Email Elizabeth
Elizabeth Weintraub
A Cooperative Short Sale is a Privilege; It’s Not a Right
If you ask a lawyer if you should file a lawsuit, that answer will probably be yes. Just like if you ask a Sacramento real estate agent if this is a good time to buy, you’re gonna hear YES, this is a good time to buy. Because that is asking a person in business for himself or herself if you should do business with that person. It is rare for a person in business to turn away that business. If a person routinely turned down a source of potential cash flow, sooner or later that person would go out of business. But many people do not understand that concept.
Another concept people do not understand is if you are trying to buy a short sale, that short sale might not be approved. No bank is required to do a short sale. A short sale is a privilege; it’s not a right. Even if the bank agreed to do a short sale, a bank can say no later on. For example, if I were an investor who needed to do a 1031 exchange, I would not be trying to buy a short sale. Because when you do a 1031 exchange, you have a certain period of time in which to identify a property and a certain period of time in which to close. Once those time frames have come and gone and you haven’t closed, you’re hosed. Your preferential tax treatment goes bye-bye.
I have closed short sales in which an investor was doing a 1031 exchange. But it was risky for that investor. Because there’s no guarantee. It’s risky for any short sale buyer. It says so right in the documents a buyer signs.
Just like there is never a guarantee with a Bank of America preapproved Cooperative Short Sale. Just because the bank approved a Cooperative Short Sale does not mean the bank will approve an offer from a buyer. And just because the bank might approve an offer from a buyer is no guarantee that Bank of America will close escrow. Bank of America reserves the right to pull the plug at anytime, and there’s not a darn thing a buyer can do about it. There is even less recourse when the investor along the way fires Bank of America, like Fannie Mae seems to be doing lately.
Oh, Bank of America has a fancy name for getting fired. It’s called a Release of Servicing. But it’s being fired all the same. Fannie Mae recently fired Bank of America right before final approval of a short sale. Instead, Fannie Mae hired Seterus to handle the servicing of that loan. Bank of America was about to approve the Cooperative Short Sale for a 1031 exchange buyer. It had issued a counter offer in Equator and was getting ready to draw the final approval letter. But when Seterus took over the servicing of that loan, Seterus said nope. No can do. Seterus does not do Cooperative Short Sales like Bank of America.
You know who got the short end of that stick? Welcome to the world of short sales. If it were me, I would not give my money to a lawyer to pursue a case without merit against Fannie Mae (aka our government), but some people have little respect for money, much less common sense.
Short Contingent vs Pending Short Lender Approval
What’s the world coming to when you can’t make idle threats anymore? Like, you can’t tell a guy you’re gonna hit him in the head with a shovel and bury his body in the desert without some jury awarding him $20 million in punitive damages. Even if he is a porn guy, or soft porn or whatever. Criminy. And you can’t threaten to burn down somebody’s house at a City Council meeting, either. Whatever happened to freedom of expression? Huh? Why can’t you just talk off the top of your head? Vent a little? It’s like words have meaning or something, and people take you seriously.
We need to go back to the days of Joe and Curly and Moe. When you could just poke somebody in the eyes with two fingers and nobody cared. Maybe zing a pie of whipped cream in a face.
People get frustrated. That’s pretty much a given. It doesn’t take much sometimes. Take Sacramento short sales for example. Buyers are very frustrated when they read listings in MLS that are a short sale. MetroList has attempted to clear up the confusion by offering two status choices after an offer has been received. But the problem with MetroList is a buyer can’t see the change when it’s active short contingent. That status modifier is hidden in the bottom right corner of the listing the buyer receives.
Agents don’t much understand it either. I know because as a Sacramento short sale agent some of my listings are listed as “active short contingent” and some are listed as “pending short lender approval.” Short Contingent means we have an offer. It also means we are open to back-up offers, and we might already have a few. An inquiring mind should call and ask. Bear in mind that a true back-up offer incorporates a purchase agreement addendum. No PAA, no backup. And a seller is not required to sign a back-up offer. Pending Short Lender Approval means we don’t want any back-up offers, and there are no more showings.
If you’ve got a gripe with the way Active Short Contingent shows up in MLS for a buyer, take that gripe to MetroList. That’s who your beef is with. It’s not with this Sacramento short sale agent. And watch where you walk. There are banana peels on the ground.
Sacramento Real Estate is a Service Business
A Sacramento real estate agent often multitasks.
I had a terrible experience buying my home in Land Park. I didn’t realize how horrible it was at the time because I had been juggling too many balls in the air, moving clear across the country from Minnesota, and it’s only in retrospect all these years later that I realize it was too awful to wish on even my worst nemesis. Without going into gory details, I can say the thing I hated the most was the non-existant communication. My agent rarely called me back. She did not respond to emails. This was way before the age of text messages, but I imagine she would not have responded to text messages, either. It was like a vast empty pit into which I dumped questions and never got anything back in return.
Because my husband was already living in Sacramento, my real estate agent might have thought her duty was to him. She might not have realized there were two of us she needed to address. But the fact remains, she ignored me. Let’s just say it cost her. And I vowed from that experience that no client would ever utter those words about me.
I try not to assume anything. I know that my clients do not buy nor sell real estate for a living. They can’t possibly know what I know — I’ve pretty much run out of fingers and toes to count my years of experience in real estate. I try to be very sensitive to the needs of my clients. If they ask me a question, I respond. In fact, I try to answer their questions before they have a question. No question is too simple to ask. For example, when people call to say it is time to do a short sale, I make sure they understand that to do a short sale means they are selling their home. Not everybody understands this premise.
