Elizabeth Weintraub

Elizabeth Weintraub

40+ years of experience in real estate, Sacramento real estate broker working at Lyon Real Estate in Midtown Sacramento. Author of The Short Sale Savior. Home Buying Expert at The Balance. Top Producer, ranks in the top 1% of all real estate agents in Sacramento Region. Life Member of Master's Club awarded by Sacramento Association of REALTORS.

Why California Should Get Rid of Daylight Saving

california should get rid of daylight savingNo beating around the bush, I say California should get rid of daylight saving. It’s archaic and we have electricity now. Having to switch between standard time and daylight saving is like being forced to travel into another time zone against your wishes. This is also a good place to point out to those who want to call it “daylight savings.” No plurality. It’s just a saving.

Twice a year the time change messes up all of daily activities. From sleeping to eating to pooping. It’s all screwed up. It affects health, contributes to traffic accidents, and there is no good reason for it.

Some people might say, but Elizabeth, you stay at your house in Hawaii so much, why are you complaining? You’re always dealing with a time change. Well, for starters, I don’t really alter my schedule in Hawaii. I wake up about the same time that I do at home in Sacramento. Because I can stay on Sacramento time if I so choose. That’s the beauty of working as a Sacramento Realtor. I pick my hours. Nobody dictates.

Still, I believe California should get rid of daylight saving. It serves no purpose. Naysayers complain that it would put the East Coast 4 hours ahead of us instead of three. Well, that’s easily solved. What California does, so goes the nation. First we do it, then the other states might follow. Arizona has been there for decades.

So is Hawaii. Hawaii has no daylight saving. This is why some people can get confused about the time change between Hawaii and California. They think it’s two hours, apparently, but that’s because they only visit the islands over winter holidays. It is not always a 2-hour difference. The rest of the year, Hawaii is 3 hours behind California. It would be only two hours if California appeals daylight saving.

Just think about how nice it would be to have the same time all year-round. It wouldn’t get dark so early in the winter months. Aren’t you tired of getting jacked around by the government? Wouldn’t you like control of the time to be constant? We’ve got so much other stuff to deal with, we don’t need forced time changes to cause even more havoc.

We are getting closer to seeing this proposed change. The Senate approved a proposal to end this outdated practice by putting AB 807 out to the voters in November. If approved, it will let the legislature abolish the spring forward and fall back craziness with a 2/3rds vote. Isn’t this something we can all agree on?

AB 807 seeks to repeal the 1949 ballot measure that has been in force for almost 70 years. Let’s be like Nike and just do it. Yes, California should get rid of daylight saving.

Elizabeth Weintraub

How to Attract Listings in Sacramento By Going to Hawaii

listings in sacramento

Some of my clients know first-hand that I might pay a bit more attention to my listings in Sacramento when I am in Hawaii. That might sound counter-productive to some of you who would do the complete opposite if given a chance. But going to our house in Hawaii is like arriving at my source of personal power. I dive right into the Aloha. It’s not like I must go to the ocean to swim or drive the coastline. Because I’m perfectly content on my lanai, working on my computer against a panoramic backdrop of the ocean off in the distance.

Especially when I am the only person at the house. I don’t even have a cat or a neighborhood cat to distract me, although I won’t discount the geckos, lizards and occasional mongoose. It’s a quiet environment that lets me focus on my listings, alone in the warm Kona breezes blowing across the lanai.

No wonder I am so at peace and happy in Hawaii.

Of course, all I have to do to attract more listings in Sacramento is to print out that boarding pass. Like magic. Bam. The phone starts to ring. I managed to squeeze in one last listing appointment yesterday before I left. When you read this, I will be 30,000 feet in the air, enjoying breakfast over the Pacific. Two and a half movies later, I’m in Honolulu changing planes to Big Island.

