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Sacramento Appraiser Sends Unprofessional Tweets, Raises Ruckus
You would think if you were a Sacramento appraiser trying to get noticed online, that a guy like that would be more careful about what he says and how he says it. It started last spring over a home in Carmichael I had briefly listed, which had been the unintentional topic of many alt-right news reports. The Tweets from the Sacramento appraiser eventually made it to the Sac Bee online news. Due to the orchestrating of bringing proprietary information not meant for public consumption to the public by the appraiser. In other words, look as though this Sacramento appraiser made it his business to Tweet about a member-only status in MLS with the intention of purposely igniting the alt-right.
And ignite the alt-right he did. Whether he is an official Trump supporter is only a hypothesis mentioned by others, but this person seems to show a lot of empathy for that group. Yet it seems that his ability to poke his nose into situations that are not his business know no bounds. He obviously flagged the property in question in MLS and when a status change showed up, he Tweeted about it in such a manner that the seller says he caused her mental anguish and physical pain. The status change was to Temporary Off Market, which is only available to members of MLS.
It means this seemingly right-leaning Sacramento appraiser crafted a Tweet about a property he had no right to Tweet. His intention was self promotion. This was not his listing. He did not appraise this property. The seller believes he abused his MLS membership by taking private information and making it public without permission. At the time, I had the property listed and put it into TOM status for a number of reasons. For starters, the seller, her agent and her agent’s company began to receive vile threats and emails from all over the country, thanks to this appraiser. This guy’s effort to make a buck off somebody else’s distress is frightening. He jumped right in and added fuel to the burning fire. People threatened to literally burn down the house because of this Sacramento appraiser’s Tweet.
When I originally listed the property, it was a bit high. The seller based her price on another property on the same street in the same vintage condition that sold a couple of years ago. Sometimes, vintage homes fetch prices you won’t believe. My method of operation is to always try to get the amount the seller would like, within reason. And with the understanding that if we can’t get it, the price will be adjusted. After we placed the property in TOM status, I had several discussions with the seller about reducing the price. Based on her reaction, I could see this would be a long process. Months.
At this point, the seller also wanted me to file a complaint against the Sacramento appraiser at the California Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers for unprofessional conduct. For putting his own personal profit ahead of decency. I could understand the seller wanting to report him, but my part in this was not required. His participation in the false supposition that the seller lost $130,000 because she refused to sell to a Trump supporter was way off base. She dropped that stipulation months earlier. But perhaps the seller should pursue her $130K loss in court? If it’s on Twitter, it must be true.
I guess a case could be made by an astute lawyer that the Sacramento appraiser caused her to lose that money. I’m not a lawyer so I wouldn’t know. Instead I suggested the seller contact a lawyer, and I sent her several referrals.
In any case, this was the seller’s obligation to object to and file. She was the most damaged from the Sacramento appraiser’s careless, stupid and thoughtless actions. The agents are not really a party to the transaction or to her grief. Although, the situation had caused me to more thoroughly examine the facts at hand:
- Alt-righters and White supremacists were threatening to burn down the house, among other distasteful actions.
- A Sacramento appraiser who won’t stop tweeting, regardless of how much damage he causes, about matters that are not his concern.
- A seller who needed a lot more encouragement to reduce her price to where it needed to be, and the fact that this high maintenance issue was eating up all of my available time and then some.
- The seller didn’t use a computer and lived out-of-town.
- Every conversation lasted at least an hour, almost daily.
- Listing was too high publicity. The seller deserved a fresh start because my marketing and branding were too easily recognizable. It was best for the seller to let a new agent at a different company handle this.
As a top producer in Sacramento real estate, I regularly sell a couple of houses a week, on average. So, I turned to one of my very best friends in Sacramento real estate, a listing agent I admire, trust and respect, and asked her to take over the listing. My seller still deserved the best service available, and this agent and I are like two peas in a pod.
Sacramento Appraiser Tweets Again
Sure enough, soon as my friend listed the property — which took her several months to get into MLS — the Sacramento appraiser struck again. She had just put the listing into pending status after only a few days on market. This time his Tweet raised such a ruckus that the buyers canceled. They told the listing agent they did not want to buy a house associated with this Sacramento appraiser’s Tweets. They did not want their new home burned down. Fortunately, the agent promptly sold it again without changing the status in MLS and without notifying the busybody Sacramento appraiser.
