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Elizabeth Weintraub
A Solution to the War Between Two Short Sale Banks
You’ve got life easy if you’ve never had to talk to short sale banks. Be thankful for that. Man, I used to see myself as a person with little patience. That’s one of the reasons why I tried back in my 20’s to learn how to sew. I was under the impression that sewing a dress would teach me patience. You know, you’ve got to trace the pattern on the cloth, carefully cut it out and figure out how to attach the pieces without sewing them inside out or upside down.
My dress ended up in the trash can. It wasn’t disappointing to me. It was satisfaction.
However, over the years, I seem to have acquired patience. I have no idea where it came from. One day it wasn’t there and the next it was. I toyed with the thought that it’s possible aliens have taken over my mind or maybe the 1960s had some sort of long-lasting effects like those flashbacks that never materialized. Hard to say, but patience is absolutely required if a Sacramento real estate agent needs to negotiate a short sale.
The latest irritation that popped up this year, part of the aftermath from passing the Homeowner Bill of Rights, is when the first lender and the second lender refuse to see eye-to-eye about issuing short sale approval. I’m not issuing approval first, says the first lender, arms folded, you issue it. So, we try to reason with the second lender. I’m not issuing approval first, says the second lender, let the first lender go first. What reminds me of being back in grade school has been going on all year long. It’s enough to make an agent with less patience smack ’em.
I understand the reasoning. If the second issues approval, it shows the hand of how much it will accept from the first. Some second lenders would rather let the first make an offer of compensation. On the other hand, if the first issues approval, not only does it set the stage for compensation to the second, because it does not want to revise the approval, but it is also obligated to stop all foreclosure action. Yeah, that’s the real reason. Now the first can’t move forward with foreclosure, especially if it can’t come to an agreement on compensation to the second.
Short sale approval is the only part of the Homeowner Bill of Rights that protects a seller in the event of a short sale. Applying for a short sale offers zero protection, none. Protection is afforded only after the short sale approval.
One solution to get around this stalemate is to have one of the lenders issue approval for a short time period. The letter can contain a short expiration date, like 7 days to 10 days out. And, that’s exactly what happened in a West Sacramento short sale today.
There are always ways around a problem. If you’re looking for a patient Sacramento real estate agent who finds solutions, call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916 233 6759.
Review of the Happy Together Tour at the Crest
What was it Flo and Eddy said last night at the Happy Together Tour at the Crest? Oh, yeah, drugs, man. How everybody in the audience can identify with the pot and the LDS trips, and now we’re all into: the Lipitor and Pepcin and Ibuprofin and Viagra. And then there was Mark Lindsay (from Paul Revere and the Raiders) who rattled on about wishing for the 1960s night after night and year after year only to wake up one morning and realize he had found the ’60s all right — his own 60s. But ya gotta give it to a guy who has not an inch of fat on his face, be it natural or otherwise, and can kick his leg over his head or drop at the waist in a bow to tuck his head into his crotch. Yeah, like he was made out of cardboard and could fold in two.
Show off.
Pfffbbbt.
He also gave the greatest pitch for a CD I’ve ever heard in my life. It was about curing all of your ails and increasing your sexual performance in the bedroom. Go … Mark!
When Gary Lewis (of Gary Lewis and the Playboys) opened, he identified the years when each of his songs were popular. I got a huge kick out of This Diamond Ring, which came out in 1965, singing along and bouncing, when my husband elbowed me and whispered: TWO, I was TWO and still eating strained baby food! But I can forgive him for that comment because guess who will be wheeling me around in my wheelchair down the road?
The show was a rockin’ good time, though. Can’t say much about Gary Puckett and his Las Vegas act. I don’t know what it is I have against Las Vegas acts, I mean, old performers have to go somewhere, but he was a bit too Holiday Innish for me. The Three Dog Night dude was great and a bit closer, my husband admitted, to his era. I loved the Turtles’ songs by Flo and Eddy. I forgot how much fun they could be, but that’s what almost 40 years will do to you — skew your memory.
