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Getting More Money Out of a Low Appraisal in West Sacramento
When the seller of a home in West Sacramento contacted this Sacramento REALTOR, he already had a different listing agent in mind, an agent who would charge less than the commission that agents like me charge and he was just about ready to hire this other real estate agent. See, this is where some sellers typically go off track. They tend to focus solely on the commission and not on results. They don’t know any better. They think about saving 1% of the sales price, for example, and don’t look ahead to how much they are probably losing during escrow because they’ve hired an inexperienced agent who can only sell herself by discounting her fee.
Getting into escrow, into contract, is just the beginning. There are home inspections, disclosures, repair requests, and more negotiations that happen during escrow, including dealing with shaky buyers who can’t get a mortgage.
Fortunately, this seller listened to his friend who had referred him to me, and he listened to my advice. He decided it was worth it to hire the best Sacramento REALTOR he could find, a top producer. I explained what I would do and how I would do it, and then he asked me how much his home was worth. The comparable sales reflected, let’s say for practical illustration purposes, a price of $650,000, tops, and that was stretching it. Because any agent worth her salt realizes an appraiser will use comparable sales within a 1/2 mile radius of the property and within the past 3 months. Appraisers are supposed to compare condition, location, age, upgrades, size, etc, and pick similar homes. But every appraiser is different, just like every real estate agent is different.
I didn’t ask the seller how much he wanted because in most cases how much a seller wants is immaterial; instead he shared in no uncertain terms that he expected to get, let’s say, $675,000. Would I take such a listing? Could I get him $675,000? I licked my finger and held it in the air to confirm which way the wind blows. Yup. I could. I shot terrific digital photos that showcased the home in all of its glory, and it was a stunning home. I tell stories with my pictures. If the photos speak to me, they will speak to the buyers.
This home in West Sacramento sold at, let’s say, $675,000. Then, the appraiser, an old-school dude who has his own way of doing things, submitted his final estimate of value. $650,000. Market demand is not a value. We got a low appraisal in West Sacramento. We were $25,000 short. This is NOT what the seller desired. I asked the buyer’s agent to discuss the situation with the buyer and put forth in an addendum the buyer’s best cash contribution.
The buyer offered an additional, let’s say, $12,000 in cash to bridge part of the gap. This was a good workable situation because now we knew the buyer has access to additional funds. We were in negotiation, not at the final step. We countered the buyer’s contribution, and the buyer’s countered back. We countered again. The seller asked if I could find additional money anywhere else. Ha, ha, ha. No, there are no other pockets. Oh, wait, we didn’t talk to the lender.
For a small adjustment to the interest rate, the lender was able to find more money that suddenly became available to pay much of the seller’s closing costs. By transferring a large chunk of the seller’s closings to the buyer’s side of the settlement statement and allowing the lender to pay it, the sales price did not need to increase by the full $25,000 to net the seller his desired amount.
Was this worth hiring an experienced agent who charges more than a discount agent? You betcha. I could not ask for a more ecstatic West Sacramento home seller. At closing the seller called me a “Real Estate Rockstar.” I go that extra mile for my clients. Would you like to be my client? Let’s talk. Call Elizabeth Weintraub, Broker #00697006, at 916.233.6759.
The Story of Closing a Pool Home in West Sacramento
The story of closing a pool home in West Sacramento is a classic, with a few twists. We were on the market for 7 whole days before we solidified an offer. An agent approached us to say her buyer, who lived in the Riva on the River condos, was interested in making an offer. Unfortunately, it was a contingent offer, although the buyer’s home was not yet on the market. My response to that sort of thing is always “get it on the market.”
But I’ve had a lot of experience selling many condos in Riva on the River, so that should be a quick sale. We agreed to give the buyer 10 days to sell her home. By the time the 10th day rolled around, I went to the seller and suggested he issue a Notice to Buyer to Perform because it was time to put the pedal to the metal.
