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Should Sacramento Home Sellers Pay for a Pest Report?
Now that the market is shifting in Sacramento, it’s time for sellers to obtain a pest report upfront if at all possible. Our long run of seller’s markets where homes are sold in AS IS condition are pretty much over. Of course, there are listing agents in Sacramento who have their “own way” of doing things and these guys would never take a listing without obtaining a pest report. But I see that under certain market conditions as overkill and unnecessary .
When the markets are hot and sellers rule, sellers can expect buyers to get their own pest reports and to live with the results. Pest reports are for a buyer’s edification only anyway. Unless a buyer is obtaining a VA loan or an appraiser spots suspicious items, a pest report is not required in a real estate transaction. Many unfortunate sellers in a seller’s market were forced by their agents to obtain pest reports and agreed to pay for a clearance because their agents didn’t stop to consider alternatives.
However, the times they are a changin’. We are now in a market where buyers are not as committed to buying a home. They want the best house on the best street in the best neighborhood, and in the best condition. If they can’t get that, they will remain a tenant. Inventory has increased, but only the nicest homes or underpriced homes quickly sell. It’s a bit more stable but with fewer buyers.
For that reason, my advice to sellers is now get a pest report. Whether sellers clear the work is another matter, but my suggestion is to at least pay for a pest report. Because when a buyer obtains the pest report, sellers are stuck with it. Oh, sure, one can obtain a second pest report but the second inspector will probably find more stuff that the first inspector missed. These reports are only as good as the inspector.
There is also the racket of pest companies trying to outsource the pest work at the consumer’s expense. I’ve said for years that pest companies should stick to inspections. Must be political lobbying that lets pest companies also bid on the work. Further, I’ve never read a pest report that didn’t contain padding, sometimes 30% or more. However, sellers are under zero obligation to use a pest company to clear the pest. And pest inspection reports stay on file for 2 years at the Pest Control Board.
When you hire your next Sacramento listing agent, why not hire an agent who understands pest reports and addresses market conditions? Avoid hiring an agent who works solely by rote because that’s the way it has always been done. Unless you like paying more for no good reason.
When Buyer’s Agents Make Promises They Cannot Keep
What do Sacramento listing agents call it when buyer’s agents make promises they cannot keep? I know some people would call it lying. But with the way the world is going today, with all the crazy crap like truth is not truth and fake news accusations when the news is factual, it can make a person nuts. We want to believe our fellow agents, but sometimes, you just can’t.
I hate to say that, but you get good and bad in any profession. There are people whose word you can trust, take to the bank, and others who say whatever they have to say to accomplish a directive with little regard for the truth. No wonder agents have such a bad reputation. They have a bad reputation in part because they deserve it.
Now, when I had buyer’s agents make promises they cannot keep in the past, it was usually over a short sale. In retrospect, I was a lot more hard-nosed then than I am now. A buyer’s agent could weave a love story about how her buyers are madly in love with this house. Could not see buying any other property. They will gladly wait for the bank’s approval. When none of that crap they spewed forth was true. It was wishful thinking.
It is rare when one of my team members needs to cancel an escrow. They are educated, trained and skilled in real estate. If one of their buyers decides to cancel, it’s generally for an excellent reason. Every so often, though, the buyer is just not committed. However, I’ve never known any of my team members to be dishonest. Ever. And we discuss how to break the news to the listing agent without burning bridges.
Over the past couple of months, I’ve seem to have noticed a large number of buyer’s agents make promises they cannot keep. You would hope an agent’s word meant something. That there was honor. But that’s just my wishful thinking.
Where are the Property Lines for Homes in Sacramento?
A buyer’s agent asked this Sacramento Realtor the million-dollar question yesterday. She wanted to know where are the property lines for a home in Sacramento. Yes, just go ahead and ask your seller, the agent requested. Well, I will advise the seller not to answer that kind of question. Even if he thinks he knows the answer to where are the property lines, he should not discuss it. Because he could be wrong. Little puts a person more at risk than being absolutely certain where the property lines are located.
