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Strong Sacramento Listing Agents vs Conflict Avoiders
Jackson looks like a tough cat, but he is a meek and timid soul, like some real estate agents
The thing I’ve noticed most about moving toward the age of 64 is not so much removing the ear worm stuck in my head of will you still need me, will you still feed me when I’m 64 — which I strongly suspect was a clueless image Paul McCartney conjured when he wrote it in his teens because you’re too young to tie your shoes at that age — nope, what I’ve noticed is it’s the growing non-acceptance of crap. Well, honestly, I’ve always been a no-crap taker, but getting older has absolutely strengthened that trait, given it stronger legs, more spunk. That’s the benefit of aging for many of us.
I am definitely in the category of strong Sacramento listing agents. I am also a top producer who ranks in the top 10 agents in Sacramento.
After 40-some years in this business, when I tell somebody it’s the principle, you better believe it’s the principle. It’s not the money. It’s not the time involved nor the effort. It’s the principle. It’s the conviction. It’s also eliminating the consequences a lesser action of conflict avoidance could produce.
I realize there are a ton of people in the world who routinely avoid conflict. They will do anything to avoid conflict. My cat, Jackson, the ragdoll, is such a good example of conflict avoidance. He will starve to death rather than push another cat’s face out of his bowl when he’s eating. He just steps away and lets another cat eat all of his food.
Some Sacramento listing agents are like that. When they receive, let’s say, an unreasonable request from a buyer, their sole focus is closing the transaction, and they don’t want to push back. They want to do things the easy way. They might suggest to the seller there is no other choice but to accept the buyer’s demand. To rollover and take it. Low appraisal? Their advice is just eat it; don’t push back.
Often — and I hate to point this out except that I’m right — these sorry situations involve the timid, zero push-back, mousy brand of agents who are Sacramento listing agents who have discounted their commission. These guys can’t even stand up for their own paycheck, why does a seller think they will fight for them?
When a seller is paying me for representation as her full-service Sacramento Realtor, I do what is best for the seller, which also happens to fall in line with my nature. My nature is to fight for the principle and for the principal through successful negotiations that produce results my sellers expect. It’s a lot more work but it’s the right thing to do. No question about it.
In Fiduciary, When the Music’s Over, Turn off the Lights
If you asked a thousand people whether it’s permissible for the buyer’s agent to contact a Sacramento listing agent after closing, expecting her to further question the seller on the buyer’s behalf, I bet 999 of those people would respond: why not? It seems innocent enough. The buyer forgot to ask about something or discovered some new fact and would like more information, right? I mean, who else would the buyer ask? Buyers don’t always understand fiduciary, and neither do agents.
Buyers and sellers also don’t typically trade phone numbers or email addresses prior to closing in Sacramento. It’s not unusual for a buyer to ask his agent for help under those circumstances. The problem with it, though, is the buyer’s agent is no longer the buyer’s agent. Once the transaction closes, the fiduciary relationship that exists between the buyer and the buyer’s agent is over. When the music’s over, turn off the lights.
Now, of course this doesn’t mean an agent can’t remain friends with her client, but she can no longer work in an agent capacity. Moreover, to do so might be considered to be an unauthorized practice of law, depending on what the former buyer’s agent says and does.
This also means the fiduciary relationship that once existed between the listing agent and her seller is over. The most anybody can really expect is for the listing agent to pass along the buyer’s phone number to the seller. Yet, there are agents for whom that line is often blurred. What they hear is a former client needs help and they want to help. It’s a natural reaction.
When the music’s over, turn off the lights. Fiduciary no longer exists. Let’s say a buyer asks the listing agent to quiz the seller about pest work in the basement that was completed years ago. Escrow is already closed. That’s a can o’ worms that should have been answered during escrow. Jumping into the middle of that situation is like asking for trouble.
That’s like asking a seller to sign a disclosure after closing. It’s not a disclosure if escrow is already closed and it can’t be signed.
When the music’s over, turn off the lights.
Why Home Sellers Should Not Pick a Sales Price
What home sellers don’t know about listing prices can fill a book. What makes a home sell immediately while another lingers on the market? How many days should it take to sell a home in Elk Grove, for example? It depends on which part of Elk Grove and the sales price ranges, but if we look at 95757 for the past 30 days, the average days on market are 53 and 63 cumulative, and the average listed price is $384,794 versus average sales price of $382,061, with an average size of 2,377 square feet. But that’s all homes up to a sales price of more than $600,000. The variance between list price and final sales price is about $1.00 per square foot, not much.
However, if you narrow the search criteria to homes under 1,500 square feet in 95757 over the past 30 days, you will see the smaller, entry-level homes are selling in 12 days over list price. It’s subjective. It’s why home sellers should not pick a sales price without this kind of information.