Last week I listed a home and had to point out the commission to the sellers so they understood how much they were paying me. They didn’t ask about it. But they did ask who was paying the buyer’s agent. I explain agency relationships, and not just because the California Civil Code requires it but because it’s important to know.
When clients send me a thank you after an escrow closes, they say how happy they were that I kept them informed throughout the transaction. That I responded immediately to their needs. They are thrilled. It’s the WOW factor. Others read those thank-you letters and my reviews and ask how can I be so responsive to my clients when I am so busy with work? I am a very busy Sacramento real estate agent. I sell from Lincoln to Galt. It’s because my clients are my work. When I am working, they come first. What’s so difficult about that?
A Bank of America HAFA Short Sale Broke the Record
It’s too bad this isn’t Talk Like a Pirate Day because I’d like to say shiver me timbers — I got a Bank of America HAFA short sale approved in fewer than 6 weeks. None of this year-long craziness with 25 HUDs. Start to finish, from the day Bank of America mailed out the paperwork to the day we received the short sale approval letter for the buyers of that Hollywood Park short sale. How did this happen? Did the Sacramento River open up and part? Did a lightning bolt slap the Sacramento Capitol? And more important, how can this Sacramento short sale agent make that happen again? Over and over?
Because I did the same things I always do. I reviewed all of the paperwork upfront for the short sale, which is an extremely important component some short sale agents miss. We discussed the hardship letter in detail. I immediately turned around the revised HUD and Terms of Sale. I wasted no time in uploading the short sale offer and responding to the counter in Equator. I did my job as usual, including selling that home in record time. So what was different this time that I didn’t want to poke out my eyes with a stick?
It wasn’t a true HAFA, now that I stop to think about it. Oh, yeah, the tenants are getting a check for $3,000, but the seller is also getting some money. The seller is getting more money than the tenants. I’m calling it a hybrid short sale — a combination HAFA short sale and HIN Incentive — which is like a Cooperative Short Sale but it’s not. That’s the best explanation. But not the only explanation.
The other part is the third-party vendor for Bank of America wasn’t one of my usual assignments. There’s an entire smorgasbord of acronym vendors who handle the HAFA and Cooperative Short Sales for Bank of America. Definitely was not one of those. It was Service Link. I’ve worked with Service Link in the past, and they are so responsive. It’s almost like they were raised on another planet.
The guys at Service Link are trained. They are professional. They know how to communicate. They do what they say they are going to do. In short, they must be German. They do their job efficiently. And they do it remarkably well, especially in comparison to those other guys.
I’m still slapping my face to wake up. Six weeks, start to finish, for a Bank of America HAFA short sale. I feel like admitting, yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.
Among Homes in Land Park for Sale
Homes in Land Park is one of my favorite subjects to talk about. Land Park is where I moved when I arrived in Sacramento, and it’s where I still live today. In the same home, too. People have asked since I’ve become so crazy successful in real estate if I bought a bigger home in another Sacramento neighborhood. Why would I do that? I’m happy where I am. I say when you find a place you like, you should buy it and stay there. I have that home in Land Park, and you can have it, too. You just can’t have mine.
Here is a two-bedroom home with hard-to-find double baths and a family room addition. Yes, the family room has a permit. The square footage is more than 1,500 square feet, and it seems much bigger. That’s because it has an open floor plan — another hard-to-find feature in homes in Land Park, much less a home like this one with the character of 1943. It’s like it has the best of both worlds — timeless features and modern updates.
Of course you’ll find hardwood floors. That’s almost a given. The living room features a fireplace, and it’s open to the dining room. The dining room boasts chair rails and it’s open to the family room. When you walk in the door, and turn to the left, you get a view of the entire area all the way to the double French doors and back-yard deck. It’s beautiful.
The kitchen comes with everything you need. A gas cooktop, a double built-in gas oven, a newer dishwasher and a newer refrigerator. You don’t have to buy any appliances. There are 3 hanging updated light pendants, and a breakfast nook nestled under one of the kitchen windows.
Both of the bedrooms sport hardwood floors, and the baby room is simply adorable. It lets in the natural light with a warm glow in the early afternoon that is so comforting. You just feel good to stand in that room. The master is large, spacious and features a big ceiling fan to circulate the air on those warm summer days.
In the main bath, you’ll find a ceramic tile floor and tile around the tub and shower in black-and-white. It offsets the gorgeous green of the walls. It feels like being in a spa. Maybe that’s why it has a jetted tub and pedestal sink, plus a make-up (dressing) table. The second guest bath is newer, with a window, built-in shower and 2 large storage areas. There is also extra storage and kitchen pantry in the laundry room.
In the back yard is a Meyer lemon tree, pretty flowers, plus a wood deck attached to the house with double built-in planters and benches. It’s a great place to entertain or put up a table and chairs for dining. It’s also a great location for a home in Land Park, nestled toward the end of a dead-end street. No through traffic here.
Come to our open house on Sunday, November 11th from 1 to 4 PM. 576 4th Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95818 is offered exclusively by Lyon Real Estate at $399,000. Call your Land Park agent Elizabeth Weintraub at 916 233 6759 for more information.
