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Elizabeth Weintraub
Pool Home in Davis is Ready for You in Lake Alhambra Estates
This is such a beautiful pool home in Davis, and sadly it’s gone through a string of bad-luck buyers. It cries out for a buyer who will love and appreciate the home. One set of buyers begged us to take their offer while they sold their existing home. They swore up and down this was their dream home, and they would do anything to buy it. Fortunately, they hired a good listing agent who quickly sold their home and set the path to closing. Then, all of a sudden, without warning, without explanation, those buyers canceled the sale of their existing home and also canceled buying this gorgeous pool home in Davis. We are left to surmise that maybe they can’t afford it or don’t want to afford it. Who knows?
It leaves the opportunity available for you to buy this pool home in Davis now. For a long time, the seller worked on getting this home ready for market. Getting ready for the market meant complying with the City of Davis Resale Inspection. We now have the occupancy certificate, and all is good.
Most buyers tell us they love the layout. When you walk into the home, you will see all hardwood floors except for the oversized ceramic flooring in the kitchen. Off to the right is a formal living room that has been converted into an office, featuring a wall of built-in desks, shelves and bookcases. Off to the left is the formal dining room that is big enough for a dining room table that seats a dozen. Straight ahead is the remodeled kitchen with granite counters, island, 5 burner Jenn-Air gas cooktop, including a huge space for a breakfast nook.
You will also find a big family room with fireplace on the main level as well. At the back of the home is a 600-square-foot or so room addition that is a sunroom with heat, AC and dual ceiling fans. The sellers use this room as a retreat during our hot summer months in Davis. As a way to escape the heat after swimming. In fact, the seller says he spent $200,000 on improvements to Los Cerros and the back yard. The yard features an outdoor kitchen, 59 drains, flagstone, custom built-in stone benches, two waterfalls, and is the seller’s pride and joy.
All four bedrooms are upstairs, including a big master suite with plenty of extra closet space. The main square footage, according to the Sacramento County Assessor is 2,772 (with gross including the sunroom at 3,544), but we have not verified that.
Check out these photographs:
Come to our open house on Sunday, October 7, 2018, from 1:00 to 4:00 PM. You can also check out the virtual tour here.
3804 Los Cerros Place, Davis, CA 95618 is offered exclusively by Elizabeth Weintraub and Lyon Real Estate at $1,025,000. Call Elizabeth for more information at 916.233.6759.
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.
The Deteriorating Lawrence J. Ellison Parking Garage Elevator
Out of all the times I have encountered the Lawrence J. Ellison parking garage elevator while visiting the Lawrence J. Ellison Ambulatory Center, the name never dawned on me. The dawning, of course, is that the Lawrence J Ellison Ambulatory Center of UC Davis was named for Larry Ellison. You know, the Founder of Oracle or, as is more familiar to me, the guy who paid $300 million to buy the island of Lanai in Hawaii; all but 3,000 acres of it. Because it’s something I wish I could do, buy an island. Only trouble is I don’t have 300 million. And I don’t think there are any more Hawaiian islands to buy.
I had an appointment yesterday at UC Davis for a guided ultrasound steroid injection through the pad of my right foot. It’s such an odd thing, the doctors at UC Davis do not seem certain as to the cause of symptoms. Fortunately, there is no pain associated with this dilemma. It’s just a feeling like I stepped on a wad of gum. The doctors suspect Morton’s Neuroma, but to be sure, they decided to stick a needle into my foot, right by my second toe. This wasn’t a procedure I was completely on board with, especially since there was no pain associated with it.
Also, because my second toe is not bigger than my big toe, which is a sign of Morton’s toe. But it could just present a deeper space, which it does. And the pain usually occurs between the second and third toes, while my sensation is more at the base of my second toe. Well, Thursday is a day off for many Sacramento Realtors. If complications arose, at least I wouldn’t be bombarded by work.
These thoughts ran through my head as I headed into the Lawrence J. Ellison parking garage elevator. The whole thing just seemed unnecessary, and although insurance pays for it, I wasn’t sure I should do it. As I stepped into the elevator, I was unprepared for the scene before me. Look at the condition of this elevator. Its floor is strewn with loose material; there are wadded up Kleenexes in the corner. Super gross. Unsanitary. And the elevator’s walls looks like they have seen better days. Like the paneling is wearing thin. I suppose most of the doctors park on the first floor so perhaps they never enter the Lawrence J. Ellison parking garage elevator to witness this disgrace first hand.
