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Selling a Probate Fixer Home in Sacramento
Not every fixer home in Sacramento much less a probate fixer home is priced in line with the amount a flipper investor wants to pay. Especially not my short sales, for example, because I want them to close. But in any perceived distressed situation, whether it’s a foreclosure, short sale, probate fixers, preforeclosure, what-have-you, investors crawl out of the woodwork looking for a “good deal.” Because it’s all about the spreadsheets to them, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with working with investors who are fueled by the greed of money unless they get in your face about it.
It can be trying at times to maintain composure as a listing agent when investors are swearing, in the literal sense, on the phone that they can buy a home for less in the same damn neighborhood, to which my reply is go ahead then and quit torturing me. Particularly when I am confident there are no other homes for sale at that price. They’ll use whatever tactics they can because it’s their business to buy low and sell high. I get it.
That doesn’t exactly fit well with my business of representing the seller to the best of my ability who wants to obtain the highest price. Therein lies the sticky wicket. I just closed a probate fixer last week that was that kind of sale that generated a ton of calls from investors, all demanding that we slash the price. First, it’s not my call. Second, the seller understands there are two basic types of pricing: that which attracts homeowner occupants who will pay market and that which will attract the flippers.
Perhaps this home is not priced for a flipper investor? But that does not occur to them.
People in general are under the impression that banks give away homes because they ran out of toasters, but it doesn’t work that way. Banks want market value just like regular sellers with equity want market value. It’s a tough market for a flipper. But they are better off finding their own homes to buy than trying to squeeze the integrity out of a Sacramento listing agent.
That probate fixer sale sold at list price. Just like the seller, the executor of the estate, expected. As Is condition, no repairs and all cash.
Closing a Home in South Sacramento for an Elderly Seller
If my mother were alive today, she would be in her early 80s, just like an elderly seller in Sacramento whose home that I, as her listing agent, recently closed. This woman’s son had called from Georgia to ask if I would help his mother to sell her home. His mom is moving across the country as I type to live with him. Her son had done his homework online, reading website after website about real estate agents. He didn’t pick any ol’ Sacramento real estate agent, he entrusted this agent to take care of his mom.
I suspect he chose me in part because I give a crap about other people; I guess it shows, and I have a conscience that follows the Golden Rule. I have an obligation to those I represent, not only as a a REALTOR but as a person.
This elderly seller lived for many decades across from a school in South Sacramento. It’s not the easiest neighborhood in which to sell nor the best location. People get so used to where they live that they don’t always realize that selling real estate depends on the adage: location, location, location. They feel that if they can overlook a train rumbling past the kitchen window, so should every other buyer out there.
Selling a home near a school is no easy feat. I’ve sold 3 of them like this in the past few months. It’s got to be the right combination: an attractive sales price, good condition, exemplary layout. The first buyers who expressed an interest in making an offer were put off by the school, and there was no way they would offer list price. So, we focused instead on the second buyers who appreciated the immaculate condition of the home and its upgrades.
This elderly seller was a bit feisty, sharp as a tack and a supremely delightful person to represent. She was resourceful, and we talked for a while at her kitchen table about her life. It was difficult for her to read the listing paperwork, which I also emailed at her request to her son so he could feel comfortable as well. I showed her patience. Some day I will be that old, and I would like to think that my real estate agent at that time in my life would take a few extra minutes out of her day to be patient with me.
I am honored to have met this woman, this elderly seller. I wish in our country that our American customs showed more respect for elderly people, like they do in other cultures in which the elderly are revered for their wisdom. We should show a little more compassion for our elders. Open doors for them, if you can. Let them move ahead of you in line at the grocery store. Stop your car at pedestrian crossings and wait for them to cross. Small things, simple gestures, are big things.
Does It Matter Which Agent You Hire to List Your Sacramento Home?
It matters a great deal which agent in Sacramento will list your home. I’ll tell you why. When people ask me how much I charge for commission, the first thing I realize is they don’t really know very much about Sacramento real estate agents or the business, which is OK, but it tends to explain why they may harbor the wrong belief that all real estate agents are the same. Some sellers believe that agents are separated only by the amount of commission they charge, and other than that, we’re all identical.
Which is a shame because it’s not true.
Real estate agents are not the same. We are all different. We come from every walk of life, with varying degrees of education and experience. You’ve got high school dropouts working alongside of guys with Ph.D degrees. Some of us are top producers selling a hundred homes or more every year, some consistently sell at least once house a month, and some agents sell a home every few months or so just to keep toes in the water. Some of us earn our full commissions and others barely stay alive on discounted fees.
Some agents are hysterical and maniacal. Others are calm, tempered and even keel. I believe clients prefer an agent who is loyal, dedicated and works her fingers to the bones for them. Kinda like Freda Kelly, who was the secretary of the Beatles fan club for 11 years. She kept her lips zipped and ran a tight ship. Didn’t even speak out about her experiences until 50 years later.
