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Elizabeth Weintraub Wins #2 at Lyon Real Estate Awards 2018
Elizabeth Weintraub wins #2 at Lyon Real Estate Awards: Amy McMullan, Elizabeth Weintraub, Josh Amolsch, Dan Tharp, Shaundra Bradley and . . . Barbara Dow.
Seems once I made it into the top 1% at Lyon Real Estate, I end up ranking every year either as #2 or #3 in the company. We have about 1,000 agents at Lyon, so it’s not an insignificant accomplishment to make into the top 1% at the Lyon Real Estate Awards. Only nine agents achieve that milestone every year. Although, we used to win better prizes. Over the last 5 years or so, we just get a huge honkin’ vase, and now I have too many of those.
Honestly, I have too many awards, period. What do you do with them? I suppose they could be used as flower vases, but I don’t know if you’d want your name on them. I spotted a few awards our relocation department won, and those were pretty cool. From where we sat, they resembled figurines with a globe on top. Like a Golden Globe. You could use them to clobber an intruder.
Thankfully, Friday night, my entire team showed up for the Lyon Real Estate Awards. Usually somebody is out of town, but we were all present. I had been thinking about them as I pulled my beaded earrings from Mallorca and a tie-dyed poncho out of the closet. Hmmm . . . disco night. Well, originally I had received an email about the Awards being a 1970’s theme. I didn’t pay much attention to the flyer. Then, our marketing department sent an email to say the event was Studio 54, to come dressed ready to disco.
Well, having lived through the 1970s, I whipped off an email to our marketing department explaining that only a few years were disco years and the rest of the 1970s was definitely not disco. Therefore, since I had nothing to wear, my team and I were coming as vampires.
Our managing broker had to assure the marketing department I was just messing with them.
The good thing about the evening was I had completely forgotten how to do The Hustle. I recall taking lessons, but the rest of that is a blur in my rear view mirror.
Back to getting dressed in my tie-dyed poncho . . . What I realized when dressing for this event was every year I get up on stage by myself. But every year my team grows stronger, like AlphaBears. We operate as a finely tuned machine. They should get recognition, too. I did not get there all by myself. So, this year I dragged them all up on stage with me. I’d like to introduce you to my amazing team of truly incredible individuals.
Elizabeth Weintraub Team at Lyon Agent Awards 2018 Won #2.
Clockwise from the top, Exclusive Buyer’s Agent Josh Amolsch; Transaction Coordinator Shaundra Bradley; Mortgage Loan Officer at Guild Mortgage Dan Tharp; Exclusive Buyer’s Agent Barbara Dow; Listing Agent and Team Lead Elizabeth Weintraub; Exclusive Buyer’s Agent Amy McMullan.
Nobody is an island and nobody gets where she is in Sacramento real estate without the support of others. In my situation, I rely heavily on my team for support. We have each other’s backs. We pitch in when needed. And I could not possibly provide the type of superior service I strive to achieve for my clients nor handle the volume of listings that I sell if I focused on buyers. My TC Shaundra is like my right-hand person. Our loan guy Dan Tharp is brilliant and treats every client like they are the only client he has.
We share the same values and principles. And above all, we always put our client’s interests first. Over our own. That’s our secret for success. I am incredibly honored and proud to share the stage with my team at the Lyon Real Estate awards for 2018. Can’t say it any louder, I love these guys!
Elizabeth Weintraub Team Welcomes Spring at Hawks in Midtown
Dan Tharp, Josh Amolsch and Amy McMullan pause from eating at Hawks in Midtown.
Preparing for the next 3 months in Sacramento real estate required a visit last night by the Elizabeth Weintraub Team to Hawks in Midtown for dinner and drinks. Hawks Public House is the restaurant, and Hawks Provisions is the delectable to-go-side (take-outs and sandwiches). You’ve probably driven past it on Stockton / P Streets on Alhambra plenty of times, saw the place was jam-packed and wondered about it. Or, maybe you read a review in the Sacramento Bee by Carla Meyer. Or, perhaps you’ve been to Hawks in Granite Bay and are curious about the spin-off in Midtown.
Whatever your reason for thinking about stopping at Hawks in Midtown, you should go. Be prepared for plenty of noise, though. It’s very loud, and your throat might feel a little sore by the end of the evening from screaming across the table, but it’s all part of the ambiance and a seriously small sacrifice in exchange for such luxurious food.
I had a super busy day, this last day in March. First, I replaced a crown yesterday morning. My dentist in Midtown thought it was a 20-year crown until I corrected him. That crown was done 40 years ago. It was the first crown I ever received, and it was a shock at that tender age, my early 20s, to acknowledge that an original part of my body was defective. I had cracked my molar. There was no turning back. I had to accept a foreign element as a fix for it. I was no longer unadulterated. Getting my first crown was worse than the aftermath of lost virginity or a first, second, third or fourth divorce, those other milestones in life.
