Email ElizabethIf You Don’t Write a Purchase Offer You’ll Never Know
While some Sacramento real estate agents view other agent inquiries about their listings as annoying, perhaps irritating, I actually welcome a chat with a buyer’s agent who is working with a qualified and eager home buyer — because it could lead to a purchase offer. My focus is selling my listings, so the next best thing to talking to an actual buyer is talking to the buyer’s agent. See, I don’t mind talking on the phone, as I have a lot of practice talking on the phone.
I’ve been yakking on the phone since I was old enough to drag around a Northwestern Bell dial telephone by its cord in one hand while sucking my thumb on the other. We didn’t have any pacifiers when I was growing up in the 1950s, and we had to substitute our own body parts.
Which brings me to a phone conversation I had several days ago when I made an emergency stop at a gas station somewhere in Citrus Heights. Apart from making a beeline to Nordstrom in Rocklin from my home in Land Park, about the only other place I drive is to seller’s homes to put them on the market. This means I fill up my car maybe once or twice a month. But I’ve been doing a lot more driving this week and noticed my gas gauge was dangerously low. My car tells me when I’m about to run out of fuel with a cute in-dash message about being mindful of how far I have left to drive. It’s so polite. Those Italians.
As I was climbing out of my car and grabbing my VISA card, my bluetooth began to jangle slightly with the sound of faraway chimes, like I’m standing on a hillside in Ireland listening to the wind blow across the burren. No ringy-dingy for me. I answer and it’s an agent calling about one of my listings. She wanted to know if my seller would entertain a lowball offer. Now, see, that’s being polite. That’s encouraging cooperation between agents. That’s not just emailing an insulting purchase offer out of the blue, it’s calling to discuss first. Professional.
I’m staring at the gas pump while I’m listening to the agent talk. This is why I don’t fill up my car at foreign gas stations away from Land Park. I prefer the familiar, like I imagine most people do. I saw three paragraphs of white text printed on the pump, explaining how to pump gas. WTH? My eyes frantically scanned the pump for something simple such as:
- insert card
- select grade
- pump gas
But it wasn’t there. I realized I could not comprehend the text nor attempt to read it while I was in the midst of an engrossing conversation about my listing. How can a Shell gas station make pumping gas so danged difficult? Well, perhaps it’s the same as any other gas station, and it wants my ZIP code. I inserted the card, pressed my 5-digit code into the keypad and selected the button for gas. Everything seemed OK, stuck the hose pump into my car and nothing happened when I pressed the lever. What?
Around the other side of the pump I spotted a younger guy sporting a 10-gallon hat filling up his pickup. I asked if there was some kind of trick, no, not the agent, I assured her. Now I was having 2 conversations and neither were productive. I grabbed my bag, locked the car and marched into the tiny Shell station office stuffed to the gills with bags of potato chips, beef jerky and Pepsi. What am I doing wrong at the pump? I asked the clerk, waving my VISA card at her.
Then I glanced at the card in my hand. It was my Health Saving Account VISA, which is a debit card. The buyer’s agent is still talking to me about her clients. We’re discussing the comparable sales. You know, I don’t really know what my sellers will do with that kind of purchase offer, I explain, but there is certainly one way to find out, and that’s to write the purchase offer. I don’t make decisions for my clients, and we need a place to start negotiations, and this spot might very well be it. It’s a sure rejection if you never write the purchase offer, what do you have to lose?
This story ends with the sellers and the agent’s buyers coming to an agreement a few days later and going into escrow. This is what happens when agents get out of the way and don’t let their own personal opinions shade a transaction but instead facilitate and represent their clients’ best interests.
And I’m sticking my Health Savings Account card into a different slot in my wallet, not to be confused with my regular VISA. Because you can’t buy gas with a Health Savings Account VISA. I also suspect that clerks who have to deal with the public really dislike customers yakking on their cell, but when you’re a Sacramento real estate agent, you never know when a buyer will call.
Magical Castle at Country Club Golf Course in Elk Grove
To be completely factual, you probably won’t find fairy dust or pixies prancing about this magical home on the golf course in Elk Grove, but it’s easy to let your imagination run wild at this unique property. Passersby who live in this gated community have been panting to get inside this home since it was custom built in the early 1990s. It features a turret, and the front brick exterior is covered in ivy. It looks like a home you would expect to discover in Once Upon a Time.
