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Elizabeth Weintraub
Tips When Selling a Home and Reviewing Offers on a Future Date
Although I am pretty much against reviewing offers on a future date when selling a home in Sacramento, there are circumstances when it makes sense. Sometimes I see listings that read “we will look at all offers next Friday.” Then Friday comes and goes and there are no offers. Now everybody knows that seller’s angle. They have the seller’s number. Exposed hand dealt. And sellers might pay for that arrogance.
The other drawback to reviewing offers on a future date is the fact sellers will eliminate buyers from trying to buy their home. From the seller’s point of view, if a buyer is interested, it doesn’t matter. But that’s because sellers often try to judge the situation from a seller’s point of view instead of a buyer’s point of view. They say to themselves, “well, if I were a buyer, I wouldn’t care.” But they don’t know that to be fact. They simply wish it to be fact.
Buyers do not like multiple offers. No buyer hopes a million other buyers will bid on the same house. In fact, some buyers openly state if there will be multiple offers, they want no part of those negotiations. The stress is too much. Further, they feel pressured into making decisions they don’t want to make, like paying more for the house. Some feel overpaying is a fool’s job. Even though those that overpay often end up with the house and those who do not, cannot buy a house like that.
On top of which, overpaying is subjective and time sensitive. If other buyers are willing to pay more, it defines market value. If it’s market value, then a buyer is not overpaying. If the value is higher than appraised value, in a year or so, it won’t be. And bottom line, somebody will buy the house, why can’t it be a buyer who doesn’t particularly enjoy multiple offers?
Reviewing offers on a future date makes sense if it’s pretty much iron clad that demand will be high. If the property is gorgeous enough to warrant it. On the other side, it also makes sense when selling fixer homes. Two extremes. Polar opposites. It’s even easier to attract top dollar when pricing a home at that sweet spot. Then a seller can sit back and collect offers without feeling pressured. It leaves no doubt lingering in the seller’s mind that she could have left any money on the table. Investors don’t whine much about reviewing offers on a future date.
Where Does Your Sacramento Realtor Really Work?
With technology today, you might wonder where does your Sacramento Realtor really work from? Those not in the business probably assume an agent works in her office. It may come as a surprise to learn that most Sacramento agents do not work in an office. In fact, I don’t even know why agents have desks in an office when they are rarely at an assigned desk. The cost to keep open a real estate office in Sacramento is primarily for appearances.
Often a client will call and ask if they can come down to the office to meet with me. They seem astounded to discover I don’t work from my office. In fact, I am rarely ever in the office. I try to stop by once a week to pick up mail and attend our weekly Wednesday office meeting. Other than that, there is little reason for me to go into the office. If you would like to know where does your Sacramento Realtor really work, she works at her home office.
Almost everybody who produces on a regular basis works remotely. Sure, there are agents who enjoy hanging around the office to talk real estate with other agents. What Hawaiians call Talk Story. But people like me do not have time for social interaction during the day. Much of my business is conducted via phone, email or text. When I am not meeting with a prospective seller to list a home, because listings are my specialty, I am glued to my desktop computer.
I can sell Sacramento real estate from my home in Sacramento or my home in Hawaii. Further, I have the Elizabeth Weintraub Team to support buyers. You never really know where I might be. My home office is in both places. Still, I sell over $30 million a year. Does the answer to where does your Sacramento Realtor really work matter as long as she gets the job done well?
Obviously not. Because, I just arrived home in Sacramento after working for 3 weeks in Hawaii on my Sacramento real estate business. Hello 100 + degrees.
What Happens When You Talk Story in Hawaii
Do you wonder what does it mean to Talk Story in Hawaii? There are few places in the world where you meet a total stranger who instantly turns into a friend than when you Talk Story in Hawaii. It’s part of Hawaiian culture. Where else in the country can you be physically in a state in the United States yet encounter a foreign culture, except maybe Stockton?
Almost everybody you meet has perfected artistic skills you do not possess. Some can find the honu (turtle) within the stone when carving a sculpture using another rock. Others can paddle a canoe blindfolded. Or weave a cloak from feathers and flowers. Each person seems to have a story to tell, a tale to share.
