Email Elizabeth
Elizabeth Weintraub
Is Your Sacramento Realtor a Go Fund Me Source?
Never thought I’d get a call from a potential seller asking me to be her Go Fund Me source. Partly it’s because I’m so easily found online. If you’re looking for a Sacramento Realtor in Google, I’m all over the place. That’s because I sell real estate all over the place. My map of dots for homes sold pretty much blankets at least four counties in the greater Sacramento metropolis. On top of this, I answer my phone, so I’m a sitting duck for scammers, telemarketers and weirdos.
The trick is to sort out the screwballs from the real sellers. Since everybody is a little bit crazy, and I’m not exempting myself from that definition, it can be tough. But generally you know when things don’t add up, do not make sense. Like the caller from yesterday hoping to land a Go Fund Me Source. She began the conversation by describing her home in the Vineyards, saying she purchased it from Lennar Homes and now wanted to sell.
I asked for her address. She was not ready to give me the address. Hmmm . . . that’s odd. Then she launched into a story about how broke she was and she desperately needed $4,000. If she got that money, she could then sell her home in the Vineyards. And she wanted me to sell it, but she couldn’t give me the address. She would prefer that I give her $4,000 and get it back when I sell the home.
The only piece of information she gave me was her name, which I already had on my Caller ID. Sadly, I explained real estate agents are not lenders, we are Realtors. We are not licensed to make loans to our clients. It’s not legal. Plus, it would be up to the broker, and the broker is not turning into a Go Fund Me source. I suggested she call a hard money lender who could probably lend her $10,000 and secure that loan to her house. Or, borrow against credit cards with cash advances.
No, she did not want to borrow money from a person she did not know like a hard-money lender. She also did not want to use her house as security. Yet, she’s talking to me, and I am a stranger, yah? I entered her name into the tax rolls, and no such person owned a home in Sacramento. Not in the Vineyards, not anywhere. No Living Trust with that name, either. No records even came close.
Finally, the only thing I could say was I could not help her. I figured if I repeated it enough times, she would hang up. But that didn’t work. Was I on Candid Camera? Do people view agents as money bags? No idea. Hanging up was the only thing to do, hey, I gotta go, bye. I don’t pay to take listings. Nobody but a fool would even consider that approach. Still, I felt sorry for her.
Solutions for Sacramento Listing Agents Who Will Not Call You Back
The only excuse for listing agents who will not call you back.
Little is more irritating than Sacramento listing agents who will not call you back. Well, it’s most likely irritating enough that so many do not even answer their phone in the first place. I am not in a position where I talk to a lot of listing agent because I mostly chat with buyer’s agents. Being a listing agent myself. And I always try to answer my phone. Not only do I answer my phone, but I do in a cheerful manner.
Even if I’m feeling, “what the hell do you want from me?” like busy days can do to a person, I make myself be happy to talk. Because whatever might be going on with me is not my caller’s fault. My caller needs some kind of help. Either to sell a house or more information on a listing. It’s generally all good. For spammers, there is the End Call button and block caller function. No need to get upset.
However, not every listing agent answers the phone. Is it on purpose, like some people believe? Sometimes, I’m sure it is. The listing agent doesn’t want to answer calls from other agents about offers because the listing agent might not be interested in presenting offers that are not the agent’s own buyer. Yes, it’s unethical behavior, but it happens. Or, maybe the agent feels he has enough offers (although the seller would beg to disagree). Or he’s sleeping under a bridge because, hey, rough night, where is the car? You never know.
So, what can you do when dealing with listing agents who will not call you back? I’ll tell you what I do. First, I call that agent every hour on the hour and I leave a cheery message until the agent’s voice mail box is full. Sometimes the box is already full because the agent never answers the phone at all. In those cases, you can call the agent’s broker and ask if the broker will get a message to the agent.
You can also go to the agent’s Facebook page and leave a message, detailing your efforts to reach the agent. Try Twitter and send a direct message there. Look up the agent via Google and call his parents. How about uploading the agent’s photo to Instagram as a Missing Person notice: Has anybody seen this agent? Send an urgent fax to the office fax number.
I have also been known to go to the company website and call every single agent in that agent’s office until somebody tells me how to find the agent. I am absolutely relentless. This is in addition to borrowing a stranger’s phone at the grocery store and calling from a number the agent does not recognize.
On the other hand, maybe for you, well, maybe you should call an agent who answers her darned phone? Because listing agents who will not call you back are not professionals.
Why Seller Credits are a Bad Idea when Selling a Sacramento Home
Seller credits are a bad idea, especially for carpet replacement.
Seller credits are a bad idea when selling a home. Usually, when a seller says she wants to give the buyer an opportunity to select the item of their choice, it’s because the seller is too lazy to do it herself. Or, she doesn’t want to spend the money. She’d rather spend it from proceeds she will never see because she hasn’t finished the house.
It is a misconception to believe that buyers want to pick out their building materials, as though they were buying new construction. Residential resales are not new construction. Besides, in new construction, the home is delivered to the buyers at closing already finished.
Still, it’s sometimes difficult to get through to sellers that seller credits are a bad idea. For starters, buyers who obtain financing can’t take a credit for a home improvement project. The buyer’s lender will not allow it. The only way a buyer can accept a credit on a closing statement is if the credit is for closing costs. In most instances, the credit cannot exceed 3% of the purchase price.
