Email ElizabethReal Estate Tips
Just Ukes Offers Wide Variety of Ukuleles in Kona
Annie at Just Ukes and her dog pose with ukuleles.
Little did I realize we were visiting Just Ukes, a small Hawaiian shop filled with a big assortment of ukuleles in the Kona Inn Shopping Village, but after we parked to pick up gifts at Na Hoku, that’s where we went. I often bring home presents for my hard-working team members and the best transaction coordinator in the world from my wor-cation in Hawaii every December. It seems there are always odds and ends that need attention, and they pick up the slack for me. I am more appreciative of their efforts than gifts can convey, but I try.
My husband said he wanted to stop in the store. It was closed when we walked through the shopping area a few days earlier. Since I had no yearning to look at ukuleles, I didn’t notice. I was focused instead on heading over to an art gallery by Bubba Shrimp. Thought maybe we’d check out local artists. Unfortunately, the stuff that is available in this tourist area of Kona is geared toward what tourists will buy, and let’s just say, oh, there’s no good way to put it, it’s god awful.
Just Ukes is located in the Kona Inn Shopping Village.
This particular day, though, Just Ukes was open. Ukuleles of all colors and types of wood. I did not know why my husband felt the need to look at ukuleles. I dragged him through pearl stores and god awful art galleries, if he wants to stop at Just Ukes, so be it. Besides, I got to meet Annie. She is one of those women with a huge heart, you can just tell.
She shared that she tried to pass her salesperson’s exam to obtain a Hawaii real estate license and had failed. I said, “Don’t feel bad. I failed the California real estate exam 5 times before I passed.” Of course, the problem was this Sacramento Realtor did NOT study. Back in the 1970s, I was cocky enough to stupidly believe that my years in the title insurance industry and as a certified escrow officer constituted enough knowledge to pass the California real estate exam.
The art of selling Sacramento real estate and the practical knowledge that accompanies the business has very little in common with the real estate exam. The fifth time, I studied for the exam and aced it. My two takeaway points for Annie were a) don’t give up and b) for crying out loud, study. Annie jumped up from behind the counter and squeezed her arms around me in a big bear hug.
While all of this girl bonding was going on, my husband found a ukulele he liked and decided to buy it. What? I was stunned. Even after 20 years, he is still filled with surprises. I guess he will learn to play his ukulele from Just Ukes. He is such an incredibly amazing man, and I am lucky I was smart enough to marry him.
Further, Annie says, just so you know, ukulele is pronounced OO-KOO Lay Lay. If you’re in Kona, Hawaii, stop by Just Ukes at 75-5744 Alii Drive, Kailua-Kona, 808-769-5101. Tell Annie hello from Elizabeth.
Another Curtis Park Home Closes Despite Initial Seller Mistake
There are many valid reasons Realtors get paid so much.
I can tell my real estate clients that experience matters, and being a top producer makes a difference when selling, say, a Curtis Park home, but sometimes they wrongly believe the only difference between agents is the amount of real estate commission, so they don’t listen. They have to find out the hard way.
Never burn bridges, is my motto. I also don’t like to cross bridges twice, but sometimes we end up doing exactly that. I recall clearly standing on the front steps of this Curtis Park home with the seller and talking about selling the home. He asked how much I charged, and I told him my fee is 6%. Same fee I’ve charged for the last 40 years.
He balked and said he could hire a discount agent who would do all the same things for 4%. No, you can’t, I blurted. You think you can because they are telling you that story, but you can’t. You can’t hire a top producer with more than 40 years in the business, a Realtor who sells on average 1 to 2 homes a week because that kind of Realtor charges more.
I’m worth it, I promised. I will save your ass during the home inspection. A discount agent might not have the skills or experience to deal with inspection issues, and you’ve got an older home, too. You will fall out of escrow and you won’t close. You’ll make more money with me, even though you’re paying me more.
