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I Wish All of My Sacramento Escrows Were Like This Sale
Back yard of 4316 Aqua Ct is .27 acres with fruit trees, patio and spa.
Around the 11th of June, a wonderfully sweet-natured fellow from North Highlands was about to join my inventory of Sacramento escrows, he just didn’t know it yet. This seller had emailed me after reading my online reviews. He found me on another website, checked out my personal website, studied my 5-star Sacramento Realtor reviews and decided I was the listing agent for him. This is the kind of dream seller every Sacramento listing agent loves to work with.
These are the sellers who do their homework, they understand the value of what we agents do, and they’re excited to meet with us. No grass grows under my feet when a seller is ready to go on the market. The seller asked for about 3 days to clean up the house and I met with him to conduct my visual inspection and sign all of the listing paperwork. His home was fairly immaculate, primarily because he spent most of his time in his man cave, and not in the living areas of the house.
I installed a lockbox and devoted a good amount of time explaining the procedures of selling. A well informed seller is generally a happy seller. Nobody wants to second guess what comes next in Sacramento escrows, they prefer that I lay it out for them. We talked about how to complete the disclosures. We walked the property line in the back yard, which gave the seller an opportunity to discuss his gardens and we talked about fixtures in real estate.
The photographer came out that afternoon to shoot photos, and we scheduled our on market date for a couple days later. That Sunday we held an open house. Two different sets of buyers came through. By that Monday, we had received two offers. Both offers were over list price, but one offer specifically stood out as being the highest. We looked over the comps, talked about its likely appraised value and what the seller would like to do. It is always the seller’s decision.
Lo and behold, this seller choose the lower offer. It was lower by $5,000 over the second offer. The seller said he didn’t particularly care about the $5,000, he got the price he desired, and he was OK with the offer. True story. This happens sometimes. The seller liked the family who wrote that offer, too. He was retiring and just wanted his home to be in the hands of a family who would care for it as much as he did. I can understand that sentiment, can’t you?
We sold the home in its AS IS condition. No repairs. No renegotiations. No credits, and the buyers didn’t even try to push their luck. They were simply grateful they were chosen. And we closed a week early with a free rent back for the seller. This is how Sacramento escrows should go. Everybody did their part, no hassle, and most of all, no drama.
The Highest Per-Square-Foot Home Sold in North Highlands
Holy toledo, I just closed the highest per-square-foot cost home in North Highlands over the past 6 months! This is a typical 1957 tract home, about 1,100 square feet, located in a quiet neighborhood of similar homes, in which the highest priced home sold at $140 per square foot. This home closed at $177. You think we didn’t struggle with the appraisal? You betcha we struggled.
When the appraiser called to make an appointment, I mentioned that if she needed additional comps, she could feel free to call me. That’s polite code for if the home won’t appraise, let me know and I will help. See, I think it’s very insulting for a Sacramento real estate agent to throw comparable sales at an appraiser. It’s telling the appraiser that the appraiser doesn’t know how to do her job. It sends an demeaning message, but agents don’t stop to think about how an appraiser interprets their “assistance.”
Some agents will meet appraisers at the property and hand the appraiser a list of comps. I imagine the appraiser throws them away in disgust. It’s like saying, “Hello, welcome to my neighborhood, you dumb cluck.” I didn’t tell the appraiser that I knew more than she did. I didn’t suggest that she couldn’t perform her job. I didn’t even say if she had a problem that I would help. Because I knew when she ran the comparable sales, she would not be able to justify the sales price.
Sure enough, she sent an email asking if I would send her additional comparable sales. I know the parameters for an appraisal. I know what’s acceptable, which is not exactly the parameters a Sacramento real estate agent might use. I found 3 comparable sales that supported the per-square-foot house with similar sized homes and condition, formatted those comps into a 3-up comparison and sent them.
The home appraised at value. We closed escrow on Wednesday. Sellers who initially thought their home might be underwater are now dancing for joy in their new home in Arizona!