If it comes to, say, picking out light fixtures, for example, or purchasing a finished home, buyers want a finished product. They also have enough to think about with moving their stuff, unpacking, getting settled. If they had to also shop for light fixtures, it would throw a wrench into their plans. You don’t want to make things more difficult for buyers. Especially Millennials today. Just give them what they want.
Sellers make the mistake of believing because they WOULD choose something, that everybody else thinks just like them. They don’t. Buyers don’t think like sellers. Buyers often behave as though the world revolves around them. They don’t care about sellers or what sellers want or expect. They want what THEY want. Which is a nice house that they don’t have to do anything to but move in.
So if you’re thinking about giving a buyer a credit in order to sell your house, please reconsider. Seller credits are a bad idea. If the home needs new flooring, bite the bullet and install it. If it needs a bit of paint, apply paint. It’s cheaper and it’s more effective. Further, buyers don’t know how much things cost. If a home is not finished, yet it’s priced like a finished home, buyers will hit that price. Hard. If they offer at all.
I’ve heard first-time home buyers proclaim: “It will cost $25,000 to paint this house!”
This is not my point of view. Sacramento Realtors sell homes based on what buyers want. If you don’t want to believe me, ask a busy buyer’s agent what buyers say.
Sacramento Housing Market Report for February 2018
Sacramento housing market report for February 2018 covers 15 months.
Our Sacramento housing market report for February 2018 took a wild turn last month. Our new listings dropped by 8.4% over the previous month. February is a time of year when new listings should be increasing but they did not increase, they fell. We desperately need new inventory to keep pace with the demand, which seems to be growing instead of slowing down.
When you’re got demand outpacing supply, it means prices will continue to go up. Our new listings for the first 10 days of March have fallen as well over the same period in February. For example, in February we had 574 new listings the first 10 days of the month, and this March, only 487 new listings.
No wonder buyers are offering almost $30,000 over list price for an entry-level home, which just happened on one of my listings yesterday. No wonder our pending sales for February are up by 21.3% over February of 2017.
Take a look at the square foot prices below in our Sacramento housing market report for February 2018:
Average square foot prices for the last 15 months in Sacramento County.
The square foot price average in this Sacramento housing market report for February 2018 has bounced back from the winter months to the high of last year, $225 a square foot. You see where I’m going with this, right? This chart is indicative of rising prices. I can easily predict that March will see an increase to a new high for Sacramento County.
If you’re on the fence about buying a home, this numbers should encourage you to jump into the market and buy before you get priced out. Yes, there is competition, but not as much competition as there will be at the height of our market in April. I urge you to do it now.
If you’re thinking about selling, please call me about listing your home. The sooner we can get it on the market, the sooner you’ll begin to receive offers. It’s a great market to be a seller in Sacramento. Call your top Sacramento Realtor Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759.
Affordable and New East Sacramento Listing at 5200 J Street
This new East Sacramento listing is a beautifully built home, most likely constructed in the mid-1940s, says the seller. The public records show the age as 1950 but the seller says that is incorrect. It is very possible that his family is the original owners of this home. The public records also smaller square footage than the home appears, so it’s difficult to know whether it’s an accurate reflection of this home. It could be some other home.
We recognize East Sacramento for its vintage East Sacramento homes but you will find very few homes on the market today.
From the moment you enter the living room, your heart will begin to ping. Especially with the Lake-Tahoe-like corner photograph mural. Very large living room, which features a curved fireplace with brick accents. Across from the living room and nestled next to the kitchen is the well laid out dining room. This room features a built-in China cabinet that takes up most of the wall.
Do you see the separate door to the hall? Lends access to the bedrooms without walking around the kitchen. Plus, see the laundry room with a side door to the driveway? Both the washer and dryer can stay. Check out the nicely maintained wood cabinets and tile counters in the kitchen, plus note original appliances, which include a built-in refrigerator, but alas, the refrigerator doesn’t work. However, the second refrigerator works.
The home offers dining options galore. Do you want a formal dining room? Or would you prefer to take coffee in the kitchen breakfast nook?
It appears that under all of that carpeting are gorgeous hardwood floors. You can see the immaculate condition of these floors in closets in the bedrooms and in the hallway, which is a good indication there is hardwood mostly throughout. This particular bedroom is even larger than the master bedroom. Not everybody loves wallpaper but the period wallpaper in this home might change your mind about wallpaper.
This new East Sacramento listing features 3 bedrooms and two baths (but like I mentioned earlier, due to inaccurate records, they do not reflect the second bath). The seller would like to leave most of the furniture, if the buyer would like it. Much of the furniture seems to be vintage and in excellent condition. Of course, it remains with the home without warranty nor consideration.
As you can see in the photo above, it’s a nice big yard with a lot of trees. Plus a detached two-car garage, which is often hard to find in an East Sacramento listing. There are pop-up sprinklers all over the yard, controlled by a mechanism in the ground near the garage. Lots of vintage roses, probably 65+ years.
Why not come to our open house on Sunday and see this new East Sacramento listing for yourself? This will be open from 2:00 to 4:00 PM. Needs a little bit of cosmetics, but priced accordingly. Seems to sport great bones! Also, not a corner location but mid block. No parking allowed on J Street, either.
5200 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95819 is offered exclusively by Elizabeth Weintraub and Lyon Real Estate at an AS IS only price of $495K. Call Elizabeth for more information at 916.233.6759. Check out the virtual tour, too.
