buy a home: Should You Buy a Sacramento Home You Don't Like? - 10/04/14 01:23 AM
When I asked an agent why her buyer had submitted an offer below the comparable sales, so out of reach with reality, the answer had little to do with any research on market value. It appears that the buyer felt that even though the sales price was already reduced to account for compensating factors, it should be reduced even further because the buyer doesn't like the condition nor the location of the property.
My question is, of course, why is the buyer trying to buy a home in Sacramento that the buyer doesn't like, which, in his mind, has so many … (3 comments)

buy a home: Don't Forget to Buy a Home in Sacramento Today - 08/29/14 12:56 AM
I'm wondering how many home buyers will forget to buy a home today now that the long Labor Day weekend is upon us. It's sort of like people are so busy during the week that they don't have time to pay attention to the important details in their lives such as buying a home in Sacramento.
They reach that slap-the-forehead moment as they're about to leave the house, hands resting on the door knobs, wondering if they've got everything attached to their body somewhere and taking mental inventory: Cellphone? Check! Car keys? Check! Sunglasses? Check. Oh, wait, I forgot to buy … (6 comments)

buy a home: Before Buying a Home in East Sacramento - 11/03/13 11:43 PM
I sometimes forget when I'm talking with people I pay for services that they might want to hire me for my services. That's not a good thing to forget about when you're in the business of selling and buying real estate in Sacramento. Because almost every person I meet from any walk of life is in some sort of home buying or home selling situation and, if they're not, they wish they were.
As any Sunday Open House attendee can tell you, all it takes is that wish to buy or sell a home, and before you know it, it's happening. … (5 comments)

buy a home: How Old Should You Be When You Buy Your First Home? - 06/11/13 04:32 AM
I am at a loss as to why all the parents out there right now are not encouraging their children to buy a home. Especially to buy a home in Sacramento, which is enjoying very affordable prices, even though the market is in a frenzy. Interest rates are beginning to inch up a little bit. We saw signs of this last week, and they are trending upwards. Those below-4% rates might not be available for very long, but even 4% is still a darn good interest rate! It costs more to rent a home today than it does to buy it.
(7 comments)

buy a home: Is This a Good Time to Buy in Sacramento? - 01/20/13 01:31 AM
"Did I miss the boat?" asked a home buyer in Sacramento yesterday. She had apparently called me over the holidays when I was in French Polynesia, and she had received my voice mail that gave her several other phone numbers to call. Except she didn't call them. Now, she knows that I work closely with and completely endorse the agents on the Elizabeth Weintraub Team; it's why they are on my team. Exceptional agents I can count on and trust. Ethical, with integrity and honest. Smart, fun and hardworking. Those are the attributes I look for in the agents I associate … (6 comments)

buy a home: The Time to Think About Selling is When You Buy a Home - 02/26/12 12:06 AM
One of the biggest fears sellers often harbor about short sales is what if it doesn't sell? They have those fears because they are not in real estate. When you're in real estate, like this Sacramento short sale agent, you know that anything will sell if the price is right. Even a flooded-out house with mold the size of basketballs will sell. And yes, I've sold one of those, too.
There are a variety of reasons why a home might take longer than usual to sell, though. These are sometimes the reasons that some sellers don't want to hear because they … (3 comments)

buy a home: If You Believe This, I've Got Some Swamp Land in Florida to Sell You - 02/15/12 01:37 AM
The thing about writing about what really happens to you in your life is you don't have to make up anything. It almost seems like cheating. To just write about crap that happens. No embellishments. But that's why I don't have any problem writing a daily blog or coming up with stuff to write about because life happens every single day, whether or not I agree.
It's tough choosing what to write about. So much goes on. Sometimes, it's the very last thing that happened that sticks in my head, which is what I'm choosing to talk about today. I could … (7 comments)

buy a home: Are Buyer's Agents Allowed to Talk to the Seller? - 02/07/12 01:22 AM
I received an offer last from a buyer's agent for one of my short sale listings in Sacramento. This is a home that just came on the market in a high demand neighborhood. The agent gushed and cooed about how much her buyer loved loved loved this home. He loved it so much that he offered 90% of list price. This is not even worth a comment. But you can't help but figure the agent had a hand in it.
Some agents are struggling with buyers. I hear from those, too. They have a hard time explaining the market. When they … (8 comments)

