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Elizabeth Weintraub
48 Hours of Sacramento Real Estate
If selling massive numbers of homes in Sacramento was so danged easy, let me tell you, hundreds of real estate agents would be selling homes like there’s no tomorrow, and we all know, that for most agents, that’s not happening. It’s as though every single transaction lately has had a bunch of little snags that need to be poked with a toothpick and slipped back into place. And that’s assuming that buyers can even get into contract in the first place.
Part of the problem is people don’t read, they don’t listen to each other and everybody is in such a rush that they don’t take time to figure out how to make something work. You can’t get upset with them or irritated because people are who they are, and you can’t change them. You can only change your own view.
Way back in the old days, like 40 years ago when was a title searcher, just to keep the title officers giggling at First American Title, I would slip stick figure drawings of a guy hanging by a noose on an affidavit of death document. Things aren’t that different today now that I am a real estate agent and sell homes in Sacramento.
I’ll give you a few “real world” examples from the past few days. See, this is the thing about real life in real estate, it’s so real that a reality show could never be made about it. It’s so real that people might think this agent made up stuff just to be funny, but I don’t have to make stuff up because it’s the godawful truth.
- An agent sent me an offer and included a note saying she knew I had mentioned that my name needed to go on page 8; however, she had put another agent’s name in that spot and now there was no room for my name.
- I asked an agent if her buyer could afford a higher sales price if the short sale bank demanded it because the offer was low, and the agent said no, but the seller should help the American home buyer.
- When I asked a tenant if I could shoot photos of her home with furniture in place, she said sure, the movers were coming on Wednesday, so could I come over on Thursday.
- Sellers needed to transfer utilities in their name after the tenant moved to allow a final walkthrough for the buyer, and they agreed to do so as long as they could charge the buyer for it.
- First time homebuyers asked if they could buy a home with no money, no reserves, no way to borrow any money and the home needed to be a foreclosure because their sister bought 27 homes without any money.
It takes a special kind of personality to sell Sacramento real estate. If I let all of this get to me, I would not be doing a competent job nor taking care of my clients, and that’s not how I operate. Besides, it wouldn’t be a regular week in real estate without a little craziness.
Government Shutdown and Sacramento Real Estate
All over Sacramento, people are talking about the government shutdown, and how it will affect Sacramento real estate and selling homes in Sacramento. In fact, yesterday a reporter from KFBK called to ask for my opinion. You might wonder why would a reporter call a Sacramento real estate agent for her thoughts? A lot of media reach out to me because I write about home buying for About.com and consistently blog. Besides, often it’s better to go directly to the trenches to find out what’s going on over calling talking heads whose main missions are to increase net profits for their companies.
I was a little bit hesitant to give the reporter my views because controversy sells, and one never knows how her words will be spun. Television and radio personalities don’t always look for the same angles as print journalists. But I didn’t get where I am today by standing in the shadows. Even though I joked that the reporter will undoubtedly find some other schmuck whose opinion will be completely opposite, painting me like a moron, what the hey.
Then a client emailed last night to ask if selling her home would be a problem if the government shutdown. We haven’t yet put it on the market but will most likely do so in the next week or so. I hate to say this, because it sounds like I might not care about others who are affected by the government shutdown while I do care, but my life as a Sacramento real estate agent will be pretty much the same as it ever was, thank you, David Bryne.
People are yakking about FHA loans, but it’s the mortgage loan officers employed by banks and independent lending companies who are pushing that paperwork through. If you left it up to the government to process loans, we’d have a nightmare on our hands. The main problem with loans will be the 4506T submissions, but some mortgage lenders are already working on ways to close with just the form in file; you know how creative lenders can be.
It is possible, though, that a government shutdown might affect the attitudes of home buyers, who can become timid with the slightest uptick in rates; however, I imagine a significant interest rate hit will have a bigger affect on a home buyer than a government shutdown. Cash investors don’t care either way, and cash investors are still huge supporters of the Sacramento real estate market.
Yup, same as it ever was.
Breaking Bad Sacramento Short Sales
As AMC’s ground-breaking television drama Breaking Bad has done for science, short sales have done for certain Sacramento real estate agents. Given some of us sudden respect. Short sales have made other agents want to jump on the same bandwagon, but you know, the key to success in anything is thinking things through; yet, to accomplish that directive, one needs a solid basis, a foundation to process those thoughts, and therein lies the reason as to why some agents in the real estate business tend to struggle.
I recall when Breaking Bad first came on the air some 5 years ago. My husband, who is somewhat nerdy and OK with that trait, pointed out the numbers on the elements used in the beginning of the show were incorrect. Now, that is not something I would know. I barely recall the Periodic Table from school. Science was not my strong suit — my passion was English. Back then, we had attended an About.com conference held at the New York Times which, at the time, owned the company. I write the homebuying website for About.com in my spare time, apart from selling real estate in Sacramento. Writers from all over the country attended this particular conference, and we were excited to meet a science writer with whom we could discuss Breaking Bad and the mistake in the elements.
