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Whether 11-9 is New 9-11 Means Little to Closing of South Sacramento Home
7509 Circle Parkway closed escrow on Nov. 9, 2016.
Some of us woke up yesterday and could not get out of bed, for obvious reasons, but then the closing of a south Sacramento home required attention. Despite the protest outpours across the country, the #NotMyPresident and #StillWithHer Twitter hashtags, despite the twisted guts, tears and disappointment in our fellow Americans or even the plans in motion for California to secede from the Union, Sacramento real estate carries on. We dust ourselves off, and we plunge forward. When it rains on our parade, we parade in the rain. We stay true to our convictions and move on. Not to mention, our clients, family and friends need us to pull together and keep it together.
One could argue that our 2016 presidential election fallout is much more civil since the losing end is a class act. If the tables were reversed, it’s hard to say what kind of anarchy would have exploded. This Sacramento Realtor can report that she did not encounter any happy people yesterday, but then I didn’t go into my office where some I heard were exhilarated. However, the clients I spoke with seemed subdued, even the seller of a South Sacramento home appeared somewhat dazed. We talked a little about how we explored the process of selling his home very slowly and moved at his own pace. He had a few repairs to make and staging to undertake before we could put his home on the market.
Not every South Sacramento home seller is raring to go when it’s time to sell. Some people need time, and over my 40+ years in the real estate business, I have developed a lot of patience for my clients. Their time is my time, and it doesn’t matter to me how much time they need to get ready. For this South Sacramento home, the seller replaced the lining of the pool, since it was leaking. He painted the interior and spruced up the home, including moving out much of the furniture. When I saw the professional photographs, I wondered if he still lived in the home, it looked so spectacular. This seller listened carefully to the advice I had given him, and it showed.
As a result, we sold the home almost immediately to a single woman who later completely flaked and canceled for unknown reasons. I blame these situations on the fact that buyer’s agents don’t always work with a client. Often they work with a complete stranger who happened by an open house or stumbled into their office. They call these buyers “clients” but they aren’t really clients when it boils right down to it. Soon as we cleaned up the paperwork to mark the departure of this so-called buyer, we plopped this South Sacramento home back on the market as a brand new listing and BINGO! Sold again at list price. Nobody likes to sell homes twice but we do it and don’t look back.
We pushed the price a little bit for this home because it was so immaculate. It was excellent to see it appraise for that value as many similar homes in Parkway Estates sell for less than that list price. Granted, we had a two-day delay because the new buyer’s bank, at the last minute, withheld her access to funds and the following day her lender could not manage to fund by the cut-off deadline, but we sailed into recording on Nov. 9th. These delays could not have been prevented from the listing side of the transaction; it falls squarely on the shoulders of the buying side team. Yet, in conclusion, the sellers were ecstatic and very happy and, at the end of the day, that’s all that really matters. Even an election turned south can’t dampen that excitement. We soldier on. Not much can affect our real estate market.
Doctor Strange at IMAX Sacramento is a Strange Trip in Itself
IMAX Theatre, located between 12th and 13th on K Street, offers 3D showing of Doctor Strange.
Besides catching Doctor Strange at IMAX Sacramento yesterday afternoon, Sundays, lately, are a good time for me to talk with sellers about listing their homes for sale. This is probably another way I have an edge over other Sacramento Realtors because I answer my cellphone everyday. I don’t rule out Sundays or turn off communications after 5 PM, like many other agents. Of course, it’s a little tough to talk in a dark theater, especially when you can’t even find your seat. Which meant any chatting about selling homes in Sacramento had to happen after the movie was over.
The last thing I want is to get tossed from the IMAX. I don’t mind getting thrown out of other places, but not IMAX.
Elizabeth Weintraub was not tall enough to get into the photo shoot at IMAX Theatre for Doctor Strange.
