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Selling 2 Homes to Buy as a Couple
A couple called yesterday to inquire about a pending sale I have listed in West Sacramento and whether they could see it. They plan on selling 2 homes in Sacramento to buy one as a couple. I’m not sure where they found the listing online but not every website out there lists the status of homes online. Many just show the home for sale and they don’t tell the website visitor whether the home has sold or is pending, which is why it’s oh-so-much better to get your listings directly from a Sacramento REALTOR who can sign you up for automatic emails from our mothership: MLS.
But if you’re just starting your hunt to buy a Sacramento home, you don’t think of that. You think, oh, look, here is a website of homes for sale, and there you go. You just want to get an idea of what’s for sale. Sure, you bought a home before, like this couple who called, because they each own a home. He owns a cottage among the leafy streets of homes in East Sacramento. Her home is in Sacramento. They have decided that West Sacramento is a good place to look for a home because a buyer gets so much more for the money.
That’s true. A comparable home in East Sacramento would cost at least $100,000 more than similar sized homes in West Sacramento, and most likely double. This couple had not yet talked to a mortgage broker, but they knew they wanted to sell at least one home. We discussed making a contingent offer on a home to buy. That was enlightening, because they weren’t sure how to go about selling 2 homes in Sacramento to buy one.
The thing is a mortgage broker will need to qualify this couple to own 3 homes. To make 3 mortgage payments. You can’t say you will rent out one of the homes because there is no rental record if they are not now rentals. Most lenders today want to see at least 6 months to a year or more of rental receipts. There are bridge loan options available but they are expensive. It would be much better to get preapproved, put one home off market in MLS until they find a home to buy and then write the offer subject to selling the home, which then immediately goes live. That’s the best option that safeguards this couple if they follow through with selling 2 homes to buy one.
Well, the number one option is sell both homes and use the cash proceeds to buy a home without a contingency in West Sacramento, but that’s not a) convenient for most people or b) really necessary. We can write contingent offers and get those offers accepted. We do it all the time.
The problem is waiting for that oh-so-perfect beautiful home that 3 other buyers want, and you have no preapproval letter and no homes on the market. If you’re in that situation, call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. We’ve been helping people in this situation for decades.
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.
West Sacramento Pool Home is Entertainer’s Dream
This West Sacramento pool home is definitely an entertainer’s dream. But you don’t need to invite large groups of people to your house. Even if you never invite anybody over to your house because you treasure your privacy, you will love this West Sacramento pool home. That back yard offers secluded privacy. Privacy that you can’t really notice from the street. From the street, it seems like every other house in Southport Gateway.
This home is for all those people who stroll streets, wondering what a neighbor’s house looks like inside. OK, maybe you don’t wonder, but lots of other people do. I know people sometimes sneak peeks when a front door is open. It’s like they can’t help themselves. They also go to the open house because curiosity gets the best of them, plus, everybody knows real estate is the state religion in California. It holds a fascination for many people.
If you say to yourself, oh, I know what those 1,926 square-foot homes look like with the double single garages, you do not. This home is very different. There is a NEST thermostat inside, too. Plus a whole house fan. The main floor area is fairly open and offers splendid views of the gorgeous yard of this West Sacramento pool home. Further, you’ll love the hickory espresso planked flooring on the main level, and the flooring runs into the first floor bath, too.
A newer modern chandelier hangs over the dining table, which is a perfect place to enjoy breakfast or dinner while taking in the view of the pool and the lush landscaping in the yard. The other side of a cut-out wall is a formal living room with a fireplace. You’ll find an island in the kitchen, plus under-cabinet lighting, and all of the appliances can stay.
Go upstairs and whoa, there is an unexpected loft area. In addition to the loft, there’s a separate corner space perfect for a home office or a children’s playroom. Between the two bedrooms is an open room that could be enclosed with one wall. The sellers use this room as a family room and watch TV in the area, but it could also be used as a third bedroom. The second guest bath in the hall features dual sinks and a ceramic floor, indicative of the year the home was built in 2006.
The master suite is vaulted and spacious and is oriented toward the back yard, away from the street. It features a ceiling fan with a light fixture and plantation shutters. So serene and peaceful. Of course, the master bath has a separate tub and shower, plus a walk-in closet.
But most of the focus of this West Sacramento pool home is on the yard. For starters, a great deal of thought and expertise went into designing the yard. It was created by professional landscapers. You’ll find a magnolia tree, orange, pomegranate, apricot, cherry and lemon trees. The best part is the landscaping watering can be managed from the B-HYVE phone app!
The pool is beautiful and in pristine condition. Under the palm at the far end is a waterfall. Not to mention, the patio is large enough for two separate tables with umbrellas. Plenty of seating for company. Or, you can just enjoy this space all by yourself with a cool adult beverage at your disposal.
Why not come to our open house on Sunday, May 6th, from 1:00 to 4:00 PM and see for yourself. Hosted by the amazing Amy McMullan from the Elizabeth Weintraub Team.
