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Selling Sacramento Homes From Our Vacation House in Hawaii
Fresh flowers invigorate Sacramento Realtor to sell Sacramento homes from our vacation house in Hawaii
My husband was not really surprised when I proposed buying our vacation house in Hawaii last year, but it wasn’t really on the radar for me, so I was a bit astonished that we actually did it. I spend so much time focusing on Sacramento real estate that I don’t spend a lot of time day-dreaming about the future, like most other normal people. But when the opportunity presents itself, I do tend to yank open that door without hesitating.
To me it seemed simple. I could sell real estate in Sacramento during the month of December from Sacramento, just like any other day in my life. Or, I could sell Sacramento homes from our vacation house in Hawaii. Given the choice between the two, well, you know which one I picked. That’s because I don’t want to wait for retirement (whatever that is) to pretend that I live in Hawaii. I’d rather do it right now.
Since my specialty is representing sellers and selling my listings, it’s a lot easier to do that from a remote location long distance than it is to, say, haul buyers around. Working from our vacation house in Hawaii only works because apart from shaking the seller’s hand, there is really no reason to have to meet in person. I have a laptop, iPad, cellphone, internet service and a wonderful support team. Wired and connected.
In fact, I listed a home in Sacramento that had been listed by another agent without success and sold it almost immediately, it’s closing next week from Hawaii. I never met the seller. Not only have I never met the seller, I never talked to the seller by phone. That’s because my foreign sellers don’t really speak English very well. They can write English, so we communicate via text and email. How about that?
I listed another home in Elk Grove on December 22 and sold it with 5 offers on December 23rd. Not only did I sell it, but the seller received about $15,000 more than his last unsuccessful agent had it listed at. Who buys a home the day before Christmas Eve? Lots of buyers; the Sacramento market is on fire. I sold that home from our vacation house in Hawaii. It’s even easier to sell homes in Sacramento from Hawaii in some ways because I have no distractions at the house.
Although I did stop at the grocery store today to replenish supplies and bought flowers pictured on this page. The flowers are a gift to myself. For a job well done. Today I sent out 3 comparative market analysis estimates and should be picking up a listing this week, another next week and one is for April. I love selling Sacramento homes from our vacation house in Hawaii. This was a good idea!
Clients Win By Listening to Their Sacramento Agent
This Sacramento agent found a one-legged sandpiper in Hawaii.
I’ve been working with my sellers for a couple of months, before they even hired me to be their Sacramento agent. Every so often I get a seller who wants to take advantage of the fact I freely share my knowledge, but they don’t know what they didn’t get when they do that and choose a discounter but it’s rare, and they generally come back. The clients who truly win, though, are the sellers who listen to my advice and let me position their home to bring the highest offer.
After two months of work, we put a home into escrow yesterday, with multiple offers and with 4 days on market. That was a lot of preparation to get ready for the market. These particular sellers bought their home at the very best possible time. Mid 2011 was the bottom of the market in Sacramento, and that’s when they bought. Rock bottom. I’m so happy they chose me to be their Sacramento agent, and they seem thrilled with the outcome.
Unlike this poor bird with one leg. I think it’s a sandpiper. I went on an adventure yesterday to find my mailbox for our house in Hawaii and found this sandpiper standing in a driveway. Broke my heart, but then I realized, hey, that sandpiper doesn’t give up. He’s OK. It would have been easy to ask the tenants where the mailboxes are but I don’t want to bother them. And if I had, I wouldn’t have found the sandpiper.
My tenants were kind enough to invite me to the 29th Celebration of Christmas in Music in Kailua-Kona last night. I also met neighbors down the street who are from Minnesota, just like me. I found out where the cool beaches are from another woman; talked with a former Seattle resident, Jan, who moved to Captain Cook and now sings in the choir. And I know where to go for a hairdresser because I met my new stylist at King Kamehameha in town. Plus, I got to sing Christmas carols. My sister is right; I like to sing.
The contractors are still working on the house in Hawaii. My painter is running behind, but the Hawaiian gods are looking down upon us today because my flooring installer hired an extra guy. Instead of needing 3 days to put in the floors, he will need two, so he pushed it out to Thursday. Which gives my painter an extra day to finish.
When I walked in the door after the show featuring the Kona Festival Chorale on Sunday, every flat surface in our house, floors, furniture, was coated in a fine layer of drywall dust. I am fixing the cracks from the 2006 earthquake. I cleaned the important areas so I could prepare dinner, watch TV, use my computer and sleep. I managed to meet my phone appointment at 6 AM yesterday with my sellers to discuss options, and it all worked out. I’m sure the house will come together, too.
I’ve been at this only 12 days. Without any idea that I’d be remodeling the house when I got to our house in Hawaii. I can pretty much do anything. That’s empowering. I wish I had learned that lesson in my 20’s. Imagine what I could do if I thought about stuff at great lengths, like I do about Sacramento real estate.
