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Elk Grove Real Estate and the Flu
Elk Grove real estate and the flu go forward, no matter how sick a Realtor gets, the show must go on. When your immune system is on the blink, creativity for writing has not been accessible. I apologize for missing our daily posts and will be adding some blasts from the past postings that are still relevant today.
I may have missed writing the blogs, but we have not let our clients down. We sold several listings in the greater Sacramento area this week. When you have a team, there is an arsenal of resources available. There have been many challenges with home inspections and appraisals but we kept the wheels moving forward.
When you are sick and can’t leave the house for ten days, you really start to see how we take good health for granted. Elk Grove real estate and the flu have a few things in common, they are both relentless. Real estate has a life of its own. The buyer’s agent on the other side of our escrows is working with their buyer to advance the escrow. The appraisers and title officers are each working on our files, calling and emailing. Our full-time assistant Adina, and our transaction coordinator, Roxanne, are always both working to help our clients.
Another talented part of our team is our buyer’s agents, Josh and Barbara. These two are assisting with our listings and taking phone calls for whatever is needed. So many things all going on at the same time and our email inbox are on 24 / 7. When running a successful real estate business, having a team of highly qualified professionals is why we deliver white-glove service, no matter what the challenges.
I have never been bored all these many years of my career. There is always more to do. So many exciting business plans to implement. I keep hoping this flu will get the message and go home to whereever it came from.
The show must go on no matter what the circumstances. People hire us as they know they can count on us to show up to do the work every day, even when it is challenging. There is no sick leave when you own your own business. Even if there was paid time off, we would never let our clients down.
If you want to sell or buy your home and want to have the peace of mind to know we never stop working, call Weintraub & Wallace Realtors, with RE/MAX Gold. We can be reached at 916-233-6759.
–JaCi Wallace
Closing Escrows In Rural Elk Grove, South County of Sacramento
Closing escrows in rural Elk Grove, the southern part of Sacramento County, is one of my favorite places for selling real estate. There are many aspects to rural sales such as there are several environmental issues to be aware of. Be aware of the utility easements for power. The fire department has access as well. There are some areas of flooding to be aware of. Lenders have federal requirements for flood insurance certificates. Of course, if you buy with cash no insurance is required, but use common sense as flooding repairs can be costly.
Freshwater wells and septic tanks can be problematic depending on age and use. There are zoning restrictions and numerous other factors such as the Williamson Act. Pricing rural real estate is anything but cookie-cutter, as these properties are not subdivisions. This is all about custom pricing and knowing an area.
There are also fencing requirements for livestock and the usability of the land. Having custom gated entrances is a big plus. Some properties have horse amenities, such as mare motels, hot walkers, covered riding arenas, round pens, feed storage, tack rooms, shavings bins and palpation chutes. Ponds and trees, too, have so much appeal to buyers.
This is a photo of 80 gorgeous acres. The barn is an old original dairy barn. When you walk through this barn, you can imagine the cows eating hay out of the mangers and mooing while being milked. You can almost imagine all the pails of fresh milk.
The photo above gives you an overview of the stunning acreage. Closing escrows in rural Elk Grove is always appreciated by the sellers. Stay tuned over the next few weeks as we will be posting some new photos of another gorgeous rural property located in Sloughhouse, California,
Call Weintraub and Wallace Realtors, with RE/MAX Gold, to list and sell your property. We can be reached at 916-233-6759.
— JaCi Wallace
Elizabeth Weintraub Sells 3rd Home on Jefjen Way
Jefjen Way is a street in Elk Grove that backs to a school in Quail Ridge. This means the playground and the noise that goes along with that can be disturbing to residents who live on that side of the street. Fortunately, the last listing I took on Jefjen Way sold within 3 days with multiple offers, even in today’s softer buyer’s market.
We went on the market in early December, a time of the year when sales typically slow down. I would have preferred to list and sell the home in April, when our market was much stronger, but that did not happen. Oddly enough, I’ve been expecting to get the listing since April of 2018.
I’m not 100% positive, but if I recall correctly, it was one party’s parents who called me, and it was not the party who was on title. They wanted to talk with agents and help the party in title to obtain an independent and trustworthy agent. Somebody they at least knew, I suspect. And it was through those parents that I was introduced to the actual seller.
Last April, I would have pegged the home to sell for a lot more money because buyers were more willing to overlook homes that needed work at that point. However, by the time the home became available to sell, in early December, we had moved into a remarkably different market.
Homes without updates, such as certain homes in Elk Grove that feature oak cabinets, white tile counters, white appliances and laminate floors, are not in high demand. Throw a little deferred maintenance, a badly needed paint job that wasn’t gonna happen, on top of stained carpeting, and the price needed to come down even more.
I looked at the homes for sale in that neighborhood, in particular a similar home on Jefjen that was not selling, even though it was priced exceptionally well. It was about the same size but it had a much smaller lot than our subject property. However, it presented the same dilemma of no updates. But it was in better condition and it had a 3-car garage. My listing was a 2-car.
The last home I sold on Jefjen Way took almost two months, and the present competing home had already been on the market for two months without selling. My advice to the seller was to price it tad under the competition, which theoretically should attract a lot of attention. We also made it clear the home would be sold AS IS, and to sell AS IS in today’s market, it absolutely MUST be priced right.
My point is always to maximize seller profit potential. The strategy we use is different depending on the competition, the recent sales and the overall temperature of the market.
