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Should a Listing Have a Pending Sale Sign?
Should a listing have a pending sale sign in the yard? It depends. We have a Sacramento listing that recently had five offers. We are pending sale and have two back up offers. One of these two buyers signed a back up addendum and a multiple counter offer form. This buyer is ready to go into a sales contract if the first offer fails for any reason. In this case, the seller wants a pending sale sign in the front yard as soon as possible. The home sold in 5 days, so sellers are thrilled and want the neighbors to know how fast it sold.
So in contrast, if we did not have multiple offers, the answer to, should a listing have a pending sale sign in the front yard, is no. We get calls daily from people driving by our listings. If a pending sale sign were in the yard, they would never call us as inquiring minds want to know. In essence, a pending sale sign stops the phone from ringing.
A friend of mine, Realtor Kim Pacini-Hauch, had a large property for sale on the river. A gentleman had flown into town for business. He was driving out along the river on the Garden Highway one sunny afternoon. He saw her for sale sign and called her. She drove out immediately to show it to him as he was flying out at 8:00 PM. She wrote a contract on the house and sold it on the spot. It was $3,725,000. He told her he was not looking online had just been driving an area he thought was beautiful. Without a for sale sign, or if the property had a pending sale sign, he would not have called either way.
The moral of the story is if pending sale sign were posted in the yard, he would not have called Kim. A back up offer is always warranted. If the property had been a pending sale, she would have shown it. As we say in Sacramento Real Estate, ” it is never over until it is over,” so sellers should always take a back up offer.
If you would like to have a pending sale sign placed in your yard, call us today Weintraub & Wallace at RE/MAX Gold, 916-233-6759.
— JaCi Wallace
About Realtors Who Do Not Return Phone Calls
Realtors who do not return phone calls are like a bad apple. About two weeks ago, we received a call from a buyer who had found us online. She was looking for agents who specialize in short sales. She had been trying to obtain information about a condo listed for sale in Rancho Cordova; it was a short sale. This property is listed by an agent from out of the area, by an e-brokerage.
I have been calling, texting and emailing the agent for information for two weeks. These efforts were made to help this poor frustrated buyer as the agent would not even call her back. My phone log shows repeated calls, texts and emails made to this listing agent. To date, no communication from the listing agent. This behavior reflects poorly on Realtor and often is the cause of buyers not having the utmost respect for our profession.
The property is listed as a short sale. The MLS states there were three offers made originally, before the property went pending sale. The commission offered to the buyer’s agent is below the standard buyer’s commission rate. There is not a fixed rate for buyer’s agent commission, but there is a trend you see in MLS. On top of that, lenders mostly approve full commissions, so there is little need to short-change anybody.
I was happy to help facilitate contact information for this very frustrated buyer. She took the time to find us based on a book, the “Short Sale Savior,” written by Elizabeth Weintraub. Maybe a new title could be about Realtors who do not return phone calls on short sales, just kidding.
There are no real estate police to force this agent to cooperate and treat all parties honestly and practice fair dealings. Not doing these things is a potential ethics violation. However, if an out of area agent is not a member of our board, there is little than can be done. Even then the time to file a complaint with the board and make your way up the process can take months.
My suggestion to this buyer was walk away. If you want to buy Rancho Cordova real estate, let one of our exclusive buyer’s agents help you to find another property. She was very grateful for our efforts to help her.
The motto of this story is if you want to buy Sacramento real estate, hire a local Realtor with 5 star reviews, to help you. Additionally, to have any repercussions the listing broker must be a member of our board, Sacramento Association of Realtors. Complaining about Realtors who do not return phone calls will not solve the immediate problem. Our advice, move on and work only with Realtors who are within our local board.
To have phone calls returned when you need professional representation, call Weintraub & Wallace Realtors with RE/MAX Gold at 916-233-6759.
— JaCi Wallace
How to Make Millennial Home Buyers Love Your Home
In doing research about whether Millennial home buyers will buy more homes than Baby Boomers, I found an interesting article posted by Forbes. These numbers in the referenced paragraph below were a surprise to me, no doubt. I’m a believer in adapt to your circumstances and evolve with the times.
