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Elizabeth Weintraub
Trip to Alaska Inside Passage and Anchorage
Coming back to Sacramento from vacation has always been relatively easy except for this last trip, the exploration of the Inside Passage of Alaska. I sit in my home Land Park office with the door open and hear the traffic from I-5 way off in the distance, and I think: it’s not the same thing. It’s not waves lapping the shore. Water is the driving force in the Inside Passage, it’s everywhere — the be-all and end-all of existence. It’s not the thunder of glacier calving. It’s not ravens’ chipper discussions of disagreement, there are no Tlinget drums a-thumping or dancers singing; it’s just those horrid skunks runningamuck in Land Park.
Still. It’s good to be home.
Every trip away changes a person, but the trip to Alaska was more life changing than I expected. It’s not like I want to pack up and move to Alaska — remember, I grew up in Minnesota; not that different temperature-wise — but the frontier, the wild frontier, it really is wild, did I mention the wild frontier?
It’s no secret that I don’t really like most people. So, Elizabeth, a person might say, how did you end up in real estate for so many decades if you don’t like people? That would be a fair question. There is no answer to that question. I guess I’ve been fairly fortunate that the people I work with are actually pretty darned nice people! Or maybe it’s just the nice people who choose me to represent them? I dunno. I’m not complaining.
But I do know that I brought way too much stuff on the trip to Alaska. Being gone for about 2 weeks, I wore 3 pairs of pants, but I packed 10 pair. My jeans, hahahahaha, I could not fit into them after the first day. Memo-to-self, on subsequent trips, bring fewer articles of clothing because one can always buy what one does not carry, and if one can’t buy it, one can do without or wear it again.
If you do intend to take a cruise through the Inside Passage of Alaska and have been holding off because you dislike those large cruise ships, you can’t go wrong with the Alaskan Dream out of Sitka. The worst thing is the meals are so fabulous that even if you skip dessert, you’re likely to gain a pound or three.
My favorite present from our trip is a gift from Tracy, the editor of Alaska Magazine. It’s a pair of socks with a bird and an Alaskan flower. I would not have bought them for myself, but now I don’t have to wish I did because Tracy did. It was such a kind gesture. Tracy met us for dinner in Anchorage at the Crow’s Nest at the top of Captain Cook Hotel. I have one thing to say about Captain Cook Hotel. Shame on you for no breakfast room service. And you call yourself a hotel!
But the view is spectacular from the Crow’s Nest. The poor waitress was a suddenly former hostess who had to fill in because they were short of a couple of waitresses that night. You’ve got to wonder about that. Where do they find people to staff these positions?
Like the poor people at the Anchorage Visitor’s Center. Couple of women susss-susshing about stuff, talking to people, when we approach. One of the staff members mumbles something to the other: “Wow, that woman was disgruntled.” I guess she complained about the weather in Anchorage. The weather in Anchorage sucks, it’s what it is, get over it. I sauntered up next to the counter and blurted: “Disgruntled people should be bopped in the head.”
Oh, my, that set off a flurry of apologies. They are Ambassadors for Anchorage. So sorry for talking about others in our presence.
I speak my mind, though. No apologies. When we were in Seward, I chatted with an employee over the counter when finishing a transaction to purchase a moose wind chime at the Sealife Museum. She shared that she moved from Michigan to Seward because the time seemed to be right for the move — boyfriend, mother, relatives, stuff — and she dove into all sorts of personal reasons why the time was now for the move.
I could say only that:
Now is Always the Time.
She verbally appreciated. Reflected upon. Several levels. I hope you do, too.
Disclosing Material Facts to a Sacramento Home Buyer
Buyers don’t care what you tell them as long as you tell them. That’s my opening statement when I hand home sellers a package of disclosures to complete. It’s the things you don’t tell a buyer that can come back to haunt you, not what you do say. If you don’t believe me, I suggest you Google: Snake Infested House in Idaho.
You take a neighborhood where I live and work as a Sacramento real estate agent like Land Park. Because I live in Land Park, I have intimate knowledge about the neighborhood, which agents who live outside of Land Park probably don’t know. If they don’t know, they can’t disclose those facts to a buyer. Although, it could probably be argued that they should know or should at least have asked questions of the seller.