I also just picked up another listing in Sacramento yesterday when a buyer flaked out. We had to put the home back on the market, but we’ve also got a group of interested buyers who did not act fast enough. The buyer’s agent said the buyer decided after going into escrow that he cannot afford to buy a home, or his loan was too much, hard to say. Cold feet. So many buyers develop cold feet, it seems.

It’s entirely possible that before I come back home to Sacramento that I’ll take more listings in Sacramento. With technology — internet and cell — that’s all I need to sell homes in Sacramento. The new listing on this page is a view from the street in Laguna West, which is in Elk Grove, a suburb of Sacramento. I love to sell homes in this neighborhood; it’s one of my favorites.

These sellers have a list of things to do before going on the market, but they could be ready in a couple of weeks. This will probably be priced in the lower to mid-700s, if you’re interested. You can call me at 916.233.6759, but please note the time difference in Hawaii is 3 hours earlier than Sacramento. Mahalo!

Wonder if Median Prices of Sacramento Homes Have Recovered from 2006?

median prices sacramento compared 2006

Are you wondering whether median prices of Sacramento homes have recovered from 2006? If you’ve been watching the housing market in Sacramento for any period of time lately, you’re probably blown away by rising prices. You can’t spin around without finding limited inventory, multiple offers and getting priced out of the market. In fact, many buyers probably wonder just how high can prices go?

Are we back to where started in 2006, at the height of the real estate market? Does this mean the median prices of Sacramento homes have recovered from 2006 to 2018? We’re very close, but the fact is we are not there yet. You might think we’re out of the woods by all of the sales activity and pent-up demand for homes, but the statistics from Zillow tell a different story.

Of interest, there are four communities, upper-end, more affluent areas, which have moved past the median sales prices from 2006. Those areas are El Dorado Hills, Granite Bay, Folsom and the city of Davis. The bounce back rate for Davis is 115%, meaning median prices have surpassed 2006 by 15%.

The chart below shows the percentage of 2006 values that each neighborhood or city has reached in June of 2018. This data was extracted from the Sacramento Bee story and not verified as sourcing from Zillow.

If you’d like to know whether median prices of Sacramento homes have recovered from 2006 to 2018, the percentages below might astonish. As always, feel free to call your Sacramento Realtor, Elizabeth Weintraub, 916.233.6759, for more information.

City and Percentage of 2006 Median Prices to 2018
Florin 84%
Woodland 90%
Rio Linda 89%
South Lake Tahoe 93%
Auburn 93%
Galt 92%
Rancho Cordova 92%
Placerville 93%
Elk Grove 94%
Sacramento 93%
West Sacramento 96%
Citrus Heights 95%
Rosemont 95%
Carmichael 97%
Fair Oaks 97%
Roseville 97%
Rocklin 99%
Arden-Arcade 99%
Orangevale 99%
Lincoln 100%
Shingle Springs 100%
El Dorado Hills 101%
Granite Bay 101%
Folsom 105%
Davis 115%

Elizabeth Weintraub

Where are the Property Lines for Homes in Sacramento?

where are the property lines for homes in sacramento

A buyer’s agent asked this Sacramento Realtor the million-dollar question yesterday. She wanted to know where are the property lines for a home in Sacramento. Yes, just go ahead and ask your seller, the agent requested. Well, I will advise the seller not to answer that kind of question. Even if he thinks he knows the answer to where are the property lines, he should not discuss it. Because he could be wrong. Little puts a person more at risk than being absolutely certain where the property lines are located.

Besides, there are tools available and better ways to answer where are the property lines. In the early 1970s, I worked for a few years as a title searcher at First American Title. That meant I was responsible for piecing together a chain of title from the U.S. Patent forward. Some of that information was already updated on punch cards, but we didn’t have computers. If we didn’t have a punch card, then it meant a trip to the county courthouse. Which involved Grantor and Grantee books. Manual entries from pens dipped into an ink well.

Anybody can draw out property lines from property descriptions. It’s not rocket science. Simply use a protractor and a ruler. It helps to read this piece about legal descriptions, which I also wrote.

