elizabeth weintraub: Have You An Interesting Short Sale Story to Share for Publication?
- 08/18/08 02:59 AM
As some of you know, I am in contract with a publisher to write a book about Short Sales. My deadline for completion is the end of October, but I am hoping to finish this project sooner. The book will be published in January.If you have an interesting story to share -- whether it's a success story or a nightmare -- I am welcoming contributions to include in my book. If you are a real estate agent, I will give you credit in the book -- your name, company and city -- and disguise those facts that would name an actual … (5 comments)
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elizabeth weintraub: Kitchen Backsplash is Finished. Remodel is Completed.
- 08/12/08 01:35 PM
This job couldn't have started out any worse. I chose marble for the backsplash, and natural stones are not identical to each other, which is what makes them unique. Each has its own qualities and, with this particular type of marble, there are shading differences between the 3 x 12 pieces. Some of the pieces were much darker than the sample I brought home, so the tiler had to hand sort each of them. OK, I asked him to hand sort them. I am so picky, let me say that I would not work for a person like myself if … (18 comments)
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elizabeth weintraub: Does Mikey Like the Kitchen?
- 08/06/08 12:25 PM
I can't believe my husband walked almost two miles toting his luggage and carrying a computer from light rail to our home in Land Park. If it was me in that situation, I would have called a cab. So, he was pretty tired from his trip, dropped his luggage in the living room and headed toward the kitchen.
But wait, I cried, didn't he want to first admire the marvelous pass-through into the living room. He hadn't even noticed it, if you can believe that. "There seems to be a hole," he said.
He walked into the kitchen, eyes widening … (14 comments)
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elizabeth weintraub: Day 15 -- Kitchen Remodel -- It's FINISHED!
- 08/05/08 02:12 PM
Today has been a most excellent day. First, I got a book contract. OK, the downside is it has to be finished by November 1 for publication in January, which means I'll be working like a dog, but hey, I'm organized. Second, I got an offer accepted for a buyer in Midtown. Third, I have an appointment with a new buyer tomorrow morning and a listing presentation tomorrow afternoon. Business is fabulous. But wait, it gets better!
I can crow a little, can't I -- that I finished this kitchen in 15 days? From demo to completion, I suspect I … (20 comments)
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elizabeth weintraub: How Much Would You Pay This Painter? And I use the term "painter" loosely
- 08/05/08 02:36 AM
How much would you pay this slacker? Let me back-track. He came over to begin a job a week ago Saturday that I wanted finished that weekend. This was Day 6 of my Land Park home kitchen remodel. He argued with me because I wanted a primer and two coats of paint when he wanted to do one coat.He hung around for 3 to 4 hours, taping things off and making a general mess of stuff, including painting over the door trim and baseboards, which I had already painted and finished. Then he abruptly left, promising to return on Monday.
… (23 comments)
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elizabeth weintraub: Day 14 of Kitchen Remodel: Counter Tops Installed
- 08/04/08 02:27 PM
The counter top dudes were right on time this morning. Laid cardboard all over the kitchen floor and drop cloths from the door to the kitchen. They started in cutting the plywood and screwing it into place. After they finished with the screws, one of the guys grabbed a sander and started grinding out half-moon circles around the screw holes, which caused sparks to fly everywhere. It looked like the Fourth of July in the kitchen.
I had to double check the refrigerator to make sure there were no burn marks on it from the sparks.
Somehow, through all the … (9 comments)
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elizabeth weintraub: Kitchen Remodel Day 12 and Day 13
- 08/03/08 12:18 PM
Many people don't know I wear contacts. That's because until I turned 40, I never needed vision correction. But that darn newspaper print kept getting smaller, and I could no longer read the fine print on the back of cans of paint. Oh, sure, I tried bifocals, but I don't like them. As a result, I wear monovision, with one contact lens at a plus 375 and the other is for distance at plus 125. If I'm not wearing my contacts, I do use reading glasses -- which is what I was wearing while lying in bed this morning to … (16 comments)
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elizabeth weintraub: Day 12 Kitchen Remodel - Some Appliance Installs & Backsplash Chosen
- 08/01/08 03:17 PM
My day started off really crummy. After I booted up my Mac, I opened Parallels to check MLS. Staring me in the face was a screen asking me to reinstall Windows XP. See, this is why I despise Windows. Since I didn't have time to work myself up in lather over the reinstall, I booted up my PC laptop. It asked to verify Windows XP. Call me silly, but I see a pattern there. Perhaps I forgot to update something. I verified my Windows XP and, during the start-up phase, my screen turned into a bunch of scribbly lines. Shut … (12 comments)
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elizabeth weintraub: Day 11 - Kitchen Remodel: Hardware & Range Hood
- 07/31/08 03:16 PM
The hardware installers showed up on time this morning. The guy who does it is also the demo guy. I wasn't sure I wanted a demo guy drilling delicate holes and trying to make my door pulls plumb and spaced correctly. To me, it seemed like that sort of job as compared to bashing holes in walls required conflicting skill sets. But the Kitchen Design Center swore he would do a good job or they would buy new cabinet doors.
