Email Elizabeth
Elizabeth Weintraub
Turning a Rejected Offer into an Accepted Purchase Offer
The thing with being unequivocally direct with people is they might think you have *Asperger Syndrome when you don’t. I suspect many successful Sacramento real estate agents display a bit of those symptoms, so it might not be as unusual as one may suspect. Symptoms such as extreme focus on the job at hand, set rituals and methods of doing things, on top of leaving people to sort out the fact that you just hit them between the eyes with the direct truth, can leave others somewhat puzzled. Not everybody appreciates candor.
Sometimes, I use candor in a playful manner, just to joke around with people, but fortunately I’ve got enough social skills to figure out it’s not always appreciated. Is it funny if you make a joke and the other person doesn’t get it? Does a tree fall in the forest? But I generally don’t blurt out NO, for example, to another real estate agent without offering a solution or alternative.
I’m of the mindset that NO doesn’t always mean NO, except in certain circumstances and we all know what those are: such as NO I will not listen to Neil Diamond sing Cherry, Cherry one more time! When a seller tells me NO, the seller does not want to accept an offer, what the seller is saying is YES, the seller would like to sell the home but the purchase offer that is set before her is unacceptable and needs to be altered. It needs to be presented in a different manner.
Yet, so often buyer’s agents will take that NO answer and wander off defeated. What some of them fail to appreciate is they are working with a buyer who wants to buy that home. And guess what? I am working with a seller who wants to sell that home. You would think, wouldn’t you, that between two real estate agents we could figure out how to bring together both parties and put that purchase offer into escrow? Isn’t that what a real estate agent is supposed to do?
Despite what some real estate books might say, we are not mere messengers here to carry out the wishes of our clients. Sellers who prefer to hire an agent who will work in that manner might want to enlist the services of a discount agent, an agent who will plop the listing into MLS and let the seller do the rest. When a seller lists a home with me, I presume the seller wants to close escrow on terms agreeable to the seller. It’s my job, as a full-service Sacramento real estate agent, to make it happen.
*Note: If you want to watch an interesting new crime show on FX about a police detective in El Paso who happens to perform at a high level with Asperger Syndrome, check out The Bridge.
The Short Sale Market in Sacramento
April 2012 to June 2013 Sacramento Short Sales
At the beginning of spring, I wrote about how Sacramento short sales are slowing down and how the short sale market in Sacramento was pretty much over. I received some push-back on that statement, primarily from companies wanting to sell more short sale training programs and webinars to real estate agents. No, no, short sales are not over, they cried. Because they didn’t want it to be over.
After 8 years of the short sale business in Sacramento, some people are just waking up to the fact that it’s lucrative. Like with most things of this nature, once you figure it out, it’s gone. You’ve gotta be there when it’s happening.
It’s taken the federal government many years as well to straighten out its HAFA program. Just last month, the federal government extended the HAFA program to December of 2015, allowing closings to string out into September of 2016. The government has also decided in its June HAFA supplemental to remove the requirement of income / asset verification by the lender. When they do that, you know they’re scraping the bottom of the barrel to try to make sure every last short sale can squeak in. There will always be stragglers. But the big push for short sales is over.
You can see on the chart on this page that short sales have declined steadily since last year. In fact, when compared to the overall market in Sacramento, short sales make up about 10% of all homes for sale in June. Some of the short sales that are in MLS as a short sale are also not a short sale because some of those sellers don’t qualify. The sellers don’t qualify because they listed the home with an agent who doesn’t know how to qualify them.
I noticed the switch in my business this spring. As a Sacramento real estate agent, I list homes all over Sacramento. Much of my inventory is now traditional sales. When the top Sacramento short sale agent in Sacramento tells you that short sales are so Barry Manilow, you should believe it.
Chart: Trendgraphix
Striking Difference Between a Sphynx Cat and a Flamepoint Ragdoll
My niece Laura just adopted a Sphynx cat. Yes, this one to the left. If you’re unfamiliar with these little critters, these are hairless cats. Sort of like petting a rat, but wait, rats have hair. OK, maybe I have no idea what it’s like to pet a Sphynx cat because I have never petted such a cat. This particular Sphynx cat lives in Minneapolis. I wonder if he needs a little coat in the winter, although I doubt this cat would wear a coat. Or, if he would wear a coat, he would probably have some sort of objection to the color. Ew, you expect me to parade around the house in black wool? I spit on it.?
You really can’t compare my niece’s critter, the Sphynx cat, to Jackson, my Flamepoint Ragdoll, who has so much hair he could sell it online as a pillow stuffer. It’s fine hair, too. Sticks in everything. Which is why I have had to cover many surfaces in my home to avoid sitting down in a pile of cat hair. Our other two, Ocicats, Pia and Pica, shed hair but not as much as Jackson. When they squabble, the Ocicats come away with such a mouthful of white hair we call them Santa Pica and Santa Pia. I also do not wear black or navy suits around my house, so it’s good thing I’m a Sacramento real estate agent and can get away with wearing whatever I want.
