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Elizabeth Weintraub
Seven Open Houses on Sunday and a Flesh Fly
You might wonder what seven open houses on Sunday and a flesh fly have in common with each other. Despite the fact that I am a bit of a troublemaker, an instigator, somewhat rogue at times. I possess a fairly dry sense of humor. However, I won’t keep you in suspense. That flesh fly is sitting on a yellow pad of my hand-scribbled notes about seven open houses, which rests on my coffee table on my lanai in Hawaii. Now, if you want to know what a flesh fly is, that is an interesting story, simply because it’s so creepy and dark.
Maybe you know all about a flesh fly. If so, you can skip this part. I never heard of a flesh fly before, until I spotted it land on my legal pad. Had to take a picture. But you know me, I can’t post a photo of something if I can’t identify it. When I figured out it was a flesh fly, at first blush I thought it was the color of flesh. Unlike the beige-colored crayons of my childhood. Because flesh comes in many colors. Or, maybe flesh had some other meaning. Nope, it did not originate from the city of Flesh in Wisconsin. It is exactly what the name implies. A flesh fly eats rotting flesh. Which is positively revolting and why I find it fascinating.
Apparently, forensic teams can tell how long a body has been dead by studying the flesh flies nibbling on it. The flies lay live maggots on the flesh, not eggs. Which means experts can predict the time of death by studying the growth stages of the flesh flies. Flesh flies live all over the country, and in Hawaii, too. Now you know a fun new fact you can share at dinner parties.
I shared a horrific story of a series of events, each more horrific than the last, to a dinner party group of Christian friends earlier in the week. Somebody mentioned hospice, and I quipped: I have an interesting hospice story. Everybody gathered in a circle. I could see by the expressions on their faces, they were not intrigued nor amused as my lips began to move. Eyes wide. Faces alarmed. Wrong group for this story. I’m sure they wondered where I was going with it. I quickly gave it an upbeat ending about divine human spirit and the triumph of strength under duress.
Then, my husband shared a story with me yesterday about a friend whose father was in a German Nazi camp. We had no idea of her family’s tragic past. Her father survived, but her uncle was raped by a drunken Nazi who, upset at her uncle’s resistance, split the guy’s head open. OMG! The stuff you do not know about people! Again, not a story to relate at a dinner party with my older Christian friends. Know your audience.
However, the attitude from my audience of Sacramento buyers seems to be changing. Surprisingly, though, out of my seven very busy open houses on Sunday, none produced an immediate buyer. This is unusual. It seems that listings are taking 10 to 21 days to sell now instead of 4 to 7 days. Simple observation: the pace seems more relaxed, not as frenzied. Still nothing to whine nor complain about. Definitely still a Sacramento seller’s market with good demand. Listing agents just get spoiled.
I often see a broad spectrum of activity. Primarily, because my listings in the greater Sacramento area cross a broad range of values, from $175,000 to $1.2 million. And almost all of them were open yesterday on Sunday.
Listen to some of these open house comments, though. Some buyers complained that they did not like the basement of a high-water bungalow in Midtown. Well, the basement is for storage. I feel like locking all the doors to the basement and telling them they can’t go down there. The basement square footage is not included in the listing. The living quarters of this 1910 home are beautiful. Why are buyers obsessing over the storage area? Stay out of the basement, you guys. Geez.
Other buyers toured the only home for sale at Lake Alhambra Estates in Davis. People loved the four-season room. Others disliked the four-season room. Loved it. Hated it. Loved it. Hated it. No consensus whatsoever. Loved the dark granite, hated the dark granite. Which tells us there is indeed a home for every buyer.
My foreclosure listing in East Sacramento drew a good crowd but nobody whipped out a checkbook, yet. We got a few nibbles, though. Many of the open house guests complained that the house was not a duplex. Why can’t they enjoy the house for its spaciousness, beautifully remodeled upgrades and low sales price? Why must they want to turn it into a duplex?
This is why I rely on trained open house professionals at Lyon Real Estate and my team members to interact with potential buyers and lookie loos at an open house. Because, left to my own devices, I might strangle them. And I won’t get away with the murder because of fresh flies. It’s a good thing my niche is seller representation. Some of my sellers text me three times a day to ask if I’ve sold their home yet, and that’s OK. Yeah, I can deal with that. Hey, we all have our quirks.
