite on top of the vanity as being very proud about the fact he had “tricked out” the granite, meaning he had cut it flush with the cabinet. It wasn’t what I had expected.
BEFORE: Bad granite in bath remodel
At the time, it didn’t dawn on me that the edge of a countertop should never ever sit directly on the edge of the cabinet because a flush edge does not prevent water nor other liquids like contact lenses solution from dripping down the face of the cabinet. And even if that thought did cross wires somewhere in my brain, after the contractor cut and installed the granite, it was too late. Let this be a lesson you don’t have to learn the hard way: don’t ever install a counter flush with the cabinet in a kitchen or bath remodel.
It’s not just the water dripping down the cabinet that can damage cabinets. Our wall cabinet got dinged pretty badly by the ceiling heat / air vent dumping hot air directly on the finish. We ended up buying a clip-on clear plastic thingie that funnels the heat from the vent downward into the room. So much for Thomasville cabinets and the factory finish.
Before we could refinish the cabinets, we had to replace the granite countertop. Not only was the granite a problem, but the faucet was installed too close to the mirrored medicine cabinet door. Opening the door banged it into the faucet. On top of that, the spacer piece was never blocked properly at the base of the cabinet so it continued to move every time the housekeeper cleaned in the bath.
We fixed all those things with the new granite. It’s also lighter in color, which looks better with chocolate cabinets anyway. It opens up the room and makes the small bath appear larger.
Now we have a new problem, I hate to admit. With the overhang on the granite, we can’t easily open the cabinet doors. I’m not sure my husband has discovered that defect yet and I don’t have the heart to tell him. Well, after we get the cabinet doors refinished, we’ll attach pulls.
Everything is Awesome in Sacramento Real Estate!
Everything is Awesome from the Lego Movie is worse than It’s a Small World at Disneyland — because at least with the latter it gave you hope for the world, some redemption for humanity — but both of those songs once they get stuck in your head end up on robo-tape, playing over and over. It’s a catchy tune, too. On the surface the lyrics are simple yet the song is super snarky, which is what makes it hilarious.
I would not be surprised if in Corporate America somewhere, some meeting planner decides that the song Everything is Awesome would make a great theme song for an annual convention. After all, everybody wants to be cool when they’re part of the team, right? If you step in shit, you just wear brown shoes, right? Ridiculous optimism rules the planet, doesn’t it? Who doesn’t love a glass is half full?
Perhaps the California Association of REALTORS will choose Everything is Awesome for its One Cool Thing campaign?
Actually, the best part of the Lego Movie was when Unikitty loses it and explodes in violent anger. Oh, sorry, that was a spoiler alert. My bad.
My husband said the Lego Movie was too smart for its own good, and I suppose there is an element of truth in that statement. I guess little kids really liked the movie but I suspect they came away with a much different story. Like Everything is Awesome and people are Special, which is not that much different than believing in the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus, so what’s the harm?
Well, I don’t know about you but I was pretty crushed when I discovered there was no Santa Claus, and no Tooth Fairy, either. I resisted the notion, gravitating toward the belief that my parents harbored some nefarious reason for deliberately shattering my illusions that Everything is Awesome!
On the other hand, I have learned throughout my 40 years in real estate how to do Everything is Awesome pretty well. That attitude, goofy as it may seem, helps me to sell Sacramento real estate. I do try to find the silver linings in situations because given the alternative who wants to slosh through mud every day? I try to perk up my listings to make them more attractive to buyers, which often includes parking an expensive foreign sports car right down the street and taking a photo for the “street view” in the listing.
An out-of-area client emailed this morning after I sent him the link to his new listing online. He mentioned that the last photograph in my series of photos seemed to be of a different property. I explained that was the view across the street, where everybody parks their Porsches. He wrote back to say maybe the area has gotten better since he last visited. See, it works!
Sacramento Real Estate Agents Who Get Results Develop Confidence
You know what kind of listings the top-ranking Sacramento real estate agents prefers to take? You might think it’s the luxury homes in Granite Bay or El Dorado Hills at a million or more or maybe it’s the homes in Land Park right by my house or the homes by my office in East Sacramento and, while all of those are good choices, I don’t focus entirely on those neighborhoods and the price tag isn’t the deciding factor.
Most successful Sacramento real estate agents gravitate toward listings for sale by sellers who are reasonable and who will listen to advice. It doesn’t mean they have to follow to the T every single suggestion I come up with, but they shouldn’t ignore my advice. I’ve spent decades picking up experience to share in the real estate business, and I’ve been successfully honing my craft ever since the 1970s.
I’m not one of those part-time Sacramento real estate agents. I am a full-time Sacramento Realtor. I’m not a mom or a grandma who raised a bunch of kids and is now looking for something to keep myself occupied. I started in the real estate business when I was barely 22-years-old, and it’s been more of a calling than a job.
For that reason, I see the big picture when I talk to a client. I spoke to a guy a few days ago about listing an investment property in a somewhat scary part of Sacramento. It’s not Land Park by any stretch, but if a seller needs to sell, I go to where they need me to go. I don’t discriminate or think I’m too hoity toity to take a listing in an economically distressed or crime-ridden neighborhood. I drove over to this not-so-nice part of town in 106-degree heat and shot professional photographs, standing in the middle of the street, walking the property line, sweating to death, perspiration dripping down the middle of my shirt.
I studied the comparable sales. It was clear to me that the amount I could probably sell this property for would be an astronomical sum that my competitors who looked at the same comparable sales probably would not see. It would be a challenge but I could do it. That’s where my years of experience come in handy. Plus, I know how to extract top dollar for a property; I network and I have connections as well. I could have given the seller a lower price and been done with it, but it wouldn’t have been the ethical thing to do.
After I prepared the paperwork and sent it to the seller, I got a bit of push back on the listing. It wasn’t about the price or overall compensation. The seller wanted to change my strategy and insisted I conform to the seller’s idea of how to sell this particular piece of challenging real estate. The seller is not in the business of selling real estate. In fact, I’d go so far as to say the seller should not have ever done what the seller had done with regards to this particular property but that doesn’t alter the present.
My thoughts about this are it’s not gonna work for me. We’re not a team on this, not of one mind. It ultimately won’t really work for the seller either the way he wants to do it but the seller won’t figure that out until it’s been on the market for 6 months without any offers. I just tell people what I see and how I work. If they don’t want to go along with it, that’s OK. My feelings aren’t hurt. I am not a foie gras agent, prone to force feeding my clients. I don’t shove anything down anybody’s throat.
I just look at the client who is closing next week and pocketing an extra 10% profit because she listened to me. When I met with her, she was undecided between hiring me or another Sacramento agent. The other agent would charge less and wanted to list at a lower price, too. The seller had a hard time believing that she could sell for the price I quoted and did not want to pay a full commission. But in the end, she gave the listing to me at the higher price, paid my fee without griping, and now she’s laughing all the way to the bank.
