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Reasons to Check for Utilities in Vacant Homes For Sale
Working for decades in selling Sacramento real estate, I learned the hard way early on to check for utilities in vacant homes for sale. I took a new listing in Natomas this week. I sent an agent from our Weintraub & Wallace team to do a security check on the home. I’m scheduling vendors this week, such as a pest inspector, gardener, and the house cleaners. Vendors, of course, need lights working and electricity for the power tools. Power and water in good working order are mission critical on the listing preparation checklist.
Ok, so now it is time to get the red duct tape out of the trunk. Why? Well, to cover the dead bolt inside and the outside so Realtors do not jam the wrong key into the deadbolt and break the key! Yes, that has happened on my listings. The reason we have to tape the inside latch of the deadbolt is if an agent locks the deadbolt and exits out the garage door, we would be locked out of the house, as we do not have a deadbolt key.
Moreover, why do people have different keys on locks on the same front door anyway? Great question! Answer is, I don’t know as I keyed all my doors on my house to use the same key. This multiple-key issue on Sacramento homes for sale often causes complications as Realtors can struggle with keys. As a result, I try to make things as simple as possible for other Realtors, as not all of them are resourceful. Few check for utilities in vacant homes for sale, btw.
Next step, are the lights working? Bingo you guessed it, they don’t work! Our team is always prepared. This is why we check for utilities in vacant homes for sale. We bring new light bulbs to plug in, and make sure the lights are just not burned out.
However, in Natomas, the power was definitely shut off. There was no electricity connected to the property. So, the next step, always check the breakers. They were in the “on position.” Last and final step, many people are not aware of this secret weapon, there is a black button on the glass cover on the SMUD meter. Hit this button, you will hear the affirmative click and the power often resets!
The water is on, thank goodness, but if it wasn’t we would check the water main to make sure it was not turned to the off position. (Owners and or property managers often turn off the water main in a vacant home to ensure toilets don’t accidentally overflow.) The gardener needs the water and power turned on to power wash. Speaking about the gardener, we must also check that the gates are not padlocked. Our gardener has to get into the backyard to clean it up, so she must have access.
Back in my rookie days, this Sacramento Realtor received phone calls from angry vendors as they had no power and or water or access to do the jobs they were hired for. That taught me to not ever assume things work properly on houses. Double-check everything, that’s what successful listing agents do.
My motto always is be prepared for what doesn’t work. Expect the unexpected. Check for utilities in vacant homes for sale. We also each keep a kit in our trunks, containing things like duct tape, light bulbs, paper towels, soap, bottled water, gloves, flashlights and a basic tool kit.
More important, we know we must be resourceful as clients hire us to solve problems for them, and that’s why we always earn our 5 star reviews! We are full service Realtors. If you want listing specialists who are fully prepared to go the extra mile, call the Weintraub & Wallace team today at RE/MAX Gold Real Estate (916)-233-6759
— JaCi Wallace
Full-Service Realtors Means Sometimes Going Beyond With Service
Full-service Realtors in Sacramento offer sellers so much more than just higher prices, fewer renegotiations in the middle of escrow and expert analytical skills. We sometimes have to go beyond what most people expect with service and sharing our knowledge. Oh, we’ve had it hammered into us that we can’t give legal advice and can’t give tax advice, anything that departs from our skillset of real estate and that for which we are licensed. After all, we are not accountants nor lawyers. We are full-service Realtors.
But what does that mean to the public we serve? It means we are judged every single day by what we do and how we do it, and our performance darn well better be excellent. We need to anticipate what a seller needs before she or he asks. Often, it also means we go beyond what other agents might do.
One of the aspects of my full service for sellers involves giving advice as to improvements. There are often little fixes a seller can do to make a property much more saleable. Left to their own devices, sellers will fix things that are inconsequential to a buyer but which the sellers think are important. That’s generally a waste of money. I don’t advise sellers based on my personal preferences, I advise based on what sells. What buyers say they want and expect. My advice is based on my vast experience spanning four decades in real estate.
But I don’t just throw out advice, like: paint that wall a dove gray. Since I spent 10 years of my life fixing up homes and flipping them, doing the work with my own two hands, I know quite a bit about home improvement projects. Not only that, but I know which products to recommend, which vendors to supply those products and the contractors who can do the actual work. And I don’t even watch HGTV, heh, heh.
Discount agents are often too green, too new, and honestly, many of them don’t care. They can’t help. I shared with a friend the other day what I do to attract multiple offers and drive up the sales price versus what a discount agent does. A discount agent’s advice is: take the offer. Sellers make more money through full-service Realtors, and they get more qualified advice from an experienced veteran vs. a newbie. A discount agent will promise full service but they can’t deliver. It’s impossible.
Looking to sell your home? Before you wander into Lowe’s, give Elizabeth Weintraub at Lyon Real Estate a jingle at 916.233.6759. I’m happy to help.
