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What is a DU and Why Do Home Sellers Ask to See a Buyer’s DU?
A DU shows more than credit scores for a home buyer.
Putting a home into escrow these days is only the beginning, the truly difficult part is getting that home to close when the buyer is obtaining financing; sellers deserve to know the buyer’s qualifications. The pre-qualification letters or those parading as preapproval letters are a start, but they are not the “be all and end all” for buyer qualifications. It means a buyer has contacted a lender to discuss income, credit and debt. It does not mean that income, credit nor debt has been verified. That’s the kicker.
What’s a seller to do? A seller can ask the buyer’s lender to deliver a DU. What is a DU? That’s short for desktop underwriter. Now, you would think that most lenders would automatically run a DU on borrowers, but they do not. How do I know that piece of trivia? Because 9 times out of 10 when I ask for a DU — no, make that 10 times out of 10 — I get a document dated today. I can’t recall ever receiving a DU dated a few days back.
What is a DU to you? A DU shows debt ratios — both front end and back end — meaning the percentage of income to the mortgage payment and the percentage of all debts, including the mortgage, against income. Those inching toward 50% are red flags. It also shows creditors, unpaid balances and FICO scores.
Sometimes we will receive a DU with all of the pertinent information blackened out. Sometimes, lenders send only the front page. Sometimes they don’t send a DU at all but deliver another credit picture with more lenient scoring attributes, especially for those with fewer than 2 years on the job. And we often hear the words “our mutual client” from the mortgage lender. I want to say stop with the lingo and salesmanship. The difference, of course, is the buyer is a client to the Sacramento Realtor but the borrower is typically a customer instead to the mortgage lender.
Mortgage lenders, just like real estate agents, come in all shapes, sizes, experience levels and ways of doing business. If a buyer gets a difficult mortgage lender, one who doesn’t want to cooperate with the seller and the listing agent, it doesn’t fare well for the buyer. That’s one of the reasons why some buyers are not buying a home today.
Special Home at Sundance Lake in Natomas for Sale
4330 Windsong St, Sacramento, CA 95834
By the time you read this, I will be in the dentist’s chair singing I wanna be sedated just before I have 2 more teeth yanked out to make room for implants, which is why I utilized my Thursday yesterday to its fullest by listing two more homes for sale: a pool home in Elk Grove and a home in the community of Sundance Lake in Natomas. The home in Natomas is in the newer area west of 80 between Duckhorn and El Centro. It’s perfect in every way, too, completely ready to move right into without lifting one finger to modify or change.
Drought friendly yard with waterfall, spa and covered patio
This very pretty home at Sundance Lake in Natomas boasts 2150 square feet, according to the Assessor. It features a ton of updates, thoughtfully crafted and designed, such as a Thermador Gas range, Wilsonart flooring in the kitchen, breakfast nook and first floor bath, plus there are plantation shutters throughout. On top of this, the seller spent a lot of money for professional landscaping, which includes a misting system, a waterfall, a separate spa (stays with the home), a pergola sitting area, drought friendly vegetation and a beautiful outdoor kitchen with a built-in BBQ under a covered patio.
Soaring ceiling in the formal dining room.
If you’re looking for 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, this home at Sundance Lake in Natomas could be it. The formal dining room is open to the second floor, with a ceiling height beyond anything you could toss upwards and make stick. Upgraded Berber graces the bedrooms and stairs. The master suite is enormous, and the reason is the option when this home was built in 2001 was for four bedrooms, but the seller chose a larger master suite, which features a fireplace and media sitting area. The master bath includes a jetted tub and separate shower, plus dual sinks.
If you can’t make it on Friday or Saturday, then come to the Open House on Sunday, April 12th, from 2:00 to 4:00. One look and you’ll be hooked.
4330 Windsong Street, Sacramento, CA 95834, is offered exclusively by Lyon Real Estate and Elizabeth Weintraub, 916.233.6759. $349,900.
When Was the Last Time You Gave Somebody a Pay Raise?
