Email ElizabethHow Much of a Deal Do Home Buyers Need to Get?
Ever wonder how much of a deal do home buyers need to get? What is the walking away number? The number that says nobody wants to sell and evidently nobody wants to buy so let’s just forget about the whole thing? If it’s less than one half of a percent, I say everybody in that transaction needs their heads examined. Somebody must be focusing on the wrong things.
When I see some demands from buyers, it doesn’t make sense. For that sake of clarity, I am not talking about any transactions I am personally involved in. Because I’d probably tear out my hair and go screaming into the night if I were. But say, for example, that a home was priced at $400K. And the buyer’s agent, through a series of negotiations and multiple counter offers, gets the seller to agree to a price of $360K.
Any normal, rational person would jump at that. But not the buyer. This particular buyer said no, it’s not low enough. The seller needs to go to $358K. So the parties are $2,000 apart. When the buyer says no . . . this is no longer about buying a house. This is about the game.
Naturally, the easiest solution is for the agents to work out an agreement amongst themselves to either reduce their fees or reduce other costs in the transaction. Or add an unexpected benefit. For the record, it is against the Realtor Code of Ethics for a listing agent to ask a buyer’s agent to reduce the commission just to make the transaction work. Further, why should either of the agents suffer this tragedy and take a loss in income?
Some agents will do it, though, just to stop the standoff and push it through. Others will not. That’s because figuring out how much of a deal do home buyers need to get is not always about the money. It’s about the winning. You can find a way to let the buyer win through some other type of negotiation. Maybe it’s throwing in an extra nicety as icing on the cake.
I could give you more ideas of what to offer when you’re stuck on how much of a deal do home buyers need to get if I knew more specifics of the transaction. A bargaining table like this type of situation that died mid-stream says there is something else wrong. It’s no longer about the money. And it’s certainly NOT about buying a home.
You’re not gonna like my next sentence but I need to write it. It’s about who can be the bigger asshole.
Update on Ring Video Doorbell 2
Why I throw good money after bad, who knows, but last March I bought not the Ring Video Doorbell 2 but the original version. Just the Ring doorbell. It worked great to start with but the main problem as time went on was the fact the battery wore out too quickly. It would last about 4 to 5 weeks. Since this doorbell is on our house in Hawaii, when I’m in Sacramento for several months, the battery would drain dead. Rendering it useless.
OK, I figured I could solve that problem by buying a Ring Solar Charger for the original doorbell. Piece of crap. It never worked. This is Hawaii, for crying out loud, there is no shortage of sun. Our gate, to which the ring doorbell is attached, faces east. There is no overhang or shade from the sun. Yet, it does not charge. So that was $49 for nothing.
Then I stripped the screws taking the Ring Doorbell off to charge so many times. My neighbor came over and hacksawed the screws so they would fit a flat screwdriver. I reattached the solar charger but still nothing.
Why I went with another Ring product, I do not know. I must need my head examined. But yesterday I bought the Ring Video Doorbell 2 (with Chime) at Costco for $189. It comes with a removable battery, which is now charging. I also went over to Ring.com and ordered an additional battery backup, so I can charge it. Now, Ring says the battery for the Ring Video Doorbell 2 will last 6 to 12 months, but I doubt it.
We’ll see. I’ll come back to update this blog in another month or so and let you know how well the battery is doing. I have turned off the motion alerts as it records every car that drives down my street, and I can’t stop it from doing that. I’m hoping that the chime will alert me before the app. Because with the original doorbell, sometimes the app works to alert and sometimes it doesn’t.
Do you like my photo of the white hibiscus? I spotted this on Ali’i Drive today and snapped a photo. You do not see very many white hibiscus.
Formula to Exceed Client Expectations in Sacramento Real Estate
Whenever I am a customer, I pay attention to those who exceed client expectations. Mostly because that is my personal goal in every Sacramento real estate transaction. While many agents can perform an adequate job, how many achieve stellar reviews from an ecstatic client? I like my clients to believe I have outperformed and gone above and beyond. Granted, I could bribe them, I suppose, but what’s the fun in that? Nope, honest reviews from thrilled clients is where it’s at.
I thought about how to exceed client expectations when I came back from taking a friend to Kaiser in Honolulu for a colonoscopy. The workers from Lowes were at our house when I left, tearing out the kitchen cabinets. Part of my instructions was for them to leave the microwave on top of my desk. After all, apart from the grill, it’s my main cooking apparatus. Especially since the kitchen would be demolished.
When I walked into the house, everything in the kitchen was gone. The master bath was also gutted. As I had requested, the microwave was on top of my desk. But it was just dropped there. It wasn’t plugged in. The clock wasn’t set. It wasn’t immediately useable.
Not that I expected the guys from Lowes to do this, but after they swept up after themselves and left the house relatively clean, I had nothing to complain about. However, the thought did occur to me how much more thrilled I would have been had the workers anticipated me finding the microwave and my reaction.
How hard would it have been to find a way to plug it in and set the clock? Those two little things would have meant they cared about my reaction and happiness. They didn’t just perform a job. They want a step further. Except they did not.
For my own real estate business in Sacramento, I want to exceed client expectations. And the way you do that is to anticipate what the client would like. How a client will react. What a client will think. And then you can do so much better.
