Email ElizabethShort Review of Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Before I tell you about my reaction to the documentary movie, Won’t You Be My Neighbor, you should know I did not want to see this movie. OK, I am a person who admits when she is wrong. Fortunately, it’s not very often, but when it happens, I own it. When my husband suggested we go to Tower Theatre in Land Park to see Won’t You Be My Neighbor, I ridiculed that idea. Just like I did when my friend and team member Barbara Dow bought a RING for her door.
I asked her how can anybody be so lazy that they can’t bother to get up off the sofa to see who is at the door? What have we come to in America? It’s because I had a completely different idea about how a person would use the RING, and now I have one on our house in Hawaii. Eat my words. Main drawback with the RING is it runs out of juice. But the company made a RING solar charger for its original model (not yet available for 2nd generation), so that problem is now resolved. Providing I can get the stripped screw out of it, which I’m working on tomorrow.
Along with uploading photos to put a new listing on the market in Citrus Heights. First, I’ve got to make my new listing live in MLS, and then I’ll work on the RING. Priorities.
But I digress. I arrived at our house in Hawaii yesterday. On the plane, I’ve already watched most of the movies on Hawaiian Airlines’ entertainment iPad, so I picked Won’t You Be My Neighbor for lack of options. Holy crap. It is pretty emotional. Why is that woman in seat 2A sobbing her eyes out? Other passengers looked the other way. Sniffling and deep breaths. Honestly, I’ve never watched Mister Rogers Neighborhood, barely even knew who Fred Rogers was.
Fred Rogers had a goal, a mission, and he wanted to work with children. To help them become better people. Oh, media said he lied to kids and it’s his fault whiny-ass kids grew up with an absurd feeling of entitlement, but that was not true. He simply wanted to help children grow into loving, caring and responsible adults. It was very clear from the documentary that he possessed a great sense of humor, was extremely kind, very stable, measured and calm. That’s just who he was. A genuinely authentic person.
He seemed to surround himself by genuine and authentic people such as family and friends. When I watched him go before Congress when Nixon was in office, it was extremely moving. Congress was ready to cut funding for educational television. It was a done deal. However, after Fred Rogers spoke from his heart, calmly and collectively, explaining why his show is important, they gave him $20,000 to continue.
He was super talented. He could sing. Play piano. He wrote all the music for the show, the scripts and created all of the characters, including voicing the puppets.
There were also a few scenes that still resonate with me today, yet watching them happen also brought on the tears. Like the Challenger. Bobby Kennedy. How do you explain what happened to children? But Fred Rogers could do it.
With so much hatred, anger and hostility in the world today, if you would like a reason to feel good about humankind, this movie will do it for you. It’s out on DVD and BluRay. I give Won’t You Be My Neighbor 2 thumbs, all my fingers and all 10 toes up. Heck, I’d throw in the paw of endorsement from our 3 cats as well. I should have a graphic for this. Sorry, I do not.
Spotted a Red Shafted Northern Flicker in Sacramento
When I showed my photo of a Northern Flicker in Sacramento to a friend yesterday, she asked accusingly: how do you the name of that bird? Like I’ve been holding out on her. Um. Because I know the names of birds. Cannot help it; I make it a point to be aware of the wildlife around me. It’s the same fascination I have with most products of nature: the trees, flowers, rocks and certainly the tropical fish in Hawaii waters. But it’s birds that got me started. Both my husband and I became obsessed about the same time. It just happened. One day we were normal people just like anybody else, until one day we realized nope, we are not normal. We are birders.
This would have been a better photo if I wasn’t on the phone talking with a new client about selling her home. She had asked me if she couldn’t simply raise the price a little bit so she could make more money. This is not the first time a seller has asked that particular question. It seems like an odd question to me, but it can’t be that odd if many sellers ask the same thing. Sellers are really asking whether they could inadvertently leave money on the table — that is the underlying fear. The fear of pricing it too low.