We adapt our living arrangements to suit the fancy of our pets. I don’t go as far as a client did and fill the living room with cat trees to resemble a forest, but I do make my home pet friendly for pets. The next person who buys my home will probably appreciate these features. Like our pet-friendly windows.
There is a building code restriction in Sacramento that says your windows must be located above a certain height from the raised foundation, I think it’s 18 inches. Also, windows that are located within a certain distance to doors are supposed to have shatterproof glass in them. You learn about these things when you consider replacing your old aluminum crank-out windows with dual pane. We installed many low-to-the-floor windows, which open, and our screen doors are full view. The cats adore it. They don’t necessarily want to go outside but they love being close to it.
All cats are different but they’re the same in many ways, just like us. The difference between my niece and me is she doesn’t need a Dyson animal vacuum cleaner.
Photos: Laura Burgard and Elizabeth Weintraub
Biking to the Sacramento River Solves Real Estate Conflict
A few of the good things about working from a home office as a Sacramento real estate agent are you can type naked at your desk, and you can also put on pants and a shirt and go biking to the Sacramento River anytime you want. Can’t operate that way in a downtown business environment.
Because I work from my home office in Land Park, I am fairly close to the Sacramento River and even Old Sacramento, not to mention the paths through William Land Park, all of which are wonderful places to go riding a bike. I talked to a young sales guy who is soon off to college at Santa Cruz and works at the Curtis Park bike shop on 21st Street. He told me that he’s been hit already at his young age by a moving vehicle 4 times. I’m thinking I might prefer park trails and levees along the river than riding in traffic or any place without a bike lane.
Getting hit by cars is a concern in Sacramento and probably anywhere else drivers don’t pay attention. I always pull way over when driving, into the other lane if I can, when I spot a bicyclist. You don’t know how well that person can ride a bike. That person might be somebody like me who sometimes wobbles the front wheel. You should stay clear of a person on a bike while driving a car.
During our bike ride yesterday — my husband took his bike over to the Curtis Park bike shop to get it turned up — we stopped near Scott’s Seafood on Riverside. The photo above is of the Sacramento River at that spot. I shot it with my cellphone. There is a picnic table there where you can sit and stare out at the river.
Then, if you’re like me, you pedal back home to Land Park and deal with the guy who now wants to renegotiate the sales price after the home inspection. With a clear head and a strong focus on the seller. There is always conflict in real estate transactions. It’s how an agent deals with that conflict that makes the difference. A little exercise and fresh air and help. We’re back on track, contingencies removed in exchange for a small concession and all is good.
If you want to sell your home in the Sacramento area, feel free to call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916 233 6759. I answer my phone, even if I am biking to the Sacramento River.
Every Picture Tells a Story About a Carmichael Pool Home
Every picture tells a story, don’t it? Now, you may remember this Rod Stewart song as an innocent, fun-loving, rollicking good time, but you should read those lyrics. I’m telling ya. In today’s eyes, the lyrics are a little racist and rally around not taking birth control. Ack. Ah, what 42 years can do to the way we look at things. But looking at things, especially looking at Sacramento real estate and homes online in Sacramento, is my topic for today.
The photo on top of this page is a lead picture that I am using for a pool home in Carmichael. I thought long and hard about which lead photo to use online. You really don’t want to get too jarring or upset the apple cart by using unusual online photographs or a buyer might wonder what is wrong with the house. Why is this house not presented like all of the other houses, with a photograph of the front yard, the big cement driveway and the burned-up lawn that says, hey, this is Sacramento! You deviate too much, and you’ll lose your audience or generate suspicion.
As a Sacramento real estate agent, I want to arouse curiosity and instill an urgent need to view my listings, including this beautiful Carmichael Pool home. While I shot photographs of this pool home from many different angles, it was very difficult to get a photo that actually spoke to why a buyer would purchase this home, much less click on the listing upon presentation. Some ranch-style exteriors don’t really say much about the home. Moreover, a photo at 1000 pixels might look like mush when downsized to 300 pixels.
The thing that makes this particular Carmichael pool home so spectacular is the back yard. Of course, the interior is very nicely done. It’s impeccable. I couldn’t find a dent or a crack or smudge in the walls or ceilings. In fact, there is almost virgin hardwood floors under much of the carpeting.
But let’s face it, one of the reasons we love living in Sacramento is because of our weather. We want to be outdoors. If we are buying a Carmichael Pool home, we want to be in that swimming pool. This home has grapevines dangling from a trellis that runs the length of the back of the home, and they frame the pool through the big picture windows in the formal living room and family room.
My intention is to grab my viewers by the hand and gently lead them through the home, showing all of the home’s beautiful features while explaining benefits, and much of that can be accomplished in the photography. This is why I shoot my own photographs. I know what I want my photos to convey. When you hire me, you’re not just getting a veteran top producing agent, you’re hiring my photography skills, too.
If you’re looking for a Sacramento real estate agent to sell your home, call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916 233 6759. Check out 4767 Crestview Drive, Carmichael, CA 95608, offered by Elizabeth Weintraub at Lyon Real Estate, $289,000. Held open July 20th and 21st, Saturday and Sunday, from 2 PM to 4 PM.