Going to the Happy Together Tour show at the Crest, however, meant I was still up two hours past my bedtime. Although, even when I was 21, I was never one of those people who could party all night and still get up for work. Hey, that doesn’t mean I didn’t go to work. It means I just didn’t party on a school night.
But today is Sunday, and I will mostly likely spend most of this day color correcting photographs, tweaking, resizing and selecting the best pictures to put into MLS when my listings hit tomorrow. Little is worse for a buyer than to stare at dark, horrid photos in MLS. When home buyers spot photos like that, they have a license to flip right past the listing, and I’d be mortified if they ever did that to my listing.
That’s why I use a big ol’ honkin’ Nikon digital camera with an expensive 18 / 24 wide-angle lens and still spend hours fixing my photographs. As a Sacramento real estate agent, my clients can rely on my photographs to get a buyer into the house. You can bet my professional ability on it. Right after I take an after-breakfast nap.
July 4th Weekend is Blazing Hot for a Sacramento Real Estate Agent
Blame it on the weather. It’s been so hot in Sacramento this week — temps over 100 degrees — that people have reluctantly chosen to sit under a ceiling fan or inside an air-conditioned space, over venturing out into the city to do one’s usual activities. As such, perhaps the July 4th weekend of lying on the sofa, wiping perspiration from one’s brow and contemplating the ceiling is what has generated such an influx of calls to Sacramento real estate agents.
It’s as though the thought might have suddenly dawned on potential sellers that hey, we have a home to sell and, it’s not on the market or, it’s on the market and it’s not selling, time to find a new agent. Because I don’t know what else could have stirred up this sudden and intense listing activity.
Ordinarily, right around the July 4th weekend, business slows down. People go out of town. They visit with relatives — stuff their faces with potato salad and hot dogs — or they go shopping, whatever, they’re not calling real estate agents. But this 4th of July has been anything but quiet. Heck, usually I go out of town for the 4th of July but since I celebrated my 61st birthday in Sausalito last weekend, I figured I can’t be gone two weekends in a row. My phone didn’t ring much last weekend, and even my email was relatively quiet, given the 300 or so emails I receive every day. Email is the bane of my existence but, as a Sacramento real estate agent, it’s necessary.
I can handle the extra business, though. Last year, there were times my inventory consisted of 70+ homes. I had to buy a whole bunch of extra lockboxes. That influx of business caused me to be even more organized and to develop more systems to efficiently manage my operations.
People often think that selling real estate is all about sales. To be really successful, one must think like a small business owner; and it’s a different mindset that is combined with a strong sales ability. I’ve got 3 wonderful agents who support me as my team members, and their livelihood is in my business plan as well. Together, we operate like a well-oiled machine. Focus.
Which allows for the occasional hiccup flow of unexpected business. I don’t want any client to wonder if I’m too busy for them because I will make the time; I treat every client like they are the only client I have. You know why? Because if I don’t, someday they could be the only client I have, and that would be a sorry state of affairs for this Sacramento real estate agent.
Look for a bunch of new listings from this real estate agent on Monday. If you need to buy a home in the four-county area of Sacramento and are having a tough time, call Elizabeth Weintraub, at 916 233 6759. We’ll put you into a home.
Is a Sacramento REALTOR a Necessary Evil?
Be honest, is a Sacramento REALTOR a necessary evil or a good thing? I guess how a real estate agent is treated by a potential client is pretty good evidence of what that client thinks about real estate agents and REALTORs in general. There are sellers in Sacramento, for example, who clearly exhibit that they think REALTORs are worthless pieces of crap but a necessary path to selling a home. The troubling part is there are agents in Sacramento, on top of REALTORs, who will accept any kind of abuse to get a listing, that these kinds of people can continue to get away with rude behavior.
Maybe it’s this wild and wooly seller’s market in Sacramento that brings some of these people into the marketplace. I seem to be receiving an unusual number of phone calls from potential clients who appear to be as obnoxious as the day is long.
Where does a Sacramento REALTOR draw the line? First, I say give the potential client a benefit of a doubt. Maybe the potential client has had a bad experience in the past, which is not all that unusual, unfortunately, in real estate. Just like with any profession, you’ve got your good agents and your not-so-good. Second, I like to have several discussions with a potential client before accepting a listing.
