Elizabeth's Weintraub's Blog

Nothing to Wear and Nothing to Buy Except This East Sacramento Home That is Not Upside Down

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:00:29 -0600

Few guys understand what a woman means when she opens her closet and declares: I have nothing to wear. Guys look in the closet and they see clothes jammed in so tightly that one might break a hanger yanking something out. Wall-to-wall clothes. They scratch their heads and wonder how can a woman say she has nothing to wear when it's obvious that she has 6 times more clothing than them. In fact, it looks like the entire fall collection from Macy's in that closet.

See, here's the thing. When a woman says: "I have nothing to wear," it means she can remember the last time she wore every garment. I know, that doesn't make sense to many guys, but it does to a woman. And that which she can't recall, she probably doesn't like anyway. I imagine women who suffer from memory loss always have something to wear, so that can be the upside to losing your mind.

In my case, I realized yesterday that I have nothing to wear -- not for any of those reasons but because I had dropped 4 dress sizes. Very little in my closet fits me anymore. In case you're wondering, it's called the "don't eat" diet, which consists of consuming 3 small meals a day, no snacks, no desserts, and running around like a chicken with my head cut off slamming to closing those Sacramento short sales and homes in Land Park.

I'm back to the size I was in college. And I have my husband to thank. I thanked him, too, as I breezed in the door yesterday carrying a bunch of bags from my shopping spree at Macy's in downtown Sacramento. "What did I do?" he asked, bewildered. Well, he had stopped making me high caloric dinners and served up smaller portions, as I requested, since I had previously blamed my weight gain on him. He prepares our dinners and handles the grocery shopping. Now, I know it wasn't his fault, but it amuses me to share the blame. Call it a wife's prerogative.

At least now I'll have something to wear when I go over to East Sacramento today to shoot interior photos of my new listing. This is a very spacious two-bedroom home with an extra deep lot. And it's not upside down. Yup, not a short sale. It's owned by a regular seller. Been in the family for ages -- the mortgage has been paid off. I listed it last Friday for $314,900.

This East Sacramento home features hardwood floors, central heat and air, and one of the bedrooms has a murphy bed. The kitchen is huge, almost 25 feet, about the same size as the living room, with space for a table. In fact, you could also utilize part of the living room for dining and convert the formal dining room into a home office, if you needed an extra room. It has a 2-motorcycle garage, as the seller calls it, and a raised deck in the back yard for entertaining.

It goes into MLS today and showings start on Wednesday. If you're looking at homes in East Sacramento, give me a ring at 916.233.6759. I'd love to show you this. And I'll try to post more photos tomorrow.

---

Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout Sacramento. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. DRE License # 00697006.

The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available through bookstores everywhere and at Amazon.com.

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

If Banks Make More Money on Foreclosures than Short Sales, Why Am I Closing So Many Sacramento Short Sales?

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 09:25:40 -0600

A fellow blogger and agent on Active Rain, Pacita Dimacali, wrote a piece that included links which substantiate the theory that banks make more money on foreclosures than short sales. Pacita works in Alameda, about 90 minutes away from me in Sacramento, and she is also a contributor to my book, The Short Sale Savior. Pacita knows her stuff.

If the federal government is subsidizing lossses suffered by banks through foreclosure, it would appear that banks such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo and CitiMortgage have very little incentive to do a short sale. Yet, month after month, those same banks are approving my Sacramento short sales.

Now, Wachovia short sales are handled in a different manner. But that's primarily because Wachovia is a portfolio lender. Loans originated by World Savings, for example, that are now Wachovia short sales, close from sale date to recording in about 5 to 6 weeks.

I'll tell you why I suspect that my sellers are getting short sale approval and the sellers Pacita illustrates are receiving short sale rejections. I believe it has to do with short sale pricing and how I market those listings. See, banks are in the business of making money, and they probably don't care where the money comes from. The government can give it to them or short sale buyers can give it to them.

After all, if a bank takes the property in foreclosure, it will still need to ultimately sell that bank-owned home to a buyer. If the buyer is already standing in front of the bank, waving money and paying market value, why wouldn't the bank accept the short sale? As a Sacramento short sale agent, I fully realize that I represent the seller and have a fiduciary duty to get the seller the highest price possible, even though that money is not going directly into the seller's pocket. It goes to the bank. But the bank is also the ultimate decision maker.

At the moment, according to MLS, my short sale listing to sales price ratio average so far for 2009 is at 106.5% of the sales price. Yup, as bizarro as it sounds, that's right. I generate so much interest on my Sacramento short sales that buyers pay over list price. The banks are happy, the sellers are happy and even the buyers are happy. That's how life should be.

---

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

Land Park Has Only 3 Active Short Sale Listings in MLS, Including a Tudor at $325,000

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:42:46 -0600

I just listed a new short sale in Land Park yesterday, but before I get to that, let me tell you about a weird thing that happened on Friday. I've never, in all my decades of real estate, experienced this before. A buyer who was supposed to close escrow on a home in South Land Park sent me an email with an attachment. That attachment was a copy of the recording status of the home, and the email asked if the home had recorded. Since I was viewing this on my BlackBerry -- which has very small print on attachments, even if I zoom the image -- I stopped at my home office to look at it on my computer.

Sure enough, the document included a book and page number. But it also had Thursday's date, not Friday's. I contacted title. Whoa. The title company goofed up and recorded the wrong deed. That loan had just funded Friday morning, but title recorded the deed in error on Thursday. This didn't affect my buyers much, but it certainly affects the buyers who thought they had closed escrow on Thursday and probably moved in already. Just goes to show that even title companies make mistakes.

Sometimes, buyers make mistakes as well, especially when they are moving to Land Park from out of the area. Many homes in Land Park are unique, and their values can vary dramatically, depending on a plethora of indicators. That's why it's important to hire an experienced Land Park agent or it's possible that a buyer may overpay for a home here.

Unfortunately, some appraisers have no idea how to appraise a home in Land Park. They don't seem to know where the boundaries are for each subdivision or how crossing some boundaries can have an affect on value. So buyers can't always rely on an appraisal to substantiate value.

The sellers of my new Land Park listing paid $515,000 in the spring of 2005, probably the hottest market ever on record for Land Park. It is presently assessed at $429,236 by the County of Sacramento. So, if you're looking for a short sale in Land Park -- and there are only 3 active short sales available in Land Park at the moment -- you might want to check this out.

1000 Fremont Way is offered as a short sale at $325,000. This Land Park Tudor features 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and according to the County Assessor has 1,471 square feet. It has refinished hardwood floors, barrel ceilings, nooks, crannies, built-ins, crown molding, a fireplace, formal dining room, breakfast nook, master suite, a bonus room off the garage, partial basement and attic storage. It was updated in 2005.

Plus you get boat storage, RV access and a garage that will hold 2 small cars. The back-yard has a covered patio that is made to look like a beach, with a sanded concrete floor, the sides of the overhang adjust and a ceiling fan. There is also a lawn in back that you will never need to mow.

