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Elizabeth Weintraub
Settling on a Hawaii Gardener for our Second Home
Don’t ask me how many Hawaii gardeners we have hired to work on our yard at our second home. When we’re not there all of the time, plants keep on growing regardless. Plus, we have an HOA, which routinely sends out letters to many of my neighbors, including us, threatening action if our yards are not “maintained.” Yet, we do not have a clear idea of what it is the HOA desires. They say they don’t want vegetation growing higher than the eaves, but that’s not what they mean. They mean not over the eaves. Lots of owners in our community have super tall trees in the middle of their yards. But how close is too close?
Our first Hawaii gardener was in and out in 15 minutes. He arrived roaring with a buzz saw and left blowing out the debris. But that wasn’t gardening. Another never showed up when he said he would. A third I really liked but he kept tearing out our sprinkler heads by tripping over them, and he spoke only Spanish. I can use Google translation and I know a bit of Spanish, but not enough to really converse. A neighbor down the street told me about Charlie. He is a Hawaii gardener with a love for gardening, a passion for the process. Plus, when I found out he knew Barbara Bolton, the only other gardener I know in Kona, well, that cemented the relationship.
His wife is bound to her bedroom and only leaves the house to go to the hospital on a stretcher. He cares for her pretty much 24 / 7. This has been his situation for a long time, according to my neighbor. Apparently, Charlie decided if he could expand his gardening services in the community, he could be closer to his wife when emergencies arise. See, what a nice guy! I felt like we should keep our money in the community.
He even sent me a quick video after he finished up part of our back lanai. We have a front yard bordered by Areca Palms in the photo above. I’m not sure of the names of everything else in our yard. There are fruit trees in the back, and one tree was looking very sickly. Charlie asked if we ever got fruit from it over the past 3 years that we’ve had the house. Nope. So his answer is the tree should be removed. Why couldn’t I see that?
Below is the video he sent. I think you’ll get a kick out of it. I sure did.
Help Jim Cronin from the Real Estate Tomato After Paradise Fire
The Camp Fire in Butte County that wiped out the town of Paradise and still blazing is on everybody’s minds in Sacramento. We can’t help but breathe the smoky air and stare at the hazy orange sun, all the while feeling helpless. One of my friends, JaCi Wallace, mentioned a few days ago that Jim Cronin from the Real Estate Tomato had lost his home in Paradise. She saw it on Facebook. (Facebook is not a place I go very often.) Now, it’s probably been 10 years or more since I’ve talked to Jim Cronin, but his website was one of the first places that accepted a guest post from me, back in the day. Jim had asked me to write an article, so I did.
I figured he must still have his cellphone. Having gone through an evacuee situation when my home fell in the ocean in Ventura, I know all too well the things we cart away with us when in dire straights. We forget to take so many important items, and we often don’t have a lot of time before disaster hits to pack up. Sure enough, Jim responded to my text message in his usual cheerful manner, although I’m sure he was devastated.
That’s the kind of guy Jim Cronin is, though. Even though it’s been a while since we connected, he let me know that he made it out safely. I think he was driving and dictating to text. He said he and his family are trying to figure out what to do with the rest of their lives. According to Jim, he has good insurance but claims are always involved and complicated. His main concern was for the struggling senior citizens and the elderly who made up most of the population in Paradise and now have nowhere to live. So many have died. The numbers will most likely exceed 100 people as more than 1,000 are still unaccounted for.
You know, whenever there is a catastrophe, and there seems to be more horrible events lately due to global warming, it’s hard to know what to do to help. When the lava devoured Leilani Estates on Hawaii Island earlier this year, my husband and I donated to the Hawaii Island Food Bank. We just received a postcard: Mahalo for your kokua. I would have preferred to make a donation directly to a family who lost their home.
So, I got my chance to do exactly that today. There is a GoFundMe page for the Cronin Family Fire Relief Fund where you can help them to reach their goal. They are 2/3rds of the way there, and no donation is too small. At the moment, Jim Cronin and his family are apparently living in a one-room motel room.
What Home Buyers Can Now Expect in Sacramento Real Estate
One thing to get straight right up front about what home buyers can now expect in Sacramento real estate is the market is not crashing. Our market is definitely not a bubble waiting to burst. Too many owners have too much equity and a higher number of sales have no loan at all. The scary no-doc loans given to any person with a pulse is absolutely not happening. However, what home buyers can now expect in our housing market is softer pricing. There are no smart sellers hoping for “my way or the highway” anymore.
Instead, smart sellers are viewing the competition with an eagle-eye lens. They are making their homes better priced and more attractive than the competition in hopes their home will sell faster. Oh, there are a few sellers still looking for that needle in the haystack, that unicorn buyer, but I definitely see that sort of attitude quickly changing.
What home buyers can now expect in Sacramento real estate is more negotiation. Prices are no longer firm. Many sellers are willing to help pay closing costs, too. There are not as many multiple offers for median priced homes, so buyers aren’t always getting beat out by cash buyers.