This is the sort of analysis I prepare for myself when I’m getting ready to list a home in Elk Grove or Sacramento. I also study the competition, meaning homes for sale now, as well, because those are the homes that buyers will see. Buyers won’t see the homes that are sold and, in fact, many of their agents will not share those comparable sales, for a variety of reasons. Home buyers tend to have limited vision because they compare homes that are for sale to other homes that are for sale and then try to discount the sales price from that inventory, which is really an ineffective method to use to buy a home.
That’s not to say that positioning is not important because it is paramount. But in the end, it is always what the market will bear. It’s the figuring out of what the market will bear that separates the struggling real estate agents from the top producers. It’s also a reason why home sellers should never pick a sales price by themselves without input from a seasoned agent.
Sure, sellers own the home and enjoy a vested interest, but they really don’t know how much that home is worth. Being right on the nose is an art developed by experience and backed by numbers. If you’d like to hire a top listing agent in Elk Grove or Sacramento, call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759.
Raising the Sales Price When a Home is Overpriced is a Bad Idea
Raising the sales price when your home doesn’t sell because it’s priced too high for the market is a screwball strategy that some sellers employ for various unknown reasons. Well, if you ask the seller he might say that a home down the street, for example, was just listed at a higher price, which in his mind would justify the price increase, even though it’s the wrong way to look at it. If anything, an overpriced home down the street will make a reasonably priced home sell faster.
Homes that are for sale in Sacramento are not necessarily homes that are for sale. The list prices of those homes are pretty much meaningless and carries little weight if there are no offers. A sales price is an enticement, like bait on a fishing hook, but there is no guarantee a fish will bite it. Not only that, but it might be a plastic lure disguised as a tasty treat. Not every home that has a for sale sign in the yard is a home that is for sale. That’s where home buyers’ and home sellers’ perceptions can slide sideways.
What matters are the pending sales and the sold comparable sales because those are the homes that real home buyers have purchased. Those prices are indicative of the marketplace. They show what another home is worth.
Then, you’ve got condition. A home in poor condition will not be attractive to many first-time home buyers. Investors in today’s Sacramento real estate market want a good deal, and to the investors I talk with and receive offers from a “good deal” means paying less than market value.
Bottom line is in today’s fall Sacramento real estate market, when you’ve hauled in a big fish and it’s flopping about in the boat, the thing to do is knock it over the head. You don’t throw it back in the water when you plan to eat it. You don’t say you need to catch a bigger fish if it meets minimum catch guidelines. And you don’t raise the sales price because you don’t have any offers.
Give home sellers enough time, and they’ll come to that conclusion on their own. The thing is they generally end up paying for those decisions.
Why Bay Area Investors Should Hire a Local Sacramento Agent
When the seller from San Jose called this Sacramento real estate agent, he wanted to handle the sale of his duplex in Sacramento the way an agent would deal with such an investment property in the Bay Area. It was more familiar to him and familiarity breeds comfort. But it wasn’t in his best interest to do things that way. Not only that, but it was a stupid idea that would cost him money. I had to explain that top listing agents don’t work like that in Sacramento.
Some listing agents would not discuss options under those circumstances, they would just take the listing and be done with it, happy as a clam to have another listing. Not this agent; I will bring up reasons why it might be better for the client to consider a different method and conduct the sale the way we sell real estate locally. My seller was thrilled that he listened to my advice. We just sold his investment property for the highest price any property in that area has sold for recently!
Even though one of the challenges was the neighborhood. There are neighborhoods that can present unique problems. I see out-of-area investors who are unfamiliar with neighborhoods either buy real estate in the “wrong” areas or they overpay, paying a price that they believe is based on the comps yet not for that particular pocket of homes. If the agent representing the client doesn’t possess localized knowledge, well, it can end up hurting the client. But lots of Bay Area investors use Bay Area real estate agents to buy investment property and their inquiries litter my email, which is just fine when it’s my listing.
I sold two listings like that recently to Bay Area investors who were represented by Bay Area agents. Of course, if I have any specific knowledge about the property, I am required by law to disclose it to the buyers. But I am not required to suggest to Bay Area investors that they should hire a local Sacramento agent to buy. No sirree. My personal thoughts about whether it’s a good idea to buy or not to buy don’t enter the equation because I’m not their buyer’s agent. It is my job as a listing agent in Sacramento to sell that property for the seller and to attract the highest price, so that’s precisely what I do.
I advertise my listings in Sacramento to Bay Area buyer’s agents all the time. I want their buyers to come to Sacramento and buy homes. What luck — so do my sellers! We sometimes focus on Bay Area investors because Bay Area investors tend to pay more than anybody else and ask fewer questions. I often sell investment property that is owned by Bay area investors directly to other Bay area investors. Why not Sacramento investors? Because Sacramento investors seem more shrewd these days. As a group, they typically refuse to pay list price even if list is market and, in fact, they often expect a discount based on their good looks.
The good news is it’s still a seller’s market in Sacramento. As long as sellers are reasonable, sellers can call the shots. If you want to sell your investment property in Sacramento, come over and sit down next to Elizabeth Weintraub.