You can meet a stranger in the grocery store, bonding over slabs of butter. A conversation begins and 30 minutes passes. To Talk Story in Hawaii, it doesn’t involve any set time limits. But it’s much longer than a stray comment a person in Sacramento might mutter while standing in a check-out line, how about those Kings, huh? Nothing like that.
When you Talk Story in Hawaii, it is much more personal. It can be several anecdotes tied to a lesson or just a funny ending. It’s an amazing concept because it makes you stop and consider the person in front of you as a person. A living, human being with desires, hopes, dreams, successes, failures. It makes you relate to people as whole individuals, not some delivery system or consumer purchase.
There is a purpose and a dignity to the exchanges. You leave the interaction knowing more about that person than, say, just the fact some guy is here to spray the yard with insecticide. You learn he and his wife moved to Kona two years ago, and he joined a family operation, learning a job he truly enjoys. Bought a house, owns a dog. You can tell when he asks if you want the inside of your garage sprayed or if you need a flytrap to get rid of gnats.
Smiles are genuine. Kindness is authentic. You feel the Aloha, and the magic of Aloha is it makes you want to be a better person yourself.
The price of some business transactions is to interact. Really, is that so bad? We’re not always in such a rush that we forget to connect with the people around us.
Before packing up, I stopped by my neighbor’s house to Talk Story in Hawaii with two of my favorite Minnesotans in Kona. Mentioned to my friend, Jean, that I let a vendor steamroll over me. He had promised delivery of our quartz before I left the island. However, after he cashed my check, he called to say he would prefer to ship it when I come back, and I said OK.
How could I be such a wimp? I asked Jean. I would not behave that way in Sacramento real estate. I would demand people keep promises they want to break. What Jean said was very insightful. She said I backed down because we don’t want people we must rely on to resent us. If they resent us, they might turn to sabotage. So true. Now I don’t question my actions.
I spent my last day in Hawaii this trip at one of my favorite beaches, Two-Step Beach. Snorkeling. Talking story. And, if you are interested, The Coffee Shack just south of Captain Cook is for sale at $2 million. That buys a successful business, quite a bit of land, fabulous view, and a residence.
Aloha.
Why You Cannot Sell Your House in This Hot Sacramento Market
You cannot sell your house in our hot Sacramento real estate market for any number of reasons. Let’s look at a few. First, it is not always price. You might own a unique home, unlike anything else on the market. Unique homes appeal to a unique buyer. They do not appeal to your normal run-of-the-mill buyers. Sometimes we get lucky and a unique buyer pops up right away. Sometimes it can take 6 months to a year to find that needle-in-a-haystack buyer.
Another reason you cannot sell your house in our seller’s market might be due to improvements. Your home might be over improved for the neighborhood or under improved. If it is over improved, a price adjustment or outright patience will move that listing. Buyers want fixed-up, turnkey properties. If it is under improved, it might not sell at all at the price a seller wants.
Unless, of course, if it is a major fixer. Major fixers always have plenty of buyers fighting for the right to turn their lives upside down by trying to become a flipper. I’ve noticed hard-money lenders sourcing get-rich-quick seminars, trying to educate would-be flippers on how to do an incredibly difficult job fairly poorly. These same lenders also pull in investors to fund hard-money loans to their flipper audience. What a racket.
Sometimes sellers try to be helpful; they want to share tips they just pulled out of thin air to their Sacramento Realtor. Agents need to show compassion. Sellers don’t see where they might be disrespectful. Once a seller asked if I could put up 3×5 cards at a laundromat. Because they are not in the business, they do not realize all effective marketing is online. It’s not in that magazine at the beauty salon. It’s on the internet.
Another seller asked why aren’t visitors to Zillow clicking on his listing. What was wrong? When your marketing verbiage is excellent and the photos superb, it is probably because buyers aren’t looking for homes on Zillow. Or, there is not a big market for your house. Maybe too much competition in a particular neighborhood. Not to mention, interest rates are increasing, thereby reducing buyers’ purchasing power.