There are so many custom features. It is obvious that the woman who designed this home spent a long time contemplating its design. Beautiful, tall, and heavy dual wood doors grace the entry. Hardwood floors feature strongly mostly throughout the main level. Stained glass and leaded glass are introduced not only as windows but are also prominent in some of the light fixtures. Many of the rooms are spacious; there is almost 4,500 square feet in this 5-bedroom, 5-bath home.
The living room is formal, featuring a vaulted wood plank ceiling with accent beams, a fireplace with marble mantel, hardwood floors. There are French doors to a patio, including dual half-circle custom-covered windows above a bank of windows on a curved wall, all of which allows spectacular views of the golf course and lake.
Just when you think it can’t get any more beautiful, the family room is equally if not more so impressive. Vaulted wood plank ceilings in this room, too, accented by beams. One wall is covered in raised paneling, with a built-in bookcase plus a brick fireplace. The windows are clad in wood trim and the wood paneling continues as half walls. This room has hardwood floors and double-entry doors.
You’ll notice near the entryway a room used as wine storage. This was once an elevator and has since been converted. The first floor is for wine and the second floor space offers storage.
The kitchen is immense. Raised panel, beautifully finished wood cabinets — some of the upper wall cabinets have glass in the doors. There is a built-in area with a desk. Next to the built-in Subzero refrigerator, which simply vanishes into the wall, is an arched brick alcove with a top-of-the-line Thermidor gas cooktop. The floors, of course, are hardwood.
There are several sinks in the kitchen, a separate island and a dining bar, as well as a breakfast nook. Its smooth synthetic counters would be excellent for rolling dough and making pastries. Overhead is a stained glass light fixture, coupled with recessed lighting. A handful of chefs could easily work side-by-side in this gourmet kitchen. Like the other main rooms, this also offers stunning views of the golf course and lake.
The backyard is large enough for a pool, and the landscaping is breathtaking. After you buy this gorgeous home, you can sit on the patio and watch golfers at the fourth hole if you like or relax on the second-floor balcony and take in more of the golf course view. But to get there, you must call your Elk Grove agent for a private showing. We will show this home on Sunday, October 12th, between 2:00 and 4:00 PM, strictly by exclusive appointment only. Buyer’s agents must accompany buyers. Sorry, the public cannot attend. For more information, please call Josh Amolsch at 916.224.2756 or Elizabeth Weintraub, 916.233.6759.
9217 Laguna Lake Way, Elk Grove, CA 95758 is offered by your Elk Grove agent, Elizabeth Weintraub at Lyon Real Estate. $749,000.
Problems with MetroList Status of Sacramento Homes for Sale
The discussion erupted over the way MetroList allows agents to report the status of homes for sale in Sacramento, and the options available to real estate agents. The buyer’s agent huffed and puffed about the X number of real estate offices he has managed, the X number of corporations he has headed, the X number of agents he has supervised, and the X number of years he has been in the real estate business. I listened to him because that’s what I do. He finished by stating his objection:
In all of this, he has never, EVER run into a Sacramento listing agent and seller who, in collaboration, refused to change the status in MLS from ACTIVE to PENDING upon offer acceptance by stipulating such in the counter offer.
Welcome to the wonderful wacky world of Sacramento real estate in the fall of 2014.
To give myself credit, I did not point out that the buyer had written multiple offers when the buyer could afford to only buy one home, nor how that kind of nefarious thing could be justification why a seller may possibly elect to wait for the buyer to lift contingencies before changing the status to pending in MLS.
Nope, instead, I relied on history from the past few months in which the scenario goes like this:
- Buyer writes offer.
- Seller counters offer.
- Buyer accepts counter offer.
- Escrow is opened.
- Buyer cancels offer.
The problem with this is the agent changes the listing in MLS to pending, and when the buyer flakes out, the listing then is changed back to the awful status, that dreaded garlic-waving status, that kiss of death walking zombie status: back on market. It’s like tearing off your clothes in public to reveal you have herpes and asking who would like to have sex with you.
See, in California, our purchase contracts give a buyer 17 days by default to cancel the contract for just about any reason: It’s too hot today. I don’t like the garage. There’s a plane overhead. The next-door neighbor is grumpy. I just don’t feel like buying this house. It would make more sense if MetroList would give us the option for status by allowing us to leave the “pending” listing active through a modifier, so if it fell out, the active status would remain intact. Like a virgin listing. Yeah.