Another nice benefit for buyers is sellers are putting more work into getting their homes ready for market. Except for the flipper homes, for the most part, buyers can expect new paint, maybe new flooring and newer appliances. If a home isn’t up to their standards, they have 5 more that fit their dream list. And really, how many homes does a buyer need to buy, but one?
Typically, moving into Thanksgiving, our real estate market in Sacramento slows down for the winter. We are not likely to see a change in activity until probably March. This means home buyers have an excellent window of opportunity to find the home of their dreams, that perfect home in Sacramento. Interest rates are predicted to land in the 5.5 region next year, but for right now, they are hovering around 5%. Everything points to the best time to buy a home in Sacramento is over the next few months.
You can call the Elizabeth Weintraub Team at 916.233.6759. We’d love to help you find a home.
First-Time Home Buyers Will Love a Home in Rio Linda
If you want to love a home in Rio Linda, this is the perfect place for qualified first-time home buyers. First, it is affordable, and qualifies for FHA and VA financing. Maybe a buyer is using down payment assistance, which means the down payment might be zero if the buyer qualifies for certain programs. Second, the location is lovely. It’s located in a cul-de-sac, surrounded by neighbors who are crying at the moment because the present owners are moving away. Everybody seems to know everybody else. And third, the home is ready to move into. No work to do.
Well, saying there is no work to do can be subjective, depending on what a buyer wants. Let’s say they want new cabinets in the kitchen or maybe different counter tops. It’s not unusual for a buyer to want to customize her own home and make it fit her vision, not somebody else’s. In that case, there are also affordable renovation loans offered by Guild Mortgage, and they are easy to get. Guild streamlines the process so the renovation loan is rolled into the mortgage loan. How easy is that? Plus, you can still close on time, no delays necessary.
There is no reason not to love a home in Rio Linda like this. It features hardwood floors throughout, except for the kitchen and family room. Although the family room is a bonus room and not included in the square footage, the floors in that room are wood-like laminate. In addition, there is a floor-to-ceiling rock fireplace in that room. Makes for perfect TV viewing. The sellers are willing to leave some of the furnishings for the buyer at no cost or consideration nor warranty, of course.
This home has 3 bedrooms, 1 bath and a large fenced yard. It could incorporate RV parking if a buyer so desired, but it’s also perfect for dogs. There is a covered patio on the side of the house, too. If you are a buyer who wants to love a home in Rio Linda, you will not be disappointed.
6130 De Anza Ct, Rio Linda, CA 95673, is offered exclusively by Elizabeth Weintraub and Lyon Real Estate at $260,000. Call Elizabeth at 916.233.6759 for more information or a private tour.
The information in this advertisement, including, but not limited to, square footage and/or acreage, has been provided by various sources which may include the Seller, the Multiple Listing Service or other sources. Lyon Real Estate has not and will not investigate or verify the accuracy of this information. Prospective buyers are advised to conduct their own investigation of the Property and this advertised information utilizing appropriate professionals before purchasing this Property.
Sacramento Sellers Ask: Where Do Buyers Come From?
There are many myths in the Sacramento real estate business, including an assortment of wrong answers about where do buyers come from. Sellers tend to believe a myth because they don’t really know how real estate works. I’m also not so certain that some agents don’t feed into that myth. I often find myself unwinding twisted tales that sellers believe because some agent made up crap. You wouldn’t believe the stuff they say, or maybe you would. Sellers have told me that other agents swore up and down that they had tons of buyers waiting to purchase their home. That’s crazy. It’s nuts. And it’s not the truth.
If you want to know where do buyers come from, I can tell you. But first, let me explain where they don’t come from. They don’t come from listing with an agent who promises a bunch of buyers, for one thing. Because agents do not have a bunch of buyers in their back pockets. Now occasionally, a buyer will be looking for a certain type of home and will ask to be put on a list in case that type of home comes on the market for sale. Usually, that type of home is unique and rarely for sale. Other than that, agents do not have a bunch of eager and motivated buyers on hand. Why?
Because when a buyer is eager to purchase a home, qualified and motivated, guess what happens? That home buyer is in escrow within weeks if not days. We have plenty of inventory in Sacramento now, about double since the beginning of the year. Many choices. If a buyer wants to purchase a home, there are homes to be bought. That’s what we do as agents. We find homes for buyers to purchase and we close those sales.
But to truly answer the question where do buyers come from, is to understand how the real estate market works. First, the listing agent signs a listing agreement with sellers. The information for that home is uploaded to MLS. When MLS publishes the listing, that information is also downloaded to a bazillion other websites across the internet. Some websites such as Zillow might require tweaking by the listing agent. But for the most part, it’s done automatically.
Buyers then find the home for sale online and either call the listing agent or the smarter buyers will call their own buyer’s agent. Yet either way, the buyers find the home for sale because the listing agent is marketing the home. Buyers come from the listing agent’s marketing efforts and from MLS. They aren’t sleeping in the back of a real estate office waiting for a home to be listed. When I list your home, my goal is to find you a buyer. So that’s what I do and how it works.