Now, I know people who pooh-pooh naming UC Davis as their primary health care provider because they are afraid a novice will care for them. It’s true that UC Davis is a teaching hospital, and they do train residents. So, you might have a less experienced person drawing your blood or hooking you up to an IV. But I have never felt like I was exposed to rookies. Not to mention, they conduct research at UC Davis. I feel as though they are on top of breaking medical discoveries, more so than a non-teaching hospital.
When I asked the doctor if she felt this procedure was a bit over blown given the fact I am not in pain, she said to think of it as exploratory. Although my pain is zero, after the injection, the feeling of gum stuck to my foot should go away. If it doesn’t, then it’s something else. That sounds logical. Guess I’ll find out in a few days if the sensation is still there. I can tell you getting an injection of lidocaine into your foot or between your toes sounds a lot more painful than it is. I am a wimp. A big wimp when it comes to pain. My pain tolerance level is very low. I get put out for procedures others stay awake for.
However, the upside is if you ever need to get an injection in your foot, it probably won’t be as bad as you imagine. Just hope if you go to UC Davis, the hospital maintenance crew will clean up the Lawrence J. Ellison parking garage elevator.
How to Decide Which House to Buy
My intentions yesterday were to list homes and not to necessarily encounter a great method for home buyers to decide which house to buy. As I sat in the kitchen of a home in Carmichael, I explained to the owners how buyers often make impulse decisions and purchase a home based on emotions. Which is why I do my darnedest to evoke an emotional attachment. My goal in marketing is to make buyers fall in love with the home.
Now, in the past, whenever I showed homes, I would ask buyers to rate the home on a scale of 1 to 10. With 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest. This helps buyers remember which homes they viewed and whether they were good candidates. One of the sellers I spoke with yesterday mentioned she bought a home a few years back and came up with her own idea of rating. It was so clever and smart that I have to share this with you. In fact, I don’t know why every home buyer would not want to use this method.
If I understand her correctly, I believe the first thing a buyer would do is make a list of things that are not negotiable in the purchase of a new home. Starting with the most important item at the top and working your way down to the lesser items. Then, assign a rating number to each issue. For example, say you have 7 things on your list that describe the type of home you hope to buy. If you gave location the highest rating of 10, you are on the right track. Next to location might be number of bedrooms. Assign a value to that. And so on.
Then, when you believe you have found your dream home, you need to decide which house to buy. There might be another home on the list that fits all of your parameters. What you would do is add together all of your assigned values and divide by the number of non-negotiable items. This will give you a weighted average.
If you cannot decide which house to buy because you are madly in love with the first house, this method will show you which is a better choice for you. Because if the weighted averages of non-negotiable items is considerably larger for the second-choice house than the averages of the home that tugs on your heart strings, this is a way to see through the emotional pull. Who can argue with logic? OK, don’t answer. Because we all know who that person is.
Five Smart Homebuying Tips for Our Fall Sacramento Market
Are you looking for homebuying tips to buy a home in our fall Sacramento real estate market? As a potential home buyer, you are now in a wonderful position to buy a home. Some of you got too frustrated with the market and gave up. Maybe it’s time to give the market another look? Because our seller’s market is over. O.V.E.R. Except for a small handful of picture-perfect listings, you probably will not encounter multiple offers for a home you want to buy.
I could give you all the reasons why the market has changed, but not everyone is interested in how we got here or the stats. Most buyers just want to know what they need to do buy a home. They want to be aware of the types of benefits can get they out of today’s market.
Of course, if you are already working with the exclusive buyer’s agents on the Elizabeth Weintraub Team, then you’re covered. Your buyer’s agent is already informing you of the choices awaiting your decision. Here are my top 5 homebuying tips that you can confidently put to use when you’re ready to buy.
Homebuying Tips for Sacramento’s Fall Market
- Price. Most listings will contain a bit of room for negotiation. It might not be necessary to offer list price for the home, unless you are madly in love with it. You can probably offer less and still buy the home. Ask your agent to show you comparable sales. This means considering homes in the same condition, square footage, location and comparing the pricing. Look at apples versus apples and not apples versus oranges.
