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Sacramento Spring Home Selling Starts in the Rain
One of my Elk Grove sellers yesterday almost passed out when I called to say we had sold his home. I’m not joking. He could not believe it, and that’s putting it mildly. One day he’s a guy with a home in Elk Grove that is almost upside-down with a roof at the end of its life and the next day he’s slipping $50,000 into his pocket. I’m sure that’s the way it seemed to him. “Buttt,” he stuttered in disbelief, “We haven’t even been on the market for 2 weeks yet.”
When a listing is done right, much of the work is done upfront. Sellers don’t see the hours we agents pour over our listings, highlighting this feature, brightening this spot, cropping thusly, and plastering it everywhere online. Or the time invested to study the comparable sales and help the seller to choose just the right sales price. Or the number of inspection reports obtained from roofers, pest workers much less our own visual inspections, rearranging, color coordinating and staging the home a little bit. What they see is a buyer walking in the door and cooing, “I want this home.” It sends sellers into shock.
It was an unbelievable day yesterday for this Sacramento real estate agent. I don’t always have days like that Wednesday or I would probably drop from exhaustion. In addition to receiving an award from Leading Real Estate Companies of the World at my office meeting, bringing in a breakfast item for a potluck to honor veteran and former SAR president Barbara Harsch, and adding another curb scrape to the front lip spoiler on my car on my way to drop it at the body shop, it seems like everything happened in three’s. First, I took 3 new listings: met with the sellers, inspected the homes, shot my photographs, signed all the paperwork, explained how showings work, all that stuff.
Lyon Real Estate and I are bringing to the Sacramento spring home selling market today a gorgeous remodeled home in East Sacramento at 700 San Antonio Way at $649,000. The attention to detail in this remodel is astounding. Another new listing is a home in Carmichael, just north of Fair Oaks and east of California Street at 6145 Fountaindale Way at $350,000. This is a single-level, open floor plan with vaults and attached deck, surrounded by mature landscaping, built in 1992. The third new listing is located at 17 Oasis Court, which is on a culdesac, built in 2008 (among newer homes in central Sacramento), with 4 bedrooms and 2 baths at the affordable price of $195,000.
On top of this, I put 3 listings into contract and into escrow. Like the home of my Elk Grove seller who almost had a heart attack. I picked up 3 new clients by answering my phone as I was driving around Sacramento, too. We’re just getting started in this Sacramento spring selling season. See, focus. That’s the name of the game, and an agent must be on top of her game. Besides, it was too rainy to take my daily bike ride through Land Park yesterday anyway.
Why Condition Matters When Selling Sacramento Real Estate
Condition of property is one of the big three elements when selling Sacramento real estate— or any home in the Sacramento seven-county region — but it’s often overlooked or dismissed by sellers. They get used to their house the way it is. They might say something like, “Oh, we’ll let the buyer take care of that issue.” Unless the house is pretty much a tear down, or needs such extensive work that we call it a fixer home, a home buyer will not do those repairs / corrective work. End of story. Only an investor will buy that kind of home today. And investors aren’t paying full price this spring.
The three key elements for selling a home in Sacramento are:
- Location
- Condition
- Price
You can have a great price at market value that would apply to a turnkey home in a fabulous sought-after neighborhood, and it still won’t sell because the home is not fixed up. You can have a great price for a good location and a home in move-in condition, and the home won’t sell if it’s located in a bad place like under a freeway or next-door to an apartment building.
If the home needs major work, you should just do the work before putting that home on the market or else adjust the sales price accordingly. If the home is located in a bad location, your sales price also has has to come down and be adjusted for that location. You can’t get top dollar for a beautiful home in a bad location. You can’t get top dollar for a fixer home regardless of its great location.
These are the rules of real estate. I don’t make them up. These rules are not something this Sacramento real estate agent has plucked out of thin air or can bend at will but that’s the way some people react to the news.
The only way you’re getting top market value for your home is if that home has a great location and is in top condition. You need all three elements to command the top of the market, even in a seller’s market.
Buyers want a turnkey home in a good location, and they don’t want to do any work. If you’ve got ugly carpet, you need to replace it or be prepared to be hit with a lowball offer that will far exceed the cost of replacing that carpet.
Should You Stay in Your Home or Sell the Home Vacant?
Home Selling: Should you Stay or Go?
If you interviewed a hundred real estate agents in Sacramento and asked whether it was better to sell the home vacant or sell it with the seller living there, I’m betting agents would say the opposite of what I believe. Why do I think that? Because from a buyer’s agent’s point of view, it’s often easier to sell the home vacant. No fuss, no muss to show. Easy in and out. But from a Sacramento listing agent’s point of view, it’s generally better to leave the home occupied with the seller in residence.
Now, I know some agents start to feel like they own the home when they take a listing. It’s a common feeling, believe me. Sort of depends on how long the home is on the market and how many open houses the agent has held. I recall the summer of 2003 when I was the Queen of Vallejo Way in Land Park, and I held open houses every single Sunday for an overpriced listing that no other agent was willing to take. I knew every inch, nook and cranny of that home because I spent so much time in it. I filmed a segment for Good Day, Sacramento! in that house. But I never took a nap on the bed or helped myself to a pop in the ‘frig, in case you’re wondering. That home eventually sold, too, and I still have fond memories when I drive by, many years later.
