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Elizabeth Weintraub
35 Offers for a Home in Elk Grove
I was so busy last night dealing with purchase offers that I did not have time to call my sister at our usual time to chat. She’s snowed under in Minnesota and freezing her tootsies off. I, on the other hand, am observing goldfinches swoop from my crepe myrtle tree to our water fountain and back. That’s what those birds do, over and over. It provides an excellent show for the cats, which is why we moved the water fountain to the middle of the cactus garden.
It’s nice to have some kind of control over one’s environment because there is no control over the real estate market in Sacramento. It’s simply insane. All together we received 35 offers for a home in Elk Grove. This Elk Grove agent held it open Thursday evening and Saturday afternoon to try to draw a different type of crowd. I posted that home everywhere online, splashed it from one end of the Internet to the other. Tweaked the photographs — agonized over choosing the best among 50 or so for the front photograph — enhanced the colors, eliminated the shadows, all in all I’d say it looks fabulous online. Enough to attract 35 offers from buyers all wanting to buy that home in Elk Grove.
Of the 35 offers, about one in four was an investor. The rest were owner occupants, people who wanted to live there. Two of the offers were less than the sales price, which makes one wonder about those buyers. Seven of the offers were at list price, which makes one wonder about those buyers, too. That meant almost 1 out of 3 offers had absolutely zero chance of acceptance upon inception. Yet, it also meant 2 out of 3 buyers actually had a chance to buy the home. See, the odds are improving. You may think it is hopeless to write an offer, but it is not.
One offer stood out above all the rest. I suggested to the seller that they counter the top four offers, but they picked the offer that gave them exactly what they wanted. That was their choice; it’s their home. That buyer’s agent read the confidential agent remarks and addressed the sellers’ concerns, in addition to writing a perfect purchase contract at a satisfactory price and terms. The hard part was telling 34 other buyer’s agents: you will not go to space today. It was important enough to do that I didn’t call my sister. I hope she forgives me.
If You Can’t Buy a Home in Sacramento
How do you keep pushing on when the Sacramento real estate market is beating you down? I don’t know how some buyer’s agents are surviving out there in this desert of no inventory. One such veteran agent in Sacramento told me today that he is thinking about leaving the business. This is a dreadful market because there are buyers who will never buy a home in Sacramento in this market, especially if they are looking in Natomas or Elk Grove. It’s positively disheartening for many. At an open house in Elk Grove on Saturday we had more than 100 buyers come through. So far, we have almost 30 offers. Only one buyer will win.
Because I list so many homes in Sacramento, I see a wide variety of offers come across my desk. They range from lowball offers to asking price to 20% over market value. I can tell from those offers that we basically have two types of agents in Sacramento right now:
- The type of agents who talk to each other.
- The type of agents who work in a vacuum.
I also realize that a buyer’s agent can lead a buyer to water but she can’t force the buyer to drink. I’m not so sure that buyers truly understand what is going on. This climate makes me a bit concerned that buyers might blame their agents for their failure to buy a home in Sacramento when it’s the market and not necessarily the agent’s fault.
Years from now we might look back at this like the 1930s Dust Bowl. At least during that horrible episode in our country’s history it was pretty clear what was happening because you couldn’t see two feet in front of you. In Sacramento, everything looks normal. For Sale signs are in the yards. Agents are accompanying buyers to show homes. People are smiling. But it’s a nervous smile, and underneath they are depressed and worried and anxious. We need inventory in Sacramento.
Well, here’s my solution, because you know I have a solution, right? I’m not the kind of Sacramento real estate agent to paint this dismal picture and not offer you a solution. I’ve been in the business for almost 40 years, and that’s long enough to learn a thing or two. The first tip is if you’re gonna give up, then go home and crawl under the sheets and stay there because there is no room in this market for whiners.
The second tip is turn over the unturned stones. There are homes in Sacramento that are not getting showings. Not because there’s anything wrong with them. It’s because they are either overpriced homes, in need of repair, or on the market for too long. There is nothing wrong with a home that needs a little bit of work. All you need to do is adjust your attitude toward hiring a contractor or doing some work yourself. Often the prices of these homes can be adjusted a bit to compensate for the work needed. Align yourself to the fact that if you want to buy a home you need to look at all of the homes that are available and not just the cherries.