As long as there are no flesh flies at any of my open houses, I’m a happy camper.
Without Water or Electricity and Killing Gnats in Hawaii
Sure, you don’t think about killing gnats in Hawaii when you come up with the idea to live part-time in Hawaii while still selling Sacramento real estate. Nope, you have visions of lounging at the beach when reality has you glued to your laptop most of the day. Not to mention, dealing with the slower pace of life and the Aloha one finds in Hawaii. When something breaks, it might not get fixed immediately. But it’s not for lack of trying.
I’ll get to the killing gnats in Hawaii part in a minute. On Friday, while in the midst of putting two homes into escrow, all of the power in our house went out. I immediately called Hawaii Electric. This being Hawaii, somebody answered the phone. This also being Hawaii, within minutes, an employee from the electric company showed up at our house. It took a while to get it fixed.
While on the phone with Hawaii Electric, I explained how workers were repairing a fire hydrant at the end of my street and they most likely knocked the power. The representative tried to be helpful by sharing in simple terms that water doesn’t have anything to do with electricity. But in the end, she was wrong. And the fire hydrant workers somehow managed to damage the electrical. Too coincidinky. Now I had no water and no electricity.
Did that faze me? Not really, I continued working on my lanai, processing the offers for the two homes that were going back into escrow. Yay for an iPad hotspot. Both of these listings were homes that had been in escrow previously, briefly, but the buyers flaked. To the buyer’s agents, the buyers were making a wise decision not to purchase and exercising due diligence. To this listing specialist, they failed to close, despite promises to close, thus they are flakey buyers. Buyers and their agents have little idea what turmoil they cause a seller when they flake.
True story, an agent called Saturday to ask: Is your seller motivated? Made me laugh. All sellers are motivated to sell, pretty much. Without skipping a beat, I ignored his question and asked: Is your buyer planning to lowball? We all have our perspectives. Mine is to protect my seller’s interests. Of course, on Saturday, though, I was again without water and electricity.
Sunset over Cook pine trees and ocean in Kailua-Kona
The bigger issue, though, was the gnats. I googled ways for killing gnats in Hawaii but the advice from a Honolulu TV station was to keep the lights turned off. Gnats love a light source. I first noticed them Friday night. Hovering around the lamp in our living room. When I turned on the lights in the kitchen, they began swarming the stove and sink. Nothing like a girl on a mission.
My secret weapon for killing gnats in Hawaii is also my all-purpose solution in Sacramento for killing ants. You wanna know what it is? Windex. The ingredients in Windex are detergents, solvent, fragrance, ammonia and alcohol. Maybe the gnats drown, I dunno. Powerful stuff though. So, I pulled the table out and sprayed the crap out of the wall, floor and lamp. Then I sprayed the gnats on the ceiling and they dropped like, well, flies. After that, I began spraying the walls, wherever I saw them. I slapped most of them silly in the kitchen.
But when I sat down to watch TV (with all the lights off, btw), they gathered on the television screen. Why is a bug crawling on that kid’s ear? Oh, because it’s not a bug. It’s a lousy gnat. I grabbed a flyswatter and every minute or so I’d pop outta the chair and whack the screen. I killed so many gnats.
Next day, on Saturday, I decided to bag up a couple of the gnats and go to Lowe’s garden center. I was a little bit worried they could be subterranean termites. Did you know there are 3 basic kinds of gnats? You’ve got your fruit flies, drain gnats (yes, they live in the pipes under your sink) and fungus gnats, which hover in overly wet plant soil. I could not identify my gnat. Probably because the photos of gnats are really large while the gnats are very tiny. And I wear multi-focal contacts.
I asked a Lowe’s gardening clerk and random individuals I found in the store to identify my specimens. Conducted a survey. Everybody agreed the gnats were too small to be a termite and every single person identified the specimens as fruit flies. So, I bought several different types of products used for killing gnats and brought them home.
Armed and ready, was I.
All night I searched high and low for gnats. Could it be? Yes, I think so. They were all gone. My efforts at killing gnats Friday night worked. Now I bought all of that gnat bait for nothing. But, Eureka, the water and electricity are back on. It wasn’t such a big deal because I am in Hawaii. Nothing is a big deal when one is in Hawaii.