My 40-some years in the business always pays off. I could sense the seller of the pool home in West Sacramento was a bit reluctant, so I more strongly encouraged him to sign it. Hey, it was in his best interest. Besides, we had also collected a backup offer. For more money. This gives us leverage in the event the first buyer decides halfway through the transaction to try to renegotiate price or asks for a credit.
In these types of instances, we often issue a counter offer. Typical counter offers increase the earnest money deposit because some agents think 1% is sufficient when it generally is not. We shortened the inspection periods. Changed title and escrow. Why do buyer’s agents think we would be willing to close out the escrow we have opened and switch to the buyer’s agents’ preferred escrow company? In a seller’s market? I dunno.
We also included the fact the home is sold AS IS. All homes in California are sold AS IS but few agents realize it. If they don’t know it, you can bet their buyers don’t know it, either. So I like to point out paragraph 11 and remind the buyers our terms are no renegotiations, no credits, no repairs. Doesn’t stop them from asking sometimes, but the answer is still no. When the market fully shifts, that type of tactic will change as well.
Turned out the buyer could afford to buy the house without selling her condo. When she received the Notice to Perform, she withdrew her Contingency to Sell, reduced her down payment and sent a new preapproval letter. Her agent was on the ball! So nice to work with her, too.
We closed escrow on this pool home in West Sacramento without any hiccups on June 21, my favorite day of the year. It was also the day I closed up our house in Hawaii and headed back to Sacramento.
1660 Headslane Road, West Sacramento, CA 95691, closed escrow June 21, 2018, at list price of $425,000. I can sell your West Sacramento home, too. Just call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 40 years of experience to work for you.
Some West Sacramento Realtors Scratching Heads Over This Closing
Sellers should research West Sacramento Realtors before hiring a listing agent.
Some West Sacramento Realtors do not like it when a top producer agent takes a home off the market and puts it back as a new listing. They tend to get their knickers in a twist. You know who does like it? The sellers. Sellers love to see their home show up as a brand new listing in MLS. Of course, the cumulative days on market still show, but that doesn’t mean much because the home could have been listed with a different brokerage previously, and it would show the same days. It’s only the present days on market that really matter.
It’s all an illusion anyway. Yet, agents complain to MetroList. Why does Elizabeth Weintraub get to do this, they whine.
As a top producer agent among West Sacramento Realtors, I use this allowable MLS practice to my sellers’ advantage, and if other agents don’t like it, that’s not anybody’s problem but their own toe fungus. I don’t really understand their objections. They can examine the history of the property. We aren’t hiding anything. They can ask questions. Why do they care? Do they care because they didn’t think of it?
The person I care about is my seller.
When this particular seller came to me, she expected to get a higher sales price for her home in West Sacramento. I was in Spain at the time, so my team member talked with the seller, and she and I communicated via email. Yes, even while on vacation I stay on top of my Sacramento real estate business. In fact, the sales price she expected was about $100,000 too high. Yowza. Sometimes, sellers see a home that sold at an extraordinary price but fail to take into consideration the home is 3 times bigger or maybe waterfront. So, without enough information, they wrongly determine a price that does not fit their home.
My team member told this seller: put Elizabeth Weintraub’s name into Google and see how many pages come up, almost a half-million entries. Read her articles published by The Balance and previously on About.com. Check out her blog. Look at her track record, it spans four decades. Read her reviews. So, the seller stopped communicating with other West Sacramento Realtors and chose the Elizabeth Weintraub Team.
After we were in escrow, the buyers, ignoring caution from this side of the transaction, decided to ask the seller to take care of plumbing leaks, repair a few other things and to install an air gap on the kitchen sink. You never know what sort of things a buyer will get upset over, but an air gap? For those of you who do not know, an air gap is that little round thingamajig sitting on your kitchen sink that prevents a possible backdraft of dirty dishwater from a clogged drain, which may not ever happen, btw. However, it’s cheap to install, less than $200. Not something to lose a house over.