When I asked the listing agent what she thought of this Sacramento appraiser’s actions, she texted, “Everybody’s entitled to their own opinions, but when you try to bring other people down based on your belief system, and try to profit off it, that’s stepping way over the line of professionalism, into hatred and bias and greed, [that’s the case of] a small-minded pea brain.”
Consumers deserve a good appraiser, too. The best appraiser in Sacramento, a professional I can personally vouch for, is Amy Parker at Appraise it Today.
This home in Carmichael, btw, has closed escrow.
Who Are the Top 5 Real Estate Agents in Sacramento Right Now?
Year-to-date sales among top 5 real estate agents in Sacramento.
All year I have not once looked at the top producer stats in Trendgraphix, much less think I had made it into the top 5 real estate agents in Sacramento. I’m usually in the top 10, but I don’t look at those numbers until the end of the year. That’s when I make updates to my profiles all over the internet. Not every real estate agent in Sacramento updates her profiles to stay current but I make a sincere effort to do it. Besides, our Code of Ethics requires that Realtors present a true image. I care about my reputation.
One of my clients last week was joking about how so many agents call themselves Number One when none of them is Number One at anything, except in their own minds. Well, dude, my dog says I’m number one, and that’s good enough for me, they say. Or, they narrow it so closely, like I’ve sold more kitchens with white appliances than anybody! In 2012, during the market upswing, I did rank as the #1 agent in Sacramento for number of all sales, not just short sales. I closed 150 or so that year. But I haven’t been number one for 5 years, and that’s OK. I don’t need to be #1. I just need to be consistent. But I didn’t expect to move into the top 5 real estate agents in Sacramento.
Short sales is a tiny aspect of our market. Right now, short sales make up 2% or so of all sales in Sacramento, unlike the majority they used to be. And I made the transition out of short sales as they vanished while keeping my production high. I started on that process in 2011, and it’s paid off royally. My main focus, if you’d like to know, is to capture a 5 Star Review from my clients. That’s my whole secret in a nutshell. Well, that and I blog every day. I tell my sellers I want only one thing: that 5 Star Review. Many say they will post a review after closing and then they space it out. But they know I deserve it. They are thrilled by closing.
I’m not going into detail about who the other top 5 real estate agents in Sacramento are because it’s just important to me (and to my prospective clients) that Elizabeth Weintraub is on that list. Besides, I don’t know them, except maybe Lynda. I heard the top agent works for a home builder but I haven’t verified it. And really, would I want you to go looking for the number one agent; no, I would not. There is only one name you need to remember.
Elizabeth Weintraub is tied for #2 in Sacramento County for number of sales so far this year. I owe it to my dedicated team of 3 buyer’s agents, terrific mortgage loan officer and fabulous transaction coordinator. I imagine we’ll close out the year in about the same spot because we’re all hard workers and we don’t slow down just because the holidays are approaching. If you’d like to work with one of the top 5 real estate agents in Sacramento, please call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. I have 43 years of experience. We don’t discriminate based on sales price and will help anybody who needs it. We sell $80,000 condos to million-dollar sales over a four-county area.
Chart: Trendgraphix, used with permission.
Sacramento Real Estate Market Update April 2017
Tower bridge early summer in Sacramento from the banks near the levee bike trail.
There seems to always be good news and bad news in a Sacramento real estate market update for single-family homes. The really bad news (because I always like to get the bad news out of the way first) is we have only 1,318 homes in Sacramento County for sale (not counting condos). That’s pitiful. It’s really low. The only thing that makes it worse is the fact we have so many interested buyers who would like to buy a home and there are not enough homes for sale to satisfy that demand. Which happens to be the good news: there are a lot of buyers out in the April market.
Our pending sales (in escrow, waiting to close) are 1,547 homes. The single-family homes that have sold in the month of March number 1,326. No matter how you look at these numbers, we have fewer single-family homes for sale than the number pending or the number sold last month, which means without new listings, we could shut down the real estate market in about 3 weeks. There’s your Sacramento real estate market update in a nutshell.
Tell me about it. I’ve been closing escrows left and right lately. I can’t keep a home on the market longer than a week to save my life, not that I would really want to make a seller wait any longer than necessary, but geez, I get attached to my listings and then they are gone. I have quite the large number of listings in my lineup right now that I’ve been working on, some for months.