“Millennials will continue to make up the largest segment of buyers next year, accounting for 45% of mortgages, compared to 17% of Boomers and 37% of Gen Xers. While first-time buyers will struggle next year, older Millennial ‘move-up buyers’ will have more options in the mid-to upper-tier price point and will make up the majority of Millennials who close in 2019.
“Looking forward, 2020 is expected to be the peak Millennial home buying year with the largest cohort of Millennials turning 30 years old. Millennials are also likely to make up the largest share of home buyers for the next decade as their housing needs adjust over time.” — Danielle Hale, Chief Economist for Realtor.com.
So let me expand on how this can impact the Sacramento real estate market. In my experience, Millennial home buyers do not crave the big square footage or the monster-size lots. They do not want high maintenance yards or a large property to clean with 4 bathrooms. They value free time and energy-saving features. Since Millennial home buyers are the biggest segment buying homes, then sellers should focus on some energy-saving features and planting low maintenance yards.
These are important key features. When you begin to think about remodeling, think of modern and modest clean lines in design and simple colors, nothing too ornate.
Millennial home buyers carry about 46% debt due to student loans, so costs are a big factor and affordability is key. Definitely, it is important for sellers to understand the types of buyers and what those buyers value in a home. Adding on more footage may not be important to these buyers, as less is more. Before you enlarge your home footprint — unless you are staying for 20 years — perhaps rethink additions.
Adding on may not be a wise investment. Because Millennials have decided they would rather have more time than more house. I see how they live in less space and they collect a lot fewer belongings. To some, owning a car is no longer primary as Uber offers affordable alternatives for transportation.
Weintraub & Wallace’s superior technology and online marketing is well received by Millennials; they embrace technology and we comply. Strong internet service and signal will matter to these buyers. We also use 360-3D tours and high quality photos to reach these discriminating buyers. Sellers, make sure your windows sparkle and your home is kept in excellent condition as this could help deliver windfalls for you.
Today’s buyers value amenities in the neighborhood and efficiency such as public transportation and a sense of community. Further, having fitness centers close by, alongside animal friendly parks and recreation, could be important considerations, especially if you may plan to resell in the future.
Millennial buyers also love upgrades, they pretty much expect granite and crown molding in a home. When you are ready to upgrade, features like this could help you to sell quickly. Better understand Millennials when you are selling. Personally, this Sacramento Realtor is excited as housing trends evolve and builders will begin to adapt and build homes that appeal to this generation.
Will Millennials buy more homes than Baby Boomers? It appears the answer is Yes! Weintraub & Wallace Realtors are happy to help you better prepare your home to sell and appeal to the Millennial buyer generation; call us today and find out how. 916-233-6759
— JaCi Wallace
How to Find Sacramento’s Hidden Inventory “Pocket Listings”
As we roll into a very hot spring real estate market, one way to find a home is to seek Sacramento’s hidden inventory “pocket listings.” I did just that when looking in the Boulevard Park area of Midtown Sacramento. A long term client of over 21 years was looking for a home in the area. She had now, of course, become a dear friend. When we were house hunting, it became quickly apparent there were so few homes for sale in this area.
I called an agent in Midtown who works Boulevard Park and he had lived in the area for many years. Mentioned I was looking for something updated about 2400 square feet. There was nothing like this in the MLS. He said he actually had clients who had talked about selling, let me ring them. They were away on vacation in a very exotic place in the world at the time.
He had a key and they said go ahead and show it, we are willing to sell for the right price. I took my clients there and they loved it. A beautiful updated single-story with a cute yard where they could entertain. This home looked like it was in an architectural storybook magazine. It had stained glass leaded windows and a basement that would make a terrific wine cellar. In the back was a common area off an alley. The streets in front have an island running down the middle with grass and trees, it is just a lovely neighborhood.