Although the home has an address on Fremont, it actually faces 10th Street, and is a corner lot. But the back yard has a southern exposure. The A/C was new in 2005. It's got everything a Land Park buyer could want.

1000 Fremont Way, Sacramento, CA 95818
Offered exclusively by LYON REAL ESTATE as a short sale at $325,000
Elizabeth Weintraub, Land Park Agent, 916.233.6759

Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub

---

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

Should Short Sale Sellers Sue a Buyer Whose Breach of Good Faith Leads to Foreclosure?

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:37:24 -0600

Sometime around mid-October, I received an offer on one of my Sacramento short sales. The buyer's agent swore that the buyers loved the home. On top of that, the agent promised in writing not to write any more offers for those buyers as everyone waited for short sale approval. We received approval from one lender and were working on gaining cooperation from the second lender when a cancellation of purchase agreement appeared in my email inbox.

The explanation was the buyers decided they could not afford the improvements they wanted to make. They had not gone back to the home since the day they wrote the offer. This epiphany seemed to have come to them right after they received the approval letter, when reality sunk in. The agent didn't have the guts to pick up the phone and call me. For all I know, that agent had been out showing these buyers other homes and writing other offers.

If that was the case, this agent could possibly be held liable for breaking the REALTOR Code of Ethics. Article 1 says agents must be honest with each other. On top of that, though, buyers who walk away from a short sale after signing a contract could be held liable for breaching the good faith covenant inherent in contracts. A lawyer could argue in court that those types of buyers probably had no intention of following through on the purchase should a better opportunity present itself along the way.

Moreover, what if the seller was already in foreclosure, facing a trustee's sale, and relying on this particular buyer to perform? Is it possible that the seller could hold the buyer personally liable if the seller lost the home to foreclosure as a result of the cancellation? I'm not a lawyer, and I can't give legal advice, but it seems to me that it's possible a seller in that situation might have legal recourse against such a buyer.

After all, by ratifying the contract, the buyers prevented the seller from selling to a serious buyer -- a buyer who may have been able to perform during the allotted time frame. Buyers who are writing multiple purchase offers on Sacramento short sales may want to rethink that kind of strategy. What do you think? Do short sale sellers have a legal right to sue a buyer for damages if that buyer's failure to perform and breach of good faith leads to foreclosure?

---

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

Don't Wait for the Notice of Default Before Calling Your Sacramento Short Sale Agent

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:51:35 -0600

The usual scenario goes like this: An upside-down homeowner loses his job and the family scrambles to make the mortgage payments. They borrow on credit cards, ask other family members for help, sell possessions. They may ask the lender to do a loan modification and spend months trying to qualify before the lender shoots them down.

Then the bank files a Notice of Default. A few weeks before the trustee's sale, a friend suggests a short sale. Desperate, the homeowner then calls a Sacramento short sale agent, hoping for a miracle and to save what little credit the homeowner has left.

I've pulled quite a few Sacramento short sales out of the fire just moments before the home was auctioned off to the highest bidder at foreclosure. But I'm not a miracle worker, regardless of my reputation. Sometimes I can save a seller from foreclosure and sometimes I can't. It's much better to call me to list your short sale before the Notice of Default is filed.

This is how the Notice of Default works in California. Generally, the homeowner falls behind a couple months. The lender sends letters asking for payment with late fees. After 60 days or so, before the Notice of Default is filed, the lender is required to inform the homeowner in writing of its intent to pursue foreclosure. By law, this letter must be delivered to the homeowner at least 30 days before filing the Notice of Default. If you receive such a letter of intention, pick up the phone and call your Sacramento short sale agent. Don't put it off.

The Notice of Default is recorded in the public records. After 90 days, the publication period in a newspaper of general circulation begins. After 20 days, the home may go to auction on the 21st day. This means from the day you stop making your mortgage payments, you may have about 6 1/2 months before you lose your home to foreclosure.

Time is of the essence. You don't have the luxury of time when you're trying to do a Sacramento short sale. If you are trying to negotiate a Bank of America short sale, for example, on a loan that originated with Countrywide, you may need a full 6 months to get short sale approval.

So don't stuff those bank letters in a drawer hoping that it will all go away if you simply ignore what's happening because it won't. It will just get worse. Get legal and tax advice, then call your Sacramento short sale agent as soon as you possibly can. I can't guarantee that I'll be able to postpone the trustee's sale, but it's entirely possible.

---

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

Even if You Have Assets, You Might Still Qualify for a Sacramento Short Sale

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:37:43 -0600

If you're about to attempt a short sale, you probably have questions. Questions are always on my mind, too. I wonder about such things as why does Google's homepage show the feet of a Muppet character today? How focused am I on short sales that I did not know the World Series is going on? Why is it when my cat, Pia, rubs on my monitor, she always manages to hit that hidden button that turns it off, and what are the odds that I'll be typing when it happens?

When hopeful short sale sellers call me to ask questions about doing a short sale in Sacramento, I email them my short sale package. This package includes a wealth of information created by reputable legal counsel. It answers a bazillion questions, some of which many sellers didn't even know they had until they read the answers. The package also addresses how short sales affect credit and the possible consequences of taxation on canceled debt.

I do this because I am not licensed to give legal advice, but it's important to me that my sellers are informed. I suggest that sellers obtain legal and tax advice before embarking on the short sale path. This helps them to understand the ramifications of a short sale because not every short sale follows the same procedures.

If sellers have sizable assets to protect or discretionary income, I may also suggest that it could be in the best interests of those sellers to hire a lawyer to negotiate the short sale. I still handle the sale of their home but, in those cases, a lawyer has direct contact with the short sale bank, not me. Banks seem to be more afraid of a lawyer than a Sacramento short sale agent.

I've also witnessed what lawyers can do. One client had more than $200,000 on hand and, by hiring an experienced Sacramento law firm to negotiate the short sale, that client retained the cash and received a clean short sale approval letter without demands for a seller contribution. So, I know it's not always necessary to be upside-down financially to qualify for a short sale. That same law firm is handling negotiations for a few of my other short sale clients who are current and not in default.

If you're looking for answers to your short sale questions, call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916 233 6759, and I'll do my best to provide you with enough information for you to decide whether you want to pursue a short sale. Most of my Sacramento short sales sell within a week or two. And my success rate is high. Remember, too, on a short sale, banks pay my commission.

---

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

Arm's-Length Means You Can't Buy Your Mom's Sacramento Short Sale

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:08:39 -0600

Every so often, I receive a phone call from a seller who is upside down on the mortgage and wants to sell a home in Sacramento as a short sale to a family member. These callers have a hard time understanding that most banks will insist on an arm's-length transaction, which means they can't sell the home as a short sale to a person who is related to them.

Sometimes, sellers will go a step further and try to make special arrangements with the buyer of that short sale. They ask if they can rent the home back from the buyer. In many cases, they can't. Moreover, they probably can't sell to a business associate.

Why not? Because the bank may demand it. A short sale seller can't financially benefit, directly or indirectly, from a short sale. A lot of banks have caught wind of the potential for mortgage fraud and are trying to put a stop to it. Whenever people are in financial distress, though, you'll find crooks cooking up ways to capitalize on misfortune.