Besides, there are tools available and better ways to answer where are the property lines. In the early 1970s, I worked for a few years as a title searcher at First American Title. That meant I was responsible for piecing together a chain of title from the U.S. Patent forward. Some of that information was already updated on punch cards, but we didn’t have computers. If we didn’t have a punch card, then it meant a trip to the county courthouse. Which involved Grantor and Grantee books. Manual entries from pens dipped into an ink well.
Anybody can draw out property lines from property descriptions. It’s not rocket science. Simply use a protractor and a ruler. It helps to read this piece about legal descriptions, which I also wrote.
To answer the agent’s question about where are the property lines in Sacramento, I emailed her the preliminary title report. In the prelim is the metes and bounds description. The thing to remember is there is always a POB, the point of beginning. You begin at the POB and end at the POB. If you can follow directions, you can do it.
Another solution is to walk the property itself and look for a “pin” which is a marker in the ground at the corners. A pin is more likely to be discovered for a much older home than a newer property.
An easy solution for those who really do not care one way or the other about an extra foot here or there is to ask your neighbor. Just agree on a property line. Bear in mind that there is no guarantee with this solution that the neighbor won’t sell to an individual who disagrees with your agreed-upon assessment.
The very best way to settle where are the property lines for homes in Sacramento is to hire a surveyor. That expense can set a person back $500 to $1,000 or more. Which is why nobody really knows where the property lines are located.
Should You Arm the Alarm When Home Selling?
Sellers want to arm the alarm. Always. Especially when they are putting a vacant house on the market. They want security. What they don’t always consider is the fact that they are not the people coming and going. Sellers might be very comfortable with where their alarm is located and they know how to easily disarm it. But agents do not. In fact, buyer’s agents, regardless of experience and dedication, often panic when presented with a security alarm.
Many agents are nervous enough trying to impress buyers with their showing abilities and neighborhood knowledge. Agents spend time looking for the lockbox, getting it open, trying not to lose the key. Jiggling that fussy door lock, open the door and BEEP BEEP BEEP. That familiar sound. OMG, where is the alarm code? Where is the alarm panel located? Will the alarm go off? Will police come?
I just got an email from my security alarm company for our house in Hawaii, and they are offering an upgrade to their service. Apparently, many customers were complaining that 10 seconds wasn’t enough to leave the house; they preferred 30 seconds. I dunno. You open the door and go out. How hard is that? But I always arm the alarm when I leave the island. Not so much while I am there. When you can hear your neighbor across the way clear her throat, those neighbors will hear an intruder.
But when a home is for sale, if the seller elects to arm the alarm, there is a strong chance an agent will set it off. Not on purpose, mind you. Agents are not as stupid as you might think. OK, not all of them. They just tend to panic at the sight of an alarm.
Once I leapt over a gate keeping the dogs at bay and put my life and limb on the line by climbing into their territory just to search for a security alarm. I, myself, have never set off an alarm. But that doesn’t mean other agents won’t. It can cost $100 or more for a false alarm.
I distance myself from this type of occurrence with my sellers. Of course, I explain this can happen, but I also am not responsible for the ability of other agents to disarm the security system. As long as they are fine with that unintended consequence and will relieve me from liability for false alarms, then, by all means, arm that alarm.
To the Sacramento Realtor Struggling Over a Buyer Broker Agreement
To the Sacramento real estate agent struggling over a buyer broker agreement with a guy I will call ZT, I’d like to assure you that Elizabeth Weintraub did not violate the Realtor Code of Ethics. Although, you also might want to think twice about working with buyers who call other agents to make disparaging comments about their own agent. Perhaps you would be interested in knowing that despite my repeated attempts to disengage with a random caller recently, he continued to berate your abilities and questioned your practices.
First, I am not working with that particular caller because he is obviously a home buyer. My team members work as exclusive buyer’s agents, and I solely represent sellers. Why did some stranger call me out of the blue? No idea how I got to be so lucky. It was a Wednesday night, busy day with meetings, lockbox retrievals, new listings. Getting ready for dinner and my cellphone rings. See, now I know why so many agents do not answer their phone . . . although the downside is not bad enough to change my practices.
To the agent working with ZT, you may have an interest in the phone conversation that followed. He didn’t give me your name or I would have contacted you privately. Hence, this public blog. The truth is always the best defense.