So the natural instinct seems to be to raise the price over market value. Which is a bad idea. There isn’t much chance of a home selling too low. Reason is it’s on the market at a particular price based on comparable sales. That price may or may not be the price at which it will sell. That price should be the price it needs to be to attract an offer. To make buyers interested in buying the home. Raising the price above market only increases the possibility that buyers won’t make any offer at all.
Maybe if we held a Fukuburkuro sale. Yeah, I’m just kidding.
I’m explaining these concepts while I’m standing in my family room staring out the window at the red shafted Northern Flicker in our back yard. He’s foraging and singing. Not enough time to grab a camera with a zoom lenses, and let’s face it, my conversation with the client was more important. Still, I can’t really say, hey, would you mind holding on for a moment while I snap a photo of a Northern Flicker? Well, I suppose I could say that. But it wouldn’t be appreciated.
As a result, I snapped a few pictures through the glass window with my cellphone. Multi-tasking. Above is about the best photo of the Northern Flicker. How do you like the black phoebe to the right that I shot a while back in my front yard? Big difference when one uses a zoom lenses and a quality camera that is not a cellphone.
Noted on List of Top 15 Agents in Sacramento
Got the screwiest new offering for Realtors yesterday when I received an email to congratulate me on placing in the top 15 agents in Sacramento. As though my production was news to this Sacramento Realtor. But even weirder than that was the way this company has gone about trying to promote itself. Of course, everybody is always trying to make a buck off of Realtors. It’s rampart in this industry. Blatant or otherwise, it is always present. Feeling like somebody’s mark.
What makes this company different is it is wants to sell a product that does not exist to a Realtor. It claims it can improve a Realtor’s SEO ranking by paying to be included on a website that doesn’t really rank very well in Google. Unlike the guys who swoop in at Annual Agent Awards time, stick you on their list and then try to sell you a plaque. Because these guys just go for annual membership of $250.
The company is STL, which is an acronym for States Top Leading News, kinda hokey. At first glance, I thought it was for St. Louis, and maybe it is since the company is based in Missouri. More power to these guys. They’re not roping me in, but I imagine they will find a lot of other agents. Primarily because most agents do not understand how SEO works. I barely know it myself, and Google constantly changes algorithms. Panda almost killed me.
This company simply goes to Zillow, pulls out the top 15 agents in Sacramento, whether they are agents or not, and puts them on a list. I was a bit astonished when I saw how one real estate company with about 30 agents in their office signed up to be a Premier Agent and Zillow took their money. To me, that is misleading. Maybe there should be a category for brokerages? Separate from agents?
I suppose the thinking of STL is agents pay to be Premier agents on Zillow so they will pay STL to be on some weird little website? I guess. Never underestimate the Bell Curve.
In any case, they are republishing what already exists on Zillow. Skimming data. Mixing it up some, though, and they can’t be reading the stats correctly because some of the agents on their list whom they rank above actually rank below me. So I don’t know how much credence I put into their list of top 15 agents in Sacramento, except I know my spot is earned.
Cannot Wait for Brunch at Alaro Craft Brewery in Midtown Sacramento
Alaro Craft Brewery got its name in part from a Mallorca municipality in the Balearic Islands of Spain. It used to be Rubicon Brewing Company in that location at 2004 Capitol, but that 30-year institution in Sacramento closed its doors last year. We had been reading about the opening of Alaro Craft Brewery. I’ve been craving Spanish food. Especially Spanish cheese, since my team member Josh Amolsch texted a photo of a trio cheese package I had served when he visited me in Kona last August. Yum, Manchego, tipsy goat and Iberico cheese.
When we read in the Sacramento Bee a review of Alaro Craft Brewery, it was iffy to wander down for a late lunch. Reason is every time the Sac Bee reviews a restaurant, they are generally flooded with business. It was about 1:30 on Sunday when we suddenly decided we were starving. Too hungry to walk, needed to drive, park in my husband’s parking lot for the State and wander over. Sure enough, we were able to score one of the last outside tables available.
