Email ElizabethWhich is Better — Lockboxes or Appointments?
Which is better when selling a home — lockboxes or appointments? This is an article written by Elizabeth for another publication. It is a situation that hasn’t changed from a decade ago. Today, there are new companies like “Open Door” which do not use lockboxes at all, but that is another blog altogether. Enjoy…
— JaCi Wallace
Should a seller require an appointment or will a lockbox inspire more showings? Some sellers are uneasy about giving agents and their buyers access to a home when the sellers are not at home. However, unless a seller is at home during the day, without a lockbox, showings might not happen at all.
Homes where access is restricted or require appointments in advance often fall to the bottom of the showing list, especially in buyer’s markets when inventory is abundant. If your market has an oversupply of homes for sale, you might want to consider using a lockbox.
In some parts of the country, though, it is customary for listing agents to be present at all showings, and some agents never use a lockbox. But if security is an issue, modern lockboxes record who comes and who goes from a home. Moreover, it’s often a good idea to put a lockbox out of sight, on a gas pipe or on a back gate.
Read more about Appointments vs. Lockboxes.
We suggest you use a Supra lockbox on your home if you want to sell your home quickly and for top dollar. If you want to sell a home or purchase a home, please call Weintraub & Wallace Realtors with RE/MAX Gold. We can be reached at 916-233-6759.
— Elizabeth Weintraub
As-Is Sales Subject To The Probate Code
As-is subject to the probate code is what many buyers agents forget when they write offers. We always put this into the agent confidential remarks on MLS. A seller is under no obligation to repair anything on the California residential purchase agreement. Probate sales double-down, if you will, on the as-is.
Getting into contract on a probate sale and then attempting renegotiating the price later is not a smart idea. Probates generally are working with little to no extra cash and every penny is most often required by the administrator of the estate.
If you are trying to purchase a probate listing, always make your highest and best offer and stick to it. Your inspections are to satisfy you as to what you are buying. As-is subject to the probate code is always an important consideration when writing an offer.
If you are interested in purchasing a probate listing, please contact Weintraub & Wallace with RE/MAX Gold. We are listing specialists and our exclusive buyer’s agents can help you with your home purchase. Contact us at 916-233-6759.
–JaCi Wallace
Negotiating as a For Sale By Owner Seller: FSBO Tips
Negotiating as a for sale by owner seller: FSBO Tips is an article written by Elizabeth for another publication. For sale by owners have the same challenges today as they did a decade ago or even two decades ago. It is not EZ no matter what the internet says. How can a person be an expert at something they have done one or two times? Our team has sold about 1500 homes now that expertise you can count on. Enjoy.
— JaCi Wallace
Selling your home by yourself can be a lengthy and time-consuming process. However, the real joy doesn’t set in until a buyer decides to make an offer. Because that’s when strong negotiating can pay off in spades.
When I sold one of my own homes, a buyer called me from the number on the sign in my yard. It was in MLS as a FSBO. The buyers’ agent gave the buyers a print out of all the homes available in the area, telling them to go drive by and call him when they were ready to make an offer. That’s just lousy service in my book. The agent didn’t even notice that my home was a for-sale-by-owner.
Needless to say, the buyers didn’t call their agent to write an offer for them. They dealt directly with me. And, quite frankly, I had my own interests at heart, not theirs, which meant the buyers paid list price and received no inspections, no guarantees, no protection plans, and they had to pay for their own title insurance. Buyers, if you’re reading this, always use an agent! FSBO sellers, read up on how to negotiate for yourself.
If you want to sell your own home always consult with a Realtor first. Negotiating as a for sale by owner doesn’t always work out the way you might think. Many Realtors earn a living calling on for sale by owners. To sell your property call Weintraub & Wallace Realtors with RE/MAX Gold. We will provide you a complimentary sit-down conversation about selling your home. We can be reached at 916-233-6759.