You want to know where the ants go, right? You follow the ant trail. At the end of it, you will find ants. It’s too simple of a principle for many people.
There are homes for sale in Sacramento that buyers and agents are ignoring. There is no competition for these homes. No multiple offers. No stabbing each other in the back and clawing your way over dead bodies to get to the top. These homes are sitting quietly, waiting to be discovered. Go out there and discover them. Find a way to write an offer and make it work. If you need help and want to buy a home in Sacramento, you can call the Elizabeth Weintraub Team. 916.233.6759. We’re putting buyers into homes.
Multiple Offers: Does it Matter Who Buys Your House?
Depending on to whom you speak, my position as a top Sacramento real estate agent could be enviable or unfortunate when it comes to giving my sellers intelligent advice about multiple offers and helping them to decide who should buy the house. After all, it is the sellers’ decision. It doesn’t matter if the home is a short sale or a regular equity sale, who buys the house is still the sellers’ decision. The seller owns the home and the seller is in control, making all decisions. I’m just that yappy little Yorkie in their corner trying to help them to make the right decision — which is the decision that is best for the seller.
As such, I sometimes slip on my sellers’ shoes, although I don’t walk very far in them. Like those Lady Gaga shoes. I’d probably break my neck trying to walk down the front steps in 7-inch heels. I step into my sellers’ shoes at times because I want to make sure they consider all of the information they need to make an informed decision and not just pluck a number out of the basket of multiple purchase offers.
You might be thinking, what’s the deal? The seller should take the highest offer, end of story. However, please hang on and bear with me; I propose there is more to the story. Whomever buys the house is the person who will take care of that house after escrow closes. After the agents collect their commissions, the seller pockets that big fat check, the keys tossed into a kitchen drawer and, lights out, everybody goes home happy as little clams, who bought the house might matter.
Was it an investor or an owner occupant? Why do you care? Does it matter who buys your house?
You care because it’s your neighborhood you are leaving behind. Your neighbors and probably your friends, the community in which you served, built memories and forged lasting relationships. Some of us believe we have a responsibility to leave the world in a better place after we touch it. One by one we can make a difference in our communities. We can help to transform and improve or we can help to destroy.
Sometimes, it’s as easy as deciding between what you would want for yourself if you were the person left behind. Or, what would you like to see in the neighborhood where you move? Do you want to move into a neighborhood as a homeowner in which half or more of the homes that were once owner-occupied have been converted into rental properties?
There are large groups of non-local investors buying up huge chunks of Sacramento for rentals and they are changing the face of Sacramento. These corporate investors are paying cash and do not always offer market value, either. Lately, I’ve been receiving lowball offers from these groups. Some are brash. I see unreasonable demands. And they are turning our neighborhoods in Sacramento, block by block, into rentals, away from owner-occupied homes, which once reflected our pride of ownership. Do first-time home buyers stand a chance against these cash-rich bullies? Who is helping the little guy to succeed?
Before you sign that purchase offer, think about does it matter who buys your house. You might have a choice. Consider what your mother might say. Then do the right thing.
Fannie Mae Short Sale Valuation Issues
If you have a Fannie Mae short sale in Sacramento — or just about anywhere else in the country — odds are pretty much two-to-one that you will have a problem with the Fannie Mae estimate of value. The BPO is probably fine. Don’t blame the BPO agent. It’s Fannie Mae, not the agent, setting values. Fannie Mae seems to ignore the BPO. It’s the amount that Fannie Mae may decide it wants to approve the short sale that is the problem. You may be aware of the changes to Fannie Mae implemented last November, which were touted as a streamlined approach but as usual seems to be more smoke and mirrors than anything else — a way to make it look like they are doing something proactive when it’s the opposite.
You may ask how do I know these things? After all, I am just a Sacramento short sale agent, plugging along closing short sale after short sale, and that’s one of the ways I know what’s going on. Because I see it with my very own two sparkling eyeballs nestled above my honkin’ nose, that’s how. And I talk to other short sale agents across the country. I read press releases, announcements and news stories. I’ve been working on Fannie Mae short sales for years. I’m one of the few agents in this country who have probably read from beginning to end every single Fannie Mae supplement issued, not only to the regular GSE short sale processes but also the HAFA short sales through Fannie Mae.
