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Elizabeth Weintraub
This Elk Grove Agent Sold a Home $40K Over Comparable Sales
Rumor has it that this seller’s market in Sacramento started this spring, but from my perspective, it began last fall with the September market. We have two very strong markets in Sacramento: Spring and Fall. If you can’t make the spring market, sometimes it is better to wait until fall. Although, in this seller’s market, anytime seems to be a good time to go on the market because all the guidelines and rules and everything you know about real estate have been tossed out the window.
For example, we have been taught since day one to examine the comparable sales when pricing a home. But the comparable sales mean jack squat today, which is why appraisers are having such a tough time trying to appraise. Sales from 3 months ago are not relevant to the market today. It’s the pending sales and the active sales that are predicting which way the wind is gonna blow in this marketplace. That, and a little bit of fairy dust mixed in.
When a seller called me last winter to list her home in Elk Grove, she was concerned that it might not sell right away because it was so close to Christmas. She didn’t live in the home, so it wasn’t upsetting HER Christmas, so it made perfect sense to put it on the market. I looked at the comparable sales and with my then-innocent eyes said: “Oh, look, they substantiate a price of $240,000. Tops. The market movement will let us stick $20K on top and we should do it to see what happens!” The seller liked that strategy. $20K over the pendings was a little risky. We put her home on the market for $259,000.
I did my usual marketing. Promoting that home everywhere that is conceivable online. Shot impeccable photos. Networked the listing like crazy. Within a week, we received an offer that the seller accepted for $275,000! But a few days later, the buyers developed cold feet and canceled. Buyers are a little wobbily right now, I’m finding. This isn’t the first buyer to cancel on one of my sellers due to cold feet or due to writing multiple offers, which is unethical if not against the law.
You will hear agents say that the first offer is always the best. That’s another widely accepted real estate axiom that doesn’t necessarily apply to our present market. The following day, the day before Christmas, we received a second offer of $290,000. It involved financing. The buyers, upon hearing their offer was about to be accepted, changed it in haste to all-cash at $280,000. See what I mean about buyers being a bit unsteady? But $280,000 and all-cash was still better than the first financed offer of $275K.
This Elk Grove home closed in January at $280,000, all cash.
The seller told me when we closed that she was very happy she chose me as her Elk Grove Agent. Even though I don’t live in Elk Grove, I sell a lot of homes in Elk Grove, and I know the Elk Grove neighborhoods very well. Because I am a top producer in Elk Grove, I routinely pop up on those lists from outside referral companies. They look for agents who sell the most homes in any given area, so they have something of value to offer to their sellers.
Well, you can get something of value by calling me directly: Elizabeth Weintraub, 916 233 6759. You can trust that I’ll always give you the straight scoop and put your interests first.
Your Sacramento Home Might Be Worth More Than You Think
Talk about a home that might be worth more than you think. Although I sold a ton of short sales last year — more than 100 — I also sold a bunch of regular equity sales in Sacramento, too. This year, I am selling more equity sales, which is a good sign. It’s probably not so much that the homes are necessarily worth a lot more than they were last year as it is buyers are willing to pay more for them. You see, what a home is worth and what a buyer will pay are really two different things. A smart Sacramento real estate agent spots these opportunities and capitalizes on them.
Why, I just sold a home for $65,000 more than it would probably appraise for. This is just one example of a home that might be worth more than you think; I have plenty more. When I first talked to the sellers of this particular home, which we will leave unnamed, it was apparent they needed to do a short sale. I collected the usual paperwork, their tax returns, bank statements, payroll stubs and we worked on the hardship letter together. Tweaked it, refined it, cleaned it up a little bit until the hardship letter was perfect. They had the property management company send me the keys.
When they had initially called, they said they were undecided about either listing with me or perhaps listing with their property management company. Now, this property management had admitted it had little experience in real estate and none whatsoever in negotiating a short sale, but for some reason, perhaps loyalty, the sellers felt that they should consider listing with the property management company. I simply pointed out the error with that kind of thinking and showed them what life could be like if they listed with an experienced short sale agent. So, they chose me, and may I say they made a wise choice.