The seller lives out of state. She was not paying for repairs, and I had warned the agent this was an AS IS sale, but agents often feel inclined to try because they do not want to further upset their buyers. They want to help yet may feel helpless. Among some West Sacramento Realtors, it is easier to draw a Request for Repair, which the seller will reject and can cause temper flares, than to explain why it’s not a good idea. What some buyer’s agents do not realize is their buyers can tick off the seller with this sort of thing, and any favors the buyers may expect go right out the window. Human nature.
My job is to keep everybody calm and moving toward closing. We rejected the repair request. Further, this home closed escrow without any hiccups and at the price we had predicted. If you’re searching West Sacramento Realtors to find a strong listing agent, please call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759.
How Many Offers Does it Take to Sell a West Sacramento Home?
The Tower Bridge leaving West Sacramento.
If you believe that even in a hot market it is easy to sell a West Sacramento home that presents layout issues sans updates, then you are not a Realtor. A smokin’ hot seller’s market can only set the stage for a sale, it won’t ensure a buyer will fall in love with a home that is, well, not without its challenges. Por supuesto, as a top producer West Sacramento Realtor, I try to explain the challenges to the seller, but I also realize that not every seller is ready to hear that the home she bought oh-so-many-years-ago, the beautiful la casa with the layout she loves, has many things wrong with it from the perspective of home buyers today.
Things That Do Not Sell a West Sacramento Home
First, the main floor el cuatro de baño was located right around la esquina from the kitchen. One buyer joked that while he’s doing his business, he could open the refrigerator with his foot to grab a la cerveza. The kitchen featured glossy white ceramic counters, out-dated white appliances, under-sized ceramic tile flooring, and an island without a sink. A half wall separated the dining room from the family room (it was not open), and the adjoining areas were carpeted (not hardwood). There were only three bedrooms (not four) in this almost 2,000 square-foot-home. The back yard was open to a busy street. But worst of all, the separated attached garages were single car, lacking storage.
These were all el obstáculos to overcome. I figured it could take a while to accomplish my new objective: to sell a West Sacramento home at top dollar with drawbacks. Hey, I don’t make up the problems, I just deal with what’s at hand. I look for a way to put a positive spin on every drawback. The deal is the obstacles present $ decline values in the eyes of a buyer. Even though it’s wrong, buyers often steeply discount homes that don’t meet the standards they have come to expect.
We received 6 offers for this West Sacramento home before one of the offers was realistic enough and satisfactory to meet the seller’s needs. I did not throw in the la toalla and walk away from the listing, like some agents might be tempted to do. When I make a commitment to a seller, I make a promise to stick it out and do my best every single day regardless of how long it takes. If they are willing to wait for a full-price offer, that’s what we do. It’s not my house, I’m not making the payments. It’s not my call to tell a seller to sell for less than what they expect.
Buyers do it instead. They send these ridiculously low offers and expect us to work with them. Their agents send “comparable sales” to support the lowball offers because they are at a loss for any other strategy. No buyer’s agent I know wants to write a lowball offer that is going nowhere but they often do it to try to solidify a relationship. Usually to sell a West Sacramento home, the sellers and I might receive multiple offers at one time, not a bunch of lowball offers scattered throughout the listing period. I never urge sellers to take an offer they don’t want.
Instead, I review my marketing. I didn’t like the photographs that were shot in August with dead leaves all over the place, so in January, I paid my photographer to shoot all new photos. Studiously held open houses almost every Sunday. Plastered large ads in the Sacramento Bee for open houses, and updated the listing on websites across the board. Tweaked everything I could lay my manos on. And finally, the winning buyers fell in love with this home, and we sold the home over list price without a single repair. To sell a West Sacramento home with issues, it can take revised strategy and patience.
I’m satisfied that I got the job done well, and I set high standards for my performance. My sellers are thrilled they got their price.
If you’re looking for a West Sacramento Realtor who produces results, call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759.