He hired that discount agent anyway. His escrow blew up and he didn’t close. So he called me back, and I listed his home, and it closed this week. The buyers purchased the home in its AS IS condition and paid another 4% over list price. I’d say I did a good job for this seller. If you want to sell a Curtis Park home or a home anywhere in the Sacramento Valley, call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759.
Working Sacramento Real Estate in the Cloud Means Hello Hawaii
Working on Sacramento real estate in the cloud can give you this view in Hawaii.
Many Sacramento Realtors nowadays work real estate in the cloud and they don’t even realize what they can actually do. When you look at my background, the fact I started in real estate in the 1970s, you would not think that I might readily adapt to working real estate in the cloud, but then you might not know me. I might be an old fart, yet I adapt to technology easily. I’ve been online since 1991. My entire Sacramento real estate business is pretty much handled not person-to-person but computer-to-computer.
If a client needs to see my cheerful face, I can use FaceTime. I work with many people I’ve never met. Some of my clients I’ve never talked to, never heard their voices. I manage my files and tend to exceed the expectations of my clients without ever shaking hands. My team members can carry me through a home via an iPad, showing me the big picture and the small details, if I need it. So, it’s no small miracle that as I’m about to take off for our house in Hawaii, the day before I ended up taking several listings.
That’s all it takes, you know, it’s the forces of nature. Soon as I haul out a suitcase, sellers who want to sell their homes are dinging my email and ringing my cell. That’s OK. I handle it. Like the sellers who emailed me late Tuesday night to say they wanted me to list their home in Tahoe Park. Said they had been trying to sell it for 6 months and the listing expired. Wha? In this market? Turns out it was previously listed by the same discount agent my Curtis Park seller fired before hiring me. What are the odds of THAT? I squeezed an inspection into my day before leaving and got all the paperwork signed within 24 hours.
Most agents would not list several homes the day before a 6-week getaway to Hawaii. They would be stressed out packing, making sure they didn’t forget anything. If I forget an item, I’ll buy it in Hawaii. My clients come first. In fact, I am betting my clientele won’t even know where I am, unless they are reading this blog. Because they’ll get the same expedient service whether I am in Sacramento in front of my desktop or whether I am lounging on my lanai staring out at the ocean with a laptop in my lap. I love my job.
This is one of the best perks of investing 40+ years in a real estate career and working real estate in the cloud. An organized Realtor can do it from anywhere. Given a choice between 6 weeks of rain and fog in Sacramento or warm ocean breezes, with all other things remaining relatively the same, I sure know which one I’ll pick.
Do You Need For Sale Signs in the Yard in Sacramento?
This For Sale Sign in the Yard in Sacramento features Elizabeth Weintraub
Whether you need for sale signs in the yard in Sacramento depends on your tolerance and preference and has little to do with your Sacramento Realtor. Although agents like signs because it’s free advertising for them personally. Every so often, a seller asks me if it’s OK not to have a for sale sign in the yard. Absolutely. You are not required to have a for sale sign to have your home for sale. Although, I will say that without for sale signs, some people would never know your home is on the market. How do I know this? Because I get calls from people who are standing in front of the home or driving by.
Just a few days ago, an elderly fellow called me from the Pocket. He wanted to talk about a halfplex that was pending. Without a pending rider on the post, he didn’t know it had sold. He was a little grumpy about it, too. OK, not everybody puts up sign riders anymore. It’s not always practical to do and, besides, most websites will show you the home is pending if there’s an offer on it, except for T & Z. It’s kind of archaic to physically install “pending” and “sold” but some agents with one or two listings might hang a rider.
I think their reasoning is they hope the sign rider tells the neighbors, Oh, boy, that agent sold the home really quickly. But in reality it stops the phone calls from inquiring minds who want to know more about the home for sale. Those buyers could be on a list to call in case the pending home sale blows up. The way some sales have been going lately, that’s a very real possibility. Bam, had 3 escrows in a row cancel because the buyers could not get a loan, despite their worthless preapproval letters. Which is really horrible for Sacramento short sales, too, because so much work goes into those, 5 times as much work in some cases, and then there’s not enough time left before the auction to resurrect.