buy a home: How Do You Cancel a Short Sale Contract in Sacramento? - 01/26/12 03:09 AM
Some buyer's agents do not know that when a buyer and a seller sign a purchase agreement for a short sale listing, they have entered into a binding contract to buy a home. I don't really know why agents often treat a short sale like the red-haired stepchild, but it's a real transaction just like any other real estate transaction.
This means if the buyer elects to cancel, a buyer can do so. The RPA contract put out by C.A.R. is written in favor of buyers. Probably because buyers sue more often than sellers. Sellers are typically happier after closing than … (5 comments)

buy a home: If You're a Buyer for a Short Sale in Sacramento, Come Over and Sit Down By Me - 09/12/11 03:16 AM
Even though I am just a Sacramento short sale agent, I still follow up on my listings after agents show them. That act seems to surprise some buyer's agents. I guess they think a short sale doesn't deserve the same kind of attention that a regular equity listing does, but that's probably why they are buyer's agents and not a Sacramento short sale agent. All sellers deserve follow up. I send feedback -- whether it's good or bad -- just so my sellers know what's going on.
Yesterday, an agent asked me if her buyer could offer substantially less for a … (9 comments)

buy a home: If You Had to Sell Your Wares at a County Fair, What Would You Sell? - 06/29/11 03:00 AM
I recall advice that somebody gave to me years and years ago about handling emotional upsets. Like, say, your partner up and walked out on your relationship. You're angry. You're hurt. You might want to get even. Do something hurtful back. But the advice that was given to me, which I'll pass along to you, is to instead imagine this person in a favorable light. I realize this is unthinkable to some, but just bear with me.
The image was a pink cloud. You could conjure up any happy image you want. So, you plaster this person's face on a pink … (5 comments)

buy a home: Not Every Distressed Sale in East Sacramento Needs to be a Short Sale - 04/28/11 03:44 AM
Early February a seller called to ask if I would mind stopping by her home after hours. It was dark when I arrived. She lived in the back unit of a duplex in East Sacramento. Most entry-level homes in East Sacramento are selling briskly these days as prices have softened a little bit and financing is extremely cheap. It's a good time to buy a home in Sacramento.
This seller bought the duplex several years ago from Fannie Mae. It was a foreclosure home. She had been reading the headlines in the Sacramento Bee about all the foreclosures and short sales … (4 comments)

buy a home: If a Sacramento Agent Tells You To Write Multiple Offers on a Short Sale, Fire That Agent - 02/27/11 03:07 AM
I've had a theory for several years now, sort of lingering in the back of my mind, which I decided to test out this week. It involves buyer's agents who show short sales in Sacramento. See, for a long time now, I've been attaching a tip sheet and seller instructions to MLS for buyer's agents. The primary purpose is to educate buyer's agent, secondary to weed out the loser agents, and it's been working pretty well. I haven't been receiving nearly as many fraudulent and corrupt purchase offers as I used to get on my Sacramento short sales.
My gut instincts … (6 comments)

buy a home: A Turn Key Short Sale in the Elk Grove School District - 01/25/11 02:31 AM
Do you have any idea how difficult it is to type with a squirmy kitten in your lap? I can't let my new kitty, Jackson, run all over the house yet because a) my other cats have not yet adjusted to him and b) he might scoot behind the refrigerator and not come out. He also likes to chew on things. Most recently he tried to gnaw on my printer cable and the charger cable for my Bluetooth. But I am bound and determined, regardless, to tell you about my new short sale listing near Elk Grove in Sacramento.
This 1990-built … (5 comments)

buy a home: There is Grief in a Short Sale - 12/10/10 02:48 AM
I seem to be starting out my mornings by crying. I walk into the family room where my computer is to turn it on and look at the space where my cat's pen used to sit. Brandon's pen took up a lot of the family room because it was four feet by four feet, and this room is only 12 feet wide. But it's better than it was on Wednesday when we had to euthanize him. At least big fat tears aren't dropping everywhere without notice. I'm not breaking down in the middle of the day. It's just mornings. I can … (13 comments)

