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Elizabeth Weintraub
The Qualities of a Good Sacramento Listing Agent
To be fair, I don’t really need no stinkin’ analysis report to tell me which qualities count higher than others to quantify a good Sacramento listing agent, but my curiosity sometimes wins out. I read a report this morning about data testing designed to determine what kind of characteristics make a person a good listing agent versus those of a good buyer’s agent. The two don’t always go hand-in-hand and complement each other, even though the bulk of real estate agents in Sacramento do both jobs and probably could not survive in this business by specializing in only one job.
I followed the links in that report until I ended up on Tony Robbin’s website to take a free DiSC test. Yeah, I could spare 15 minutes, I decided. Although I already could accurately predict the outcome. And I wasn’t really disappointed, either, when the test results matched pretty closely to my own idea of where I would score.
First, let me say that I had met Tony Robbins “back in the day.” He had attended one of my earlier ex-husband’s seminars in Orange County during the late 1970s. Yes, several of my ex-husbands were motivational speakers, for lack of calling them criminals, which probably answers why they were not in my life for very long. He had a certain charm, a charisma, that would carry him far, I had concluded back then, and I was right. It’s interesting for me to observe where this business has taken him.
The DiSC Test gives you instant results, in case you’re thinking about trying it. I scored very high on the D and I and slightly above average on the C. Those are all qualities, says a leading recruiter at another brokerage, that make a person an excellent candidate to excel in the field as a strong listing agent. D = Dominance, I = Influential, S = Stabilizing, C = Conscientious. My scores say I am 99% decisive. I take this to mean I objectively weigh decisions and can easily select an outcome. High on the influential means I interact well with others, am persuasive and inspiring. For stabilizing, I am consistent yet spontaneous. A moderate C carries the description of analytical, balanced, independent and to an extent, an envelope pusher.
All of which mean I am very well suited for my occupation. But see, I already knew that. I love my job. It has taken me years to figure out that I make a fabulous Sacramento listing agent. That’s where my strengths lie. And I guess it beats being a geologist, which was my job occupation suggestion one year obtained from the computers in the Education Building at the Minnesota State Fair. That was only after I changed one of my answers and put back in the fact that OK, yes, sigh, I would be willing to work with other people. Before that inclusion, it stated there were no jobs for which I was suited.
At least I fit the profile for a highly successful Sacramento listing agent, so it’s a good thing that’s my job.
Thoughts About Counter Offers in Sacramento Real Estate
The question for a Sacramento listing agent when working with offer negotiations is often whether sellers should sign purchase offers coupled with counter offers or should sellers sign strictly the counter offers and deal with the rest if and when it comes to fruition? Part of this rests on the urgency of the matter and the situation at hand. For example, if the seller and I might believe the buyer will not accept the counter offer, then it seems sort of pointless to sign all of the other paperwork. Or, if the seller is in a rush and doesn’t have time to sign a bunch of documents, we might just deal with the one-page document in the heat of the moment.
You might read this and wonder why would a listing agent and her seller send a counter offer if they don’t believe the buyer will accept? Many reasons for this. First and foremost, it is almost never a good idea to ignore a purchase offer because it’s an attempt, even if it’s a feeble or ridiculous attempt, to buy a home. My policy is a counter offer is probably a wise idea. Because you never know.
People are freaky weird. I realize this but not everybody does. Every time you think you know exactly what a person will do you are probably proven wrong half the time. You can’t always predict future actions. People will respond however they want, and it could be very different under certain circumstances, and since you don’t possess first-hand information (unless you listen to this person snore at night and, even then, there is no guarantee), you can’t really know how somebody will react until you hand over the ammunition.
Second, the buyers might decide to counter back with different terms but same end result or they might counter with a completely opposite issue. Sending a counter offer shows the seller is willing to negotiate and work with the buyer to sell the home in some manner. It could even be a full-price counter offer, and that’s perfectly acceptable.
