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Working With the Best Sacramento Realtors Means Recognizing the Worst
You’ve got your good buyer’s agents in Sacramento, and you’ve got your lousy ones, and sometimes it’s hard to tell which is which from the inception. If you believe who the buyer’s agent is doesn’t make a difference in a real estate transaction, then you’re most likely not a top-producer listing agent in Sacramento. Because we see it all.
The first sign I’m working with a screwball is when I receive an offer from out-of-the-blue with no preceding phone call, no email, no text message, no voicemail, no prior notification whatsoever about the offer nor the buyer. To add insult to injury, these often are sent directly from a digital online signing service, without a single one-line sentence from the buyer’s agent to explain its existence.
Other signs the buyer’s agent could be a loser, or not one of our best Sacramento Realtors, are as follows:
- The purchase offer itself is a disaster (partially completed).
- The offer is missing crucial accompanying documents (such as a preapproval letter).
- The offer includes unusual demands such as requesting title and escrow.
- The buyer’s agent’s voicemail is full.
- The buyer’s agent is also the mortgage broker (it’s hard enough to wear one hat much less two).
Which means when I am working with a top-notch buyer’s agent, one of the best Sacramento Realtors, it can make the entire transaction, regardless of what happens, a pure pleasure. I closed several homes in West Sacramento last month that were smooth as silk, even though there were points of contention. We negotiated through them and closed; both sides were happy. The buyer’s agents for both of these sales were experienced, professional and a sheer delight. I hope to work with them again!
It takes working with the best Sacramento Realtors to realize how agonizing it can be to work with the worst.
When it comes to multiple offers in Sacramento, you can bet I disclose to my sellers any and all experiences I’ve had with buyer’s agents whose offers we receive. Ultimately, the seller makes the choice of which offer to accept. I give my sellers the tools to make that decision.
Tips for Selling a Home in Land Park Sacramento
Some people believe all Land Park agents are the same, just like they view real estate agents anywhere, but when it comes to selling a home in Land Park, a leafy urban neighborhood in Sacramento, choosing the right Land Park agent can make a big difference. I can say this because I’m only repeating what my seller told me yesterday when I called to provide verification that we had closed on his home in Land Park. He was another seller I had never met in person.
I should mention that some sellers find it very unusual to sell a home without ever meeting the listing agent, but it’s pretty common place for me nowadays to handle real estate transactions for individuals I have never met. We talk by phone, they read my articles on About.com and peruse my Sacramento real estate website, and we mostly communicate through email or texting, which works brilliantly. We don’t need no stinkin’ handshaking and eyeball bounces.
When the seller first called to discuss possibly selling a home in Land Park, I drove by the home, which was only a few blocks from my own home in Land Park. Even though I know the neighborhood like the back of my own hand, I don’t know every house on every street, and homes in Land Park are unique. They are not like homes in Elk Grove or Natomas because they differ wildly from each other. That’s why the Zillow estimates are often way off base. Zillow estimated the value of this home at about 12% less than it sold. I came up with a sales price based on what I know about the neighborhood, then confirmed my instincts through comparable sales and a drive by.
After I viewed the home and realized there were a few drawbacks, I had considered revising my initial estimate. But given the way the market is moving at the moment — and it is a strong seller’s market in Sacramento — I decided against suggesting a revision on price, and shared those thoughts with the seller. Together, we chose a sales price positioned in just the right sweet spot against the competition and sure enough, we received multiple offers. We shrewdly negotiated and managed to drive that price about 3% higher. I also talked with the appraiser to ensure the appraised value would match the sales price.
Doing what is best for my clients always tends to work out well in the end, and that’s my focus. Some people might scoff and say that attitude is a bit OCD, but it works for me so there’s no reason to change it. We had no request for repairs, nothing. No hiccups. Of course, working with an excellent buyer’s agent on the other side of the transaction helps tremendously, too. Buyers who choose the right buyer’s agent and sellers who choose the right listing agent tend to close escrow faster, smoother and without drama.
Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures in Sacramento Real Estate
Do desperate times call for desperate measures?
Do desperate times call for desperate measures in Sacramento real estate? I’d like to believe otherwise but then I may as well make like an ostrich and stick my head in the sand. Except an ostrich would be likely to end up with a bunch of baby ostriches and I’d just mess up my makeup or lose an earring.
I realize it’s tough out there for home buyers right now. If they love a home, so will another . . . and another and another. That means some lucky sellers are receiving more than one offer for a home. Yet, this is absolutely a great time to buy a home because interest rates are positioned to rise on the horizon. On the downside, if a buyer’s offer contains anything out of the ordinary as compared to the other buyers — like maybe a contingency to sell an existing home — the buyer could be at a distinct disadvantage. To counteract this situation, some agents will write more than one offer for a buyer, even though it is frowned upon and could violate certain good faith contract laws.
The one thing an agent should not do, however, under any circumstances, is send two offers from the same buyer to the same Sacramento listing agent and, on top of it, include a note about how much the buyer LOVES the home. Ummm, which one does the buyer love? We don’t know. But I did receive 2 offers from an agent signed by the same buyers on two different listings. Guess the agent must have figured desperate times call for desperate measures; or, perhaps it temporarily slipped the agent’s mind that both listings are mine.
