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Let’s Talk Like a Pirate About Sacramento Short Sales
What do you say to a biker whose motorcycle is blocking your car? Probably the same thing you’d say to a short sale negotiator, but then I’m not Myrl Jeffcoat. And Myrl Jeffcoat would most likely not be talking to a short sale negotiator regardless of how great of a Sacramento REALTOR Mryl might be because Myrl doesn’t particularly want to do short sales. Myrl is not a Sacramento short sale agent like insane REALTOR Elizabeth Weintraub, but that doesn’t mean she can’t appreciate the horror stories.
Since it was International Talk Like a Pirate Day yesterday, Myrl and I went to lunch in Land Park to celebrate. We parked in front of The Golden1 over on Broadway. The security guard made me re-park my car more efficiently because it was his job to stand in front of The Golden1 to ensure that there are at least 3 parking spaces at all times in front of The Golden1. I suppose he’s also there to shoot the little old ladies from Target who might try to rob the credit union. I hear that bank robberies by women are on the rise, and I’ve got to say you’ve come a long way, baby. Or, maybe men just want things done more efficiently. Hard to say. I’m not gonna argue with a security guard who gives me a free parking spot in front of The Golden1. I deal with short sale negotiators day in and day out, and you just give them what they want. You don’t argue.
Although, yesterday, a negotiator at AMS called; she was a bit flustered. AMS is a third-party vendor for Bank of America, which is my favorite, favorite, short sale bank. Oh, say what you will about B of A, maybe it’s simply the devil I know, but I love doing Bank of America short sales. This negotiator had asked previously for the seller agency. It had not been uploaded to Equator because there was no task for it. She had opened tasks for 2 other things but not the seller agency.
I thought this for a minute, and it dawned on me that this negotiator most likely had no idea what a seller agency was, so why did she want it? I asked her. She wanted it because the buyer’s agent had sent an extra copy with the offer, and the extra copy was not signed. Her job is to get signatures. I took the time to explain agency disclosures. How they work. Why we sign them. And asked if the seller had signed agency disclosure on a document with the buyer and the buyer’s agent. Yup, they had. So we were good, and she did not need another document. Once the negotiator understood this, she withdrew her request. This short sale was submitted for approval.
On the other hand, after lunch at The China Buffet, Myrl and I started to walk back toward my car. Myrl stopped at the bar, adjacent to The China Buffet. She stuck her head in the open door and announced that the owner of a motorcycle was blocking a vehicle in the parking lot. She demanded they remove it. At first, I wondered why Myrl cared about somebody else’s car. It seemed like she was about to provoke a biker who was drinking at noon inside a bar. Myrl is a lot smarter than that. I looked again at the vehicle. It was a Mercedes. I used to drive a Mercedes but I bought a new car last year; although German, it is not a Mercedes.
Oh, wait.
Well, I pondered the situation and decided I did not know Myrl. Nope, I believe this woman is a complete stranger to me, and I would keep right on walking. Yes, I believe I will walk across the street and stand on the sidewalk to see how this plays out. You know, she watched me park in front of The Golden1. She watched me walk back to my car and move it to a spot that made the security guard very happy. And now she was yelling at a biker in a bar. Perhaps she should talk like a pirate about Sacramento short sales and that will get her out of that bar alive.
This is one of the reasons I really enjoy hanging out with Myrl Jeffcoat. There is never a dull moment. Unlike this other short sale with Bank of America. It’s an FHA short sale, so it’s not in Equator and is a whole other animal. We’ve been working on it since February. Let’s just say the HUD procedures at B of A are a tad flawed but they can’t be the king of all short sales. I’m grateful for the traditional and the Cooperative Short Sales. The FHA short sales are the price to pay for those. It’s a tradeoff.
Our negotiator at Bank of America promised after all of these months she would approve the short sale on Wednesday. Said as soon as we got her the extension from Citimortgage (there is a second loan who approved months ago), she would issue the approval. We were so excited. We emailed her to remind her of her promise to send the approval letter. In exchange, we received this email (I kid you not):
I will be out of the office starting 09/19/12 for an undetermined amount of time. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact New Negotiator assigned to the file. Customer Service phone # 866.880.1232.
I can see that it’s time to Tweet the Bank of America Social Media Team. Arrr, me mateys and drunken sailors. Yes, let’s talk like a pirate about Sacramento short sales.