When was the last time you gave somebody a pay raise in salary or raised the pay for contract services? The American mentality seems to be that everybody should get a deal and nobody should pay full price, as though an item or service doesn’t mean enough, becomes worthless, if you don’t get a discount or that a person was somehow cheated without it. A tenant proclaimed proudly last month that she had bought on sale every piece of furniture, knickknack, window coverings in her house and she didn’t pay full price for anything. As though full price is bad. It’s one thing to be frugal and it’s quite another to always haggle.
Stretching paycheck dollars is pounded into our heads from the time we are born. The theory is the less we pay out, the more we can keep. Unless, of course, you’re like the average person who spends every dime she makes and has formed a zero familiar relationship with the phrase: disposable income.
For me, time is of value. If it costs $10 more, I’ll probably pay it if it saves me time. We’re all different. If you’re a housekeeper, though, you probably live on a tighter budget than a Sacramento REALTOR. Which is why I was thinking about the fact my housekeeper has been cleaning our house for 9 or 10 years, and she’s never raised her rates. She does a fabulous job and never turns down a special request. It seemed only fair to offer her a raise because it was obvious she would not ask.
I get paid what I am worth. I charge the same percentage I’ve charged since I started in this business many decades ago, and that’s fine for this Sacramento REALTOR. When potential clients ask me to discount my real estate commission, for example, I point them toward a discount agent and work with the next guy. I’m worth every nickel and more, and I get results that prove it. That’s not puffery, btw, it’s just the way things are.
We offered our housekeeper a 30% raise, and she gladly accepted. It just didn’t seem fair that she was not fairly compensated year after year. There are cost of living increases, rising gas prices, everything is more expensive from year to year. Even the Food Price Index, although recently declining, has still doubled since 2000. In fact, I don’t know why we didn’t think of it before now. When was the last time you gave somebody a pay raise?
Do You Know Why You are Calling This Sacramento REALTOR?
Elizabeth Weintraub, Sacramento REALTOR, at antique phone booth in Dunsmuir, California
When a Sacramento REALTOR answers her phone all day long, she tends to engage with a wide assortment of callers. It doesn’t seem to work the other way around because most other people do not answer a phone call. It’s far too inconvenient to talk on the phone for many people. Texting or emailing is preferred today. People don’t want to hear the sound of each other’s voices, I suspect. It’s an intrusion. Therefore, if I want to ensure that I most likely will NOT engage in a conversation, all I have to do is tap my phone and call somebody. That phone call will go to voice mail where I can chat to my heart’s content and leave a message that will get ignored.
I get communication coming at me from all angles every single day. Text messages that show up on my computer if I’m at my home office, and simultaneous text messages appear on my cell. Ditto for emails, although the push generally comes through my computer, and they come from 3 accounts, plus there is a fourth account I check a couple of times a day. And there is always the ringing phone of opportunity. In my drawer is the graveyard of used Bluetooth devices, at least a half dozen. I am using a new Plantronics device that engages once I insert the piece into my ear, which is very handy. Plus, if I’m in the midst of a manicure, it offers hands-free answering.
Because I answer my phone, it’s the luck of the draw what I get. Often lately it’s other real estate agents asking if some random listing belongs to me. They can retrieve this information from MLS but they don’t bother. The main reason they are calling is because their buyers found a property online and spotted my name and phone number or the buyer ended up on my website. It’s common for agents to look up a property address on their own cellphones and end up on my website as well. If they belong to the 90% of the agent population who don’t sell very many homes, they are probably unfamiliar with how mobile websites work and simply do not understand why the listing does not belong to me. I continue to insist the listings are not mine but they don’t grasp the notion. It can progress to the point where I have to look up the address in MLS and give these agents the listing agent’s contact information just to get rid of them.
Still, it’s good news that I enjoy a big presence online. It means that the Weintraub listings I do have receive excellent exposure, and they are posted everywhere. You can’t tool around online and not find homes for sale listed by this Sacramento REALTOR.