As a Sacramento short sale agent, it's easy for me to spot potential mortgage fraud in short sale transactions. There's so much of it. You've got investors trying to double escrow short sales as well. But if a bank requires that all parties sign an Affidavit of Arm's-Length Transaction, all parties are required to sign it and could potentially be held liable for mortgage fraud if they violate the terms. Here is a sample Arm's-Length Transaction Affidavit from Wells Fargo (they really need an editor; man, you can send a lawyer to law school but you can't make them English majors):

"All parties to the contract on the premises dated XXXX, Property address: XXXX, hereby affirm that this is an Arm's-Length Transaction.

"No party to this contract is a family member, business associate or share a business interest with the mortgagor. Further, there are no hidden terms or special understandings between the seller or buyer or their agents or the mortgagee.

"The buyers and sellers nor their agents have any agreements written or implied that will allow the seller to remain in the property as renters or regain ownership of said property at anytime after the execution of this short sale transaction. None of the parties shall receive any proceeds from this transaction except the sales commission."

A short sale bank, one of those 3-letter banks, closed a file yesterday because the buyers didn't return the Arm's-Length Transaction Affidavit in a timely manner. I had badgered the buyer's agent until the cows came home, but he couldn't get the documents back to me. We explained to the bank that the buyers were on vacation and couldn't be reached, but the bank didn't care. It just closed the file. This means the short sale process starts over from scratch, even though the bank now holds the fully executed Arm's-Length Transaction Affidavit. Lovely.

---

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

Sacramento is Featured in The New York Times as a Travel Destination: 36 Hours in Sacramento

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:02:19 -0600

A weird thing happened yesterday. Instead of receiving The Sacramento Bee on my doorstep, The New York Times Sunday edition was there. I realized something was amiss when I opened the door because instead of a skinny little wad with a dead spider stuck in the middle, the paper was thick and neatly bound.

I put on my reading glasses and sure enough, I was holding The New York Times. I'm pretty sure The New York Times and The Sacramento Bee hire separate couriers. Hmmm, most curious. I wondered if maybe my husband switched our subscription without telling me. Naw, he wouldn't do that. Well, he might do something that could dramatically change my life and forget to tell me, but he wouldn't cancel our subscription to The Sacramento Bee. We rely on that paper for news about Sacramento, plus my husband would love to work for The Sacramento Bee.

My husband, Adam Weintraub, is a journalist. More than 25 years in the business, first as an investigative reporter at City News Bureau in Chicago, later with major newspapers around the country and finally landing a job as the managing editor at the Sacramento Business Journal. He made a lateral move to Sacramento from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal. Celebrated his 10-year anniversary with the Business Journal and, last year, at this time, was let go.

He now freelances because nobody seems to be hiring. It's a good thing his wife is a top-producing Sacramento real estate agent because we otherwise wouldn't make ends meet on what freelancing pays. The print industry is hurting. You've probably noticed Adam's byline in The Sacramento Bee and Comstock's Magazine. My husband takes his profession very seriously; journalism is in his blood. He's a dedicated reporter, much like my late father-in-law, Larry Weintraub, who wrote for The Chicago Sun-Times.

My husband is also a much better writer than I am, and he's witty, brilliant and a dedicated journalist down to the bone, but jobs in journalism are few and far between. I have tried to encourage him to write a book, but that idea keeps getting shoved to the back burner as he takes on new freelance assignments.

So, no, my husband would not have switched our subscription to The Sacramento Bee. This was obviously a screw up somewhere.

I sat down to breakfast with The New York Times. In its travel section, I discovered a huge spread on Sacramento and things to do in Sacramento. This wasn't a regional edition of the paper. Hey, that's pretty cool. Hip, but sometimes overlooked for its fun factor, Sacramento made it into The New York Times as a travel destination.

My husband snorted when I told him the good news, "Oh, that's been online for days." It's called 36 Hours in Sacramento. The reporter says, "This capital city has a gentle, small-town charm, with a strong theater tradition, delightful new restaurants and a vibrant art scene." She acknowledges that we have more trees in Sacramento than any other city in the world, except for maybe Paris. It's a joy to see Sacramento recognized as a formidable travel destination and many of my favorite restaurants plugged. Check it out. Sacramento is a wonderful city in which to work and play. We chose Sacramento many years ago as one of the best places to live in America.

---

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

Why Write a Short Sale Offer if You're Not Willing to Wait for the Bank's Response?

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 08:14:56 -0600

I closed 4 escrows last week, so I thought it was a nice gesture to offer to take my husband out to dinner on Halloween. Sort of a celebration. All right, it was also a way that I could cancel Halloween without being obvious about it. But, no, my husband had already carved a pumpkin and bought several bags of candy. OK, then, but I'm not answering the door.

When I was younger, Halloween used to be my favorite holiday, second only to my birthday. I adored the spooky decorations, dressing up like a hooker and partying until somebody passes out in the bathtub. I even once got married on Halloween, but that marriage turned out to be a disaster. As it stands now, I don't seem to possess the enthusiasm for the holiday anymore.

Instead of celebrating Halloween yesterday, I managed to score the keys from a tenant for my East Sacramento listing. At long last, I was able to put a lockbox on that house. If you're looking for a home in East Sacramento, check out 763 53rd Street. It's a darling 2-bedroom cottage listed at $329,000, and it's now vacant. It's not a short sale, either. This could close by November 30th.

Saturdays are also lockbox day for me, meaning I map out my travels and collect lockboxes from the homes that closed escrow that week. While I'm driving, I answer buyer and buyer's agent calls. One agent sent me an email, saying her buyer wanted to withdraw a short sale offer she submitted the day before because her buyer was uncomfortable with the fact that we expected the buyer to commit to the transaction.

This was a buyer, the agent had earlier confided, who had made dozens of offers on other homes and kept getting beat out. Well, she could buy one of my short sale listings as it just fell out of escrow. I told her exactly what her buyer needed to do to get the seller's signature on the offer. But did she do it? No, she didn't. She was missing that crucial element: the motivation to be dedicated and wait for short sale approval.

There were enough witches, goblins, skeletons and Richard Nixons running around last night; I have no desire to add another to my escrows.

---

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

Wells Fargo Sent a Sacramento Short Sale to the Auction Block While in Escrow

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:51:47 -0500

Ever since I lost a short sale to the auction block in 2006, I've been trying to keep tabs on the foreclosure activity regarding my Sacramento short sales. On that particular transaction, we were in the middle of negotiations with Bank of America when the next thing I knew, an agent called to say he had just listed that home in Land Park as an REO. Apparently, the loss mitigation department had not been communicating with Bank of America's foreclosure department. But sometimes negotiators simply close out files and don't inform the agents.

My first clue that something was amiss was when a woman called me yesterday. She asked for a copy of the home inspection for one of my short sale listings. I told her it was in escrow as an active short contingent and not available. Then she turned a bit snippy, insisting that she was entitled to a copy of the home inspection, as though this information was a public record.