I know what you’re about to read may sound like a conspiracy. That alone might make it seem unreal or fabricated, but I assure you it is very real. I can also assure you that I am not one of those whack jobs who sports an aluminum foil hat and scribbles pages of dribble to newspaper reporters. I also have no idea why the valuation problems are happening except to draw to conclusion that Fannie Mae wants homes to go to foreclosure so they can try to pawn them off on unsuspecting first-time homebuyers at inflated prices through its HomePath financing program, which requires no appraisal and is almost always way above market value.
I apologize for the fact it has taken me 3 paragraphs to set up my point. My point is Fannie Mae is routinely rejecting short sales by demanding prices that are higher than the market will support. It doesn’t come right out and reject the short sale as that would be too easy. Fannie Mae inflates values. If a home is worth, let’s say $200,000, Fannie Mae will demand, let’s say $260,000. It’s happened to me. I called the BPO agent and asked her how much she estimated for the BPO. She told me $240,000. Yet, Bank of America said Fannie Mae wanted $260,000. We presented an offer of let’s say $240,000 all cash and Fannie Mae rejected it.
Next, the months trudged on. Five months later we try again, only now the offers are only $220,000. This particular home has no updates and it needs work. I requested a reevaluation at Bank of America the day before Christmas. The day after Christmas, the REDC representative told me the value had to stay at $260,000. She did not escalate this or ask for a new valuation or even request documents from me.
I went directly to Fannie Mae next and asked Fannie Mae itself to reevaluate. The new BPO was conducted and that BPO agent called me to say the value she estimated was, let’s say, $210,000.
At that point, Bank of America closed the file. I have opened the file again.
There is a petition started by our friends at Short Sale Superstars, which agents and the public can sign to protest Fannie Mae’s behavior. It needs 100,000 signatures by February 25th. We are short today 97,493 signatures. Will you please sign the White House petition to force Fannie Mae to behave responsibly and ethically and to stop Fannie Mae from rejecting short sales in favor of foreclosure?
Fannie Mae is a government-sponsored entity under the protection of the Federal Finance Housing Agency. It’s your tax dollars supporting the beast. Don’t be part of the problem; be part of the solution!
The Butterfly Effect on a Sacramento Short Sale
I received approval yesterday on a short sale in Roseville, and it was a long time coming. This was one of those deals in which the bank refused to believe that the seller had a hardship and we had to approach it from a different direction. This attitude is what separates this particular Sacramento short sale agent from other short sale agents in Sacramento, among other characteristics. When I believe in a transaction, I will fight it to the death, and I’m not talking about my demise or my sellers’.
See, I realize that the seller is typically right. If the seller has a hardship, the seller has a hardship. If the bank doesn’t agree, it’s because the information has not been either received by the bank or was interpreted incorrectly by the bank. Sometimes, it’s as Paul Newman put it: a failure to communicate. Just because the bank said no is no reason to give up. Especially if the seller has a case, and a documented case at that. Sometimes, you can change one little thing and it alters the entire outcome.
Now, you may not be a fan of Ray Bradbury, but a science fiction story he published on the day I was born pops into my head. The story is A Sound of Thunder, and over the years it’s been referred to as the Butterfly Effect — about a guy who goes back in time to kill a beast and royally screws up. The hunter is warned not to step foot off the path lest he change history. As these stories go, the hunter did indeed step off the path and he squashed a butterfly, which explained why history was altered upon his return. It was a different world. Some words had vanished, people behaved oddly and there was some new guy in office at the White House.
And that’s what can happen in a short sale. The Butterfly Effect. You’re not going to take Fox News off the air, but you can go back in time and rewrite a hardship letter or submit missing documents, and you can start over. You can change the outcome by fixing a mistake. You do not, I should point out, “start over again,” as that would be redundant. You only start over. If you say start over again to me I will want to whack your head with a ruler and scream at you about whether your slept through your English classes, but I will refrain. Because I know you did.
However, if you’re a seller in the Sacramento area who needs to do a short sale, call this Sacramento short sale agent, and I will do my best to close it for you. I am not agent who simply lists short sales. I am a Sacramento short sale agent who is hell bent on closing short sales.