To answer the agent’s question about where are the property lines in Sacramento, I emailed her the preliminary title report. In the prelim is the metes and bounds description. The thing to remember is there is always a POB, the point of beginning. You begin at the POB and end at the POB. If you can follow directions, you can do it.

Another solution is to walk the property itself and look for a “pin” which is a marker in the ground at the corners. A pin is more likely to be discovered for a much older home than a newer property.

An easy solution for those who really do not care one way or the other about an extra foot here or there is to ask your neighbor. Just agree on a property line. Bear in mind that there is no guarantee with this solution that the neighbor won’t sell to an individual who disagrees with your agreed-upon assessment.

The very best way to settle where are the property lines for homes in Sacramento is to hire a surveyor. That expense can set a person back $500 to $1,000 or more. Which is why nobody really knows where the property lines are located.

Elizabeth Weintraub

 

Weekend Getaway to San Jose from Sacramento

weekend getaway to san jose

If you’re looking for a weekend getaway to San Jose from Sacramento, there are reasons you may enjoy the travel to San Jose over San Francisco. For starters, there is no I-80 traffic to fight. A drive to San Francisco can take 90 minutes or 5 hours; you just don’t know. When returning from Europe once, when all we wanted to do was slink into the limo and sleep, it indeed took us 5 hours to get home from the airport. Early afternoon on Thursday, too.

We elected to drive from Sacramento for our weekend getaway to San Jose because it is less time and easier than taking the Amtrak Capitol Corridor train. Straight down I-5 to I-580.

weekend getaway to san jose

This particular weekend was the San Jose Jazz Festival, which we did not attend. It kept the downtown area vibrant into the evening, though. You can see the hot dog vendors above, and there were plenty of these setups along the street.

Behind the hot dog guys is the Grill on the Alley, part of The Fairmont, where we had dinner. I could not find the type of fine dining we can get in Sacramento in the downtown area of San Jose. Perhaps it’s because downtown restaurants cater more to convention attendees? I dunno. The Grill on the Alley was maybe 4 stars. Adequate, but nothing much to say about it.

weekend getaway to san jose

Before our dinner reservations, we strolled over to the historic area of San Jose, at least that’s what our map called the neighborhood. It was fairly quiet and not much seemed to be open. We had tickets to see Whitney Cummings at the San Jose Improv Comedy Club. So right after dinner, we walked over to the comedy center to stand in line.

By the time they opened the door, we were positioned about halfway in the line. But once inside, we were ushered upstairs and forced to sit in the nosebleed section, almost up against the wall. I just got our tickets a few days ago; however, there seems to be VIP seating that can be obtained in advance, which we were not privy to. Well, next time I will know.

The club also instills a 2-drink minimum. They should just take your money, and hand you tickets which you can throwaway. I am too old now to enjoy a couple of drinks with dinner and then throw down a couple more at a club. That’s too much alcohol. I mean, they can make me pay for it, but they can’t make me drink it. My husband insisted I could order a glass of water or a ginger ale but the point is I did not want to consume anything else simply because of that stupid requirement.

Whitney Cummings put on an entertaining act, but I’ve enjoyed others more on Netflix comedy specials. Comedians like Bo Burnham, Hannah Gadsby, John Mulaney, Mike Birbiglia and Iliza Shlesinger. Stand-up comedy specials are addictive. Especially when the comedian is talented, smart and dark. Like with any method of communication, though, whether written or verbal, most of us prefer an informative delivery. Whitney Cummings delivered no message.

weekend getaway san jose

Keeping with this vein, I would like to say our hotel room for this weekend getaway to San Jose was fabulous, but it was simply inexpensive. If it wasn’t so hot that you needed to run the AC all night, it might have been more bearable. But the in-room AC unit was outrageously loud. Every 15 minutes, the room fills with the sound of a locomotive coming right at you. Still, it cost $300 for the top floor of the Westin vs $1,000 at The Fairmont.

Elizabeth Weintraub

 

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