No, only the seller and buyer are entitled to receive the home inspection. She has no rights because she is not a party to the transaction. She called me a 5-letter word and slammed down the phone.

Hmmm . . . why would a rude person demand to see a copy of the home inspection on a listing? Perhaps a person bidding at a public auction who thinks I represent the bank, that's who.

The next phone call came from a very nice guy who says he has purchased 54 homes in Sacramento so far this year. He began asking questions about this particular listing. He seemed focused on its physical condition. When I told him it was in escrow, he said it was up for an opening bid at the public auction at my list price!

An email had been sent to the negotiator at Wells Fargo, letting the negotiator know that the buyers and sellers had accepted Wells Fargo's terms, and we were ready to move forward. Apparently, Wells Fargo somehow let this one slip through the cracks and instead sent it to auction.

After much screaming at Wells Fargo, we were able to get the property pulled from the auction. Out of the fire at the last minute. This was similar to planting a squash on top of a football zombie just before the zombie eats my brains in Plants vs. Zombies.

Within minutes of halting the bidding process, the investor called back. He seemed impressed, pointing out that I must not be your average Sacramento short sale agent. He asked if I would let him know if any of my bunch of active short contingents fall out of escrow or when I list other short sales in Sacramento. You know what? I will. If you're reading this, thank you, Bob.

---

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

There's No Place Like Home

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:02:50 -0500

In the world of a Sacramento short sale agent, there is no such thing as a normal workday. Every day has its little frustrations. People may make promises that they don't keep. Other people might be unreasonable and demanding. I may explain 10 ways from Sunday how to submit an offer to a buyer's agent, yet the offer arrives incomplete. It's just another day in the neighborhood. I let this stuff roll off my back and focus on the big picture, on what's important.

My focus is the people, my home sellers and home buyers. Today, a Sacramento short sale seller is scheduled to close on an escrow that has been dragging on for 9 long months. He will finally be able to let go of the past and move on with his life. His focus is on his children, wife, friends, family and his own clients, the people who are important to him. It's not the SMUD lien for dual pane windows that was attached to his home and would have survived a foreclosure, which we managed to get released. It's not the fact that he tried to sell this home for several years without success. And it's not the fact that he tried for months to do a loan modification but was denied.

He gets to start over, keep his credit relatively intact and enjoy the peace of mind that comes when a new family is starting its beginnings in the home he left behind. When the new buyers get the keys tonight, their faces will be brimming with smiles and their hearts filled with hope.

With any luck, also today an Elk Grove short sale seller will be putting his past behind him as well. His escrow was supposed to have closed last week, but the buyer's lender kept popping up with more loan conditions. The latest demand was a request for an addendum that clarified the ZIP code. Apparently, the buyer's agent wrote the wrong ZIP code on several pages of the purchase contract.

The seller of this short sale was never delinquent; his payments were current. Yet, it took us 3 months to go from listing the home to closing. However long, the wait for short sale approval is rarely an enjoyable experience for either sellers or buyers. 90 days is still a long time.

I wrapped up both of these transactions last night and settled in to watch a movie with my husband. Netflix sent us the new Blu-Ray version of the Wizard of Oz. Now, I've probably watched this movie 100 times over the years; it's one of my all-time favorites. So, when I received an email with an offer attached, I got up to open my email and my husband paused the movie. Hey, it's not like I don't know what happens in the movie. But my husband paused it anyway.

It was certainly a far cry from the days of waiting through commercials on a black-and-white TV. Watching Dorothy and Toto on the big screen in vibrant color is astounding. In fact, we spotted things in the movie that we've never seen before such as the bricks in the yellow brick road were clearly defined and, for some reason, in the scene where Dorothy and the Scarerow discovered the Tin Man rusted in the woods, there was a large stork or blue heron flapping its wings in the background. Near the apple trees, a toucan rested on a branch over Dorothy's head. Made me think about Fruit Loops.

But Dorothy's quest to go home also made me think about my sellers and buyers. We all want a place to call home, a place where we feel loved and secure. So, today, 2 families are leaving their homes and 2 other families are moving in. The buyers will be overjoyed and the sellers relieved. And several years from now, those same sellers will most likely call me to help them buy another home, and I will watch them click together heels of ruby slippers and go there. After all, there's no place like home, is there?

---

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

Sacramento Short Sale Agents: If Your Buyer Walks, You Need to Tell the Listing Agent

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:11:27 -0500

This doesn't happen very often, thank goodness, but yesterday a short sale buyer flaked out. I had called a Sacramento agent to let him know that Chase Bank was about to approve a short sale for his buyer. The agent blurted, "Oh, that buyer bought a home last month." Bear in mind that we've sent communication to this agent since the offer was presented in early August.

At first, the agent could not recall the buyer at all. Well, no problem, we have a back-up offer. I called that agent. Her buyer had withdrawn her offer as well but she did not contact me to let me know.

Minutes after taking the home out of active short contingent status in MLS and returning it to active short status, I received a call from a buyer's agent who has been unsuccessful at finding a home for her buyer. It was a familiar story. Every time she wrote an offer, a cash buyer beat out her buyer's offer. So, this particular Sacramento short sale may be perfect for this buyer.

Fortunately, I have an assistant to the negotiator expediting this file and know exactly what Chase Bank wants. I relayed this information to the buyer's agent. This means there should be no surprises on the short sale approval letter.

The biggest problem I face as a Sacramento short sale agent is buyer's agents and their buyers. Some of the agents write offers like crazy with no intention of following up on them, leaving those buyers with little commitment to the transaction. As a result, I now require that all buyer's agents send me an email promising not to write any more offers for that buyer and to withdraw any outstanding offers upon acceptance. Article #1 of the REALTOR Code of Ethics requires honesty. Those who violate that promise could find themselves facing discipline by the Board of REALTORS.

But for crying out loud, Sacramento agents, if your buyer walks away, have the decency and professionalism to inform the listing agent. To do otherwise is disrespectful and unfair to the seller, the title company, the escrow company, the short sale bank, the transaction coordinator and the listing agent.

---

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

Good Reasons for Sacramento Agents to Attend Real Estate Closings

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:04:05 -0500

Some agents don't go to closings with their clients, but I always try to attend. I believe it's important to be at the signing with my clients because they might have questions, and because I like to show my support. To me, it's part of my job. After all, if I've helped my clients get that far in the escrow process, why would I flake out at the time of signing when they may still need my services?

If the escrow company, which the seller's agent has chosen (services are supposed to be negotiated between the seller and buyer, but we all know that many listing agents seize that power), is located more than 20 minutes away from downtown Sacramento, I often ask the escrow officer to send the documents to a local office. It saves both my clients and me precious time.

I attended a closing yesterday that was handled by an escrow officer from another county. I had asked her last week to send the documents to a Sacramento branch office, which she had received back from one of the out-of-state buyers on Monday. She called me to say she wasn't sure if the address I had for the title company was correct because that office had just moved. She promised to verify the address and let me know. Well, she never called back.

