Email Elizabethelizabeth weintraub
Why Photos Matter for a Sacramento Home Listing
A client implied a while back that this Sacramento real estate agent has other sources of income primarily because I am a real estate broker. It occurred to me how little the public knows about the real estate profession. They talk to friends who feed them misinformation. Being a real estate broker means I am held to a higher standard of knowledge, which can result in a higher level of personal liability, actually. But it doesn’t equate to a higher commission check. I still work for Lyon Real Estate, which has its own broker.
Moreover, sometimes sellers think that we real estate agents have a magic wand for selling their home. That we are going to do something special, out-of-the-ordinary or spectacular like fly the Goodyear blimp over their home and drop ch-ch-ch-cherry bombs or give away a free BMW. They figure we know just what to say to make that buyer whip out the checkbook and write an earnest money deposit.
The truth is buyers do whatever the heck they want to do. And I’m seeing a lot of them pause and reflect before writing an offer, which is excellent news. Impulsive purchases can lead to buyer’s remorse and cold feet.
Last spring, I’d receive offers from buyers before I even noticed their agent had shown them the home. I try to check MLS every night to follow up on my listings. Now, I see offers coming in a few days after a showing. So, either buyers are looking at more homes before making an offer or they are taking their time to consider which home they want to buy.
When I put a home on the market, I like to tell myself that it’s my carefully crafted description of the home that is motivating a buyer to go see it. However, we all know it’s the photos. Because you can’t sell a home online. The only thing a listing agent is doing by putting a listing on the online is motivating a buyer to want to see that home. You can’t sell a home if you can’t get a buyer inside of it. Photos entice a buyer. Photos tell a story. Photos speak a 1000 words. Photos deliver a message. Photos matter for a Sacramento home listing.
When a seller lists with Elizabeth Weintraub, the seller also receives professional photography, shot with a Nikon and not a cellphone camera. I use PhotoShop to brighten and color correct. Sellers like my photos so much that they often ask me to make them a CD at closing, which I gladly do. I’d like to photograph your home, too! In fact, I’m off this morning to shoot a home in Elk Grove. Call me at 916 233 6759.
The Land Park Chihuahuas Go Home
Even the most optimistic people in the world like this Sacramento real estate agent can have a day when her belief in a positive outcome begins to wane. Take those darn Chihuahuas from Land Park, for example. I’d say please, take those Chihuahuas from Land Park except that my husband and I were successful. Yay! I had almost given up hope. We began calling rescue groups as we passed Day 7 of the lost Chihuahuas, when we found the owners of those lost dogs! Just minutes before a representative from a Chihuahua rescue group from Elk Grove was due to show up on our doorstep and take them off our back porch.
Just for the record, as some Chihuahua rescue groups were unaware, dogs taken to the SSPCA or the Animal Shelter stand about a 50% chance of being killed. These are NOT no-kill shelters.
Tracking down the owners was due in part to a client of mine. I’ve been running into my real estate clients lately in the oddest places. You know how sometimes you don’t expect to see anybody you know, and therefore you don’t recognize them when you spot them in a place where you don’t expect them to be, right? I’m not talking about a brothel or the police station, either. I mean, like, oh, say, a waiting room at Ellison Ambulatory on the hospital campus at U. C. Davis.
I was waiting for my physical therapist yesterday when a hospital employee strolled in front of me and began a long conversation with two patients. She was saying, NO! You don’t take off your leg. Never. Do I take off MY leg? Does your wife take off HER leg? You can’t help but look up when this kind of conversation takes place right in front of you. It was a huge argument. I found out that an artificial limb costs $80,000. As the discussion continued, I realized I knew the people standing in front of me. They were former clients to whom I had a sold a home near Land Park a few years ago.
Finally, I couldn’t stand it any longer and I spoke up. I said, “Would you like to hear my opinion?” But they did not recognize me. Which was too bad because I had a pretty good opinion about the matter. The hospital employee realized she should probably not be standing in public having this very vocal conversation with these two patients, but that didn’t stop her.
In this very same lobby hangs a photograph of a hospital employee who died a long time ago. It is a memorial to this employee with a plaque under the photo. I asked the receptionist behind the counter if it bothered her to have a photo of a dead person looming over her desk or if it was OK because the death wasn’t recent. I was curious. That’s when I found out this particular memorial for this individual is hung in many departments in U. C. Davis. That seems a little creepy to me, but maybe I’m just overly sensitive. But then I don’t work at U. C. Davis and I don’t have a little sign in front of me that says if I’m talking my lights will be illuminated. Although, as a Sacramento real estate agent, I guess I’m free to wear a reversible sign around my neck that says “out of service” when I’m talking on my Bluetooth.
After the patients finished their conversation and began to leave, I yelled: “Goodbye, John” (not his real name). They kept walking. I followed it up with: “Goodbye, Susan.” Wait a minute. They paused. Turned around. “Do we know you?”