Adam wishes his wife would stop poking his radiatore at Hawks in Midtown.
Of course now, now that I’m turning 64 in a few months, my attitude has shifted. I’m almost willing to change out all of my body parts for better ones. Although my jaw was still sore from the novocaine injection, it didn’t stop me from celebrating with my Weintraub Team at Hawks in Midtown. We indulged in a feast of appetizers and snacks before our entrees. You can see the photo with my patient husband, wondering when he might get to eat as I’m stabbing his radiatore with my fork.
The next 3 months in Sacramento real estate will be crazy nuts this year. We might not get another chance to hang out for at least 90 days. This is the time to be on the market in Sacramento, not July or August. Now. Today. And the listings are trickling in . . . in fact, I just listed a new home in Carmichael and had to rush to Hawks in Midtown to make our 6:30 reservation.
Barbara Dow and Dan Tharp at Hawks in Midtown chose the burger and fries.
But we didn’t really talk much about Sacramento real estate. Not to mention, we were busy eating. The steak tartare was fabulous, but the asparagus salad was pretty skimpy to share. The Ciccioli was a delightful surprise as I was not expecting to like a pressed terrine of pig fat (served with sour cherry mustard and toast made it even better than I had imagined). I also devoured in like 30 seconds the trout with black-eyed peas, and the skin was crisp, seasoned and perfect.
Dan Tharp (from Guild Mortgage), and REALTORS® Amy McMullan, Barbara Dow and Josh Amolsch, all ordered the Wagyu beef burger, served with gruyére and caramelized onions on a brioche bun. The french fries alone were superb. I don’t know how we managed to survive dessert because we had entered the state of mind where it just doesn’t get any better than this.
If you go to Hawks in Midtown, enter from the Stockton Street side, directly into the Sutter parking lot and head off to your left. They take reservations for parties of 6 minimum, and there is basically one huge round table that will support a party of 6 to 8 people comfortably. Although, Hawks should consider installing screens to block some of that late afternoon sun from shining directly into the eyes of their diners.
The Zombies Play the Crest Theatre in Sacramento
Elizabeth Weintraub enjoys the only thing she could get for dinner at KBar / Cafe Bernardo in Sacramento.
Dee from Reno was horrified to find herself in such a “bad part of town” in Sacramento. She and her husband were first in line last night for the meet-and-greet with The Zombies at the Crest Theatre on K Street. Why, there were hundreds of homeless people everywhere. Well, they were right here a minute ago, she exclaimed, glancing furtively. “Don’t worry,” I assured her, “as long as you don’t talk to them, they won’t stab you.” Actually, I was joking. Barbara Dow and I got a good laugh out of it anyway, and we explained that it’s perfectly OK to be standing on the sidewalk on K Street, but Dee wasn’t buying it.
We arrived at the allotted time of 4:45 and stood outside of the Crest until almost 6:00. It wasn’t a long line, maybe 25 people had come for the soundcheck and photo op with The Zombies. Barbara and I thought this would be a fun night out to see a band we haven’t thought of in 50 years, but everybody else in that line seemed to be die-hard fans, the type who go on cruises with The Moody Blues or Roger Daltry and were amazed that others onboard the ship did not recognize a celebrity when one of them sat down next to you and said, “Hello, I’m Roger and I play in a band.” Or at least that’s their story and they’re sticking to it.
The Zombies after soundcheck at the Crest Theatre with Barbara Dow and Elizabeth Weintraub
We had reservations at Morton’s. Visions of lobster drenched in butter and nestled next to a rare filet mignon danced in my head. I located a woman who seemed to work at The Crest and inquired if we could be first or last or whatever so we could make our reservations at Morton’s. She directed me to the Fan Club people. So, I asked the Zombies’ Fan Club President, Tess DeFlori, if we would have time for dinner and her eyes delivered the answer before her lips parted to speak. Her eyes flashed, how dare you think of going to dinner at a precious time like this, and her lips mouthed, No, of course not! She reminded us once again to like the official Zombies fan club page in Facebook.
After the meet and greet, though, the woman who worked at The Crest approached to say she would allow us to bring in food if we wanted to dash across the street to the KBar and order. It was 10 minutes to 7:00 and the show didn’t start until 7:30. That sounded like a good idea to us. The place wasn’t that packed, but rather than go into Cafe Bernardo, we seated ourselves at the bar. To keep things simple, I said I wanted whatever the person who was holding a giant playing card with 8 hearts ordered. Turned out that woman was sent to the bar to get a drink because Cafe Bernardo was backed up and she couldn’t get a server to wait on her.