If Freda promised a fan a lock of John’s hair, they got a lock of John’s hair. If she promised that Paul would sleep on the pillowcase a fan sent to her, you can bet that Paul’s face had been pressed overnight into the pillowcase, even if she had to nag Paul’s mom about it.
If you’re thinking about hiring an agent to list your Sacramento home, you may also want to consider the mission, qualifications and local customs of the brokerage where your agent works. Not every real estate brokerage in town, for example, supports agents who want to hold open houses. I can tell you that Lyon Real Estate is a huge proponent of open houses, and ranks itself as the number 1 real estate brokerage in Sacramento with 17 or so offices and almost 1,000 agents.
When I list your Sacramento home and agents spot the name of Lyon Real Estate, they also recognize my name and know I will handle the transaction fairly, honestly, efficiently and without preferential treatment of some agents over others. That’s not to say an agent who works by herself or at a small boutique might not be qualified in that light, but she won’t have the advantage the number 1 real estate company can offer.
I’m not the answer for everybody to list your Sacramento home. I might be the answer for you, though. I do what I say I’m gonna do. Hundreds of happy clients are proof. You can call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Don’t be that seller whose deal blows up and wonders why.
What Are California Home Sellers Required to Tell a Buyer?
When selling a home in Sacramento, many home sellers have no idea what they are required to tell a buyer and what kinds of disclosures for selling California real estate they must provide. A crucial service that real estate agents provide for home sellers as a Sacramento listing agent is to explain to clients how to complete the real estate disclosures and related paperwork. Because of all of the lawsuits, it’s not easy to complete the paperwork. The lawyers make the paperwork very difficult for a regular homeowner.
For example, in the Transfer Disclosure Statement, a question that is often overlooked because it does not have a number next to it and the type size is small is whether the seller lives there. It asks: Seller is BOX [or] is not BOX occupying the property. A seller called me yesterday to ask if she was an occupant because she did not know the answer to that question, yet she is a reasonably intelligent woman. It’s possible that she was at somebody else’s house when she was completing the TDS and perhaps interpreted the question literally. Dunno.
Why can’t the form ask if the property is a rental or a residence? Or, to make it simpler, do you live in this home? Or, do you live in this home 12 months out of the year? Or, have you ever rented your home? Is your home rented now?
This is just the first question. What else are California home sellers required to tell buyers? You’d be amazed.
I have no idea how sellers who represent themselves as a For Sale by Owner manage to complete their real estate disclosures without competent direction. These are the documents that after escrow closes the buyer may choose to sue the seller about, to go to court over. The one thing that is often standing between the seller and a judgment are the seller disclosures. They have no clue what are California home sellers required to tell buyers.
It’s not so much what a seller says sometimes as how the seller says it. A Sacramento real estate agent, while she cannot complete the form for a seller nor give a seller legal advice, she can certainly offer guidance. Let’s not even talk about the four-page Seller Property Questionnaire at this point and its question about pre-1978 that nobody but an agent understands.
Home sellers need to be truthful and honest and answer each and every question. They should keep nothing from the buyer. If you have a question about your real estate disclosures, call your Sacramento real estate agent before answering.
How a HUD Section 8 Rental Receipt Can Mess Up Closing
Nothing like a HUD Section 8 rental receipt to mess up a buyer’s mortgage closing, and listing agents are often the last to know. Most people, for example, have little idea of what a Sacramento listing agent actually does, apart from lounging about Maui over federal holiday weekends and sticking a sign in the seller’s yard before leaving. They also often assume that once an offer has been accepted by both parties, most of the work is over when that is actually when much of the work begins.
There are often more negotiations after a purchase contract has been signed. That’s just the beginning in some cases. When a buyer can’t close escrow or attempts to renegotiate, that’s when most sellers are very happy to have a strong negotiator representing them. It’s when an agent earns her full-service fee. As a listing agent, I have to be fair to all parties, but I owe my fiduciary duty to the seller, always and foremost.
We were ready to close a concurrent transaction the early in the third week of June. A concurrent closing means the seller is buying another home and both the existing home and new home will close simultaneously. We matched the closing dates. Suddenly, without warning, the buyer’s file was kicked back from underwriting. Turns out the buyers, who had been living in a hotel for a while, had rented their previous home to a Section 8 tenant. The underwriter needed to verify receipt from HUD for rents paid and HUD had not even inspected the home yet.
This is when the buyer’s agent, like many agents, looks around for a simple solution. The simple solution was to extend closing another 30 days. Since the sellers were purchasing another home, a 30-day closing delay was not a satisfactory solution to the sellers.
Dan Tharp, my preferred mortgage lender at Guild Mortgage, helped to devise a strategy. He wasn’t involved in this transaction but he had the answer for us. The answer was to provide security for the underwriter and close the file pending post-HUD receipt, and advance part of the rent pre-closing. After delivering proper documentation requesting specific performance, we closed a day ahead of schedule, and the seller received another 48 hours to move. Crisis diverted.
Photo: lounging on the grass in Maui, by Elizabeth Weintraub