I figured the home was worth, maybe $130,000. I studied the comps within a 1/4 mile. The street was known as a busy street, so that suppressed the price a bit more as well. But when I got out to the house and looked at it, I could not believe that such a structure would be worth only $130,000. My gut said it didn’t seem right. I don’t care what the comps reflected; it wasn’t a true picture. We have a hot market, and a three bedroom, two bath, two story with all kinds of updates should not be selling for $130,000. Plus, the street was a lot quieter at that end of town. Why, an investor would pay a lot more than $130,000. In fact, an investor might pay, say, $195,000.
I looked at the payoff to the lender on the seller’s first mortgage. After paying all the costs of sale, including commission, plus late fees, several months of interest, the seller would net about $500. But it would mean no short sale. No ding on the credit from a short sale. The mortgage would be paid in full. I quickly called the seller and asked if they wanted to try it. I suspect they thought I was nuts, but they agreed and we listed the home at, say, $195,000.
It closed at $195,000. What a long shot that paid off.
This isn’t my only story like this in Sacramento. If you are wondering whether your home might be worth more than you think, and if you’d like to avoid a short sale, call me. Even if the sold comps don’t support your value, this Sacramento real estate agent might be able to sell it anyway without doing a short sale. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put almost 40 years of experience to work for you!
Sellers Who Refuse to Close a Sacramento Short Sale
Never thought I’d run across sellers who refuse to close. Sellers always want to know how long it will take for their short sale to close. From listing to closing, that average time period is 90 to 120 days. That’s because the average time for short sale approval is 60 to 90 days. Once the short sale approval letter is received, most banks give the parties another 30 days to close escrow. Every so often, a bank such as Bank of America might allow 45 days for closing, but 30 days to close escrow is about the norm.
This doesn’t mean that your particular escrow will close 30 days from short sale approval because your particular escrow closing period is defined by your Residential Purchase Agreement. Right on the first page, close to the top, there is a box that will probably be checked and the number “30” or “45” written into the space. That number could be “10” or “14.” The closing date is defined in paragraph 1 D. It can also be written into the blank line such as “10 days after bank approval.” But whatever date is agreed to as closing, it always follows the short sale approval letter. The time frame for closing begins on the date the short sale approval letter is received. In the event of dual lenders, the time frame begins when the second approval letter is received.
If the buyer needs to get a VA loan or some other type of loan that might take a few days longer, one might need to get an extension to the short sale approval letter. In other words, the parties to a short sale can close sooner than the date in the approval letter if the purchase contract so stipulates, but cannot close later than the date in the approval letter, unless the agent obtains an extension from the short sale bank.
Closing escrow after short sale approval is sometimes very stressful for sellers. Especially if short sale approval is received faster than the Sacramento short sale agent initially estimated. Lenders are unpredictable at times. There can be no rhyme nor reason why one month the approvals take 90 days and the following month, an approval arrives at 4 weeks. Approval times like this can throw a seller into hysteria. A seller might not be prepared to move, either financially, or emotionally, or both.
To be fair to all parties, though, if a seller has concerns about closing and moving, the first thing the seller should do is talk to her short sale agent about it. The last thing a seller should do is wait 3 days before closing to announce that the seller is unprepared to move. Sellers who refuse to close can cause extreme havoc in a transaction and incur legal ramifications.
If a seller needs more than one extension in a short sale, the bank is within its rights to withhold that extension. Often banks will not issue a 2nd or a 3rd short sale extension. Furthermore, the bank can cancel the short sale. A seller can’t call the bank and ask for an extension, because the seller won’t be speaking to the short sale negotiator but instead will talk to a customer service representative who is not authorized to give out that type of information — and might not be able to decipher notes in the file even if she has the ability to discuss it.
When a short sale starts over, it means several things. First, there will most likely be a new BPO completed. That means the sales price can change. Moreover, if the seller qualified for a HAFA incentive, the bank might not allow the HAFA the second time around. Disqualifying for the first HAFA is often grounds to dismiss any further HAFA actions. But in actuality, the worst that would happen is the seller would need to find a new buyer, which is the place the seller was in when the short sale first began. It’s not a big headache for sellers to refuse to close a short sale.
But it is a huge, gigantic headache for the buyer who has paid for an appraisal, paid for a home inspection, canceled utilities, transferred mail, lined up movers, packed up the house and was ready to move until the bombshell fell. It’s risky to try to buy a short sale because nobody is gonna make the seller close escrow if the seller doesn’t want to close. There is never any guarantee that the seller will close escrow.