Our excited buyers wrote an offer, and the seller’s agent, a wonderful man and a terrific agent, presented and the seller accepted. This was an example of Sacramento’s hidden inventory “pocket listings”. By definition, it means a potential listing in my pocket, that is not actively listed on the market. It takes a willing buyer, a willing home owner and real estate agents who can put a painless transaction together. We did just that.
The buyers and sellers bought each other a bottle of wine for the final walkthrough, and it was a wonderful transaction. Simply no stress as each side wanted the best for each other and it was such a win-win. The seller’s agent drew what is called a one-party listing agreement, good for only my clients, and we closed escrow! If only all transactions went this well.
I wrote a blog yesterday called searching for a home is like an Easter egg hunt. Hunting for pocket listings means we call every agent we know and maybe some we don’t, to ask if they have any of Sacramento’s hidden inventory “pocket listings.” You basically find a listing where there wasn’t one!
Being resourceful and helping clients is what being a top producer is all about. If you are having a challenging time finding the home of your dreams, call Weintraub & Wallace Realtors, powered by RE/MAX Gold and caffeine. We usually have a few pocket listings coming up. In fact, we have several, one currently in Elk Grove and another in Natomas, so call us today! (916)-233-6759.
— JaCi Wallace
A Previous Deputy Sheriff and Now a Sacramento Realtor
Clients are often astonished to learn that I was a previous Deputy Sheriff and now a Sacramento Realtor. I realize these two professions share some similar qualities in common, but not everybody else sees it. I used to joke that the quality of the passengers I drive around now is much better than it was back in 1988!
All joking aside, as a law enforcement officer I often had to problem solve. Solutions were required in split seconds. I worked in West Sacramento, Broderick and Bryte. At that time, it was a pretty rough area. The Yolo County Sheriff’s Department covered all the unincorporated areas of the county. West Sacramento had not yet incorporated.
There was quite a bit of work as drug labs were a staple for the area, and crime was abundant. With approximately 52 hotels on the main strip, there was no shortage of calls for police to respond. A good place to work for a cop, as it was busy night after night. Whatever the dispatcher sent you to do required great problem solving skill and any challenges were immediately dealt with. My job was to keep the peace and protect the public. As a Deputy Sheriff Coroner, I also worked assisting the Coroner’s office and all that entails, I’ll just leave that up to your imagination.
For the first few years, I worked as required in the jail, but I really wanted to work on patrol. I wrote a K9 patrol standard operating procedure. Then bought and trained a dog with my own money. His name was Darth Vader. This did not cost the county one cent and so they agreed to my proposal. I was taken out of jail operations and placed in the patrol division! As a previous Deputy Sheriff and now a Sacramento Realtor, I still love to drive around the county.
I enjoyed my job as a public servant helping people, protecting them and applying the law to the various crimes I encountered. I worked night shifts as I’m a night owl. My job was drive around and look for crimes in progress. I was never bored. Working in Patrol driving all night long was some of the best days of my life. You can never really know your capabilities until they are tested. Fortunately I had great training. I carefully prepared my safety equipment and tools every night. I learned from every encounter. My ability to read people and evaluate situations that appeared out of the ordinary, serve me well to this day. As a previous Deputy Sheriff and now a Sacramento Realtor, I use all my past experience in the present to negotiate the best terms for my clients.
One evening I took my dad on a “ride along.” I pulled over the driver of a car for expired vehicle registration. Came back to my patrol car and ran the suspect’s name with dispatch. He had no driver’s license and he had warrants for his arrest. I put the suspect in handcuffs, patted him down while reading him his Miranda rights. Another squad car transported him to the jail as I had a civilian in my car.
My dad was so shocked that anyone would drive a car without registration, insurance and lack of a driver’s license. He said, ” Kid, you can handle things all by yourself.” I said: “Dad, all problems have to be dealt with as quickly as possible, before they mushroom into more serious issues.” Little did I know that same statement would apply to my job in real estate all these many years later.
If you want to protect your investment in real estate, call the Weintraub & Wallace team today 916-233-5967. We protect your interests.
— JaCi Wallace