Sometimes, it’s a negotiating tactic to send the entire purchase contract signed by the seller, along with a counter offer signed by the seller. That signifies to the buyer that the seller is motivated to move forward and that the seller fully expects the buyer to accept the counter offer. I generally advise my sellers to sign all of the paperwork because it’s a more positive statement to send to the buyer. Especially since it’s a bit subliminal.
Don’t Ask a Sacramento Real Estate Agent about Grocery Shopping
When sellers tell me they have a California real estate license, I don’t pay too much attention to it because unless you’re in the business full-time, it doesn’t mean much to have a real estate license. If an agent hasn’t closed a sale in a few years, it means even less. As I am fond of quoting, and I don’t know how factual it is, but a while ago the number of real estate agents in California amounted to about 1 in every 35 people. Having a real estate license and being a real estate agent are two completely different things.
I like working with real estate agents as my clients because it makes my job a little bit easier. They understand the lingo. I also like working with lawyers. I know many Sacramento real estate agents do not like lawyers at all. I’m not sure if it’s because they worry they’ll get sued or they’ll mess up and be ashamed, or if they just feel intimated or if they believe all lawyers are assholes, no idea really. Could be any of those reasons.
I attract a lot of lawyers as clients because I work in Sacramento real estate, ha, ha, and lawyers are very busy at the Capitol and all over Sacramento. It’s rare that I get a lawyer who specializes in real estate as a client, but those guys probably think it’s a good idea to represent themselves, ha, ha. Which means I get only the smart lawyers as clients, and that’s just fine with me.
It was at the grocery store at Safeway in Midtown over the weekend when a certain thought process began to dawn me. Because I am very busy in my career as a Sacramento real estate agent, I don’t spend a lot of time doing other things that many normal people do such as going to the grocery store, for example. I’m very out of touch with how that process works.
There I was, at the cash register, wondering which way I should insert my plastic Safeway card into the card reader contraption. At least I have a Safeway card. I held off for a long time because I was against the principal of this corporation forcing me to give it my personal information so it could track my buying habits and try to sell me more shit. I find that kind of creepy. The fact that I even had a Safeway card was pretty much incredible, and I was feeling smug about it, and even better about the fact that I had managed to insert it correctly.
Yay, points for me. I was also astonished that nobody asked whether I wanted paper or plastic. They unilaterally chose plastic. Maybe they have a big supply to get rid of before that law goes into place. The check-out guy rotated my plastic bags tied with twisty ties and with cucumbers and bell peppers to count each item and tallied all of my groceries. Voila, $250 please. Sticker shock. Ah, the days when a full cart meant I had reached $25. Long gone.
I glanced at the display thingie and noted options for credit, debit cards, some unfamiliar icons, and asked the clerk which was used when a person writes a check. You’d think there would be a little piece of paper with a pen next to it as an icon.
He just laughed at me and said none of the options apply. Just write the check. I handed the check over to him, and he punched a bunch of keys, his eyebrows furrowed, a look of frustration crossed his face. I asked if there was something wrong with the check. He stared me in the eyes and demanded, “How many checks do you write at Safeway?”
Oh, I dunno, maybe I wrote a check a couple years ago. I don’t recall. Maybe last year. Why, what difference does it make? Well, he claimed if I don’t write at least 5 checks at year at Safeway, then Safeway will not recognize nor accept my check. The thing is how do you write one check if you have to write 5 checks before one check will be accepted? How much wood can a woodchuck chuck? Hmmm? He didn’t have an answer for that.
This situation just goes to prove that something people do every single week, which is go to the grocery store, is kind of lost on me. But ask me a question about Sacramento real estate and selling your home, and I’ll take all the time in the world to explain my answers. Because I know not everybody sells real estate.
Agents Should Call the Listing Agent Before Writing an Offer
A buyer’s agent made me laugh out loud yesterday when he said, “You’re so famous I can’t believe I’m talking to you; you’re everywhere online.” I get a big kick out of that kind of reaction because I truly don’t see the celebrity perception that some people form. I’m just a Sacramento real estate agent who writes about real estate every day and sells a bunch of homes in Sacramento every year. It’s not like I’m on TV or anything. I’m not a best seller at Amazon. I put my pants on one leg at a time like most people — mostly because I’m too old and cranky to jump into them with two feet like some 20-year-old surfer dude.