See, this is what happens when you change the color of your hair.
Even my former client who came by the house yesterday with the two Chihuahuas in her car almost didn’t recognize me when I opened the door. She lives a few blocks away in Land Park. Those darn Chihuahuas had escaped from my yard while I was filling their bowls with dog food. But my neighbor had recognized the dogs from a flyer we had taped to a lamp post and brought them back. She suggested we call a person who might know who owned the dogs, and gave us a phone number.
Sure enough, just before dinnertime, the owners of the lost Chihuahuas showed up. They even brought a photo to prove the dogs belonged to them. See above. Aren’t they cute? I did not tell the woman and her daughter that at this point just about anybody who said they would love those dogs could have them. I also put the mother’s cell phone number in my address book, just in case those Chihuahuas make a second appearance.
If you’re looking to buy or sell a home in Sacramento, please call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916 233 6759. You never know where we might meet up later.
Looking for a Sacramento Real Estate Agent for Listing Your Home?
Do you need a listing agent in Sacramento? I love winning listing presentations. I freely admit it. Even after all of these years in the business, the excitement is still there. If a Sacramento real estate agent did not like to win a listing presentation, I’m betting that agent probably works elsewhere and not at Lyon Real Estate. It’s not that I compete all that often because sellers and buyers just hire me; I’m rarely interviewed. I’m lucky and very fortunate in that regard.
In fact, when a seller called me last week to make an appointment, he mentioned that he planned to interview two other listing agents in Sacramento. I asked him why because most sellers go to my website, read all about me and then decide to hire me on the spot, and that’s what I told him, too, because it’s the truth. If you think that sounds a arrogant, it’s only because you don’t know me yet. It’s just confidence, not arrogance.
This confidence I display comes from staying true to oneself, not trying to be somebody I am not. Somebody once told me decades ago that if you walked like a duck, dressed like a duck (probably in those top hats and tails), talked like a duck, eventually you would become a duck. But he was wrong because I don’t quack, and nobody is shoving a tube down my throat to fatten up my liver.
When I went to visit with the seller a few days ago, I recognized a home on the corner I sold 4 years ago. I am familiar with that neighborhood. That particular home was a short sale, and I had represented the buyer. I figured I could call that former client and ask him to keep an eye on the home while it is on the market, providing I win the listing presentation. I get a little nervous when my listings are vacant, so it’s good to know buyers and sellers all over town.
We talked about the home; I listened to the seller’s story. Every seller has a story and reasons for selling. I like to make sure we are on the same page and I fully understand a seller’s expectations so I may fulfill them. Everybody has different things they want. I don’t want to second-guess how to make a seller happy, that’s for rookies. As we chatted, the seller shared that the person who would most likely be handling his estate sale also happened to have a real estate license. That’s not unusual as something like one in every 35 people in California has a real estate license. I made him smile when I said, “So I guess this competition is down to two real estate agents because you look like a man who is too smart to consider hiring a part-time real estate agent.” But, see, it was true.
I then went on to explain how I market real estate, my extensive online presence and use of mobile tools, which is where and how buyers are looking, many search for homes in Sacramento on their cellphones. I like to jump out in front of buyers so no matter where they turn, there I am. Hello. Hello. Hello. Would you like to see this fabulous home? You can’t get away from Elizabeth Weintraub online. Except maybe Facebook where everybody knows my name and is drunk all the time. I don’t know who all those people are on my homepage.
The other thing I mentioned is I am not a K-Mart agent, but I also tend to make my sellers a lot more money. I’m a really good listing agent in Sacramento. I earn my commission. Could he hire somebody cheaper? Sure. But why? Why take the chance your net will be less because the agent is less aggressive? I tell sellers not to be penny wise and pound foolish. If we’re apart, say, 1% on the commission, that’s a drop in the bucket as compared to the service the seller will receive from me. After all, this is a seller’s market in Sacramento. Anybody can stick a sign in the yard and find a buyer in this market. That’s a small part of the picture. What a seller needs is a Sacramento real estate agent who can move them through negotiations, into escrow, and out the other side to closing.
That’s the difficult part.
In fact, while I was at the home, a neighbor came over to say he would be interested in buying the home. Of course he would be. He thinks he can take advantage of the seller and be the only bidder. The seller will get the most money from exposing this home to the largest pool of buyers and hiring the most experienced and assertive agent he can find to market and negotiate and, that agent, I’m thrilled to say, is me.
This four bedroom, two-bath home in Sacramento will go on the market about the middle of March. The seller told me yesterday it will be listed by Elizabeth Weintraub at Lyon Real Estate. Woo-hooo!!! See? The excitement never vanishes in this business.
If You Are Not A Weintraub Client
Just because I deal honestly with other people doesn’t always mean people will deal honestly with me, and I can live with that. I can’t change other people; I can only change myself, but I have to really want to change, ha, ha, little joke. I mean, what other business in the world can you be in that involves working with other people without a contract or guarantee that you’ll ever get paid? Apart from the state of California, I mean. The real estate business is an odd duck.
