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Elizabeth Weintraub
Reflections of Same Old Birthday That Rolls Around Every Year
Even though it’s the same old birthday that happens every year, I don’t always plan something for it. Staying in Sacramento this year. This year is the birthday I was supposed to retire. About 10 years ago, I circled this date on my calendar and promised myself I would retire when I turned 66. Plans have a funny way of not always working out. For one thing, I’m married to a guy who is almost 11 years younger than me. At 55, he has no urge to retire. It’s all my fault anyway. I should not have urged him to get a job, and if I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have this problem right now.
When we decided to get married almost 20 years ago, I warned my husband: You’re gonna push me around in my wheelchair in my old age. I did not think about what it would be like when I was ready to retire and he was not.
However, it’s more nuanced than that. Not just my husband’s fault I’m not retired. It’s my fault because I have built a successful business that I enjoy, so I can’t stop. This is what happens to top producing real estate agents. They never retire. NEVER. You think to yourself, what would I do if I didn’t sell Sacramento real estate? Well, there’s what I think I would do, and then what I would really do. I excel at doing nothing. The queen of nothingness. Which is probably what I would do. Then I’d go stark-raving mad.
This is what I think about when the same old birthday rolls around, year after year.
After people retire, they’ve got to have something they enjoy doing instead of working. I have worked for so long that it is ingrained in my brain. Don’t know how to separate working from playing because they are both intertwined. I love real estate. Absolutely love listing and selling homes. My team members are the best people in the world, and I count them among my friends.
Financially, I am secure. I don’t have to work unless I want to. Which obviously, I do. I do want to work. Retiring at 66, well, it seems like I am too young to do that.
However, when I look at most of our neighbors at our second home in Hawaii — all retired. One guy has taken up SCUBA diving, and I often spot him hanging up his wet suit in his garage, wishing I was him. Others volunteer. Another spends days in classroom instruction, learning new skills. But I still feel compelled to continue helping home buyers and sellers. My team relies on me. I’m not done complaining about stuff, either. Somebody’s got to object to crap.
Rather than bemoan the fact my best laid plans fell by the wayside today, I am better off celebrating the fact that the same old birthday keeps happening. Given the alternative and all. My compromise is to spend a lot of time working from our house in Hawaii. That’s my trade-off. As long as I can sell Sacramento real estate while I’m working from my lanai, I’m as content as I’m gonna be.
Today, I am giving an interview to a reporter from Realtor Magazine, then it’s off to the dentist, my doctor for an annual exam, work, work, work, and then dinner in East Sacramento with my husband. Life is good. Happy birthday to me.
Psst: Happy Birthday to my client Robbie on the 29th, too.
When Can Home Buyers Ask Sacramento Sellers to Help with Closing Costs?
With rising prices in Sacramento, some buyers need help with closing costs. If you look at a median priced home in Sacramento, which is now $375,000, a minimum down payment is about $13,125 for FHA. It will take an additional $11,250 to cover closing costs. The grand total for a first-time home buyer is $24,375. That’s a lot of money for new buyers to scrounge up and save. Many buyers look to the bank of mom-and-pop to help out, or they ask the seller to help with closing costs.
The main problem with this approach to ask for help with closing costs is the seller most likely does not want to give the buyer a 3% break. Sellers are already paying around 6% for commission, plus another 1% or so for their own closing costs. On a $375,000 sale, that’s $26,250. Which is more than the buyer’s total down payment plus closing costs. You can see why sellers might not be overly eager to help out.
However, a seller who has a bit of trouble selling a home might be open to help with closing costs. Buyers might look at homes that have been on the market for a while. Contrary to popular belief, there is not always a defect in a home that has accumulated longer days on market. Maybe it was rented and the tenants refused to cooperate with showings? Maybe the new construction around the corner finally dried up and stopped diverting all of the buyers? Maybe the seller made a few improvements that now enhance the value? Or maybe the seller was out of town, or ill?
There are a million reasons why days on market might accumulate that have little to do with the desirability of the home.
Another tactic to use is ask for help with the closing costs but be prepared to pay a bit more for the property. This way the seller is not dinged on the price nor taking the money out of her pocket. Of course, the buyer is financing that additional amount on top of the sales price. Which means the home needs to appraise for that amount. Generally, though, the appraisals are right on the value we need.
This means if you’re offering a seller $375,000 for a home, you would offer instead $386,500 and ask for a credit of $11,500.
If you’re hoping to buy a home in Sacramento but think you don’t have enough money, call the Elizabeth Weintraub Team. We will match you with a top notch exclusive buyer’s agent on the team, an agent with plenty of experience to help you win the home of your dreams! Call 916.233.6759. Don’t put it off another day. We can help.
Tips for LGBT Home Buyers When Writing a Letter to the Seller
If you’re looking for tips for LGBT home buyers who are trying to compete in Sacramento’s hot seller’s market, you’ve come to the right place. Every agent on the Elizabeth Weintraub Team loves working with LGBT home buyers. We absolutely do not discriminate and we take caution to try to ensure our clients never face discrimination. But when you’ve got idiots like U. S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher saying home sellers should not have to sell to gay or lesbian people, it confuses some people. Fortunately, it did not confuse the National Association of Realtors, which promptly withdrew its campaign contributions to Rohrabacher.
The issue of LGBT home buyers writing a letter to the seller came up yesterday. At first blush, the agent’s first instincts was to advise the LGBT home buyers to put it all out there, take a stand, be who they are and be proud of it. Problem was the seller of the property was born in 1926. Really old people are not always known for insightful tolerance. And no, I do not intend to argue ageist issues or discuss those who discriminate against older people. Just saying, you’ve got Grandpa Joe who’s moving kinda slow at the junction and does not necessarily understand a thing about LGBT.