It takes two to close most escrows. A seller who is willing to sell, and a buyer who can get a loan. I specialize in the listing side of the equation and represent sellers.
The guy in the Pocket who called on a halfplex, I offered to set up with an account directly from MLS through one of my team members. Instead, he said he would go drive the neighborhood to look at for sale signs. You know, I don’t want to sound like a know-it-all, but I had to tell him that not every seller has a for sale sign in the yard. His best bet is to receive listings via email. But no, he insisted on driving around. So you’ll miss these people without for sale signs in the yard in Sacramento.
But the serious buyers? They’ll find you. They’ll most likely have a buyer’s agent and they’ll also look online. Don’t worry. If you don’t want for sale signs in the yard in Sacramento, you’re not required to stare at them. If you want to find out more about putting your home on the market, please call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759.
The Real Meaning of Investor-Friendly Agents in Sacramento
All Sacramento Realtors are investor-friendly agents for real investors.
Out-of-area buyers seeking investor-friendly agents is sort of a code for newbie wannabe investors hoping to grab a commission-oriented Sacramento Realtor with nothing but time on her hands to help them steal homes. My team and I receive a ton of emails every month from so-called investors hoping to find “investor-friendly agents” to use as robo agents. It’s not as bad as it was during the downturn prior to 2011, but those guys are still out there.
It’s confusing for some agents because agents are wired to want to help. Plus, some newer agents are green enough behind the ears to believe that this is their lucky day. It’s their lucky day because gosh, an investor with a lot of money wants to buy a lot of homes in Sacramento, and that investor has chosen this particular Realtor to torment, er, I mean write a bunch of worthless offers.
What should an agent do when faced with a guy who wants to work investor-friendly agents? You check out these guys and their LLC. What is their track record? How many homes have they purchased in Sacramento? Are they cash or are they hard-money investors? Are they willing to make reasonable offers? In other words, do they pass the investor test? Real investors invest.
Investor-Friendly Agents Ask: What is a Cash Investor?
Let’s start by talking about cash. Cash means the money is the bank in liquid form, available for immediate withdrawal or wire. It does not mean the investor is planning to refinance his home to pull out equity. That is not cash. It does not mean that the investor needs to dump assets such as selling stocks or mutual funds or loading gold bars into the trunk of his 1997 Taurus, headed for the pawn shop. It most certainly does not mean the investor is applying for a hard-money loan. Even if the transaction is not contingent on obtaining loan approval nor an appraisal, if the investor is using a hard-money loan, it is not the “same as cash.”
Don’t get fooled by the guy flashing gold chains inside his suit jacket.
A hard-money investor is a person obtaining a loan that will be secured to the property. The lender will do due diligence and can prepare a preapproval letter. If an agent presents an offer as cash to a seller when the offer is clearly hard-money, that could be considered misrepresentation. Consider this approach: it is honest and intensely clear to submit an offer as hard-money reserving the right to substitute cash, over the other way around.
An investor-friendly agent is an agent who hopes to get paid. Because agents work on commission, there is no payment if the same type of offer is rejected 50 million times. When you look at our present seller’s market in Sacramento of limited inventory, only a robo agent with mush for brains would write offers that have no chance in hell of acceptance. What kind of offers are those? Those would be offers substantially less than market value, and lowball offers on newer listings. It’s basically the well known practice of throwing crap at the wall and hoping something will stick.
Investors need to conform to the marketplace to buy homes in Sacramento. If you are serious about buying an investment property in Sacramento, about buying homes that will cash flow, without playing shenanigans like inserting escalation clauses without merit (seriously?), we’re your committed Realtors. Otherwise, go make somebody else’s life miserable. Because there are plenty of those agents to torture, er, hire.