Except this person had not watched the show. He seemed a bit embarrassed to talk about it. Lots of people have never watched this show, until Netflix made previous episodes available. Last night was the final episode of Breaking Bad. Part II of Part 1 of the end. I stayed up past my bedtime to watch it, too. We usually record the show and watch it at a time that is more convenient for us, like before my bedtime. But sure enough, if we did that, somewhere along the line we would read about the finale. So, after much discussion, we concluded it was necessary to stay up and watch it.
In case you haven’t seen it, I’m not gonna spoil the ending for you. Except to say . . .
Hey, are you interested in another short sale near Elk Grove? I have a new listing coming on the market this morning. It’s a 4- to 5-bedroom, with 3 baths and a pool. List price is $279,000. The sellers are properly positioned for smooth short sale negotiation, and I anticipate a closing before the end of the year. Call your Sacramento real estate agent, Elizabeth Weintraub, at 916 233 6759.
Do You Need to Call a Sacramento Real Estate Agent?
A Sacramento real estate agent who works on commission most likely will always find a way to accommodate the time schedule of a potential client. Once you become a client, though, all bets are off. Just joking! The point I’m trying to get to is that real estate agents tend to work many hours of the day and just about all days of the week, if the job requires it. This is not so with other people who work in Sacramento real estate such as title officers, short sale bank negotiators, escrow officers — salaried employees.
I realize that some clients feel uncomfortable calling a Sacramento real estate agent in the middle of the night, but it’s really OK to call and leave a message. Trust me, I am smart enough to turn off my cellphone at night, so a voice mail or an email will not wake me up. A seller from San Jose called a few weeks ago and asked if it was OK to call on a Sunday, adding his wife had suggested he wait until 10 AM. I love his wife. But if he had called at 8 AM and I answered my phone, who would be to blame for that? Is it his fault for calling or would it my fault for picking up the call?
If my cellphone is turned on, I am in business. I try to always answer my phone. I can tell the people who are anxious because they will call back again and again, hoping I will hang up and stop talking to the person who is occupying my time. I know who they are because I have Caller ID, not to mention, my Jawbone talks in my ear and tells me who is calling.
I’ve heard that some agents are irritated if they are working late at night and call another agent, but that other agent is not working and doesn’t answer the phone. An agent can’t be and should not be on call 24 / 7. Nothing is so incredibly urgent at 9 PM that it can’t wait until morning. I’d like to tell those agents that the world doesn’t revolve around them, but they’re probably too busy staring in the mirror and plucking nose hairs.
If you need to talk to a Sacramento real estate agent, give Elizabeth Weintraub a ring. I love to chat with clients. My cell is 916 233 6759. I answer my phone. I respond to text, too.
September’s Closed Homes in Sacramento
Sitting in front of my manicurist yesterday, she asked how many homes in Sacramento I have sold this week. Sold is such a misunderstood term. To some people, sold means going into contract, which is coming to an agreement on price and terms between a buyer and a seller, subject to certain conditions and contingencies. But that’s not really a sold status, that’s a “maybe” status, it means the sale is pending. The likelihood is it will close, but there are also ways that it could do what we Sacramento real estate agents call “fall out of escrow.”
If a home falls out of escrow, it’s not like tumbling out of bed or falling down the stairs. It’s more like cartoon characters blown up by TNT.
To me, sold is when a home sale closes. This means the documents are recorded at the Sacramento County Recorder’s Office, title is formally transferred. Deeds do not require recordation to be considered delivered and title transferred to a buyer, but title insurance companies require recordation to issue a title insurance policy. Technically, recording a deed means the public has been given constructive notice that title has changed from the grantor to the grantee. There is a new buyer.
I have a pile of those folders of closed homes in Sacramento on my desk right now, awaiting disposition. The electronic files are easy to file but the hard-copy folders containing paper documents, paper is such a dinosaur, need to be filed into a cardboard box and stored. I had to redesign and configure an entire wall in my garage with shelving units to hold the storage of these boxes.
My manicurist was astonished when I told her I do not know how many homes in Sacramento I have sold this week. I don’t sit here and count them. In fact, if I ever have to count the number, I’m in trouble. My focus is not on how many homes I have closed. My focus is on keeping the escrows I have pending moving along smoothly and putting more homes into contract.
I mentioned to her that my husband is leaving shortly for a Boy’s Week vacation. This woman knows me pretty well as she’s been my manicurist for almost 10 years. She asked who will cook for me? That’s a good question. She suggested I consider take-out. But that would involve thinking about what I want to eat, finding a restaurant, calling and placing an order, getting in my car and driving to get it. It’s much easier to just throw a hot dog in the microwave.
I ask you, is there anything more pathetic than a microwaved wiener? It splits, gets grease all over and shrivels. It’s not the same thing as a grilled hot dog. Plus, it’s sizzling hot, having been cooked from the inside out. However, I am saved from this grueling tragedy because my husband is precooking meals for me. He knows where I prefer to keep my focus, and that’s on selling homes in Sacramento.
