Fixer Rosemont Home Pending in Four Days With 10 Offers

People see how fast an agent can put a home pending (into escrow) in Sacramento and they often make the mistake of thinking that selling Sacramento real estate must be a piece of cake, when little is further from the truth. I’ve been working on this listing for the past 6 1/2 weeks. There were a lot of moving parts, many circumstances and unforeseen situations, some out-of-state, some in the city, and it all had to come together. On top of this, I revised my comparative market analysis almost daily to arrive at the perfect listing price.

The listing price is not the selling price. The listing price is the value at which it would make sense to buy quickly and would attract buyers to tour the home. It has to be “just right” like Goldilocks. In our present Sacramento real estate market, it means to put a home pending quickly, the price can be overtly aggressive and it’s OK. Not out of whack.

To keep the peace among many people living in one house and to offer maximum exposure to potential buyers, we elected to set up showings on Friday night from 6 PM to 7 PM and during an open house on Sunday from 2 to 4 PM. The home went on the market Friday morning. I heard there were almost 100 buyers though the home Friday evening. Another 50 or so came by on Sunday. That’s how high our demand. We asked every potential buyer to please submit an offer by 6 PM on Sunday.

The results of showings and efforts to put this home pending

Some agents called to ask if they could show the home next week.

Although the listing expressly stated no FHA or VA, agents still called to ask if their buyer could get an FHA loan.

Another agent begged for a fast reply on Friday, threatening to buy something else on Saturday if his offer was not accepted. Hey, go buy that other nonexistent house. Be our guest.

An agent submitted a contingent offer at list price, as if either wasn’t bad enough.

Quite a few agents submitted at list price, even when informed we had multiple offers.

One guy texted me over and over to ask if he had to submit an offer by 6 PM, to explain to him precisely what I meant by that. Did I mean to say 6 PM? Or was it really 6 PM?

An agent who wanted to send a lowball but I told him not to then whined that we were not allowing him to meet his 40% profit margin. I suggested perhaps his inherent difficulty was his not being able to hire cheap labor and buy wholesale materials, but he was hellbent on complaining that his inability to meet my seller’s terms was somehow our fault.

One agent showed the property on Friday and got around to submitting her lowball offer after we put the home pending in MLS on Monday.

But interestingly enough, some agents were right on the money. They removed all contingencies upfront and provided proof of funds for cash offers. They offered to close quickly, giving the occupants a free rent-back to the end of May. I worked through dinner last night to put this together. And let me tell you, my efforts earned every penny.

If you want to sell a home in Sacramento, please call Elizabeth Weintraub and put 43 years of experience to work for you at 916.233.6759. I maximize profit potential.