New Listing Woodside Oaks Alicante Villas One Bedroom Condo
What can I say about the Woodside Oaks complex or an Alicante Villas one bedroom condo that I haven’t said before? I’ve sold a few other condos in this complex, which is probably why sellers keep calling me to sell their condos. I really like the Woodside Oaks condos. They are set up as two fourplex units connected by a bridge and set of stairs. This particular cluster is second to last at the very end of the complex, next to Sierra. But not right on Sierra.
In fact, this Alicante Villas one bedroom condo is on the inside of the cluster, in the second building and toward the back. So it’s pretty quiet. The unit is also a one-story, which many buyers find extremely desirable. In addition, it is a first-floor unit, which only adds to the desirability.
If you need more reasons to buy an Alicante Villas one bedroom condo, how about the fact the seller just installed brand new bamboo flooring throughout. The new bamboo these days is so strong, interwoven and glued. You can whack it with a hammer and it’s difficult to dent. Plus, I’ve heard it rumored (in Hawaii mostly) that termites do not like the glue in the bamboo. Is it true? Dunno.
In the living room is a fireplace with a travertine surround, right next to the sliding doors leading to the enclosed patio. Isn’t this a cute layout and very functional? Check out the kitchen. We have granite counters, well maintained cabinets with glass doors in the upper cabinets over the sink. All of the stainless appliances stay, including the refrigerator. There is also a formal dining space off the kitchen.
The master bedroom shown here features mirrored closet doors, and there is an extra closet in the master bath. Plus, there is a third really deep closet in the hall. So, plenty of storage. Another nice feature of the bedroom is the fact it is the farthest away from the front door. You probably would not hear anybody going up the stairs.
In short, the unit is fresh, clean and spotless, ready for occupancy. It’s got everything you need. So turnkey. Just walk in with a sofa, bed and luggage and you’re in business.
Your HOA dues are affordable, too. Only $330 a month. It offers a pool, spa, fitness center and clubhouse privileges. If you desire a lock-and-go lifestyle, it doesn’t get any better or more affordable than this. You get covered parking for one vehicle, too.
548 Woodside Oaks, #5, Sacramento, CA 95825 is offered exclusively by Elizabeth Weintraub and Lyon Real Estate at $175,000. Please call Elizabeth at 916.233.6759 for more information or to arrange a private showing. See the virtual tour.
The information in this advertisement, including, but not limited to, square footage and/or acreage, has been provided by various sources which may include the Seller, the Multiple Listing Service or other sources. Lyon Real Estate has not and will not investigate or verify the accuracy of this information. Prospective buyers are advised to conduct their own investigation of the Property and this advertised information utilizing appropriate professionals before purchasing this Property.
New Listing at Lake Alhambra Estates in Davis Features Showcase Yard
Rumor has it that many residents of Lake Alhambra Estates in Davis work at the University of Davis or UC Davis Health Center. I don’t know if that rumor is true but I do know my new listing at Lake Alhambra Estates in Davis is the only home for sale in that neighborhood. Inventory is so slim in that ZIP code, too. There are only 8 listings for sale in 95816. And one of the reasons for such low inventory is sellers can’t find a move up home, so they aren’t selling.
Which, fortunately, is not a problem for our set of sellers. A buyer will not encounter any contingencies from the sellers. In fact, we could close escrow in 7 to 10 days for a cash buyer. If you need to move to Davis, you should check out this home in Lake Alhambra Estates in Davis. You know you want the Davis school system because everybody does. Many people buy homes in Davis because it’s more cost effective to pay a bit more to live in Davis than send your kids to a private boarding school. Korematsu, Pioneer and Birch Lane elementary schools serve Lake Alhambra Estates. Harper Junior High is at the eastern edge, and Davis Senior High and DaVinci serves grades 10-12. HOA dues are $118 quarterly.
In case you’re wondering, there is a lake in Lake Alhambra Estates in Davis, populated with biking trails, pathways, and wildlife where you can fish and release. But you’ll probably spend more time at home in the beautiful yard. The seller says they invested more than $200,000 remodeling the yard. You get a gorgeous pool that has newer gunite with pebble / glass and a spa. For more details, the yard features 59 drains, rock formations, an outdoor kitchen, slide, 2 waterfalls, built-in fire pit. There is also a custom masonry stone bench, adjacent to a built-in planter and matching ledge-stone benches.