One of my soon-to-be-on-the-market sellers asked me yesterday, how can you do my open house when you have so many properties to sell? What properties to sell? They have all sold. Every single one of them. Sold. S-O-L-D. I have not had zero listings in my inventory for maybe 10 years. OK, says the client, but you’re getting probably at least one a week. Yes, but then it sells. S-E-L-L-S. She was worried I would not have time for her.
You’re my sole focus, I assure her. Get that furniture out of the master bedroom, clean up the house and let’s sell it. She’s already done all the hard work and the repairs that were needed. Let’s get that baby on the market. If I have to be in twenty places at the same time, I can work that magic. Why, I can remember juggling 75 listings about 6 or 7 years ago. I’ve got all of this energy and no place to direct it.
If you’re looking to sell a home in Sacramento and would like to hire a top Sacramento Realtor with more than 40 years of experience, call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Sellers should capitalize on this momentum.
What Selling Real Estate in the 1970s Was Like
Selling real estate in the 1970s bears little resemblance to today.
Selling real estate in the 1970s was as different as Red vs Blue states today. Many years ago, on a faraway planet known as Orange County, California, I once primarily represented investors and created the craziest home buying concepts that were almost always accepted without question. Looking back, I possess fond memories of this time, when many agents were considered pioneers, innovators, although, in some cases, crooks; and because of the latter, I’m glad the 1970s are history.
A real estate agent could do just about anything she could conceive in real estate. For me, personally, I’m capable of conceiving a lot. I suffer from imagination overload. There were few laws in the 1970s, except for usury and Fair Housing, which governed agent activity.
I’ll share some of these unusual 1970s concepts and practices with you, in hopes that you will realize how far we have come today in real estate, and not that you want to do any of this yourself. The first thing was my buyers never signed a purchase contract. Buyers were not involved. They signed an assignment of contract from me. I wrote all of the purchase contracts in my name or assignee. I decided the best way to purchase the property and when the offer was accepted by the seller, I presented it for consideration to the investor.
We didn’t have a fax machine. Copiers, the size of small cars, utilized huge drums. We dialed black rotary phones and called sellers from the newspaper. MLS consisted of a large book published once a month, with small weekly updates.
Just about all of the financing was creative, mostly subject to, with a few lease option sales, land contracts and wrap-arounds. I sold second trust deeds after creating the paper from thin air, pocketing a 20% to 30% discount and using the instruments as down payments on property I didn’t always assign away. Some of the homes I kept for myself. We also picked up loan proceeds by writing it into the contract, until lenders included verbiage to stop it.
When selling real estate in the 1970s, in the purchase contract, the buyer obtained a loan of $100,000, delivered $96,000 to the seller, and the difference, if any, of loan proceeds above $90,000 was paid to the buyer’s brokerage. This was on top of the real estate commission. All parties would agree to this. Blows my mind. Against the law today.
Today, an assignment of contract is unusual, and if I spot a buyer trying to wholesale a property like that, I’ll advise the seller not to take the offer. It’s generally not in the seller’s best interest. Besides, double escrowing or picking up a property through an assignment is rare in a seller’s market, but it doesn’t stop seminar gurus from teaching this old / new practice to the young impressionables and special little snowflakes.
I never inspected properties when selling real estate in the 1970s. This was before The Easton vs. Strassburger 1984 decision that held agents and real estate brokers have a duty to conduct a reasonable inspection. My transactions were fast and furious, we typically closed in a week. Cash flow ruled, but if you couldn’t get cash flow, negative cash flow was OK with 7% down and straight notes for equity. My entire practice was based on my ability to negotiate and to negotiate well.
The 1986 Tax Reform Act put a halt to a lot of investing (no more tax write-offs for negative income), and the 1991 downturn in the market pushed a lot of investors out of the marketplace. Years go by. Things change. Markets evolve.
Every so often I receive an offer like one of those from 40 years ago, and of course I send it to the seller. But I also explain in detail what it is. In fact, we received one of those types of offers a few days ago, trying to lowball 80 cents on the dollar in a seller’s market and wholesale it out, OOffda. I think this means seminar groups are in town.
I’m probably one of the very few Sacramento Realtors who survived selling real estate in the 1970s and the creative financing fiasco that time period entailed. Let’s just say we’re much better off today. If you’re looking for a top producer in Sacramento to sell your home, call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759.
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.