Carmichael Pool Home in Shelfield Estates at a Great Price!
Finally, the pool home in Shelfield Estates I’ve been working on is ready for the market. We just went “live” in MLS last night around midnight. Such a tremendous property, and I’m very excited, thrilled actually, that the sellers chose me to market this home. It is a successor trustee sale, as many of my listings seem to be lately. My hope is a buyer will love the home as much as I do. It’s so much easier for a listing agent to market properties when the agent feels passionate about the home as well!
What makes this home unique, apart from the fabulous price for this neighborhood, is the fact it’s a Mid Century home with many original features. Of course, we know some buyers will rip all of that out, but others love the purity of the style. It’s a single-level, with parquet floors off a ceramic entry.
This Carmichael pool home in Shelfield Estates is superbly oriented in a wonderful location, nestled on a quiet cul-de-sac. Shelfield Estates is a sought-after neighborhood in Carmichael, made up of mostly larger sprawling estates with many trees.
The formal living room above features built-in shelves and a rock fireplace. Across the entry way, you can view the separate formal dining room with grass cloth walls.
Look at this beautiful all-white kitchen. I suspect somewhere along the line the cabinets were upgraded or recovered, and some of the appliances are somewhat newer. Wow, a double oven! It features an open floor plan with a family room / kitchen combo, sort of a great room concept.
Will you want to remodel the kitchen at some point? Most likely, knowing tastes today and, if you do, you can budget for that remodel when you buy this house. With a Guild Mortgage renovation loan, you can roll your remodeling monies into one purchase-money mortgage, easy-peasy and it can close in 30 days.
The family room has wood walls that the only way I think to describe them is hammered. As though a combination of hammer and wood chipper made those walls. Do you like the beam ceiling, Roman brick fireplace, not to mention the beautiful view outside of the pool? There is also a wonderful view of the pool from the enormous master suite.
Check out the gorgeous back yard of this Carmichael pool home in Shelfield Estates. So private, too! The yard is almost 1/3 of an acre, and the square footage, according to the Sacramento County Assessor is 2,342.
You will find four bedrooms and 3 baths, a great layout. Other homes in this neighborhood are selling over $750K, but this home has been discounted to allow for the improvements a buyer may wish to make. Remember the adage in real estate: location, location, location! You can remodel a kitchen or bath but you can’t change location.
Don’t take my word for it. Come see for yourself at our open house on Sunday, December 2, from 1:00 to 4:00 PM. Or, check out the virtual tour.
2023 Lux Court, Carmichael, CA 95608, is offered exclusively by Elizabeth Weintraub and Lyon Real Estate at $674,950. Call Elizabeth for more information or a private showing at 916.233.6759.
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.
Taking a Friend to Kaiser in Honolulu for a Colonoscopy
It’s not often a person asks me if I will go with them to Kaiser in Honolulu for a colonoscopy. In fact, never. But how can you say no to that kind of request? At first blush it seems innocent enough and, after all, what are friends for, right, but to impose upon with odd requests. Because a stranger off the street probably wouldn’t do it. And further, it’s one of the reasons we are on this planet, you know, to help one another.
This person happens to be a friend, too. She could have asked any other number of people to accompany her, but she asked me. So, I guess it is an honor along with a privilege to do this. I also happen to be quite the colonoscopy preparation expert. Having done it twice, and all. By now I have it down to a science and have eliminated most of the nasty aspects of it.
Now, you might not realize, but to get to Kaiser in Honolulu for a colonoscopy, we had to hop a plane. Surprisingly, Kaiser paid for it. My friend’s insurance paid for her round-trip ticket on Hawaiian and Kaiser picked up my fare, too. The first thing I noticed on the plane was, hey, I’ve never sat in coach on an island hopper.
Those are really tiny seats. Three across in a space meant for two. No free newspaper. A tiny tray was available on the back of the seat but it didn’t have any lip edges. That means a drink could go sliding off into oblivion. Not only that, but if we had to make a crash landing, I would break my face on the hard seat back in front of me. But, hey, I got free miles and my Pualani status got us into the Premier Club lounge.
Not only did my friend’s insurance pay for our transportation, but it included vouchers for a cab. Kaiser found a cheaper cab than Charleys. Because I had planned to book on Charleys, which was $20 flat fare. Eco Cab was $16. When we got off the plane, we found the cab but the driver was not in the cab.
Hey, it was my responsibility to accompany my friend to Kaiser in Honolulu for a colonoscopy, and I take that responsibility seriously. First thing I did was discover the cab door unlocked, so we helped ourselves to a seat. Then I called the cab company to see if they could track down our driver.
Our driver finally showed up. No excuse for the delay. Then he held us up by saying he had another passenger. No wonder they are so cheap. They double book. Why should we share a cab with somebody else? He tracked down the guy’s friends who said he wasn’t coming. I pondered if the cab driver deserved a tip. On one hand, he has a crummy job, barely a step up from Uber. But on the other hand, not my cab, not my trip and he irritated me.
All in all, though, it doesn’t take that much longer to go to Honolulu for a colonoscopy than it does to drive up to Waimea. While I sat in the waiting room, I worked on two new listings. Obtained one listing and sent it off for our office assistants to input into MLS. It’s not like I didn’t have anything to do.
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