So I called the title company myself to verify the address. I thought it was strange that the escrow officer did not overnight the docs to title but instead brought them herself to Sacramento. But I figured if she forgot to call me back, she might have forgotten to put the docs into an overnight service, so she had no choice but to personally deliver the docs.

She started the signing process by telling the buyer that a particular document did not apply to his situation; he wasn't required to sign it, so she didn't need to explain it. Then she went on to explain it. For 10 minutes. The buyer began to shift in his chair. So, I cut to the chase and summed up the explanation in one brief sentence.

Then she pulled out a form designating ways to hold title and noted that the buyer's mother had chosen community property. She began to explain the meaning of community property. In the interest of time, I interrupted her. "Isn't community property available only to married people?"

The escrow officer replied, "No, I don't believe so." See, there are valid reasons why it's important to attend a real estate closing with a client. If your Sacramento real estate agent isn't present at your closing, you might want to ask why not.

---

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

Wachovia Approved an Elk Grove Short Sale in 6 Days and Will Pay Seller to Close

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:56:55 -0500

I've said it before, but I'll say it again, I love working on Wachovia short sales. Give me nothing but Wachovia short sales in Sacramento and Elk Grove, and I'll be a happy, happy short sale agent.

A Wachovia short sale is like that lone flower growing out of a sun-drenched sidewalk crack. I work on enough short sales in Sacramento to thoroughly appreciate the no-nonsense way that Wachovia handles its portfolio of loans in default. Other banks pale in comparison to Wachovia. I'd say that Wachovia performs like a Gold Medal athlete at the Olympics while, let's say, Bank of America hobbles along like some old guy in a wheelchair with a flat tire.

I met with the manager of Wachovia's short sale department 6 days ago. We walked through one of my short sale listings in Elk Grove as I spoke with the relocated seller on my cell. The manager asked a handful of questions, the seller responded and, yesterday, we got short sale approval.

Not only did we receive approval, but Wachovia is paying the seller $3,500, providing we can close escrow in early December. The seller had gone into default after transferring out-of-state and tapped several credit cards to the tune of about $25,000 to try to keep the mortgage current -- a struggle that proved fruitless in the end.

But wait, the approval gets better; Wachovia is also paying a higher-than-traditional amount of commission. I charge more for my short sale negotiations than many other agents. I figure I'm worth it because I get results. Some buyer's agents snort when they hear about my listing agreement percentage because they don't believe that I'll get it; however, all commissions are negotiable and, on a short sale, subject to bank approval.

It's no secret that short sales are a lot more work than other transactions. I work extremely hard for the commissions I earn. I'm happy to report that Wachovia recognizes this and pays accordingly. As a Sacramento short sale agent, I've been doing them long enough to have established unparalleled systems, which handle the volume, and lets me give my clients the undivided attention they deserve. So, if you are contemplating a short sale in Sacramento, give me a ring. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759.

And if you're a Sacramento Wachovia short sale seller, believe me, I'm rolling out the Red Carpet.

---

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

Will The First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Vanish on November 30th?

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:28:20 -0500

People wonder what it's like to be self-employed. Having freedom from a boss is often quoted as one of the reasons that real estate agents go into the business. An associate in Sacramento says that being her own boss means that she's free to choose any block of 12 hours out of the day to work. It's not unusual for busy, full-time agents in today's market to put in 16 to 18 hours a day.

I often start work at 5 AM. It's quiet. I can answer emails and questions from my About.com homebuying site. It's also when I write my Land Park blog and post it on Active Rain. At night, I turn off my cell phone at 7 PM and settle in to watch a movie, but I still answer emails until 9 PM. Every day is generally a long day for me.

Holidays come and go. Leaves drop from the trees; then suddenly they are budding out. The sun goes down early; then the sun comes up early. It's raining, no, it's 115 in the shade. Sometimes, it's hard to keep track. I find there are times when I'm driving past a school that I have to stop to think whether I should slow down to 25 MPH because I don't know whether it's a month when kids are supposed to be in school. I guess you could safely say that I'm pretty focused on real estate.

This is why I look forward to vacations. At least once a year. The more exotic, the better. Come November 30th, I will be in Vietnam. I chose that date last summer because it's when the first-time home buyer tax credit is set to expire. Seems the safest stretch of time to get away.

People ask me if I think the home buyer tax credit will be extended. A bill is already in works but whether it will pass is hard to say. I don't see any reason to try to stimulate the December market. This is a time when many sellers take their homes off the market and the number of buyers dwindle. It would make more sense to motivate the spring-time market buyers.

But whatever happens with the home buyer tax credit, I'll be touring rice fields, experiencing the many diverse cultures in Vietnam and most likely devouring a daily bowl of Pho for breakfast, confident that my associates will competently handle my escrows and Sacramento short sales in my absence.

Until November 30th, though, the market in Sacramento will probably continue to be a mad house. This week especially. Because this is the last week that many first-time home buyers have to get into escrow, with any hopes of closing by November 30th.

Photo: Stan Goodwin

---

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

OneSpeed Pizza Joint in East Sacramento Gets a Thumbs Up for Food, Thumbs Down for Service

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 09:04:33 -0500

You expect nothing less than sheer perfection in food from Rick Mahan, the owner and chef of Waterboy Restaurant in Midtown Sacramento, and his new restaurant, OneSpeed Pizza in East Sacramento, does not disappoint.

This is truly a neighborhood experience. For one thing, it's difficult to find parking at 48th and Folsom, so you're better off walking or arriving on your bike. As the imprint on the glass window says: OneSpeed Pizza. Bikes. Love. There is a chalkboard at the entrance displaying a message. Yesterday afternoon it advertised a Monte Cristo, probably one of the most fattening yet mouthwatering treats a human being can enjoy.

Since I've lost a lot of weight and want to keep it off, I passed on the Monte Cristo. But just the thought of salty ham and melting cheese continues to linger in my mind.

The heart of the menu is pizza. Not just any pizza, but a variety of choices, each prepared with fresh, local ingredients such as spinach and roasted peppers or arugula and caramelized onions. You can see the pizza oven in the center of the photo, which produces a slightly charred but tasty crust on the pizza.

I started off with an Old Soul latte, from a coffee business co-owned by one of my clients, Jason Griest. My husband stuck with water, served from what appeared to be a refillable bottle. He knew what he wanted: pizza with OneSpeed's housemade sausage. I had a more difficult time deciding what I wanted because it wasn't pizza. The choices are basically big plates or small plates, many of which are salads.

I chose the Bitter Greens salad, prepared with arugula, endive, Asian pears, blue cheese, walnuts and balsamico. You know, I like pronouncing the word: arugula. The accent is on the second syllable, and it makes me feel like a cartoon character to let it roll off my lips. I get a mental image of a bike horn blowing up in my face.

But I also wanted to try the daily soup. It was black bean. I imagine the beans were smashed and simmered before adding more beans because the integrity of the beans were intact. The soup was topped by a dollop of sour cream. A bit salty but delightful. When the waiter spotted my empty bowl, he asked if he could take it away -- like, what was I going to do with an empty bowl? Pick it up and lick it? The thought did occur to me. It was that good.