On the front end of my marketing, I sell the delights of living in Land Park — the friendly neighbors, tree-canopied streets, fabulous restaurants, bike trails and our special attractions such as William Land Park, the Sacramento Zoo, Fairy Tale Town, the WPA Rock Garden, and Vic’s Ice Cream.
But there is also a downside — as there is with any neighborhood, I don’t care where you live. For example, I know which areas in Land Park routinely flood during a hard rain. I know where the feral cats, skunks, opossums and raccoons roam. Which streets get foot traffic and the origination of that traffic. When noise factors such as trains or freeways can be present. Parking ordinances. Which trees are protected. Selling homes in Land Park means more than what we used to call selling real estate in the old days: selling carpets and drapes. That used to be the definition of residential real estate sales in the 1970s. Except nowadays it’s more like selling hardwood flooring and plantation shutters.
The thing is after escrow closes, odds are something in that buyer’s new home will probably malfunction. And the minute it does, the buyer is likely to immediately jump to the conclusion that the seller knew about it and purposely withheld that information or concealed that defect. It’s human nature. We’re a suspicious bunch of people.
So, how do you bump up the odds that you won’t get sued after escrow closes? You hire an agent who can explain the inherent problems with some types of seller disclosures and can give you the right documents. You find a Land Park agent who knows the nuances of your neighborhood. I tell my sellers to disclose all material facts. If I know a material fact, I disclose it. I go into great detail about what a material fact is and why it’s important. I help sellers to recollect and disclose. We talk about the Transfer Disclosure Statement.
The other day a seller objected to a point I made in a disclosure. She wanted me to remove a sentence about the possibility that a neighbor’s dog might bark. No can do. The tenant told me the dog next door barked. I don’t know if the dog barks. The dog wasn’t barking in my presence. I noted that I did not hear the dog barking but the tenant said the dog barks. This disclosure doesn’t appear in my marketing materials. It appears on the agent visual inspection, on which I obtain the buyer’s signature, along with a pile of other documents after offer acceptance. I’m always thinking one step ahead of ways to protect my sellers yet conform to the law. That’s my job, and I take my job seriously.
The point is it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. I don’t want my sellers ever ending up in court. Not if I can help it. And I can. If you’re looking for an agent in Sacramento to help you to buy or sell a home, call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916 233.6759.
While Elizabeth is on vacation, we are revisiting some of her favorite blogs.
The Seller Always Has the Final Word
Are listing agents prone to sabotaging their own real estate transactions? It’s easy to do. I almost did it. And I certainly know better. I almost forgot the seller always has the final word. Nobody is infallible in this business, you know. I’ve been in real estate in some form or another since the 1970s. Yet, I almost put my big, fat foot directly into my mouth last month and am sharing this story in hopes of preventing this mishap from happening to somebody else.
First, let me say that this listing was not a short sale.
In this particular transaction, the home was owned by the seller free and clear, meaning there was no loan involved. It had been in his family for decades, and the seller was the executor of the trust. There were 5 or 6 other relatives involved. The seller confided in me that he was tired of being responsible for the home and wanted to sell it as quickly as possible. We priced it at market value.
Shortly after the listing hit the market, an agent called me. Said he was interested in acquiring the property for his own portfolio. He also asked if I would represent him, and he shared with me how much he wanted to pay. When I heard his suggested lowball price, I immediately said, “Ah, I don’t think so. The seller will never take that.” I regretted those words 5 minutes later. What the? Why did I say that, I wondered? That was pretty stupid. It was stupid, and it was presumptuous. If the seller were French he’d slap my face twice with a glove. I know the seller always has the final word. What I think of the offer has no bearing on anything.
The fact is I do not know what the seller will do. I never know what anybody will do. Even if they tell me what they will do — swear up and down what they will do — I still don’t know what they will do because I am not them. My fiduciary responsibility is to look out for their best interests, not to dictate the terms of those interests. The seller always has the final word.
I sent the seller an email and told him about the verbal offer. “You can say yay or nay,” I offered. I did not say anything else. I didn’t push him to take the offer, issue a counter offer or to reject the offer. This was his decision. His family’s home, his decision. I simply stepped back.
We’re closing today.