The bartender leaned across the bar and we asked what could I order that would take under 30 minutes to get. There is only one thing, the bartender suggested: chips. Nothing else. Anything else could take an hour. I wasn’t sure what chips were and had imagined a plate full of French fries. I had already consumed a small cup of popcorn at the theater. It’s not lobster, but what the hey. Twenty-five minutes later, dinner arrived. It was indeed a plate of potato chips, as evidenced by the photo above. But I’m not complaining. I’ve got my Zombies t-shirt, autographed poster and album.
The Zombies play the Crest Theatre in Sacramento.
Waking Up in Port Vila is Better Than the Journey to Vanuatu
A scent of wet soil is the first thing you notice getting off the plane in Port Vila, Vanuatu, at midnight. It’s an almost overpowering odor that encompasses lush vegetation, no doubt, and that island dirt. You can feel the moisture in the air, but the smell of moisture is more prevalent. I was so overjoyed to be here that I would have kissed the ground except I was too tired to get back up. The entire trip, from Honolulu to the resort in Port Vila is about 24 hours, and I’m not even sure what day it is at the moment.
We stopped in Brisbane, Australia, went through customs and back up through security again. People have odd expressions for things in Australia. A woman asked if I was in the queue instead of standing in line, exit signs are marked WAY OUT and a restaurant server asked if I would like cereal on top of my yogurt. She could not fathom that I would enjoy plain yogurt.
The one thing I am sure of is how supportive my team has been in my absence. Those guys are simply amazing. Of course, you know, all I have to do is go outside the country without cellphone coverage or WiFi for 24 hours, and everything happens at once. A home that has been difficult to show over the past 3 months suddenly sells for list price. That sort of stuff. Or multiple offers on another home.
I’ve watched everybody spring into action to help out, and I couldn’t feel more proud of how the team pulls together. Barbara Dow is going out to Natomas to meet with 3 sellers who don’t have much internet savvy to sign an offer. Josh Amolsch is meeting with another to explain how the multiple counter offers work. My valued right-hand TC has solved so many problems that they’re over by the time I hear about them. Placer Title has been phenomenal as well.
Even though I am often reluctant to let go because I always feel like my fingers and input need to be inserted into every transaction, it’s so reassuring to know that my sellers are in good hands in my absence. My team just does what needs to be done, without question. I feel like the most fortunate Sacramento REALTOR on the face of the planet this morning.
Even if I did try to heat up coffee grounds in hot water and could not figure out why they resided at the bottom of my cup, mocking me. Because it wasn’t instant coffee. I have to go now to track down breakfast. But please, enjoy the view from my Port Vila bungalow.
Hello Hawaii and Goodbye Sacramento Winter Storm
There is a huge monster winter storm heading for Sacramento tonight that I will miss because this Sacramento REALTOR will be sipping a Makers Mark at The Four Seasons in Lanai, Hawaii, when it hits. This is just the first leg of my solo 2014 winter vacation. The photo on this page was shot by my team member and friend, Barbara Dow, when we enjoyed a 10 days in Maui for my birthday this past June. You can see the island way off in the background, and that is the island of Lanai, where I will be later on today. This is my personal reward for a year well done.
Supposedly it will be dinner-time in Lanai about the time the Sacramento winter storm blows its way into town, and I hope it’s not a disaster. The last really horrible storm we survived was in January of 2008 when a tree fell on our home in Land Park. We lost all power, most of our fish died, and we wandered around Pancake Circus on Broadway dressed like homeless people.
Now we have no fish anymore because I flushed the last one down the toilet. I waited forever for that angel fish to kick the bucket. It refused to give up the ghost. After months and months of hanging on and waiting for that last lone fish to croak, I finally decided that was it for the fish tank. It required a lot more work than I had time to devote. I would take matters into my own hands. I scooped the fish out of the tank and dropped it into the toilet. I stood there for a few minutes and watched it swim around. I reached for the handle. The minute I depressed the handle, I changed my mind but it was too late. The fish got caught up in the swirling current. He was gone. I felt awful. Very sad. Tears. But you know, it had to be done.
We don’t have any birds, either, who could freeze to death when power goes out during a Sacramento winter storm. We gave away all of our birds, found better homes. Not that my husband minded much because they chirped and sang all the time, which I enjoyed and he did not. It left an empty hole in the house without the birds because I’ve raised birds — cockatiels, parakeets, canaries — for 30-some years. I love their songs and nestling my nose into that warm feather scent, as odd as that might sound. But there was nobody around the house to take care of them when I work so much, so we had to make adjustments to our lifestyle. It wasn’t fair that the birds didn’t even have names. They deserved better.
But our cats, well, I make time for them. No matter what. Cats are essential to my well being. I could not envision a life without cats in it. My husband already knows the drill with the cats for a winter storm in Sacramento because we’ve talked about a plan. Stuff them into pillowcases if one must and run for the hills if the house is about to flood.
My husband lives by the Boy Scout Motto, so I’m confident he can handle whatever can come up while I am gone. Still, it doesn’t mean I won’t worry about him, the cats and everybody else in Sacramento.