- Closing Costs. If you’re a first-time home buyer, you might be using every dime you have saved up to buy a home. With an FHA loan, your down payment can be 3.5% of the purchase price. We have conventional loans from 3% down. Does that leave you with enough money to pay closing costs? If not, don’t sweat it, as many sellers in this real estate market will agree to pay your closing costs for you, provided the sellers are content with the sales price offered.
- Repairs and Updates. Believe it or not, sellers want to work with you. If the home has no AC, for example, the seller might be willing to install new AC for you. Don’t be put off by carpeting because you can generally work out a way for it to make it vanish. Ask your buyer’s agent for ideas and help. We had a seller recently agree to install new granite counters at closing. Sellers generally will not fix or repair every single defect from a home inspection. But a major repair will most likely get fixed.
- Inspections. It is possible in our fall market that sellers might obtain inspections at their own expense. For example, it is more common now for the seller to pay for a pest report, and most buyers would ask for a completion certificate. This did not happen very often in a seller’s market but now that we are entering a more neutral market, sellers are more agreeable. They don’t want surprises that will blow up a transaction any more than you do.
- Time of Year. With our increased inventory in Sacramento, home buyers have more options now than ever. If you don’t like a particular house, don’t buy it. There will be another right around the corner. As we move toward the holidays, prices will become softer. This is a much better time to buy a home than spring, when you compete with a larger group of buyers. You have little competition now.
With all of these benefits, buyers are finally in a position to feel really good about buying a home. The only question left lingering is whether it’s better to buy now or wait until spring. Apart from the increased competition in spring, you will also see interest rates rise. The Feds have already raised the rates, and they are inching toward 5%. Buy now before you get roped into a higher interest rate mortgage because this much is pretty certain. Interest rates are not coming back down.
To get started, all you have to do is call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759.
How to Order Small Dumpster Junk Removal in Sacramento
Until I read an agent’s blog in San Diego, I did not realize we had small dumpster junk removal in Sacramento. Probably because the last time I rented a large dumpster, that rental cost me $300 in 2002. I shudder to think what those prices would be today, probably $500 or more. However, I can say thank goodness we live where we do in Land Park because my junk removal program now consists on dragging said item to the curb. Within an hour — I don’t care what kind of crap I stick in the street — it’s gone. I’d like to think a deserving family is cooking on our old Weber grill but the likelihood it is an entrepreneur. Probably re-homing items for a fee, would be my guess. Flipping trash. But maybe not. And in any case, what difference does it make? The point is I saved myself from having to rent a dumpster.
However, maybe you do not live in a neighborhood where you can stick an old sofa in the street and watch it vanish before your eyes. If so, then this service might be for you. Or, maybe you have stuff nobody wants like cement blocks or construction debris. It serves a definite market that needs trash hauling. Not surprising, our small dumpster junk removal in Sacramento is a service offered by Waste Management.
Questions? Let’s start with the basics. The small dumpster junk removal bag is called a Bagster. Pretty clever name for it, don’t you agree? How much trash does it hold? About 3 cubic yards, and you can get rid of just about anything. There is a limit on construction waste material that is heavy, but you can read all the fine print at Waste Management.
First you buy the bag itself, which is $29.95, if you purchase the Bagster at Amazon. There are other retailers but why not just go to Amazon? Unlike Home Depot, which supports the MAGA regime. I will never shop at Home Depot again and only patronize Lowes today. In fact, I hired Lowes as general contractor for our whole house remodel in Kona, Hawaii. So kiss those dollars goodbye, Home Depot. But I digress. The point is first get the bag and then set up collection through Waste Management.
As long as you set up your collection service online, the fee is $179 for the first bag and the company offers a discounted price for additional bags. The small dumpster junk removal in Sacramento is not available in every city or area. For example, you can’t use this program in West Sacramento. But most of the main areas in Sacramento are covered, including Fair Oaks and Carmichael.
Hope you have found this information helpful and a good solution for getting rid of smaller containers of trash. I’ll be sure to share this with my sellers because every home could use a bit less clutter before selling.