Overall, the food was exceptional, but the service was very slow. We arrived about 12:30 and didn't leave until 2:15. It took forever to get our table cleared and the check. However, I devoured every morsel that was placed in front of me, including part of my husband's most delicious sausage pizza. He was a bit annoyed that I continued to check my BlackBerry as it buzzed through lunch, sending emails that said I was at lunch and would get back to the callers later. I thought I was being considerate by not answering my cell. Ah, such is the life of a Sacramento short sale agent.

OneSpeed Pizza. Bikes. Love.

4818 Folsom Boulevard

Sacramento, CA

Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner

Home delivery by bicycle available Tuesday through Sunday nights.

Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub

---

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

The Sweet and Bittersweet Nature of Buying a Home in Sacramento

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 09:52:26 -0500

Yesterday, I had 2 closings: one in Curtis Park and another in Carmichael. These listings were not short sales, which in itself is a feat in this market. The bulk of my listings are Sacramento short sales. On top of this, I handled 2 simultaneous home inspections: a home in Land Park and another in South Land Park, plus I conducted a final walk-through of a home in South Land Park. That hectic schedule left me with very little time to play my new computer game: Plants vs. Zombies.

I've made it through all the levels of this game, except for some of the puzzles and mini-games. This is not a mindless game like Bejeweled; it requires strategy. After winning all the levels, some 60 games, I discovered that you can start over at Level I. Because in round two, some of the plants are automatically selected for you, which means you can play Plants vs. Zombies again by implementing a different strategy. It's a bit like selling real estate: although each transaction may have similarities, the mix of clients makes each transaction unique.

At my final walk-through in South Land Park, I spent a little over an hour with a buyer, talking about her new home and the changes she wants to make. It is important to me that all of my buyers are thrilled when escrow closes and that all of their questions are answered.

In this particular situation, the buyer inherited money from her father's estate. This home was her father's final gift to her which, after I said that, brought tears to the buyer's eyes. She expressed a mix of emotions, both very happy and yet a tinge sad.

She was thrilled because the sellers gave her much of the 1960's furniture in the home, she got a good price (while beating out multiple offers) and it was exactly the type of home she wanted. But it's also difficult to get through the first couple of years after losing a parent. Both my husband and I are orphans, so I know how it feels first hand. Often I do a final walk-through in 10 minutes, but this time I felt it was imperative to spend more time in the home and with the buyer.

We talked about what it's like to help a buyer find that perfect home, and I shared examples of the dramatically different types of buyers I'm working with at the moment. She said, "I think you sell homes based on your intuition." She's right, in part. But I also do not think of myself as a person who sells homes. I blurted out: "I don't sell homes to anybody. I simply give buyers what they want."

I thought about that statement as I drove home, with that insane music from Plants vs. Zombies running through my head. Don't you hate it when you get a song stuck in your head and you can't shake it loose? I think that's what makes being a real estate broker so personally rewarding and enjoyable for me. As sappy as it sounds, we do make dreams come true for our clients.

Photo: Elizabeth Weintraub, Fall in Land Park

---

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

The Secret to Knowing The Sales Price a Short Sale Bank Will Approve

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:09:09 -0500

Short sale buyer's agents in Sacramento are wising up and asking more questions upfront about my listings before showing them to a buyer, but I still get the goofy questions about homes that are new to the market such as: Is this short sale approved by the bank? Some banks such as Wachovia and Wells Fargo are putting systems in place to preapprove the sales price but most banks do not. It takes an offer from a qualified buyer to get a response.

I've had only one bank this year tell me that the price on my Sacramento short sale wasn't satisfactory, and that same bank came back 3 months later to accept an offer at that price. That bank, of course, was Bank of America.

Banks are accepting the short sale offers I submit. However, the offers I submit are generally much higher than my list price. As a Sacramento short sale agent, I realize that the market generally supports 2 prices: the list price and the expected offer price.

Simply put, banks want market value. Depending on the bank, however, banks may accept an offer that is priced somewhere in the range of 5% to 12% below market. What is market value? Market value is based on the comparable sales.

When I list a Sacramento short sale, I always pull the comparable sales, and I consider the pending sales, too, because pending sales are indicative of which way the market is moving and will become the sold comps at closing. Most of my short sales are listed about 10% below market value. This tactic brings multiple offers, which tends to push up the offers closer to market value. I advise my short sale sellers to accept the offer from the most qualified and dedicated buyer at a price that is closest to market value.

The problem isn't whether the short sale bank will accept the price, it's whether the price will appraise by the buyer's lender. Sometimes, buyers write offers that are too high. In one instance, I had to tell a buyer's agent that she may want to submit an addendum at a lower price. She had offered, let's say, $350,000 on an Elk Grove short sale listing that was priced at $300,000. I suspected that the comparable sales would not support such a high price and we'd have a problem getting it appraised at that price. So, her buyer lowered the offer to $330,000.

Sure enough, the buyer's appraisal came in at $329,000, and the buyer coughed up the $1,000 difference in cash.

Tip: Before you sign a purchase offer for a Sacramento short sale, ask your agent to give you the comparable sales for that neighborhood and to interpret that data for you. Because often, the listed price means nothing. Some agents ask their sellers to sign listing agreements at prices far less than market value, hoping that the short sale bank will give away that home for free, when the bank will do no such thing.

Lots of home buyers don't understand this, and many can't wrap their heads around the fact that some prices are plucked from thin air. They see a home on the market at a certain price and wrongly assume that they can buy that short sale at that price, when they can't.

---

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

A Wachovia Short Sale Seller in Sacramento Hits the Jackpot

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:25:37 -0500

In life, there are always little twists that keep it interesting, wouldn't you say? For example, last week I was watching a HGTV show about a couple who were buying their first home somewhere in the Midwest. They had obtained an FHA loan. Because they didn't have the money for a down payment, their parents gave them the cash.

Of course, FHA requires a gift letter from the parents. This gift letter specifically states that the funds are not a loan but a gift. At the end of the show, the couple stood in front of the camera, talking about their home buying experience. The wife looked straight into the camera and admitted on national television that they had committed mortgage fraud. "Oh, we are paying them back," she laughed.

I imagine their real estate agent recoiled in shock.

Just like my Sacramento short sale seller was speechless yesterday. This is a hard working guy who lost his job, and the value of his condo fell to almost 1/3 of what he paid for it several years ago. He hired me as his Sacramento short sale agent to find a buyer. It took about 10 days to get into contract, which is an usually long time for my Sacramento short sale listings.

Yesterday, a negotiator from the Wachovia short sale department called to say the short sale was approved. Not only was it approved, she explained, but this transaction qualified for Wachovia's incentive program, meaning the agents would receive a higher commission than the amount Wachovia generally pays. In addition, the seller would receive cash to move.