Sure enough, within days we received an offer. Followed by another offer. They were close in price to each other. However, the second buyer wanted the house a lot more than the first buyer and suddenly bid several tens of thousands of dollars more. Much more than the first offer.
This pleases me to no end to get more money for the seller. Especially when my strategy pays off. It can be a bit risky when moving into uncharted territory, when the methods used over the past 10 years no longer work. You adapt to the marketplace or you get left in the dust.
In the end, the buyers were ecstatic, the seller was thrilled and the home sold for exactly what the market would bear and then some. You can play this market to your advantage. Which it felt good to prove.
This was my first closing of 2019. Tomorrow I’ll tell you about another 2019 closing, a home that I sold three times.
Coming Soon Listings in Elk Grove
9027 E Valley Dr, Elk Grove, CA 95624 is a Coming Soon listing on market 2/5/16.
It was a wet and gloomy day on Friday, but that did not hold back my sunny disposition as I pulled up in front of my new Coming Soon listing in Elk Grove. This home is located just down the street from another I sold at Thanksgiving, a listing that those poor sellers almost had to report their former agent to the Cal BRE to get him to release his grip. A home that many agents vehemently disagreed with us on about the price, but did sell at list price. So, there. Spittooey on those agents. I tend to pull rabbits out of hats when needed, and that’s why sellers hire this Elk Grove Realtor.
I do the impossible.
I also do the possible with great flair. In fact, I prefer the possible over the impossible, but I take them both. The possible means my job can run somewhat smoother, providing I line up everything in advance. Preplanning is my forté. That’s why I might create a Coming Soon listing. Not every agent likes, appreciates or understands Coming Soon listings, mostly buyer’s agents, I suspect. However, from a listing agent’s point of view, a Coming Soon listing draws excitement and creates an atmosphere to generate multiple offers, providing it is the right property.
Not all of the homes in Elk Grove qualify in my mind for a Coming Soon listing. Only exceptional properties, and you know the kind of home I’m talking about right? How about a darling single-level that was previously the builder’s model home? Model homes are special. They tend to feature all sorts of upgrades and extra touches that reach buyers emotionally. Matching drapes, custom wall colors, designer features such as dual framed mirrors in the baths, inlaid tile and tiffany light fixtures; not to mention plantation shutters, crown molding, vaulted ceilings, engineered wood flooring . . .
. . . and best of all, this Coming Soon listing exists in the real world today, the Hampton Oaks community of Elk Grove. No, maybe best of all is it is priced under $300,000, which makes it very affordable for a first-time home buyer.
Check it out in the link above on Zillow: 9027 E. Valley Drive, Elk Grove, CA 95624. Showings start on Friday, February 5th, and the gala open house is Sunday, February 7th. If you’re thinking about selling a home in Elk Grove, call your top producer, Elizabeth Weintraub, at 916.233.6759.
Some Homes in Elk Grove Sell 3 Times Before Closing
There are ten million stories in Elk Grove, and this is only one of the homes in Elk Grove that has been sold several times before the buyer stuck with the program. The listing in Elk Grove closed on Friday, a mere 21 days after going into escrow. The buyer’s agent was on the ball, efficient, reachable by cell and text, and an all-around pleasant guy. I’ve been so fortunate lately that I’ve lucked out with such great buyer’s agents to work with because they can make the entire experience memorable or forgettable.
I tend to put fresh hell situations out of my mind. There is no sense in dwelling on them. But I do want to revisit this particular transaction because it is indicative of other listings of in Elk Grove. It is not an anomaly.
First, this home was initially listed by a property management company. To me, this like a mortgage broker trying to sell real estate. Or an Elk Grove listing agent deciding to manage rental property. We all have our specialities and should not try to wear 2 hats. The qualities that make a person a good property manager does not equate to making a person a good listing agent. The seller lived in the Bay area and didn’t know the difference. She thought a property manager could sell her home, but the property manager tried for 3 months and didn’t get anywhere.
The main problem with this Elk Grove home was the carpets were filthy. Why didn’t the property manager notice this? When buyers spot dirty carpeting, the first thing they think is it will cost $20,000 to replace, or some other crazy number, and they pass on buying the house. I recommended an excellent company that specializes in cutting out and replacing damaged portions so it’s invisible. They also do a bang-up job of removing spots.
I listed the home in mid September and we eventually received 9 purchase offers. The first offer was 10% under list price from “a throw offers at the wall and hope they stick” cash buyer. Unacceptable and we countered, no response. The second offer was a bit under list price, we issued a counter and the buyer accepted. A few days later, for no reason, the buyer canceled. We went into escrow with a second buyer near the end of September, and a few days later that buyer canceled. Then came 5 more offers, most with closing cost concessions, and another offer I couldn’t open because the file was corrupted and I had to wait 2 days for the agent to fix it.
I was a bit worried that the seller might be getting discouraged or start to believe that all buyers for homes in Elk Grove were off their rockers. In actuality, she was very happy with my performance and continued to comment all through the transaction that she had wished she had found me in the first place.
Then came the offer the seller could accept. It was clean. No concessions. No mistakes. No lowball offer. We zinged through escrow in 21 days with no request for repairs, just like it should be for a fairly new home in Elk Grove built in the last decade. Eureka, we closed. It was a relief but it wasn’t easy to close on this home in Elk Grove. It just goes to show that one can easily put a home under contract; it’s not so slam dunk to get it closed. This is when you need a professional, an experienced Elk Grove agent who doesn’t give up and doesn’t quit until the keys are dangling from the buyers’ hot little fingers.