But no listings are my home, regardless of how I might feel about them. My job is to put the seller’s interests first and foremost. I believe it’s better for the seller to stay in the home, even if it might make my job easier if they moved out. Only if the home is a total mess and unsuitable for showing would I suggest a seller move. It’s not always better to sell the home vacant.
If you’re asking yourself should a home be occupied or vacant when home selling, consider these points:
- Homes show better with furniture
- Vacant homes are often vandalized and not all insurance policies cover vacant homes
- Sellers are present to deal with emergencies
- Sellers can possibly meet the potential buyers
- Don’t have to pay for maintaining two homes
Yes, it’s a little bit more of a hassle to clean up the house every day and leave it spotless for showings, and it’s not always convenient to jump in the car and drive around when a buyer shows up, but you’ll probably make more money and sell the home faster if you’re living there. Unless, like I said, you live in a pigsty. Then, yes, you should move out and sell the home vacant.
Working With Tenants To Sell a Rental Home in Sacramento
Not every tenant ends up being a nightmare or terrible problem when selling a rental home in the Sacramento region. In fact, some tenants can be a huge blessing in disguise. I often prefer to have tenants in the home if at all possible for several reasons. First, I don’t worry nearly as much about vandalism when the when I’m selling a rental home is that occupied. Second, having furniture in the marketing photos makes the home seem more alive and it shows better.
Sure, you hear horror stories about tenants who refuse to move upon sale or those who believe the world revolves around them and the out-and-out jerks. These types can cause problems by lying about the condition of the home to prospective buyers, refusing to show the property at the times they promised and not picking up after themselves when buyers do come through. As a Sacramento real estate agent, I’ve dealt with uncooperative tenants of rental homes who bolted the door from the inside, turned the pit bulls loose and then slipped a note under the door threatening physical bodily harm if agents entered.
Fortunately, most of the tenants I work with are very accommodating. Part of that reason is because I treat them with respect. It might be my Sacramento listing and the seller’s property, but the house is the tenant’s home. I am grateful when a tenant grants me the privilege of entrance so I can take photographs of the interior, and I verbally share that sentiment. I say please and thank you. I acknowledge graciousness. And I go to great lengths to protect the tenant’s privacy.
See, I think when you deal with other people the way you would like to be treated, they generally respond in kind. If a real estate agent starts out on the wrong foot, making false assumptions and behaving as though she is at odds, on the opposite side of the fence, tenants might not want to cooperate. They might even retaliate.
I often ask sellers to give the tenants a small financial incentive to cooperate with showings. After all, what’s in it for the tenant? Tenants are generally inconvenienced, they don’t stand to make any profit when the home is sold, and let’s face it, some real estate agents can be very pushy. You know it and I know it. I try to save the tenants from that kind of obtrusive and sometimes abrasive invasion.
Just being nice to people can go a long ways. There is no reason, even in the face of adversity and unwarranted criticism, to act otherwise. If you want to sell a rental home in Sacramento, call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759.
Looking at Sacramento Homes for Sale From a Buyer’s Perspective
New Home Listing in Sacramento
It’s very difficult to color correct photographs when a kitten is attacking my television monitor. Typing doesn’t seem to excite little Tessa as much as when I move the mouse around and magic happens in front of her eyes. She appreciates when I use the tool that lightens shadows, and she is madly in love with the adjustments I make using Levels in Photoshop. As a Sacramento real estate agent, I often agonize over my photographs because I want to make sure that each and every photo does its job properly online.
Now, I try not to say anything about other agent’s listings when I see photographs that let’s just say don’t do the home justice. The major thing about presenting a home online is the photos should offer a clear picture of each room that is suitable for viewing and tell a story to the buyer. Contrary to some popular views, we Sacramento real estate agents are not trying to sell a home online, on the internet, we are trying to whet a buyer’s appetite enough to get the buyer motivated to view the home in person.
Sacramento home buyers have choices. Their first introduction to Sacramento homes for sale is online, typically. They might have automatic emails set up by their buyer’s agents, which deliver listings to their inbox as soon as those new listings hit the market. That’s the easiest and the smartest way to search for a home to buy in Sacramento. If a buyer is not receiving emails, that buyer may not realize how much she is at a disadvantage.
When buyers get an email, it may contain a bunch of homes for sale because new listings come out every day. To access the information, it involves clicking on the property address. That’s one click. Up comes the listing with one photograph, the property description and specifics. The listing offers the ability to look at more photographs by clicking a second time. If a buyer does not like the first photograph, a buyer might not click a second time. Moreover, if the buyer does not like the second photograph, the buyer might not click through all of the photographs and will simply discard the listing by moving on to the next home for sale.
Each photograph must encourage the buyer to click again. The marketing verbiage should make the home sound unique. Even if the home is identical to almost every other home in Elk Grove, for example, there is something unique that makes it different that made the existing sellers want to buy it, and that is what will make a new buyer want it as well.
Jackson in box with Tessa
If you’d like to talk more about what this Sacramento real estate agent can do for you, please feel free to call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916 233 6759. I love selling homes in the Sacramento Valley, and I’m not afraid to say I’m good at it.
And, my kitten Tessa? She says she’ll buy them all. This one, and that one, and the next one, too. You can see that she sticks her nose into everything. Even when I’m trying to take a photo of Jackson, our ragdoll.