While Elizabeth is on vacation, we are revisiting some of her favorite blogs.
How Long Should Sellers Wait To Sign a Purchase Offer?
Like Christopher Guest’s Waiting for Guffman, I find humor in some situations that others don’t find amusing at all. One of my favorites is when sellers feel offended because they are asked to make a decision to sell within a specified time period. Some sellers think that when they receive a purchase offer, they should be able to table it, to wait a few weeks or so before responding. Where do they get this?
Knowing that home sellers can be like this, when I write an offer for a Sacramento home buyer, I generally give the sellers ample time to respond. I don’t want them to feel pressured or rushed. Back in the old days, like in the 1970s, I used to write my purchase offers to expire “upon presentation.” But sellers are more finicky these days.
Imagine how a guy feels when he asks his girlfriend to marry him and she says, “Let me think about it.” If I were a guy, I’d be crushed. Of course, if I were a guy, I wouldn’t ask my girlfriend to marry me unless I knew she would agree. The secret to winning a bet is to make sure you’re right in the first place. Eliminate the odds.
Like the time I was lying on the beach in Orange County with one of my ex-husbands and a plane flew overhead. I said, “Hey, there goes a 737.” He disagreed. He said it was 747. We argued — see, there’s a reason he is one of my ex-husbands. Finally, we made a bet. If he was wrong, he had to bathe my cat, Ashli. That was my terms, and I don’t remember his because I won the bet.
But it’s kind of silly to wait more than a few hours before responding to an offer. If a seller doesn’t like the terms of the offer, then make a counter offer. Do something. Don’t just sit on it. An offer is not just a piece of paper. It represents buyers who are in agony.
While Elizabeth is on vacation, we are revisiting her favorite blogs from previous years.
The Press Say If Your Mother Says She Loves You, Check It Out
Don’t deviate from the plan. That’s my motto. Because I’ve learned that 9 times out of 10, if I make an exception to the way I do business, it comes back to bite me. In other words, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Once you’ve got a system that works, stick to it. Don’t back down. Ever. The day you do, you’re screwed.
But I know that you won’t listen to me because sometimes I don’t even listen to me. I’ve been known to break my own rules. But at least I know better . . .
In the fall of 1998, it was cold in Chicago. I grabbed my then-boyfriend’s hand, pulled my fox fur collar closer to my neck and we scurried along Michigan Avenue. The wind was blowing in over the lake. Brrrr. You might think that Chicago is called the Windy City because it’s windy, but that’s not the case; Chicagoans say it’s named the Windy City for its windy blow-hard politicians. We had flown in from Minneapolis and were headed for that famous building with a sculpture of a rabbit drummer in front — I believe, if memory serves, it was the John Hancock Center.
My husband was and still is a journalist. He just doesn’t work for anybody now. Like many journalists who hailed from Chicago, he cut his teeth by working at the City News Bureau. It has a fond place in his heart. Rough, rowdy and real. In 1998, the City News Bureau was closing after more than 100 years of service, and we were going to the top of the John Hancock building to attend a farewell party. It was bittersweet for many alumni in attendance. The slogan that every beat reporter knows and repeats from the City News Bureau is: “If Your Mother Says She Loves You, Check it Out.”
I latched on to that phrase because I know it is true. It’s good to be skeptical. Like Dr. Gregory House says, “Everybody lies.” It’s even more important to be skeptical as a Sacramento short sale agent — or any kind of Sacramento real estate agent, for that matter.
I received a very attractive offer last week from a buyer’s agent on one of my Sacramento short sale listings. Everything about the offer screamed take it. It was well written. Healthy earnest money deposit. The buyer’s agent and the buyer promised to wait for short sale approval. It was above the asking price. However, the buyer’s preapproval letter did not match the loan amount. It was for less.
When your mother says she loves you, check it out. We wrote a counter offer asking for an updated approval letter that reflected the loan amount. No, problem, the agent scoffed. The buyers are fully qualified. I was tempted to let it go but I didn’t. Don’t deviate from the plan. Guess what? The buyers did not qualify for the higher amount. No joke. Especially in a short sale, you do NOT want to find out the buyer is unqualified upon short sale approval.
While Elizabeth is on vacation, we are revisiting her favorite blogs from previous years.