The agent thought back to heterosexual couples who wrote letters to the seller, talking about how they just got married. How excited they are to buy their first home. About plans to start a family. Why can’t these LGBT home buyers express the same sentiment? Good question. And it’s best answered by considering these two additional questions:
- Do the LGBT home buyers need to make a statement or do they want to buy a house?
- Since when is it anybody’s business about your personal life or sexual orientation?
Home sellers want to sell their home to an owner occupant, generally. Sellers take great delight in knowing the new home buyers feel a connection to their home. After all, it’s years of memories in that home for the seller. They want the new buyers to fall in love with the home. To express their enthusiasm for the property, to show the love. Every person on earth can do this. This is not hiding who you are, it’s just not focusing on other aspects.
My advice for LGBT home buyers is let your desire for the home shine through in your letter. Put your heart out there, not the gender you identify with nor your sexual preferences. Because it is not any of the seller’s business. Further, California law prohibits discrimination based on sexual preferences, but you probably know that. What people outside of the LGBT community often do not realize is that the federal Fair Housing Law does not include sexual orientation as a protected class.
After all this of time, there is presently a bill before Congress to amend the 1968 housing law to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes.
It’s only taken 50 years. After this, maybe we can pass the ERA?
What Happens When Sellers Reject a List Price Offer?
Is it smart for sellers to reject a list price offer? You might wonder why a person would put her home on the market and then turn down an offer at full list price or better. But it happens. You know why? One reason is the seller is mentally ill. I’ve certainly experienced a few of those. But much of the time it is because sellers harbor unrealistic views of how much their home is worth. They probably get that mindset from asking Uncle Joe or they wrongly trust Zillow estimates, and both are most likely widely inaccurate.
Or, they add up all the money they have ever put into the house. For some reason, sellers tend to believe improvements do not depreciate. That new kitchen 10 years later is not new. Further, if they put on a new roof several years ago and it cost $15,000, they think their home is worth $15,000 more. It pains me to say, it is not worth $15,000 more. Not on the day the roof was installed or even two years later. Because a roof is a maintenance item, not an improvement.
It might appear as an improvement to the seller because maybe the old roof was really old shake and now this roof is a 50-year warranted comp. Still, it is not an improvement. A new roof just makes the home more sellable. Further, I find the amount of money people put into a home tends to grow in hindsight.
Then we have the Sacramento listing agents who have done their homework and they suggest a sales price the seller does not agree with. However, maybe the seller didn’t share with her agent that she was not in agreement. She might have signed the listing agreement at a lower price than she wanted. Maybe the seller figured multiple offers would push up the price. And then no multiple offers happened.
Whatever the reason, when sellers reject a list price offer, the seller has several options. The first is the seller can take the home off the market. Especially when it is clear there won’t be any higher priced offers. The second is MLS regulations require that the Sacramento listing agent put a note into MLS for other agents that lets agents know the seller has rejected a list price offer. This option is rather defeatist for the seller because now other agents are likely to suggest their buyers pass on viewing the home.
When sellers reject a list price offer, they tend to appear unstable to everyone. The third option is to raise the price in MLS. However, if you’re a seller who thinks that’s a good idea, well, that option is pretty much like putting a gun to your head and just not pulling the trigger yet. Hate to say.
The Story of Closing a Pool Home in West Sacramento
The story of closing a pool home in West Sacramento is a classic, with a few twists. We were on the market for 7 whole days before we solidified an offer. An agent approached us to say her buyer, who lived in the Riva on the River condos, was interested in making an offer. Unfortunately, it was a contingent offer, although the buyer’s home was not yet on the market. My response to that sort of thing is always “get it on the market.”
But I’ve had a lot of experience selling many condos in Riva on the River, so that should be a quick sale. We agreed to give the buyer 10 days to sell her home. By the time the 10th day rolled around, I went to the seller and suggested he issue a Notice to Buyer to Perform because it was time to put the pedal to the metal.
My 40-some years in the business always pays off. I could sense the seller of the pool home in West Sacramento was a bit reluctant, so I more strongly encouraged him to sign it. Hey, it was in his best interest. Besides, we had also collected a backup offer. For more money. This gives us leverage in the event the first buyer decides halfway through the transaction to try to renegotiate price or asks for a credit.
In these types of instances, we often issue a counter offer. Typical counter offers increase the earnest money deposit because some agents think 1% is sufficient when it generally is not. We shortened the inspection periods. Changed title and escrow. Why do buyer’s agents think we would be willing to close out the escrow we have opened and switch to the buyer’s agents’ preferred escrow company? In a seller’s market? I dunno.
We also included the fact the home is sold AS IS. All homes in California are sold AS IS but few agents realize it. If they don’t know it, you can bet their buyers don’t know it, either. So I like to point out paragraph 11 and remind the buyers our terms are no renegotiations, no credits, no repairs. Doesn’t stop them from asking sometimes, but the answer is still no. When the market fully shifts, that type of tactic will change as well.
Turned out the buyer could afford to buy the house without selling her condo. When she received the Notice to Perform, she withdrew her Contingency to Sell, reduced her down payment and sent a new preapproval letter. Her agent was on the ball! So nice to work with her, too.
We closed escrow on this pool home in West Sacramento without any hiccups on June 21, my favorite day of the year. It was also the day I closed up our house in Hawaii and headed back to Sacramento.
1660 Headslane Road, West Sacramento, CA 95691, closed escrow June 21, 2018, at list price of $425,000. I can sell your West Sacramento home, too. Just call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 40 years of experience to work for you.