The odd caller began the conversation by announcing, in a self-important sort of way that has no bearing on anything: I have a random question. This is when I felt like pointing out that perhaps he had mixed me up with the reference desk librarian at the Sacramento Public Library. So, I said, Hey, you have obviously reached random answer place. He did not get this.
Nervous laughter from the other side of the phone. This is when the ZT admitted he was working with an agent. I said: I cannot talk to you about your agent. He continued talking over me; apparently, he doesn’t trust his agent. Which is puzzling, but not my business. More than once ZT said he had bad thoughts about his agent. Why was he calling me? I’m not about to work with him. My caller ID reported his phone number, which ends in **78, came from Redding.
Bear in mind, I was about to sit down to dinner. I was not working with ZT, regardless. He will never become a client. Even if he wanted to fire his agent, which he did not, I would not work with him because I do not work with buyers. I couldn’t tell if he was trying to buy a house in Redding or in Sacramento. But none of that really matters except to the extent this conversation was returning zero financial reward to me. I am a top Sacramento Realtor who consistently seems to rank in the top 10 agents in Sacramento. Probably because I focus on business that pays.
The contention in ZT’s life seemed to be the agent working with him expects him to sign some sort of buyer broker agreement. He could understand a listing agreement but he does not know why he should commit to a buyer’s agent. That is a question for his agent, not a random stranger. After repeating myself over and over that I cannot interfere with another agent’s client, because the behavior is against the Realtor Code of Ethics, I could tell my words fell on deaf ears.
During the brief conversation, I explained my real estate practice to ZT. When I sign a listing agreement, it is a guarantee that regardless of who ultimately brings a buyer, I get paid for listing that home. A buyer broker agreement is no different. Buyer’s agents are not public servants. They do not work for free. Buyer’s agents deserve a commitment from a buyer and a promise they will get paid for services rendered.
Evidently, ZT mistakenly believes “all buyer’s agents are competing for his business”, like he was a LendingTree commercial. He said he used to work in sales for Skyslope. So, obviously he would know. Right? I don’t think so.
As the call neared its conclusion, I tried to disengage. ZT said he had one more question to ask. Bully for him. His tax dollars do not support me. This guy was some stranger who plucked my phone number from thin air to interrogate at dinnertime. Eight minutes on this wasted call already. No, I told him no, I addressed a question; this call is not an all-night marathon. I shouldn’t have even been on the phone that long, but sometimes I am too nice to people. As I reached over to push the hang-up button, he whimpered, “Please, pretty please.”
Click.
That might work on his girlfriend when he can’t get it up, but it doesn’t work on me.
Who would look up a question on WebMD and then track down the author of that article to demand answers? Without a working relationship, a normal consumer would not call a doctor or any other professional, much less a tattoo artist, and demand service. Because that kind of behavior would be disrespectful and pointless. Some people, though, believe the world revolves around themselves.
Case in point. Caught an Uber through Midtown yesterday after dropping my car at Midtown Autoworks for service. I watched a bicyclist on 15th Street suddenly decide to cut across moving traffic on this one-way street. He stuck out his arm in the middle of the block as though to warn traffic to stay away and not hit him as he peddled zigzagging across the street.
I mentioned that self-centered situation to Niko at Midtown Autoworks. This is what some people are like online. The conversation turned to why strangers enjoy spreading hate on the internet. Niko shared that some disgruntled Toyota stranger left a one-star review online because Midtown Autoworks does not work on Toyotas. They work on Porsches and Mercedes.
Don’t you agree that the integrity of online reviews is severely diminished when websites allow bogus reviews from strangers? Those are not reviews. That’s exactly what ZT did, though. Ran over to a website to rant and post a one-star “review.” Attempted to purposely disrupt and hurt my business. Such hateful behavior. Who does that? Because he did not appreciate the free information he received after I allowed him to eat up my time and resented the fact I decided to go. This is what we get trying to help some types of people.
So, if you’re the agent working with ZT, and you’d like to hear more about the conversation, you can call me. However, I also suspect the agent working with ZT would not have requested a buyer broker agreement if she didn’t think she needed it.
And this reminds me, I need to leave a 5-star review for Midtown Autoworks.