Because pending ain’t pending if it ain’t closing. Pending happens after the contingencies are released. Until then, just about anything can occur. Oh, I realize changing the status in MetroList would mean pointing out clearly to buyers that they can cancel, and not everybody wants to be that direct with a buyer (holy cow, I can cancel?), but it just makes sense, doesn’t it? I’d like to rid of that back-on-market stigma, but I don’t run MLS. I just gripe about crap.
The best we can do at the moment is put a pending rescission modifier on that listing so if the buyer cancels, it can just be removed and the listing stays active. But you’ve got to have written permission from all parties to do that.
Incredible Remodeled Condo in Campus Commons at $275K
If you snooze you might lose this beautifully remodeled condo in Campus Commons, which is for sale today, first day on the market, at $275,000. You don’t have to be a Sacramento real estate agent to know that the inventory in Campus Commons is low and there are not many condos available for first-time home buyers.
Not only that, but this is an end unit, which means you have more privacy than some of the other condos in this planned unit development. And wait, it gets even better. This is a highly desirable single-story condo in Campus Commons, nobody above you, either! If all of that is not enough, the home has been remodeled within an inch of its lovely life; it features new wood-like flooring throughout, and a stunning floor-to-ceiling travertine fireplace in the living room replaces the old former brick.
The seller also added an additional bath off the indoor laundry room. Almost all of the closets have been replaced with organizer units and floor-to-ceiling doors, containing baskets, pull-out drawers and special compartments.
Both of the bedrooms are generous sized, very roomy and spacious. The master bedroom has its own bath, with extra storage and additional closet space built-in, including a ladder secured to the wall for gaining access to the attic that can do double duty as a place to hang blankets or extra towels.
The kitchen is simply beautiful. Black sparkly galaxy granite counters and brand new, never-used appliances, so nothing should break nor malfunction. Asian-motif hanging panels cover the sliding door to the enclosed patio. Two-car attached garage, too.
It doesn’t get any better than this, unless you count the extremely low HOA dues of $220 per month. Campus Commons features a canopy of trees, a swimming pool, tennis courts, recreation center and more, plus a ton of fun activities await you, hiking trails along the American River. Hurry, before somebody else beats you to it.
700 Hartnell Place, Sacramento, CA 95825, offered exclusively by Elizabeth Weintraub at Lyon Real Estate, 916.233.6759, at $275,000.
Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub
Tips for Home Sellers in a Changing Sacramento Market
Lots of home sellers in the Sacramento market have been calling lately for me to list their homes in the Sacramento area, and it seems to go in waves, just like purchase offers. For example, last night I received 3 purchase offers after 10 PM, which is kinda crazy. And I have a big uptick in listings this week, while it’s been relatively normal for the past couple of weeks.
I am hoping this translates into a lot more offers, but I suspect that if I’m seeing an increase in listings, so are other Sacramento real estate agents. When inventory increases in the Sacramento market but buyer demand stays constant or cools off, that means not every listing will sell. It’s a fact we need to face and prepare for.
See, this is why I am a top producer, because I think ahead.
What does it mean for a home seller? It means your first offer might be the best offer and the only offer you might get. We all hope for multiple offers because multiple offers can push up the price, and the seller can pick and choose which is the best. But that’s not true in most cases. Most sellers will not receive multiple offers. Work that offer you receive, even if it’s not an offer you want. Try to find a way to want it and to increase its desirability to you to make it work.
Don’t lose sight of the fact that what you have on your doorstep is a ready, willing and able buyer who wants to buy YOUR home.
It also means it might take longer to find a home buyer. It could take several months. If it does, it doesn’t mean your agent is slacking off, it just means homes are taking longer to sell in this market. If you are lucky enough to get an offer within a few days, don’t discount it thinking other offers are coming along. They might not appear. Not only that, but try to ensure the buyer you do find is serious about your buying your home because some buyers freak out and get cold feet the minute an offer is accepted. If you go into escrow and suddenly the buyer cancels, well, I hate to say it, but it’s happening.
The bottom line is keep up strong communications with your listing agent. Ask questions. Don’t make assumptions. Be reasonable. And your home should sell.
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