In the lobby of IMAX I discovered a photo machine. Nope, not one of those booths where you can shoot goofy photos in private and they later pop out in an embarrassing strip of 3 or 4 photos. Whatever happened to those things? Oh, yeah, right, cellphones. This was a promo thing designed to capture email addresses for marketing purposes but it would also shoot your picture in front of the Doctor Strange at IMAX promotional display. You can see I was a) not tall enough and b) consumed with controls and not looking into the camera.
Lost fish heads on the sidewalk near the IMAX Theatre in Sacramento
At least I did not step on the big fat fish heads lying on the sidewalk on our way to the theater. Like a person next to you would warn, “Don’t step in the poop,” my husband yelled out for me to watch what I might stomp on if not careful or looking at the ground. Sure enough, some person had dropped 3 fish heads on the sidewalk. I’m fairly certain they did not fall outta the sky. Perhaps a person had planned on carting the heads home in a plastic bag to make fish stew, got into a scuffle on the sidewalk and dropped them? Oh, my gosh, hon, I was lucky to make it home, I thought they were gonna knife me, but bad news, I lost the fish.
Although, as you can see from the photo, the heads were scattered a distance apart. I suppose a person could have been running. On the other hand, maybe the display was a statement, an art installation. What do fish heads have to say about Doctor Strange at IMAX? Sometimes it’s best not to overthink. That’s the thing about downtown Sacramento. Anything can happen.
We arrived at the theater with about 5 minutes to go to discover long lines at the popcorn counter. Lines so long that management set up crowd control aisles with dividers to direct traffic in a somewhat orderly fashion. You would think they could have hired more people behind the counter because it took us 25 minutes to get a couple of bags of popcorn and a diet Coke. This meant the previews had already started, and it was pitch black in the theater. Thank goodness for the flashlight on my cell, so we could discover somebody else sitting in our prepaid seats and make them move.
Now, not since Archie, I am not much of a comic book fan, oh, I guess they call those graphic novels today. But I do enjoy science fiction and I loved Benedict Cumberbatch in Sherlock Holmes. The action was fairly nonstop. Tilda Swinton, looking more alien-like than ever, played The Ancient One. Together they made skyscrapers melt like a real-life Gaudi, sidewalks roll, neighborhoods blow up and universes explode into magnificent kaleidoscopes; it was a wild acid trip, a great rollercoaster ride. Too bad the seats didn’t move. The Doctor Strange at IMAX experience was also 3D, so you were very close and personal with the activity.
Tribulation Trump card-toting guys doing the I-gotta-pee dance on L Street and 14th.
A person cannot think about selling homes in Sacramento when all of this is going on. It was a great 2-hour escape and mini-vacation from work. Afterward, heading toward the car, we passed the scene that my husband sees every day because his office is nearby. Right there on the corner of 14th and L Street were two ZZ Top guys holding signs, leaping from one foot to the other, alongside a boombox. One of the signs read Trump Tribulation. What does that mean? Maybe they weren’t so crazy after all if they knew enough to figure out that getting Trump elected would mean the beginning of the end of the world.
I would not stop to talk to them, though. I have no need to engage with people who stand on street corners and yell. I get enough of that from buyer’s agents. And that’s when my phone started to ring. Another seller in Sacramento needs a Realtor. Good timing!
The New Attitude at Sacramento Mercedes Dealer Service Department
You’re treated like a celebrity at Mercedes dealer service department in Sacramento.
My first experience at the Mercedes dealer service department was less than satisfactory but that was also 14 years ago, and a lot has changed over at Van Housen since then. I had just moved to Sacramento from Minneapolis, and the differences between the two service departments was dramatic at that time, like today’s Clinton vs Trump. I can’t recall exactly why I was so upset but it was enough that I never returned, and I’m the type of person who doesn’t stomp off in a huff just because they serve cold coffee. It actually takes quite a bit to make me feel like one of those cartoon characters who morph into a boiling thermometer and explode.
Management has made changes at the Mercedes dealer service department, though. Incredible changes. They whipped the entire department into shape. For some customers, it might be a bit much, over the top, but at least the service is going in the other direction. They have mastered the art of communication and acknowledgment. Yes, I would go so far as to give them 10 stars. And let me add that some Sacramento Realtors could maybe learn a thing or two from that service department.