1660 Headslane Road, West Sacramento, CA 95691 is exclusively offered by Elizabeth Weintraub and Lyon Real Estate at $445K. See the virtual tour here and we hope to see you on Sunday! Call Elizabeth at 916.233.6759 for more information.
Probate Home in West Sacramento Bridgeway Island at Great Price
3619 Saint John Road, West Sacramento, CA 95691
As a general rule, I seem to sell a lot more homes with successor trustees in title than a probate, much less a probate home in West Sacramento. But I also sell a lot of homes in West Sacramento. Therefore, it doesn’t really matter if I haven’t sold a record number of probates, at least I know how to do a probate, thanks to JaCi. This particular probate home in West Sacramento does not require court approval, which means we can price it where it should sell and not dick around with court referees who place inaccurate market values on some probates. The only concern a buyer might have is the home is sold AS IS, but then again, just about every single one of my listings this year have been sold AS IS. I don’t see the big deal there.
The purchase contract states homes are sold AS IS. Somewhere along the line in Sacramento, agents got the idea that to placate anxious buyers, they could ask for repairs or credits or renegotiate. And some listings agents tell their sellers to accommodate those notions. Other agents like me, for example, will explain to sellers if they don’t mind making another mortgage payment, I’ll just sell the home again. They are not required to bend to unreasonable demands.
My new listing, the probate home in West Sacramento, takes into consideration the comparable sales of surrounding homes, many of which are selling at $425,000 and up. Trying to explain that to buyers is difficult because the truth is if we priced this home at $200,000 a buyer would still ask if they could offer $190,000. Buyers often don’t know what they are doing. But a good buyer’s agent can comp out this home and can tell what a great deal this is.
For starters, it has four bedrooms, and 3 full baths. There is a first floor bedroom, which is often coveted, especially by multi-generation families. In addition to the first floor bedroom, there is also a full bath, shared by that bedroom and it also shares another door to the living room. The square footage exceeds 2,300 square feet, per the Yolo County Assessor. The second floor master suite features a bridge at one end of the home.
The kitchen is toward the back and is open the family room, with beautiful laminate flooring and a fireplace. As far as the work that is required to bring this home up to your demanding tastes, one needs to paint the interior of this home. That includes mudding the corners of outside walls where dinged, painting the walls and baseboards. Most painters I know charge about $5,000 to professionally paint the interior of a home. Yet some lucky buyer will receive a $26,000 discount to buy this home.
Come to our open house on Sunday, October 8th, from 2:00 to 4:00 PM, hosted by the incredible Barbara Dow from the Elizabeth Weintraub Team. You can see the virtual tour here. 3619 Saint John Road, West Sacramento, CA 95691, is offered exclusively by Elizabeth Weintraub and Lyon Real Estate at $399K. Call Elizabeth for more information at 916.233.6759.
More photos below:
Formal living room at 3619 Saint John Road, West Sacramento.
Open floor plan features kitchen and family room.
Spacious master suite at 3619 Saint John Road, West Sacramento.
Huge master suite bath with separate soaking tub and shower.
Kitec Plumbing Did Not Impede Sale of Bridgeway Island Home
Kitec pipes were used in the construction of this Bridgeway Island home in West Sacramento.
I certainly did not set out to become a Kitec plumbing expert. In fact, I didn’t even know this seller lived in Bridgeway Island where Kitec pipes might be found. I met her a couple of years ago when I sold her mother’s condo in Riva on the River. She and I just clicked. She interviewed quite a few agents and selected me, which was a smart move, she says. She was so thrilled with the sale of that home that she promised when she got around to selling her home in Bridgeway Island, she would call me.
When I ran the comparable sales for her home last May, it dawned on me that her street was familiar. Sure enough, I had sold an exact model on the same street about a year ago. Her home was more appealing and had upgrades, including a professionally landscaped yard. It was the nicest house on the block, which is generally not a very good selling point. At first blush, it seemed worth about $429K, but when I saw it in person, I felt we should move the price to $445K.
Because I had sold that other home, I knew that the Reynan and Bardis homes in this particular tract at Bridgeway Island in West Sacramento were built with Kitec pipes. I had run into a bit of difficulty with the first sale. Those sellers had received a plumbing report when they bought a few years earlier. That plumbing report assured them the Kitecx plumbing was all right. I suggested they call the same plumber and get an updated report so when we sold, the new buyers could be receive a copy of that report. It worked, the buyers for that first sale bought the home without requesting re-plumbing. Well, now that I think about it, they did request it, but we refused.
So, this seller called the same plumbing company. We received a report upfront and gave it to the buyer, along with the disclosures; The buyer initially freaked. Their agent was telling them things like: the Kitec pipes will fail, it’s not a matter of if but when. Which told me the agent found that verbiage on a website run by commercial interests who profit by scaring people. I read the same stuff. First, an agent should not be giving plumbing advice to a buyer unless that agent is a plumber.
We got around the Kitec issue, and the sellers breathed a big sigh of relief. No re-plumbing for this home either. Of course, the buyers asked for a credit for half of the replacement cost of the Kitec pipes, but we rejected that request. We closed last Friday, selling $10,000 over list price and strictly AS IS. My sellers were very pleased once again.