How to Buy a Pending Home in Sacramento
Sometimes, a Sacramento home buyer is in the right place at the right time. Or, better put, sometimes their Sacramento REALTOR is in the right place at the right time, and that means having her finger on the pulse of MLS. You’d be amazed at how few times during the day any given real estate agent gazes upon MLS, but that’s where one will find all of the action. Ya gotta cruise the news. If you think you can’t buy a pending home in Sacramento, think again.
Say, for example, that you are a Sacramento listing agent, and you’ve got a buyer who isn’t exactly cooperating. You might think: oh, who would do that in a seller’s market? A person like that would have to have a screw loose. But you would be surprised. Maybe it’s the buyer’s agent who has stopped responding to emails or phone calls. You might be astonished at how many agents struggle with communication issues or simply ignore attempts to reach them. There might be a contractual obligation that needs discussing such as putting an earnest money deposit into escrow, and maybe that hasn’t happened. That’s a warning sign a contract is about to be canceled and you might be able to buy a pending home in Sacramento. Or, maybe the buyer needs to release contingencies, and his 17 days has come and gone. Another warning sign. If you’re that listing agent, how would you get the word out to buyers that a listing might be coming back on the market soon?
Personally, I favor those big lights in the sky myself. Those honkin’ beams. Our days in Sacramento are getting shorter. Maybe with a bat insignia, like Batman. But I don’t have any of those. Can’t remotely run a scroll across the bottom of anybody’s iPhone like a CNN ticker tape. So the next thing that’s available is to do two things:
- If the purchase offer was more than the list price, raise the price in MLS and
- Slip “bring backups” next to the pending status in MLS.
It’s like going fishing. (Increased sales prices tend to gather more attention in MLS than a price decrease.) Minutes after that’s done, low and behold, this Sacramento REALTOR got a bite. I received an email from an inquiring buyer’s agent. She had shown a particular home in Sacramento to the buyer, and the buyer was very disappointed when it suddenly went into pending status, like they’re all doing right now. The buyer wrote an offer as a backup offer. Tip: To write a backup offer a seller can legally sign, one needs to submit a document that puts the offer into backup.
The seller signed the backup offer and issued a Notice to Perform to the buyer’s agent. The buyer failed to perform, so strings were cut and the new buyer slipped into place without this home ever going back on the market. So, if you are a Sacramento home buyer you might ask your buyer’s agent to glance over at MLS inventory several times during the day to see if there are any homes in pending status in which the seller wants a backup offer. This just might be your lucky day to buy a pending home in Sacramento.
Selling a Home and Buying at the Same Time in Sacramento
I stopped by yesterday to visit with a nice couple who are thinking about selling and buying at the same time. They want to sell their pool home in Citrus Heights and buy another home. Their challenge is similar to other sellers in Sacramento. Because it’s a seller market, undoubtedly their home will immediately sell. The problem is buying a new home. There are more home buyers in Sacramento than homes for sale right now. So while you can easily sell, it might be a bit of struggle to buy. For some, selling a home and buying at the same time isn’t gonna happen.
To give you an example, just 5 short years ago, we had more than 10,000 homes for sale in the entire county of Sacramento. Today, we have fewer than 1,800 homes for sale. The numbers work out to about an 82% percent drop in inventory. That’s an astounding number. Not only that, but with interest rates below 4%, buying a home means a buyer will most likely pay less than it would cost to rent a home. Since investors can now receive positive cash flow, those guys have thrown their hats in the ring, too, and it’s like a war zone out there.
I tell you this, if you’re in escrow right now, stay there. Don’t get fancy schmancy ideas about asking a seller to fix a leaky sink or think about trying to renegotiate a sales price. If you’re lucky enough to have a home to buy, count your lucky stars. Kiss the ground you’re walking on. And thank your Sacramento REALTOR, who probably had something to do with it.
One of my Sacramento home sellers found a home to buy over the weekend. She was in an excellent position because her buyer had removed contingencies. So, it was a contingent offer without much of a contingency. Sometimes, agents get a little testy when we ask for a Contingency Release but it’s extremely important. It means the buyer is committed. We ask for a Contingency Release for every transaction, whether the seller has equity or it is a short sale, it makes no difference. The buyer must release contingencies or the seller just might cancel the buyer.
This seller had no trouble selling a home and buying at the same time. She was able to sell her home in Sacramento and buy another home in the Pocket. Plus, she was up against multiple offers. Her offer won because she was represented by the Elizabeth Weintraub Team. I sold her home, and my team helped her to buy a new home. Was it easy? For her family, it was. But that must be why we make the big bucks.