For starters, when you pull into the Mercedes dealer service department, immediately you are welcomed by a person who dashes over to stand silently by your driver’s side door until you deem it necessary to open the door. At another dealership, they might open the door, yank you out of the vehicle, grab your shoulders and spin you toward the service entrance. Not here in Sacramento at the Mercedes dealer service department. The appointed service rep will stand by your door until you’re finished blowing up portals in Ingress or checking your emails or whatever urgent matters are at hand on your phone, and that individual will patiently wait for you to open the door.
Oh My God, We Are So Honored Your Feet Have Touched Our Blacktop
At that moment, you will be graciously thanked for your feet touching the blacktop when you exit the vehicle. They are very grateful that you have allowed your feet to come into contact with the ground on which everybody now stands. That thrill for them is made perfectly clear. I am not making this up.
The service rep then will personally escort you toward the service department door and hold open the door. When I entered Emerald City, there were no hairstylists, shampooers or foot massagers but there was a Starbucks. I sat on a high-top chair alone at a table until a few moments later a service rep appeared to assist with my navigation to an office located directly in front of me 10 feet away. Because other customers would probably request a magic carpet ride to journey into the office, he quivered with excitement that I was willing to place one foot in front of the other and walk 10 feet by myself, without further assistance. This is not an embellishment.
My dash had been making a rattling / crackling sound. In a way, it sounded like rain on the windshield. It still produced that noise with the engine turned off until everything shut down. I showed the service manager a video. He touched my cellphone and expressed his undying gratitude that I let him touch it. He called another service manager to listen. This guy went down on one knee and I thought he was going to propose. Instead he shook my hand and thanked me for breathing the air in the dealership and allowing him the privilege to speak. Again, not making this up.
I explained the rattle is not intermittent and offered to show them. The service manager escorted me to my vehicle. The window had been rolled down, the driver door open. I slid in, pushed the starter button and we listened. It was my speakers. Aha. I use my speakers all the time for GPS and for cellphone conversations. I’d like to say I blast the Foo Fighters, but being a successful Sacramento Realtor means never really listening to music in your car ever again. The service rep said he greatly appreciated the fact I had expended my valuable energy to push the start button.
After sending a text message to my phone so I could pester them with questions like why isn’t my car ready or where are the belly dancers, the two of them then proposed that they needed to keep my car for a while and unanimously concluded it would be inappropriate to make me wait. They summoned a vehicle driver who slid into an E350 to transport me home to Land Park. She waited in my driveway until I unlocked my front door and entered the house. When she didn’t hear any screams like, oh my god, I’ve just been bludgeoned to death by an unknown ax murderer lying in wait, she stealthily slipped out of my driveway and sped off.
Selling Million Dollar Homes in Sacramento vs Entry Level Homes
Selling million dollar homes in Sacramento is easier for the right Realtor.
Selling million dollar homes in Sacramento is slightly different than entry-level homes but not in the way that most people would think. Sure, there are luxury home Realtors in Sacramento who live in gated communities and specialize in million-dollar homes in Sacramento, but many of those agents don’t sell very many homes. Maybe 3 or 4 homes a year. If they double-end the transactions, they can earn as much as agents who sell 50 or more homes in the median-priced neighborhoods. Not bad for a handful of sales a year. But does it mean they have gained a lot of experience selling million dollar homes in Sacramento? Probably not.
Not every luxury sales agent works 24 / 7 or responds immediately to a phone call. Don’t believe me? Call a couple and see if they answer their cellphone.
The other type of Sacramento Realtor who sells million dollar homes in Sacramento is the agent who takes on all clients from all walks of life. She sees the sides of many different personalities. What she has learned over the years of selling median-priced or entry-level homes is applicable to luxury home sales. Just as her knowledge of selling Sacramento luxury homes is applicable to the first-time home buyer market. Slightly different strategies, but it’s all selling real estate and knowing how to work with a wide variety of people.
