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Elizabeth Weintraub
Psst: Your Sacramento Agent Does Not Want You to Call Listing Agents
With such an abundance of wrong / incomplete information online, it’s no wonder that buyers feel compelled to call listing agents. They spot a home for sale, think their agent must have missed it, and then try to call listing agents to try to extract more information. Or, get an appointment to view the home. The problem with this approach is multi-fold. For starters, most of the time they are not contacting the listing agent. They are calling an agent who would try to represent them if they did not have an agent already. No money in that call.
Second problem is most listing agents do not show properties to buyers represented by other agents. That’s because the listing agents expect the buyer’s agent to show their own buyers the property. Part of what a buyer’s agent does to earn a commission. It’s that buyer’s agent’s job. However, I will show if the buyer’s agent calls and directly asks. Extenuating circumstances could prevent the buyer’s agent from performing that function. I want to sell my listings, so I do what it takes. But not every listing agent does.
When I get these sorts of calls, it generally starts with a property address I’ve never heard of. With more than 2,400 active listings in Sacramento right now, I don’t have every house address memorized. The first thing I wonder, especially when the caller seems to have trouble speaking on the phone, is whether the property is a rental. Tenants interact differently than buyers. Their tone is different. For some reason, tenants also seem to hope agents work on rentals when we do not. I get those rental calls because they see my photo and cell on a lot of websites. I become familiar.
Once I eliminate that they are not calling about a rental, I have to figure out if it’s really a home for sale or just a picture of a house. A house that is not for sale. Or, a house that sold years ago. Or, a preforeclosure which will never be for sale. Next up, after it is clear that it is a home that is for sale, I let the caller know that I am not the listing agent, but we would be happy to show them the home. Providing it’s not pending. However, they need to realize that we will be their agent. Is that that what they want? Do they want to work with an agent?
Often this is when they admit that they already have an agent. You don’t say the obvious: like what are you doing calling random agents? I do say: you know, if your agent knew you were calling listing agents, your agent would not like it one little bit. Your agent expects to do the legwork for you and will call listing agents herself. You should not try to do your agent’s job. It could really hurt your agent’s feelings if she knew what you were doing. Your agent can get more information than you can anyway. That’s why you have an agent.
Oh, no, the caller says, my agent knows what I’m doing and is OK with it.
Right.
Best of luck to you in your search.
As I’m hanging up I hear a meekly-worded question fading, but who do we call then . . . and they’re gone. Makes me wonder where the disconnect is between them and their agent. Do buyer’s agents address house hunting protocol upfront with their buyers or do they truly leave these people to their own devices?
Perfect Spot for a Marriage Proposal at Half Dome Summit in Yosemite
This is not where the marriage proposal at Half Dome summit occurred (that photo is below) but it’s the only horizontal photo I have from Josh, and it’s too beautiful not to include in my blog today. What you see before you is Bridalveil Fall, and if you look closely, you can spot the rainbow at the bottom of the fall. It’s a short hike, relatively speaking, maybe a half hour at most, and it’s very wet along the way. Spray and mist feel great when it’s hot in the summer, in the spring I imagine it’s a bit chilly.
My husband and I have visited Yosemite National Park a couple of times, and we really should go there more often. But I can honestly say I have never received a marriage proposal at Half Dome summit, and it’s too late to start now. I’ve been proposed to instead in all sorts of weird places, won’t bore you with the details. Generally ended up getting married, too, except for one engagement when I finally wised up and started saying no. I mean, really, how many times can one person say yes?
Vika Gerassimenko and Josh Amolsch, engaged at Half Dome Summit.
When my husband and I decided to get married in the last year of the last century, it came about at the county courthouse in Minneapolis. We were there to get fishing licenses. Hey, I pointed at the posted sign for license fees, it’s cheaper to get a fishing license if you’re married. And look, right over there, we can get a marriage license! How convenient.
Not Josh. The invincible Josh Amolsch from the Elizabeth Weintraub Team. He has been talking about a marriage proposal at Half Dome Summit for a long time. Obviously played it over and over in his head, what he would say, how he would surprise his girlfriend, Victoria. Such a stand-up guy, a gentleman, he took Victoria’s parents out for lunch last week to ask for their daughter’s hand. Everybody on the Elizabeth Weintraub Team was sworn to secrecy. He brought the ring to the office to show all of us, which was only fair since we all gave our valuable input on the selection.
So, this weekend, on May 26th of the year 2018, Josh and Victoria hiked Half Dome. Josh got down on one knee and pulled out the ring. From the photo, she obviously said yes because it’s hard not to spot that gorgeous ring on her hand. This is a fairly treacherous trail, especially when it’s raining. Just last week a hiker fell off and died. Josh said if they hadn’t rented harnesses, they would undoubtedly be dead. That was the last thing I said to him: Do.not.fall.
Congratulations Josh and Victoria, wishing you a lifetime of much love, happiness and laughter.
What is the Deal With That House in Davis, Agent Asked
Right in the middle of breakfast yesterday morning an agent in Davis called to ask what’s the deal with that house in Davis? OK, I could not have answered my phone, but that’s not what I do. The agent’s question took me by surprise because that’s an odd question to ask. Most agents figure out what’s going on with a property by reading MLS docs, actively showing homes and by studying their markets. I can’t say I’ve ever had an an agent ask me what’s the deal with that house in Davis. Normally they introduce themselves, make a little small talk first, try to wiggle into your good graces. But not this guy.