I called the seller and left a message, saying I had unexpected news for him. When he called me back, I could sense the trepidation in his voice. He admitted that he had a pit in his stomach. But when I told him he would receive $2,500 for moving expenses, he was at a loss for words. "What do I have to do?" he asked, assuming there was a catch. Nothing. Just sign Wachovia's short sale approval letter and close escrow.

This is one very happy short sale seller right now.

---

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

Why Do Military Home Buyers in Sacramento Get the Short End of the Stick With a VA Loan?

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:50:28 -0500

Every so often, I have the pleasure of working with a home buyer who plans to use a VA loan to buy a home in Sacramento. VA buyers aren't as plentiful in the neighborhoods where I primarily work such as Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown Sacramento or East Sacramento, which is why I don't write very many offers for VA buyers.

It's not like it was in the mid-1970s when the odds of writing a VA offer were 1 in 3. I think the last VA buyer I worked with was maybe 2 years ago. And she ended up buying a bank-owned home in Rosemont that had been on the market for about 6 months. Because the VA requires a pest completion (unlike most FHA loans), that transaction was particularly challenging, since the bank initially refused to pay for a clear pest. Throw into it the last remaining funds from a community grant program, unauthorized buyer repairs and a person suffering from a bipolar disorder, let's just say it was an escrow that I was thrilled to see closed.

A disturbing phenomena in Sacramento is the fact that VA home buyers tend to fall to the bottom of a lot of sellers' preference piles. Short and sweet, although unfair, very few sellers want to sell to a VA buyer. Foreclosure flippers may, because the VA doesn't have the 90-day seasoning requirements like FHA, but the truth is many sellers and their listing agents discriminate against VA buyers.

This is how VA buyers rank in priority among many home sellers in Sacramento:

Cash buyers
Conventional buyers
FHA buyers
VA buyers

Why do we treat the men and women who served and perhaps fought for our country like this? Why aren't VA buyers at the top of that list? Their loans are guaranteed by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Now, sellers are prohibited from discriminating against a buyer due to race, religion, color, sex, disability, family status or national origin. Yet, many sellers refuse to accept an offer from a credit-worthy VA buyer.

Against the odds, I found a home in East Sacramento for a VA buyer last weekend. It was on the market for only a week. We asked the seller to pay all of the buyer's closing costs. The negotiations were stressful for the hopeful buyers, but the good news is the sellers accepted the buyers' offer exactly the way I wrote it. It is very likely we will close before November 30th, too, so the buyers may qualify for the first-time home buyer tax credit.

I'd like to suggest that perhaps Sacramento home sellers should reconsider VA buyers and give them priority, especially in a multiple-offer situation. I believe we owe it to ourselves and to our country to elevate these buyers to the status they deserve.

---

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

Home Buying in Sacramento's Tight Real Estate Market and Tips to Win that Offer

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:11:37 -0500

Some home buyers and their buyer's agents have not figured out that the entry-level housing market in Sacramento is a seller's market, not a buyer's market. It's a seller's market because inventory -- the number of homes for sale -- has fallen and the number of buyers has increased. Two years ago, we had 14 months of inventory, meaning it would take 14 months to sell every home that is for sale. Now, we have 2 months of inventory. We had 10,454 homes for sale in September of 2007 in Sacramento County. September of 2009 had 3,243.

As a result, some home buyers are writing offer after offer and getting rejected. Part of the reason that these buyers are unable to buy a home in Sacramento is because they are writing offers on the wrong properties. I hate to say this, but the real estate market in Sacramento is not like a Macy's department store. Buyers can not leisurely stroll among the aisles and select merchandise that suits one's fancy. There is no time to casually drape garments over one's arm and ask to be shown the dressing room.

The Sacramento market is like a spring lingerie sale at Victoria's Secret. This is when underwear is dumped on a table at the front door and customers are grabbing, tugging and pulling on the same pair of panties like crazed maniacs, leaving pawed-through scraps for the rest of us. By the time you fight your way to the table, the only pieces left are large-sized, purple-and-pink-flowered panties. And the waistbands are torn.

Here is how I am getting my Sacramento home buyers into escrow:

Before showing property, I check with the listing agents. I ask how many offers the agent has received and whether there is anything I should know about the property or the sellers that is not noted in MLS. I'm looking for seller motivation. I know that some other agents don't do this because every day I receive a report on my listings. This report shows who has accessed the lockboxes on my Sacramento short sale listings, and many of those listings are active short contingents, meaning we are in escrow. Those agents don't check with me beforehand.
I look at the tax records to determine how long the seller has owned the property and the likelihood that a lower offer could throw that transaction into short sale status.
I ask listing agents to delay presentation of an offer until my buyer has a chance to view the property. It's better for the agent's seller if the seller has the opportunity to compare 2 offers.
I often eliminate those listings that are priced artificially low with few days on market for my FHA and VA buyers, because I know that competition will be fierce and those buyers are likely to lose out to a cash buyer. Instead, I look for overpriced listings with 30 to 60 days or more on market. I look for that diamond in the rough that nobody else can see.
I write very clean offers, including points specified by the listing agent. I present those offers from a position of strength, highlighting why my buyer's offer should be accepted over another's; moreover, I make the listing agent's job easy. When the listing agent isn't faced with extra work and knows the buyer is well qualified and solid, that alone speaks volumes.

If you're looking for homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, East Sacramento, Midtown, South Land Park, or any of the core areas of Sacramento, give me a ring at 916 233 6759. I'd love to help you with your home buying needs in Sacramento.

---

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

What if You Were in the Shower and a Stranger Entered Your Home Through the Lockbox?

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:06:14 -0500

Usually, the types of phone calls I receive from Sacramento buyer's agents are ripe with questions that are answered in MLS. But I understand that some agents don't print out MLS reports or skim over them so quickly that they miss important data. In an attempt to help them, I generally attach a document to my listings that contains tips on how to write an offer, especially on my short sale listings because there aren't very many Sacramento short sale agents in town.

In the confidential agent remarks, I make reference to the attached document and ask agents to please read it. However, few do. Or if they do read it, the information doesn't seem to register. You can lead a horse to water . . .

Yesterday afternoon an agent called, filled with apologies, repeating over and over that he tried to show a home that had an alarm, and the alarm was going off. He gave me the house number of, let's say, 1234. The house at 1234 is in pending status in MLS. Did the agent mean 1233? I have a listing at 1233 in active short contingent status with an alarm that is vacant, but 1234 is owner occupied.

It appeared that this agent did not know the name of the street. I finally pulled the address out of him and realized the agent had tried to enter my pending short sale listing at 1234. And the alarm was indeed activated.

The scenario most likely played out like this: The agent was showing homes to a buyer on this particular street when the buyer spotted a rogue For Sale sign. That home wasn't on his buyer's tour. So, the buyer asked to see the home. The agent, being unfamiliar with the neighborhood, did not know if the home was a new listing, a foreclosure listing, a short sale listing or even if the home was in pending status.

So, the agent did the unthinkable. Without calling the listing agent or the listing agent's office -- and the phone numbers were clearly visible on the sign -- the agent accessed the lockbox, knocked on the door, got no answer and simply used the key from the lockbox to enter the home. This set off the alarm.

