Some agents have implied that selling a Woodside Oaks condo is too difficult because they believe the HOA dues are too high, so they take too long to sell and agents won’t get a fast sale. Me, I’ve never worried about fast sales. Like I told a seller today, he should go on the market by early June to capture what’s left of our spring market, but he can also wait until he’s ready. Now is optimum for highest concentration of buyers. But if he’s not ready, I’m not gonna push. I’ll wait until next year. Makes no difference to me, although it might to him.

The story of the sale of this Woodside Oaks condo started in January, when I was still working from our second house in Hawaii. I talked with the seller about her objectives. Studied the photos. The flooring was painted cement. A few of the accent walls were deep purple. Nice urban vibe but not right for the market. I suggested painting the walls and installing engineered wood.

This seller had called me because she found out I had just closed another Woodside Oaks condo in that complex. I was happy to help, and I love this complex. It’s so quiet, especially with speed bumps up and down Sierra, and most of the layout is not aligned with Sierra. The HOA amenities make it feel like you’re living at a resort. I’d gladly take any condo listing in Alicante Villas. They are apartment conversions but you’d never know it to look at the units.

We went on the market in early April and immediately attracted an offer from a referral. The referral was a Realtor. Who should have known that she can’t buy that condo as an owner occupant when her first home had not yet sold. There is a 70% rental occupancy in that complex, so no non-owner occupied loans allowed. No sooner did we go into escrow than this situation reared its head and the whole thing quickly canceled.

Enter next buyer, a few days later. This buyer did not offer list price, which was aggressive pricing, yes, but this a seller’s market. We countered at full list price and the buyer accepted. Now, one of the stipulations was the home is sold AS IS, no credits, no repairs, no renegotiations. Sure enough, the buyer asked the seller to repair several plumbing leaks and replace an electrical receptacle, which the seller refused.

However, the appraisal came in $2,000 low. The reason being an agent at my own brokerage with another listing in the complex blabbed to the appraiser and divulged the the sales price of her pending sale. Which was less than ours. So the appraiser came in $2,000 low. Why do appraisers do that, do you think? He could have certainly given us $2,000 for the new flooring and excellent condition of the condo. Petty.

Since we won rejection of the repair request, the seller appeared willing to split the difference in the appraisal with the buyer. Although I suggested she make the buyer pay the entire difference. It was not the seller’s fault the buyer was forced to get a loan. But I also leave these decisions up to the parties. It’s not my house. She can follow my advice or no.

Ultimately, the seller’s choice was to eat $1,000 and the buyer paid $1,000 more. We closed on the Woodside Oaks condo a few days early, on May 10th. Then, the evening of the 10th, the buyer’s agent emailed me a notice that was attached to the door. Guess he did not do a final walkthrough with the buyer or he would have caught this a few days earlier, and not after closing. When there is no seller liability over an unknown circumstance.

It was a notice from the Sacramento Building Permits and Inspection Code Enforcement. Which means some anonymous person contacted the County and filed a complaint, claiming there was unpermitted construction going on at this condo. Except, of course, there was not any unpermitted construction. Was it a neighbor? Was it another agent in the complex? Agents are fiercely envious and would throw their own grandparents under the bus.

Doesn’t matter. It’s the buyer’s problem now. Thanks, friendly good-doer, NOT.

548 Woodside Oaks, #5, Sacramento, CA 95825 closed on May 10, 2018 at $174,000. If you’d like to sell a condo in Woodside Oaks, call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759.