If I notice a client talks over me, doesn’t listen to my advice nor seem to care about what I have to provide, quite frankly, I’m not interested in his or her business — because that person has exhibited a disregard for my services. That kind of attitude can lead to trouble and frustration down the road, a place I prefer not to stroll. I don’t engage in one-sided conversations just to pad my bank account.
I know there are agents who don’t care. I could not imagine being one of those agents. Their attitude seems to be that it’s OK to laugh all the way to the bank. If I had to be that kind of agent to survive, I’d quit the business. And that’s not to say there is anything wrong with those agents because there isn’t. In some ways, I admire their tenacity and ability to turn off. Somebody has to work the dredge, otherwise they’d all turn into FSBOs. I’m just glad it’s not me.
It’s a two-way street for this REALTOR. I value your business just as much as you value the experience and professionalism you are hiring. If you honestly believe all REALTORs are identical and it’s your right to exhibit little respect, I’m not your REALTOR.
I believed that principle when I sold $3 million a year, and I still believe it when I’m selling $30 million. My self respect is not for sale. Furthermore, that loss of business is not my loss.
However, if you want to hire a Sacramento REALTOR who has integrity, experience and a passion for helping people, you can bet your bottom dollar that I will treat you like the precious client you are and perform above your expectations. And that’s how I get the great client reviews I regularly receive. By carefully choosing my clients.
Please feel free to call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916 233 6759; I always answer my phone.
Today’s Risk in a Sacramento Short Sale
This fact seemed to come as a shock to a buyer’s agent the other day, but home buyers who are buying a short sale in Sacramento and waiting for short sale approval don’t get Brownie points for acting like a buyer. Buuuut my buyer waited, and he put his money in escrow, and that should count for something, the agent lamented. The agent was upset because the bank updated its BPO and now wanted more money. Sorry, behaving like a home buyer doesn’t earn anybody special favors.
Besides, that’s the risk of a short sale. With rising homes prices in Sacramento this spring, it’s even more of a risk as we move into summer. There is no guarantee that the price a buyer enters escrow with will be the same price a buyer will close escrow at. In fact, with the way some agents price short sales in Sacramento, there is no guarantee that the bank will even take that price. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, short sales ought to be priced in line with the comparable sales or where the comparable sales will rise, not below the comps.
I had explained to the agent when we received the counter offer that there are no renegotiations with this particular investor. There rarely is negotiation because the banks write the rules; and I’ve sold hundreds of short sales over the past 9 years — I’ve learned a thing or two from my closed short sales. It eats up more time to run around in circles with the bank, escalate the price issues and then be informed that the price is firm, like it was in the first place, than it does to replace the buyer. I’ve been working on this particular short sale for 9 months as buyer after buyer bailed as we watched BPOs bounce around. The buyer’s agent, however, still expected negotiations and didn’t appreciate the fact when I pointed out my advice seemed to have landed on deaf ears.
Sometimes I feel like I’m talking to a wall when I warn: no renegotiations. I’ve been to hell and back with this investor. It’s best to just give the investor what that particular investor demands and then close the deal. If that means issuing a Notice to the Buyer to Perform to sign an addendum increasing the price, then that’s what we do because we work for the seller. We treat all parties fairly, but my loyalty, as long as it’s not dual agency, lies with the seller.
If the buyer refuses to meet the investor’s demands, then the seller will find a buyer who will. Because those buyers are there.
I’ll tell you this, if you’re in a short sale situation right now as a buyer, thank your lucky stars if you get approval at the price you offered. I just closed another Elk Grove short sale this week that had dragged on since last fall. It was priced way below today’s prices. The bank did not increase the price. This lucky buyer was buying a home in Elk Grove at September 2012 prices. Which means when the vacant home was vandalized, and the buyer demanded a reduction, we chuckled. Hey, go out and see what you can buy at this price today. Nothing? Right! Now, let’s get this closed and stop whining about it.