When the weather seems too hot be outside, immediately adjacent to the pool is a place to retreat: a four-season room, complete with its own HVAC unit and recessed lights. The televisions can stay as well if you ask for them in the purchase contract. The solar-heated pool also features a swim-up bar, and the outdoor kitchen includes a Fire Magic gas grill, refrigerator, sink, matching ledge stone and leathered granite counter. Not to mention, all of the plumbing to the spa has been replaced.
This is a big house for the money, more than 3,500 square feet, according to the Yolo County Assessor. You will find 4 bedrooms, 3 baths and a first-floor office that features a wall of cherry cabinets with desks. In the photo above you can see the formal dining room, which draws the eye to the boxed ceiling. It is located right off the kitchen and near the family room with a spectacular cherry-wood mantel over the fireplace.
Many homes in Lake Alhambra Estates in Davis have been remodeled. This home also features updates but it is not an over-the-top remodel. Check out this custom designed kitchen remodel: raised panel “soft touch” cabinets with lazy susans, a 5-burner Jenn-Air gas cooktop, and travertine floor. All the appliances can stay.
The sellers have babied this home like no tomorrow, fussing over every little detail. You will find wood floors and Hunter Douglas plantation shutters throughout, and lots of little surprises like a jetted tub in the master suite. In the yard: a new irrigation system and underground watering for the trees. The house has Eagle Shield insulation, window sunsreens, two remote solar-powered attic fans, and a newer $30,000 HVAC.
Come to our open house on Sunday and check out this home in Lake Alhambra Estates yourself. Open from 1:00 to 4:00 PM and hosted by the incredible Barbara Dow from the Elizabeth Weintraub Team. If you can’t wait until Sunday, you can view the virtual tour and then call us for your own private tour at 916.761.7398.
3804 Los Cerros Place, Davis, CA 95618, is offered exclusively by Elizabeth Weintraub and Lyon Real Estate at $1,145,000.
The information in this advertisement, including, but not limited to, square footage and/or acreage, has been provided by various sources which may include the Seller, the Multiple Listing Service or other sources. Lyon Real Estate has not and will not investigate or verify the accuracy of this information. Prospective buyers are advised to conduct their own investigation of the Property and this advertised information utilizing appropriate professionals before purchasing this Property.
Do Agents Refuse to Show Listings by Calling Listing Agent?
Whether agents refuse to show listings is a slippery slope to travel down because it is very difficult to prove. Yet, due to human nature, agents can often make judgment calls based on limited information. Buyers do it, too. They see a home on the market with longer days on market than usual and they automatically leap into the realm of defects. Something must be wrong, they assume. Some accumulate DOM because they do not fit every buyer.
I realize, too, that some agents refuse to show listings by calling the listing agent because they wrongly assume the agent wants to pull “a fast one.” They figure when showing a property involves too much hassle, it means the listing agent hopes to double-end. So some agents might not show those listings. And eventually, the buyer will call the listing agent directly, and the listing agent will pick up both ends of the commission.
Not all listing agents operate in this manner. I do not. In fact, I’d say most listing agents do not. But the unscrupulous agents do exist. Yet, it is fair to assume all listing agents want to double-end when they need to make the appointment for the buyer’s agent? Like Milo in the Phantom Toolbooth, some agents land on the island of conclusions by jumping.
In the case of one of my recent listings, the tenants had small children and did not want showings at the drop of a hat. So they suggested we show in two windows of time during the week. Two hours on one day and two hours on another. The instructions said go direct to show during those hours on those days. The showing instructions also said if agents preferred another day to call the listing agent who would make a special appointment.
Agents did not show. Agents did not call. OK neighborhood, nice house. But 19 days of no showings. Do agents refuse to show listings? Some agents do not like tenants due to bad experiences, like when they are not home as they promised. I don’t really know. I can only relate what happened. Soon as the tenants moved out, we changed the MLS listing yesterday to VACANT with lockbox. Yowza, my phone blew up. Half a dozen calls asking if the home was still available to show, and two immediate showings.
Coincidinky? Maybe. It might also be agents did not read the confidential agent remarks past the first sentence of when to show, nor realize they could make a custom appointment. But what else is new? My biggest piece of advice to buyer’s agents is please read the MLS listing. To get an edge, just read the data. They often don’t read the marketing comments nor the confidential agent remarks. Let’s not talk about attachments. But that’s another blog for another day.