What It’s Like to Be a Sacramento Home Buyer
Where does a Sacramento home buyer get her information? She talks to friends, family and coworkers. Maybe she dabbles around at the Sac Bee website on her cellphone but she’s pretty much focused on her life, her own situation. Just like anybody else. She puts on her pants one leg at a time, brushes her teeth, worries about her job, feeds the cat or walks the dog and doesn’t spend a lot of time thinking about the state of the real estate market in Sacramento. That’s because she is not a real estate agent. She is a Sacramento home buyer looking for Sacramento homes.
It’s up to real estate agents to explain to potential home buyers what the market is like in Sacramento. Tell them what they can expect. I tell it to them straight. I figure it’s better that they be prepared than shocked. Don’t need anybody having a heart attack and dropping dead at my feet. Maybe this is NOT the time for them to buy a home. I know I would NOT want to be a home buyer in Sacramento today. That’s the truth. Because there is tremendous competition for the same homes. It’s an extreme seller’s market. Many buyers, little inventory. Many all cash buyers who will outbid an FHA or VA buyer. Multiple offers are normal right now. This is a sizzling hot market!
I spoke to an agent yesterday who told me she had submitted an offer for her buyer and the listing agent said her offer was #18. The funny thing about this situation is the listing agent was holding out for more offers. Why? Why on God’s green earth would a seller or an agent need to collect more purchase offers than that? Talk about misery. If one can’t find an acceptable offer among 17 offers, I hate to say this, but something has gone horribly wrong with the agent, the seller or both. Another agent lamented that he had not had an offer accepted for any of his buyers for more than 30 days, and he writes 4 to 5 offers a week.
Sacramento buyer’s agents are suffocating.
I’ve had buyers call me directly and ask if they can get an edge by working with a high producing Sacramento listing agent. I guess they figure they’ll go where the homes are rather than waiting for the listings to come to them. It’s a desperate situation. Buyers need to prepare for disappointment. A Sacramento home buyer might not be able to buy her first choice or even her 10th choice. She needs to slap on that steel armor and keep her eyes on the horizon. Above all, don’t give up. Align with an experienced Sacramento REALTOR.
It is possible to buy a home in Sacramento. I see happy home buyers go into escrow every week! In addition to hitting refresh on that MLS link, home buyers can also check my Sacramento short sale updates to see which listings are coming live. Voodoo dolls, prayers on your knees, salt over your shoulder, whatever you’ve got — use it.
Welcome to the Sacramento Fall Home Selling Market
The Fall home selling market in Sacramento starts today! Aren’t you excited? Many people don’t even realize that Sacramento has two real estate markets. Some concentrate only on Spring home selling without realizing homeowners get a second chance to sell in Sacramento, and that season starts in the Fall, the day after Labor Day weekend.
After the vacations are over. After the kids are back in school. After it’s no longer considered cool to wear white, that’s when your real estate market in Sacramento takes off. The only problem with this is the market was already steamin’ hot in August. It’s a seller’s market in Sacramento, for those of you who have been living under a rock. It’s no longer a buyer’s market and hasn’t been for some time.
The conditions in Sacramento are tough, almost as tough as driving down the hill from Lake Tahoe after Labor Day in crawling bumper-to-bumper traffic. I swear, we probably would have been better off if we had turned off at the intersection and drove out of our way to Jackson than continuing to inch along Highway 50 from Tahoe. We have tough conditions in Sacramento because we have about 10% of the number of homes for sale that we had 5 years ago. Mix that with low interest rates, below 4%, and throw in first-time home buyers on top of cash investors, hit the chop button, and you’ve got a blender full of something inedible.
I’m doing my part to help. This Sacramento REALTOR has a handful of new listings today hitting the market. Fresh-faced and scrubbed. Priced right. First-come, first-serve. We don’t play favorites. There’s a home in the Pocket that’s been pre-approved by Bank of America as a Cooperative Short Sale. There’s a newer home in Natomas under $150,000, offered as a short sale. How about a hot little number in Arden Manor as a starter home? We also have another Cooperative Short Sale with 4 bedrooms near Elk Grove, passed over by a confused soul. Coming attractions this week include a home near College Greens that is a traditional sale, offered by a seller with equity, and a third Cooperative Short Sale in East Sacramento’s River Park.
I tell Sacramento home buyers to look on my website for new listings, and to stay away from the dated inventory they find elsewhere. But do they listen? What do you think?