One of the things I do when I take a listing is look at how long it took to sell that particular home the last few times. Doesn’t matter when. I’ve got 4 decades in the real estate business, and I remember all of our markets. If I see a home sold near its original price in a super hot market with really long days on market, it’s a problem property. Odds are it may sell over a similar time frame again.
But do not ever be afraid to talk to your Sacramento Realtor about why you cannot sell your house. If you have a competent listing agent, I can promise you this, it is not your agent. That is not the reason. Also, anything will sell if it is priced right.
Please be aware that I predict we are moving away from a seller’s market in Sacramento. Time-tested strategies that have worked for the past 6 years are no longer applicable to today’s real estate market. Is your agent aware of the shift? Buyers are saying enough is enough. Besides, markets change all the time. Get ready, Sacramento! Change is on the horizon. I can feel it.
Tips for Buying New Kitchen Appliances for a Remodel
Before you look at buying new kitchen appliances, especially during a remodel, you should consider future needs. For example, the trend is wider and taller. This means if you’re planning to create a space for your refrigerator, for instance, think about accommodating a larger refrigerator down the road. If you have an older home, most likely your space for a refrigerator is 33 inches. You will find limited choices in the 33-inch-wide refrigerator categories.
Of course, another reason to remodel is to raise the cabinets over your refrigerator space. But if you lock in the width, especially by installing a matching cabinet panel up the side of your refrigerator, you are stuck with that width forever. You might think about a counter-depth refrigerator, too. With those, you are sacrificing depth in the refrigerator, which means less room to store food. But if you go wider, you can retrieve part of that lost space.
Next, think about whether all your appliances need to match each other. Manufacturers love to sell you matching and coordinating appliances. However, there is a catch. I don’t know why but not every manufacturer excels in every area of appliance making. What I mean is some make better refrigerators than they do microwaves. Whatever you do, do NOT buy based on price and appearance or you may live to regret those decisions.
What needs to match is the finish. The brands do not need to match. While working on buying a bath tub, I discovered the drain is sold separately. Further research uncovered the fact that a soaking drain from Jacuzzi is a better drain than the one suggested for our tub. But, the salesman warned, it will read Jacuzzi on your tub and not American Standard. Some people care about those things. Like you can switch out the red logo in exchange for other options on a KitchenAid dishwasher, which seem to be the best dishwashers in the world.
I have learned that you can buy new kitchen appliances in a variety of colors, but the trending color right now is black stainless, more so than slate. Black slate is available only through GE. A concern, of course, in a place like Hawaii where it’s humid and things rust in the salt air is whether stainless will rust. But you can also apply a marine wax. Anything eventually will rust, except pewter.
Cast iron white sinks, for example, cost a lot more than stainless. If you might have to replace a sink due to rust, it’s probably better to go with a less expensive sink. Another trending item is slide-in ranges that take the place of a free-standing range. They match the depth of a standard counter width, not to mention, you don’t have to look at annoying controls. But do make sure the knobs for an electric slide-in are not in a place on the front of the range where you’ll accidentally turn on the burners.
Because you’ve got to do your homework when buying new kitchen appliances. If you walk into the store and stroke the prettiest models, you’ll regret it. Do all of your research online. Consumer Reports offers excellent recommendations for buying new kitchen appliances. The problem there is maybe they have not reviewed the one you want to buy or maybe their top pick is not available in your area.
I really like the Lowe’s website for shopping. They post reviews from the manufacturer’s website and also from their own shoppers. Some appliances have thousands of reviews. There is also a community question-and-answer section where you can click yes or no to add to the authority of the question. Honestly, I don’t know how we ever bought anything before the internet.
You can learn from other people’s mistakes that way. Which is really the best way to learn. I recall a dishwasher we bought once that broke down a couple of times a year, right after the warranty expired. Never again. Now we buy appliances that tend to last. Which means style, color and finish are all important but the number consideration should be reliability.
After the warranty expires, is it likely to continue to do the thing you bought it to do?