Inside was a zoo.
In part it was noisy inside because a couple of the Brew Bikes were parked outside and waiting. There were so many people we couldn’t even see the type of seating arrangement inside. Only that it was too loud.
You will love the small plates. I really don’t see any reason to order anything else when such delectable treats are available at such reasonable prices. We ordered the Gambas Al Ajillo, which is shrimp with garlic (a bit greasy, not enough napkins) yet surprisingly accompanied by those hearty small loaves of bread; the lamb meatballs (heavenly), beets with pistachio-caper relish sprinkled with feta (my favorite); eggplant caponata, which also featured cauliflower; and a roasted pepper filled with a cheesy potato and fish mixture.
Then, there is the craft beer. Not to go hog wild on a Sunday afternoon, I ordered a high-octane IPA, but a small glass at 10 ounces. My husband chose a pale ale. Both selections were excellent. Can’t wait to come back to this place when brunch begins. Just sit outside when the you spot the Brew Bikes nearby and you’ll be fine.
After that, you can stroll over to the R Street corridor to visit all the new shops, including WEST ELM, which is now open!
How to Say No to Lowball Offers from Home Buyers
We’re not gonna go all Nancy Reagan on you by insisting we just say no to lowball offers from home buyers because words matter. Just saying no doesn’t cut it. Doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface. I mean, let’s say a home buyer calls out of the blue. Upon further discussion, the buyer’s agent learns the home buyer has made several offers already through different agents. Every time the offer gets rejected, the buyer fires his agent. And now the buyer wants to work with you. This is where Wally says, “Golly, gee, Beaver, that’s swell.” Sure, how lucky can we get?
Pretty darn lucky, this Sacramento Realtor says. Because we have something those other two agents don’t have. Perspective and information. They came into this blindfolded but our eyes are wide open. The buyer has already told us what he expects, including what he will do if he doesn’t get it. This is where being an experienced Realtor really shines.
Means, we can just say no to lowball offers from home buyers, or we can choose a different plan of action. We have plenty of options available before us.
One option of course is to just say no to lowball offers. Tell the buyer we cannot work with him and send him on his merry little way, but that doesn’t resolve anything. It just puts more distance between you and the problem.
Another option is to hang in there, do what an agent would ordinarily do and hope for a different outcome. That’s not an option I suggest. Sets up the agent for failure. And the buyer. Because his present way of thinking is not working very well given the facts he is not buying a home and popping from agent to agent.
Question, Clarify and Educate is the best way to say no to lowball offers from home buyers
The best option is explore why the buyer expects to get a lowball offer accepted. To dive into the reasons the buyer feels the need to make such an offer. What does the buyer think of his percentages of success? Does he give himself 50 / 50 odds? 70 / 30, what? Where did he come up with this strategy, a strategy that leads him to failure?
An agent can produce comparable sales and show the days on market, list-price- to sold-price-ratios, but you might not get a logical response. It’s better to ask enough questions to determine motive. An experienced buyer’s agent will try to understand and empathize with the buyer. Empathizing is not the same thing as sympathy. Empathizing is putting yourself in the shoes of the buyer. Not feeling sorry for them. That would be sympathizing and no buyers need our sympathy. They need our empathy.
When a buyer throws out, “What harm can it do just to ask?” Instead of mumbling, an experienced buyer’s agent will not agree with that question and will explain the harm it can do. Sellers don’t want to be blindsided by lowballs. It ticks them off. Makes them angry. Selling is an emotional issue.
There can be isolated circumstances that call for lowball offers and markets that do not. This is not a market for lowballs. Besides, most lowball offers are just a cry to meet in the middle. Buyers don’t want to show their hand out of the gate. They don’t want sellers to know how much they will pay. Most offers in a normal market get accepted when the sellers come down a little bit and buyers go up from that initial offer. Which means buyers today expect a counter offer.
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