I call a lot of buyer’s agents these days, especially when I see they have showed my listing, for example, on which almost every buyer who sees it wants to write an offer. I figure it’s better to discuss the situation upfront. Text messages and email are all too easy to ignore. But a phone call is kinda jarring to many agents; it’s too personal, I sense, whoa, what is this sound? My phone is ringing and I’m in the middle of playing Plants vs. Zombies, the new Beach wave. What the?
I call agents because I figure it’s better to talk to them before they write an offer. So many never call the listing agent to get more information or glean insight. If I don’t talk to the agents, they’re left staring at their buyer’s bright and shiny face who asks, “How much should I offer?” And the answer appears to be: Whatever you want. I get offers all over the board these days, and some are pretty wild.
Much of this confusion, not all of it, unfortunately, would be resolved if the buyer’s agent would just call the listing agent before writing an offer. One question to ask is how many offers do you have or have you received? That would shed a lot of light on the situation. Without breaking fiduciary to her seller, a listing agent can also help guide the buyer’s agent to writing an offer that is likely to get accepted.
There is always more behind buying a home than numbers and pictures. There are people involved. It’s not just an address with four walls and a roof.
My focus is to make the seller happy and get the seller into escrow and closed. I don’t mind calling buyer’s agents and talking. It’s how we used to do business in the old days before agents threw offers at the wall to see if anything sticks and then resumed reading Facebook.
Should an East Sacramento Home Buyer Lowball if a Home Needs Work?
If a home for sale in East Sacramento needs work, does that mean a home buyer can or should offer less than the asking price? Imagine this scenario. A home buying couple has been out touring homes with her East Sacramento Realtor for several days. They had been looking at homes in East Sacramento both online and in person, trying to find the home that speaks the loudest and stirs up those emotional longings. Finally, they stumble upon a home with the right number of bedrooms and baths, the layout is perfect, and the location is highly desirable, but, alas, it’s not in the best condition.
The home needs a new roof, and the elderly sellers don’t have the money to replace the roof. The hardwood flooring under the carpeting is in pristine shape but rolling up carpeting to haul off to the city dump is really not in the buyers’ future plans. Perhaps the flooring slants a little bit because the home has been around for 75 years. The hottest design trends that are featured in all of the home remodeling magazines are not found in this home; instead there is basket-weave tile in the bath, which the buyers would prefer to rip out.
Still, there are very few homes for sale in the buyers’ price range in East Sacramento. This home might be perfect in every way except for the defects the buyers noted. How much should the buyers offer if they decide to move forward? That’s always the big question. This could be the home of their dreams.
First, a buyer might want to consider the fact that the home is priced correctly and at market value, which is often the case. The price probably already reflects the work. Perhaps another home the buyers don’t much care for is priced less because it is a home that is much smaller and located on a busy street? Figuring out an offering price does not mean buyers should automatically offer less because the home does not measure up to their ideal needs. Market value does not depend on a buyers’ future home improvement plans.
Buyers, too, might point to the days on market, as the novice typically assumes incorrectly that longer days on market always means a home is overpriced. Sometimes newbie real estate agents make that mistake as well. What longer days on market can also mean is many home buyers do not want to buy a home that requires any work at all, so they pass it by. Not that it’s priced incorrectly. For many first-time home buyers, any amount of work is too much work.
The savvy buyer will instead see an opportunity to buy an East Sacramento home that will increase in value after the right kind of improvements are made. They also welcome the chance to apply a personal touch to their new home and might even spend afternoons strolling the aisles of Home Depot. Often, these types of buyers, believe it or not, are real estate agents. If you want to buy a home like a real estate agent, then you might want to talk with your agent about the comparable sales and look at the sales price the way a professional would. Because only a novice would believe a lowball offer is the right answer.