I’ll share what I have learned in a nutshell over the past 40-some years in real estate. Everybody puts their pants on one leg at a time. Real estate clients expect excellent communication, utmost respect and specific performance. Does not matter if they own a million-dollar home or a $50,000 condo. The service they receive from this Sacramento Realtor is identical. A 3% difference on a million sales price equates to $30,000. A 3% difference on $100K is $3,000. Those sums affect each individual seller in a similar manner. It’s 3% of the sales price if a buyer writes a lower-than-list-price offer.
I also do not count my chickens before they hatch. Which means I do not leap into panic mode if a seller might cause a transaction to cancel by not agreeing to a buyer’s request for repairs, for example. That’s the seller’s choice to make. Not mine. I will sell that home again to another buyer who won’t try to nitpick after the home inspection. Makes little difference to me if the seller wants to play hardball. I lay out the consequences and choices and wait for the seller to make the decision. It’s not our fault if the buyer won’t listen to her buyer’s agent or if the buyer’s agent is incapable of educating the buyer.
I am also working on a very low-income sale at the moment. The sellers do not own a computer, so I drive over to their home whenever documents need to be signed. When faced with a recent decision, the seller smiled at me, “Oh honey, you choose.” My response was: why not let me explain your options and how about you make the decision? I’ll share my opinions, but it’s their financial transaction. I am an adviser. I offer solutions and alternatives and information. I am patient. I’ll wait.
It’s impossible to typecast Elizabeth Weintraub as a Realtor and say I’m that kind or this kind. I’m a level-headed — some might say maverick — real estate broker who is just as comfortable wearing flip-flops as, say, Dries Van Noten. Have you seen those pearl heeled boots? If you want to hire a Top Producer Realtor for selling million-dollar homes in Sacramento, I’ve got the experience and strategies to maximize profit. Just the same as if you need to sell a $50,000 tear-down in Oak Park. No attitudes. No drama. No discrimination. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759.
Is the Sacramento Real Estate Profession Countercultural?
The Sacramento real estate profession is made up of people from all walks of life.
Most of the agents I know in Sacramento practice our real estate profession honestly, ethically and with integrity. Still, it astounds me when a few bad apples — and why do apples get the rap, what have apples ever done; why isn’t the phrase a few bad grapes, or maybe the California Association of Winegrape Growers cracks a bigger whip — set such terrible examples from which judgments and stereotypes form.
This came up a few days ago because an agent said he was less concerned about his buyer’s disloyalty and more concerned about my honesty because I let him know his buyer was trying to go around him by contacting me directly. He called my alert of his client’s inappropriate contact and solicitation “refreshing.” I call it doing business the way I expect to be treated. It’s that simple. This agent, though, obviously has had a different experience with other agents.
Sure, there are those in the real estate profession who live in their own world. You might wonder how they make it in a demanding business that requires communication when they do not communicate. For example, I texted a few agents with listings in a condo complex last week to ask if they knew the percentage of owner occupancy. Crickets. I begged another buyer’s agent to send an addendum, required to meet a tight deadline, repeatedly calling, texting, leaving voicemails. Crickets. I routinely contact all buyer’s agents after showings to request feedback and, much of the time, you guessed it: crickets.
It doesn’t make these agents dishonest or unethical. It makes them ineffective, maybe lazy confused or lacking business. Some “forget” to send signed purchase offers to this Sacramento Realtor because they are busy with their children’s preschool or caught up in some other routine that interferes with their practice of the real estate profession. They haven’t yet learned to make their business a number one priority.
I read this morning about how the author and philosopher, Cornel West, while lecturing this week at Sac State, said that exhibiting honesty and integrity makes a person in business countercultural. It seems odd to me. I believe that working honestly, ethically and with integrity means you attract others of the same mindset. Like I said, many of the agents I know in the real estate profession possess those qualities, and they don’t think twice. But maybe it’s me who lives in her own world.