In the interest of time, I gave the agent the cell phone number of the seller. A few minutes later the seller called me, wanting to know why the agent had entered his home without permission. Then he answered his own question, recalling what I had told him when I took the listing. Some buyer's agents don't read MLS. The seller didn't appear upset about it. But what if you were in the shower and somebody walked into your home? Or what if you were, um, otherwise preoccupied? I think I was more disturbed by it than the seller.

Possession of a display key does not give an agent the right to access a lockbox and enter a home without either reading the showing instructions in MLS or calling the listing agent. I'm wondering, maybe I should hide the lockboxes on my pending and contingent listings?

---

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

How About an East Sacramento Listing That is NOT a Short Sale, REO or Flipper?

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 09:23:15 -0500

The file folder for my new listing in East Sacramento is decorated with artwork. I had left it on the coffee table while I walked through this darling 2-bedroom bungalow to do my agent visual inspection. One of the tenant's children used this opportunity to draw on my folder. The tenant was very apologetic, but actually, I think it adds a lot of appeal and character to an otherwise drab file folder.

This very pretty home was built in 1940 and oozes much of the original charm of that period -- scalloped trim work, hardwood floors, contrasting tiled kitchen counters and arched doorways.

Did I mention it is not a short sale, nor a foreclosure or a flipper? It's owned by a regular seller who has equity. There is a fireplace in the living room, a big formal dining room with a vintage light fixture and lots of windows. You'll even find an indoor laundry room, complete with a washer and dryer.

The big back yard features a 2-car garage and a patio with a built-in fireplace / BBQ.

Although the tenants are moving out at the end of October, you can tour this home by appointment on Thursday or Friday of this week, between the hours of 4:30 PM and 7:30 PM. Just call me or your Sacramento buyer's agent for a private showing. My cell is 916.233.6759.

Agents aren't listing very many homes in East Sacramento these days; our inventory is pretty thin. But this is a home that can close by November 30th, so first-time home buyers may qualify to get that home buyer tax credit.

763 53rd Street is offered exclusively by Lyon Real Estate at $329,000.

Elizabeth Weintraub, East Sacramento agent, 916 233.6759.

Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub

---

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

Your Sacramento Short Sale Home is Vulnerable to Vandalism if it's Vacant or Abandoned

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 09:20:43 -0500

There is always a good reason to do a final walk-through before closing escrow. Especially when you're buying a Sacramento short sale home that is vacant. Plus, some banks won't approve short sales if a home has been abandoned.

In one instance, I had a Sacramento short sale that was approved by the first lender but the second lender submitted a condition for approval. The bank said the home must be occupied by the seller. The seller had moved a couple of miles away and refused to move back into the home, not even for 30 days so it could close. The bank's stance was the home had been abandoned, and it would not issue short sale approval on an abandoned home.

The problem with abandoned short sale homes and, for that matter, vacant homes of any nature, is thieves who are looking to make a fast buck seem to target these homes. They break in and cart off appliances, tear out cabinets and light fixtures, and sometimes they vandalize the interior just for the fun of it. I suspect they look them up online, see they are vacant and on the market for months, and figure those homes are ripe for pilfering.

For example, another of my Sacramento short sale listings closed a few days ago. The buyer waited 5 1/2 months for Countrywide to approve the sale. The sellers had sold the home in 2008 on a short sale when it was listed by a different real estate agent. But all those buyers seemed to vanish, the sale was never approved, so the sellers moved out. They hired me in April as their Sacramento short sale agent.

We immediately received a bunch of offers and by May were in escrow as an active short sale contingent. Sent all the paperwork to the bank and submitted monthly financial updates. Unlike a Wachovia short sale, Bank of America (which acquired Countrywide) is as slow as molasses.

After the escrow closed, the buyers did not meet their agent until the following day to get the keys. They discovered upon entrance that the copper plumbing had been ripped out and certain essential items had been stolen. The buyers felt the bank or sellers should be held responsible. However, the bank did not own the home and it no longer belonged to the sellers, either.

This reminds me of a home I sold in the early 1990s. Right after closing took place, during a torrential rainstorm, lightning hit a 100-year-old elm tree in my back yard, split it in two, and it landed on top of my neighbor's garage. It also looked like a cannonball had crashed through my roof and left a gaping hole, probably from hail. Stuff happens. And because it happened after closing, it was the buyers' responsibility.

Nobody knows when this Sacramento short sale was vandalized. I suggested that the buyers file a police report, a thought that hadn't yet occurred to them. I feel very badly for the buyers and their buyer's agent. They waited all this time to buy this home, jumped through a number of hoops to meet lender requirements and were finally handed the keys only to discover their beautiful new home was damaged. It's one of many reasons not to buy a short sale.

---

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

It's Official: I Can No Longer Operate My TV -- But I Can Sell Your Sacramento Short Sale

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:01:26 -0500

In my household, my husband and I do not battle for the TV remote. He can have it. He can have that TV remote and all of its stinkin' little friends, too. It was bad enough when we got TIVO and acquired a new remote -- which somehow was magically programmed into a Universal remote -- I had to write down directions, step-by-step, or I couldn't turn on the TV.

Now that we have purchased a plasma TV, I am not ashamed to admit that I have no idea how to operate it. I come from an era when to change a channel, we had to get our big, fat, lazy butts off the floor and walk across the room to turn the dial. If it rained and reception was poor, we crumpled up aluminum foil and attached it to the rabbit ears. TV was in black and white. We had 4 channels. Our choices were not HBO or Showtime, it was VHF or UHF.

Fast-forward 40 years and you have my 3-year-old niece grabbing the remote to skip over the part of the witch on her bike with Toto in the Wizard of Oz. Kids today are so spoiled. They have no idea how good they have it.

"Does the DVD / VCR stay with the set?" an installer asked yesterday. I have no freakin' idea. Ask my husband. That's his department.

We also have something called Blu-ray, which is supposed to provide superior picture quality. I must say, my eyes popped out of my head as I settled in to watch Ken Burns' National Parks: America's Best Idea. This is a 12-hour, 6-part PBS documentary series directed by Burns. It's part of the reason that we made reservations a year in advance at the Yellowstone Lodge for next fall. Because after people watch this series, it will be almost impossible to get a reservation.

The landscapes are spectacular; the beauty is breathtaking, and the colors are magnificent in Blu-ray. But don't ask me how to turn off the thing much less how to turn up the volume.

I know where my strengths lie. As a Sacramento short sale agent, I list and sell short sales throughout the tri-county area of Sacramento. That I can do. Manage a TV remote, not so much.

As the installer was hooking up our equipment, he overheard me speaking with a client on my cell and must have realized that I sell short sales in Sacramento. He wants to sell his house as a short sale. So I gave him a copy of my book, The Short Sale Savior, and my business card. He's not quite ready to go on the market yet, but when he is, I suspect he will call me.

Photo: Yosemite National Park, Elizabeth Weintraub

---

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.