— Elizabeth Weintraub
A Home Can Be On The Market for a Year and Get Two Offers on the Same Day
A home can be on the market a year and get two offers on the same day. Excellent article. This was written by Elizabeth for another publication. Enjoy. –JaCi Wallace
A reader from my homebuying forum on About.com asked me why there isn’t more transparency in real estate. This buyer was in escrow on a short sale when the seller received another offer from an all-cash buyer. That second buyer offered to sell the home to the first set of buyers at a higher price.
The reader put the blame of the housing bubble on agents pushing multiple offers that drove up prices, and implied that listing and selling agents are working together behind the scenes, devising secret plans to get higher prices so the agents can earn more money.
In all fairness, I can see how consumers might believe that, but it’s not really true. As I pointed out to that reader, a $10,000 increase in price means the agent might pocket another 100 to 200 bucks. To somebody who earns $15 an hour, that might seem plausible. But to an agent who earns thousands on a transaction, it’s not an incentive.
Second, I don’t care how long a home has languished on the market, there’s a mysterious rule in real estate that says the minute a buyer wants to write an offer on that passed-over house, so will another. I have witnessed this phenomenon over and over.
I believe the reason is buyers aren’t always all that different from each other. Many home buyers are looking in the same price ranges and in the same neighborhoods at the same time. Where I work in Sacramento, a buyer who wants to look at homes in Land Park may also want to consider homes in East Sacramento or Midtown or Curtis Park. Especially first-time home buyers who can’t exceed a certain price point.
In areas of falling inventory such as Sacramento, home buyers may find themselves becoming increasingly desperate to find that right home. It’s not unusual for buyers to compromise on their lists of wants and needs, either. When we have many buyers out looking at homes, the odds that two buyers will want the same home are extremely high.
That’s why I tell my buyers: When you find a home you want, don’t sleep on it; don’t ask Tom, Dick and Harry what they think about it. Instead, examine the comparable sales and immediately make an offer. Then cross your fingers and hope that another buyer doesn’t beat you to it.
A home can be on the market a year and get two offers on the same day for so many reasons. Call Weintraub & Wallace Realtors to sell your home in the shortest amount of time possible, period. We will sell your home in record breaking time as well. We can be reached at 916-233-6759.
— Elizabeth Weintraub
Weintraub & Wallace
Unauthorized Entry into A Home for Sale
Unauthorized entry into a home for sale was a message I received yesterday from an agent at another company. He had reported the incident to the Department of Real Estate but they said this was not something they governed.
The listing had MLS instructions to call for an appointment. There was a Metrolist lockbox on the property. The MLS instructions contain the parameters of how agents can enter. To enter any other way is an ethics violation and this agent can be subject to a complaint filed at our local Sacramento Associations of Realtors board. This was the instruction I gave the complainant.
Seller’s showing instructions are posted on the MLS. There is also agent confidential comments posted that agents often fail to read. These comments are not viewable to the public.
This buyer’s agent allegedly entered the property without permission, did not call to make an appointment and just went in, holy smoke, a big no-no. When in doubt, remember, the showing instructions are there for a reason.
Don’t throw the dice when you hire an agent. Hire Weintraub & Wallace Realtors. Our buyer’s agents would never enter a property without the appropriate permission. We also are deeply aware of our Code of Ethics. It appears many agents have not read the content within the Code of Ethics, Standards of Practice, National Association of Realtors. Make sure your agent does not use unauthorized entry into a home for sale or they may get a big fat fine and be required to take one or more ethics courses.
If you would like to buy or sell a home, call Weintraub & Wallace Realtors. We do not sacrifice our ethics for anyone. We are with RE/MAX Gold; Sierra Oaks Office is our home office. RE/MAX Gold has more than 60 offices in Northern and Southern California for us to work in. If you need a referral to a top agent in another location, then call us today at 916-233-6759.
— JaCi Wallace
Sorry we are experiencing system issues. Please try again.