I get my share of spam calls, especially from Homes dot com and I continue to file reports at the Do Not Call Registry. I ask Homes dot com not to call me, and I tell them I am on the DNC list but they call anyway. Blocking callers doesn’t always work. They are relentless. You know who else is relentless? My Elizabeth Weintraub Team members. They try to call and email and text every single person who contacts us to buy a home, and they follow up like no tomorrow. Which is why we don’t need the new Zillow service, recently offered to certain top real estate agents for free (at the moment, it’s sorta beta; if it works out they’ll probably charge for it).
A real estate agent called yesterday to ask if she could book my services to stage a home. This was a strange and puzzling call. Well, she had read an article I had written for About.com about Home Staging and decided, for some odd reason, that I was a home stager. I guess she missed the print at the bottom identifying me as a broker-associate in Sacramento at Lyon Real Estate. I shared the news that I am a Sacramento REALTOR and asked if she knew what that meant. Hey, you never know where people register on the bell curve.
I also referred the caller to a home stager in Sacramento, but the agent said she had already tried that company and those home stagers were booked for this week. Well, yes, you have to give home stagers some notice. It’s called planning your listing. The good home stagers are always booked. Still, these types of calls don’t stop me from answering my phone. Ya gotta maintain a positive outlook about it and keep that sense of humor.
Luxury Home for Sale in Davis on College Park
Luxury home for sale in Davis at 40 College Park
College Park is the kind of street of luxury homes in Davis that has all things right about it, you can’t get any more right than College Park in Davis. College Park is a prestige address, featuring homes of caliber and distinction, canopied by trees, and the street itself is laid out in a large circle that meets Russell Boulevard at both ends. This luxury home for sale in Davis is located on College Park at the top of the curve, which is where a street once ran through but now is closed to any kind of vehicle traffic, making it a highly desirable and somewhat private location. It’s central Davis at its best. Close to the University of Davis and downtown restaurants yet somewhat secluded.
Beautiful maple flooring with mahogany inlays
The seller gutted and rebuilt this home with the kind of attention to detail you only wish you possessed. The meticulous attention to detail is evident throughout. The home itself is earthquake reinforced, plus it has a 50-year warrantied roof. Many ceilings are fairly unique, either boxed or waffled or raised or vaulted, coupled with crown molding, and you will find 21 skylights. Beautiful maple floors with mahogany inlays throughout compliment the tall columns scattered about. Nooks and crannies, bookcases and shelving, are abundant, which is unusual in a modern home, but this home is unique.
Gourmet kitchen at 40 College Park, oversized granite island
Your beautiful kitchen is of timeless design. Consider this: White cabinets with pull-out features, and a huge walk-in pantry. Top-of-the-line stainless appliances such as a built-in SubZero refrigerator, Thermador oven and gas cooktop. An oversized granite island does double duty as a dining bar, and is almost twice the size of any regular kitchen island. The kitchen pendants could have been featured last month on the cover of House Beautiful.
Screened-in dining room at 40 College Park, Davis
Apart from the dining bar option, you will notice two more dining areas. Of course, there is a formal dining room, offset by a waffled ceiling, yet nearby is a screened-in porch dining room that overlooks the leafy neighborhood. It’s almost like bringing the outdoors inside, without the bugs. You can easily entertain a large wedding party in this home. In the rainy winter months, the sellers add floor heat lamps for continued comfort. A luxury home for sale in Davis doesn’t get any better.
Back porch, water feature, 40 College Park, Davis
You will delight in the convenience of owning a home with 5 bedrooms and 4 baths and, according to the county records, more than 3,000 square feet, including a wine cellar in the finished basement. The master suite is Four Seasons’ suite luxurious, featuring vaults, a fireplace flanked by sconces; and the master bath is marble, with a jetted tub, dressing area, and separate walk-in shower.
The yard is meticulously landscaped, with a large deck, walkways, flagstone, a water feature, flowers and drought-resistance vegetation, including an outdoor spa and yoga area. Look no further for your luxury home for sale in Davis because this is perfect for you in every way.
40 College Park, Davis, CA, is exclusively offered by your top Sacramento Realtor Elizabeth Weintraub at Lyon Real Estate, 916.233.6759, at $1,495,000. Open Sunday, March 15th ONLY, from 2:00 to 4:00 PM.