You know what else is odd? U. S. Customs. I went through U. S. Customs in Los Angeles earlier this week when I came back from French Polynesia. I filled out my custom’s form in meticulous detail, and drove my husband crazy trying to compute the value of each item I had purchased in the islands. We had to convert from Franc-er-roos to American dollars, and the conversion rate was different on different days, but we managed to arrive at a value to report.
The guy at the first window stared at my declaration and gasped, “You spent !!!! (a bazillion dollars)?” He stared into my eyes. My husband volunteered, “Hey, I was stunned, too.” I answered in the affirmative. Yes, I did. Well, then I was ordered to go to Section B. Oh, no, not Section B! I grabbed my suitcases and marched over there. Thank goodness for those new rollers on luggage that allow a person to maneuver her luggage with one finger, that’s all I’ve got to say.
I handed my declaration to the guy standing behind the sign that read Section B. He studied it. His eyes narrowed, brows crisscrossed. He, too, made the bazillion-dollar comment. Then he questioned, “These pearl necklaces . . . do they have a tie clasp?” I retracted a necklace that did and showed it to him. He asked about the others, but they were gift wrapped. He did not make me unwrap them. He said simply that he would presume they were all similar, and he exempted them, adding that he believes that U. S. Citizens should get a break. I suppose it’s because I was not a “permanent resident” but instead a U. S. Citizen. I don’t know for sure but he gave me a break, and most likely because I told him the truth.
But I don’t always get the truth out of potential clients who approach me. I ask if they are working with another agent. Most of the time, a person will say no, she is not. Perhaps in her mind she is telling the truth because her agent is not standing next to her. She has her own definition of what working with an agent means. If the agent believes you are her client, then you are working with an agent.
The problem with working with an agent is this Sacramento real estate agent can’t work with a buyer who has an agent. It’s not ethical. It is against the Code of Ethics if a buyer or a seller is in contract, in escrow, with no intention of canceling and just wants advice, for me to respond. If a person has signed a purchase contract and not yet canceled, that person has a fiduciary because the agency most likely has been signed as well. Once a person is under contract, a person should not try to get advice from another REALTOR without first canceling the existing relationship.
Yet, all the time I see buyers and sellers on Zillow and Trulia and other websites seeking advice from REALTORs. Most of these buyers and sellers are in contract. They also contact me directly. They email or text or leave me voice mail messages, and they ask for my help. They probably think I am being a witch when I don’t respond or say I cannot help them, because they don’t know any better. They don’t know how agents work. It’s not that I don’t want to help, it’s that to do so would violate the Code of Ethics. On top of that, I am paid to help clients. That’s how I earn my living. If you are not my client, then you must either become client to get my assistance or find help elsewhere. I don’t make up these rules. But I do believe that what goes around, comes around.
If you are working with the Elizabeth Weintraub Team, you can get help from me or any of my team members. But you have to first be working with us. If you are working with another agent, you need to get your help from your own agent.
Photo: Gift shop in Bora Bora, which was probably sued by the owner of the rights to Fantasy Island, by Elizabeth Weintraub
Weintraub’s 2013 Real Estate Predictions
This Sacramento real estate agent and About.com homebuying expert finished her 2013 real estate predictions and forecast yesterday. It seemed like December 1 is a good target date to try to hit every year. It provides a healthy amount of time for people to argue with me before I head off to — this year it will be French Polynesia — my holiday vacation. And every year I get the same question: Elizabeth, how do you know this stuff?
I know this stuff because I look at the way things are going and I predict they will continue to move in that direction. Most of the time I am 100% on target with my forecast. Sometimes, things take a right or left turn or spin around and blow up, but not very often.
For example, one of my predictions is home prices will rise in 2013. They’re going up now in most major metropolitan cities. It doesn’t mean we have a recovery. It means inventory has shrunk and demand has grown. We’ve run out of homes to sell and buyers are clogging up the streets. I throw a home on the market and it’s like tossing bread crumbs to starving pigeons. They swoop down in droves and peck each other, jockeying for position to get a nibble.
Last year in my real estate predictions I talked about short sale fever. Oh, darn, there goes that song again in my head, White Line Fever. Nevertheless, I was spot on about that. Short sales took over and surpassed the position occupied by the foreclosure market. Many of the REO agents turned to try to do short sales. I don’t really agree that an REO agent is a good candidate to do a short sale because the qualities that make an REO agent successful are pretty much the opposite of the qualities inherent in an excellent short sale agent. 2013 will pretty much continue to be the year of the short sale.
The year 2013 will be an interesting ride. It marks my 39th year in the business. If you’re looking to buy or sell in Sacramento, Yolo, Placer or El Dorado County, rattle my cage. The Elizabeth Weintraub Team is well positioned to handle all of your real estate needs.