buy a home: What Can You Buy for $75,000 in Sacramento? - 12/07/10 02:23 AM
Can $75,000 buy you happiness in Sacramento? Yes, says Time magazine. A study by economists, one of whom won a Nobel Prize, shows that people who earn $75,000 or more are happier than people in lower-income categories. I don't know why $75,000 was used as a benchmark, but it's a good number. Good enough that you can buy a home in Sacramento for that amount.
Granted, the home needs a little work. For example, many of the stucco walls are covered in sheets of paneling, which means you'll probably have to pull off the paneling and fix the walls underneath. Or, … (3 comments)

buy a home: I'm Just Sitting Here on the Group W Bench - 12/01/10 01:34 AM
They say the numbers don't lie. But numbers lie all the time. Look at 'em, just sitting there on the page. Lies, all lies. Can't you hear 'em squawking, making promises they can't keep? Why, I'll never leave you, say the zeros. And then they skip town. You can count on me, say the fives, as you watch their backbones crumble and morph into squiggly threes.
The thing is there are a dozen ways to manipulate interpret just about any real estate market report. What do you want it to say? Whether real estate prices in Sacramento are going up or … (8 comments)

buy a home: Who Rules the Home Buying Decision? - 11/26/10 02:29 AM

You know what I hear some Sacramento real estate agents say about buyers? If mama ain't happy, nobody is happy -- meaning it's generally mama who keeps peace in the family. Because if you make mama happy, she'll make everybody else around her happy. And if you don't, she'll make everybody else miserable. So, if mama wants to buy a home, a particular home, maybe a home in Land Park, ya'll better sit up and pay attention.
Except it doesn't always work this way. Sometimes it's daddy who better be kept happy. It's rare that we have a compromise between … (17 comments)

buy a home: Home Buyers, For Crying Out Loud, Don't Show the Seller Your Hand - 09/16/10 02:35 AM
People ask me how I can write a blog every single day. The only answer to that question, really, is that I have thoughts to write about. It generally comes down to choosing among which thoughts to write about -- not whether I have any thoughts. Because sharing experiences, ideas and thoughts with others is something I like to do. But I get a benefit out of blogging as well. I might never know exactly what that benefit is on any given day but I know that I learn, too, by sharing.
For example, a while back I wrote a blog … (12 comments)

buy a home: Do You Spend More Time Buying a Car Than Choosing a Mortgage? - 06/01/10 02:45 AM
A survey released last month by Zillow showed consumers spend more time buying a car than shopping for a mortgage to buy a home. However, when you look closely at that survey, it makes sense. There might be more to buying a car than researching a mortgage. For one thing, you've got to decide on which car to buy. I think consumers start with the manufacturer, then they choose a model and, finally, they select options and discuss delivery dates.
When choosing a mortgage, home buyers are buying a bag of money. All money is the same. It's the cost of … (17 comments)

 
Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Broker, Put 40 years of experience to work for you (Elizabeth Anne Weintraub, Broker)

Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Broker

Put 40 years of experience to work for you

Sacramento, CA

More about me…

Elizabeth Anne Weintraub, Broker

Address: 3620 Fair Oaks Blvd, Sacramento, CA, 95864

Office: (916) 233-6759

Mobile: (916) 233-6759

Broker-Associate at RE/MAX Gold, Midtown and Sierra Oaks Sacramento office. Co-partner Weintraub & Wallace Realtors. Selling since 1974. Homebuying expert at The Balance. Weintraub & Wallace sells homes from Galt to Lincoln.
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Author Bio: Elizabeth Weintraub is a Sacramento real estate broker, author, home buying expert for The Balance, a Land Park resident, who specializes not only in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento but sells extensively from Elk Grove to Lincoln. Weintraub is prominently known as the #1 Sacramento Short Sale agent throughout the Sacramento four-county area. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 40+ years of real estate experience to work for you.



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