This is the same agent who called to ask how much the buyer had to offer to get the home. Well, the answer is I do not know. I am not the buyer, and I am not my seller. I can’t read my seller’s mind and, even if I did possess magical powers, I wouldn’t share that information. It’s privileged, covered under client fiduciary, in addition to it’s not fair to other agents. I need to treat all parties fairly. It’s in the Code of Ethics.
The agent moaned and said the agent would do it, and the agent’s general real estate practice is to often help other agents this way. Well, as a listing agent, the agent is only helping the agent who wins the offer, not all of the other agents. No point in explaining that as it’s not my place to educate; some agents would find it demeaning. But I did explain to the agent that we all work differently. My real estate business in Sacramento is undoubtedly unique compared to others. Some of us, apparently, adhere to desperate times call for desperate measures. I don’t tell agents how much to offer. That’s between agents and their buyers.
If you’re looking for an experienced agent to sell your home in the Sacramento Valley, call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Elizabeth consistently ranks in the top 1% of all Lyon and other agents.
Elk Grove Sellers Who Buy With a Contingent Offer is Becoming the Norm
We just closed escrow yesterday for an evening news anchor and his family. They were able to sell an existing home, rent back for a while and close on another home, and we helped them every step of the way. Further, it was a contingent offer that scored the family the home of their dreams. Now, I know there are potential sellers who don’t believe it is possible to get an offer accepted to buy a home when their own home is not yet sold, but that is a common procedure for experienced Elk Grove agents. The trick is to make sure your home is on the market before you try to buy a home. Make it contingent.
I talk to scores of people all day long who call to ask about buying a home when they also have a home to sell. Each is different, and there is no cookie-cutter solution. I have many scenarios to choose from that will work, it just depends which is best for the client. But I do know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, if a seller needs to sell in order to buy, I’m your Sacramento REALTOR who will get the job done.
In this particular instance, I had sold this Elk Grove seller’s home 3 times. Three times! Flakey buyers. Buyers who get all the way to escrow closing, two days away and then suddenly realize, oh my gosh, we can’t get our money out of China! If I had a dime for every time I heard that excuse I still couldn’t afford an oceanfront home in Maui. Or, they are trying to sell a home but won’t price it in accordance with the comparable sales so we have to cancel them because we want to be in escrow with buyers who will actually close. We lost our first two buyers for reason #1 and reason #2.
But our third buyer stuck. Our third buyer was in a multiple-offer situation with another buyer, too. This was a home with no upgrades, no granite counters, no stainless appliances, no crown molding, nothing really special except the view. We worked out all of the details before the offer was formally presented to the sellers, the amount of the rent back, the duration, which made the entire process that much more pleasant for all parties concerned.
The home the sellers found to buy was also their third escrow. The first two homes, well, after presentation of all the facts, the sellers found some terms?that were unacceptable, and we helped them to cancel. It is not up to us to try to talk anybody out of canceling. If the home is not for them, it’s not for them, next. We want happy sellers and buyers.
Sure, sometimes it seems like we do 3 times the work to get the same results we used to obtain years ago without all of that work, but that’s how the business is these days. We do what we have to do to keep our clients smiling. It doesn’t have to be a pain in the neck to sell a home and buy another at the same time. Not if you’re dealing with pros. I say, bring on the contingent offers, boys, this is where we shine!
Three Things About the Sacramento Housing Market
As a blogging Sacramento agent, I try to narrow my blogs to a singular thought, but I have 3 things that keep popping up over and over in unison about home buyers in the Sacramento housing market — which, if I don’t discuss these 3 observations in one blog I might never get around to it. The first is the problem in Elk Grove. I’ve lost count of the number of offers I’ve negotiated for my last bunch of listings in Elk Grove that have fallen out and had to be sold a second, third or fourth time.
These buyers go into escrow and then immediately cancel, which tells me they are writing multiple offers when they can’t afford to buy each of the homes. Where do they get this idea? Do their agents encourage this kind of unethical behavior? Our market is not so hot that they need to do it. They can make an offer on the home they want to buy and probably buy it without competition.
I’ve seen some agents write into the offer that the buyer is making multiple offers, and I want to hug these guys. I’ve had other agents include an addendum that says the buyers are absolutely not writing any other offers and will wait for the offer negotiations to reach a conclusion before doing so. You guys can dance on my grave if you want.
The second thing I’ve noticed about the Sacramento housing market is VA buyers are becoming ubiquitous. I’ve always said if you want to buy a home with a VA loan come over and sit down next to me, and my sellers will gladly cooperate. I love love love VA buyers. Once you get a VA buyer into contract, they close and they don’t go wandering around open houses wondering if they’ve made the right decision. They understand what a commitment means. You can count on a VA buyer. They have integrity.
The third thing about the Sacramento housing market is about home pricing under the next price point. By this I mean pricing a home at $499K instead of $505K, for example. It could go one of two ways. Pricing at $499K might mean that home buyers will fight over it and bid up that price. On the other hand, a buyer might also lowball that price. They probably won’t offer $499K, though. It will be higher or it will be lower, and it’s not always easy to predict which way it will go, regardless of the home’s beauty and desirability.
In super hot seller markets in the past, a $499K listing would almost invariably sell for more. In buyer’s markets, it will fetch less. In this market, though, an agent can’t always accurately forecast because this is a fairly balanced market with no leanings either way, although our inventory is still relatively low. Inventory will get lower as we edge closer to Thanksgiving, but that’s a blog for another day.