However, it doesn’t mean a buyer doesn’t have recourse or that a buyer can’t sue.
The Perfect Digital Camera for Real Estate
I could barely wait to open my eyes this morning. That’s because I have an appointment to shoot photos for my new listing, and I have a new digital camera that is perfect for real estate. I’ve always used a Nikon, but lately I’ve been disappointed in the quality of my photos. I’m probably my own worst critic because everybody else gushes over how cool they are, but I felt that I could do better. I’m always striving for quality and improvement — for ways to shorten my time invested and increase the quality of my performance. Just like any other corporate structure, except I am a Sacramento real estate agent and a sole proprietor.
Yesterday, I dumped the Nikon D40 and traded it for a Nikon D7100. The difference between the two digital cameras is amazing. I stood in the store at Pardee’s Camera, over on El Camino by Watt, and took a photo of the interior of the store with my old digital camera. Then I shot a photo with the Nikon D7100 and the difference was enough to make my mouth fall open and my eyes gleam with delight. I began to salivate. Thank God my husband was there to wipe my chin.
Not only that, but the excitement builds. I tried out a new wide angle lens, a Tamron 10-24mm. Parts of the room that were not accessible in my previous photo now could be captured. The tip-end at 10 is a little round on the edges, but bringing in the lens just a hair gave it a perfect shot. It no longer made sense to me to be shooting interior photographs of a home with an 18-55mm lens. This will greatly improve my photos. If you thought my photography was beautiful before, just wait.
All along, I have been relying on Photoshop to fix highlights and shadows, but my new Nikon D7100 has it built in. The photos absolutely sparkle with light. It adds a few more F-stops to auto. I hate it, absolutely deplore dark photos in MLS. Agents who allow black photos in MLS should be shot. My pictures of a home need to showcase lots of light, and be bright and cheery. I have spent hours agonizing over photographs and tweaking them to improve the quality, and now I no longer have to do that. I am spared that distress.
I can now shoot a photograph that is clean, captures the space I wish to show, and is nothing short of magnificent, if I say so myself — and I do. Plus, it works wirelessly with my cellphone and iPad. If you take photographs and struggle with some of these issues, I suggest you check out the Nikon D7100 and a wide angle lens. I wish I had done this years ago.
How Do You Handle a Racist Neighbor in Sacramento?
It’s a bit ironic for me to read that April is Fair Housing month, given what happened yesterday. It happened in a somewhat quiet neighborhood in Woodland, made up of mostly tract homes, built in the mid-1970s. This particular home has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, and it’s a preapproved Cooperative Short Sale through Bank of America. The family, first-time home buyers, had just received the short sale approval letter and were informed they could close escrow. They arrived at the home early yesterday morning to do a home inspection.
As they walked up the sidewalk toward the home with their agent, the next-door neighbor came out, as next-door neighbors often do during a home inspection. Coming over during the home inspection is a great time to greet new neighbors and welcome a family to the neighborhood. That’s because, for the most part, there is not a lot for buyers to do during a home inspection, except stay out of the home inspector’s way. I was not present at this meeting, so my information is third-hand, but apparently the neighbor did not welcome the new family. Instead, he began yelling and hurling racial slurs at them. He is accused of saying he would move out of the neighborhood if this family moved in. At the top of his lungs. In the middle of this quiet working class neighborhood.
You think it won’t happen in your back yard, but it does. The sellers say the neighbors never exhibited any of this hostility or prejudices when they lived there. The buyers called the police because the neighbor made threats of violence against them.
I’m not even so sure it was a racial prejudice as much as a religious prejudice — but all hatred, because people are different, is hatred. It’s vile. It’s shocking. It’s incredibly painful and sad. It’s sad for the victims who endured such vicious wrath. It’s sad for the racist because he is uneducated and ignorant. It’s sad for all of us because this kind of hatred still exists.
It makes me want to put a sign in the yard all right. A sign that says the neighbor is a racist splashed with a big red arrow pointing toward his house. But he’d just pull it out of the ground and smash it up, maybe use it to break the windows on this house. That’s what people like him do.