I asked what he meant. To clarify. The home is for sale. Is it not for sale in his MLS? Was there some sort of problem? No, he just wanted to know what’s the deal with that house in Davis. Well, he needs to be more specific. As a top producer listing agent, my primary objective is to sell listings and help give buyer’s agents the information they need. Why did he think there was anything going on with this particular property?
It’s been on the market for a while, the agent said. Yes, but in that particular ZIPcode homes over $1 million are selling in 91 days, with 152 days cumulative. We are only 50 days on market. This means it can take a while to find the specific buyer we need to find, and we have the luxury of patience. But the guy wasn’t done drilling me.
He continued: What kind of comments have you received on this house? What kind of buyer feedback?
There is only one way to answer this kind of question. I’m astonished he had the audacity to ask.
You want to know what other buyers are saying, right? They are saying this is an absolutely breathtakingly beautiful home. It is so gorgeous this home makes their eyes ache from longing for it. Buyers especially love the back yard and pool and have expressed jaw-dropping awe of the spectacular four-season room. They wish they made enough money to afford it because this home is their forever dream home!
Oh, OK, says he. Guess I will have to take a second look at this home and show it.
Can a Seller Withdraw a Counter Offer Before its Deadline?
The following story of can a seller withdraw a counter offer before its deadline happened recently in Sacramento. It goes like this. Seller put a home in Elk Grove on the market just before Thanksgiving. On December 31, the seller takes the home off the market and cancels the listing. On January 1, the home comes back on the market as a new listing at a new price. This is a way to reset the days on market and get a new MLS number. We do this to revitalize a listing and generate more excitement.
I should note this is not my listing. The story involves the buyer for this home in Elk Grove and how can a seller withdraw a counter offer. This home was listed by another agent. The price was apparently too high because it did not sell. Sometime in February, the agent put the home into “temporary off market” status or TOM, as agents refer to it. Sellers are supposed to give approval for a TOM status but not every agent asks.
In March, the listing came back on the market and then a few days later expired, and then extended. Toward the end of April, the home’s price dropped again substantially, where it sat for another month. Finally, buyers came along, represented by an agent, and made an offer. The sellers countered that offer. The buyers signed the seller’s counter offer.
This is when we had a seller withdraw a counter offer. The important thing to remember in this unfortunate chain of events is the timing. Before the agent sent the counter offer to the listing agent, the listing agent texted that the sellers had rescinded the counter offer. A few moments later, the agent sent another text to say the sellers no longer want to sell. The listing has been withdrawn from MLS.
The agent asked how can a seller withdraw a counter offer when my buyer has signed it? See, the deal is if the buyer’s agent had returned the counter offer prior to receipt of the text rescinding it, the seller would have been in contract. But for whatever reason, the accepted counter offer was not delivered to the buyer’s agent before the listing agent withdrew the counter.
I see this story play out time and time again. Often what happens is even worse than this story, though. Often what happens is another offer arrives while we are waiting for the buyer’s agent to send back the counter. In those instances, we immediately pull that counter offer before the deadline. Buyers who don’t act fast enough lose.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because a counter offer is in front of you that you hold the cards. The clock is ticking, and you don’t.
Photo of Vika Gerassimenko at Yosemite
Why There Are No Open Houses Over Major Holidays in Sacramento
If you’ve been wondering why there are no open houses over major holidays in Sacramento, you must be a seller. I never get this question from home buyers in Sacramento. And maybe part of it is because I tell sellers I will hold open their home every Sunday until it sells, except for major holidays. They don’t hear the “except for major holidays” part. They hear only: oh, goodie, every Sunday until it sells. Because agents work all of the time, right?
Yes, it does seem like we work all of the time, but we don’t work over periods when buyers don’t come to open houses. The reason there are no open houses over major holidays is because when a person has time off of work, rarely does a person want to do more work. It is work to go house hunting. Most people choose a different activity, perhaps spending time with friends or family, and / or traveling. That doesn’t mean we don’t show homes over major holidays because we do. We just do not attract large numbers of home buyers to an open house.
Throw into the equation the city of Sacramento. This is a city where the nicest thing many can say about it is it’s close to other things that are more exciting. Laugh as you may, I hear it all the time. Oh, we’re so close to the Bay Area, it’s only 90 minutes (the way the crow flies and hopefully you’re not in bumper-to-bumper traffic for 5 hours). Or, it’s so close to Lake Tahoe, only 90 minutes (see previous disclaimer). But there hundreds of places to go within a day drive of Sacramento, including other states. Sometimes it feels like half the population has left town over a major holiday.
Below are the 7 dates for no open houses over major holidays:
Easter
Memorial Day
Fourth of July
Labor Day
Thanksgiving
Christmas
New Year’s
That doesn’t mean you might not find a rogue agent sitting by himself at an open house somewhere hoping for business. But the bulk of listing agents in Sacramento are not holding open houses then. However, we still answer our phones and take care of business.