When he arrived, I said, "Hey, your referrers said you never mess up and you always do a perfect … (20 comments)
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elizabeth weintraub: Day 10 Kitchen Remodel - Painting is Finished - Sink Cabinet Cut
- 07/30/08 02:06 PM
I called in a favor from my favorite painting company last night, and the owner sent over two painters this morning at the crisp hour of 7:45 AM. In fact, I was just out of the shower when he called my cell, wanting to know why I didn't answer the door.
His painters were marvelous. Two great 20-year-veterans of the business, Chris and Barbara. I think Barbara might buy a home soon -- after I armed with her enough information and yakked her ear off about the opportunities for buying homes in Land Park and other neighborhoods in Sacramento. … (9 comments)
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elizabeth weintraub: How Do Cats Survive a Remodel? Take a Look at Pia!
- 07/30/08 02:02 AM
I have 3 cats. Or rather, 3 cats own me. One has kidney disease, and he just turned 17. He's a grumpy old cat, but I love him to pieces. He was flown to Sacramento from Minneapolis, and he almost missed the flight because ground temperatures can't exceed maximums on arrival, and we all know hot Sacramento can be in the summer. He's lived here six years now.The other two are Ocicats. I got Pica from a breeder in Orange County. She was ready to let him go because he was marbled, and only spotted Ocicats can be shown. I … (13 comments)
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elizabeth weintraub: Day 9 of Kitchen Remodel - No Painter, No Surprise
- 07/29/08 02:50 PM
The countertop guy came back today to measure again because he was wrong yesterday. When I examined the spots he marked for me to cut on the front of the cabinet, I realized his math was off. So, I made him come back out. Turns out I was right. Which is kinda scary when you think about it because if I hadn't double-checked his math, my countertops would not fit my cabinets -- not to mention, I would have totally screwed up my cabinet base.
The electricians came and finished up the trim work. They were a bit astonished to … (19 comments)
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elizabeth weintraub: Kitchen Sink Dilemma - Day 8 of Kitchen Remodel
- 07/29/08 05:33 AM
The countertop dude came yesterday to measure for the installation of the Quartz Cambria counters. I had considered granite, but it's so trendy and doesn't appear to be as strong as the quartz. First thing the guy said was "Whoa, your base cabinet is 32 inches and your sink is 33-inches." Well, I told the cabinet designers my sink was 33-inches!! "It won't fit," he declared. My heart sank. So, I asked the obvious question: How can we make it fit?
By cutting the cabinet on the sides. The front needs to be cut anyway, because I bought a farmhouse-style … (11 comments)
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elizabeth weintraub: Day 7: More Cabinets = Less Storage Space
- 07/28/08 04:39 PM
I spent most of Sunday putting away dishes and pans -- and god knows what we have collected over the years -- into some sort of semblance in our new cabinets. We have more cabinets than we've had before, but less space. Know why? Because the old cabinets were like big boxes, and you could cram stuff into every corner. Land Park homes have a lot of original cabinets that are spacious. The new cabinets come with sensible pull-out drawers, the things they can charge extra for. And they take up valuable space.Fortunately, I found a spot for everything, even if … (11 comments)
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elizabeth weintraub: The Only Thing Better Than Installing Cabinets is When Countertops Arrive
- 07/26/08 03:58 AM
Of course, I have a week to wait for that. The countertops won't be installed until August 4. But the cabinets are in. Whew. It was no easy job.First, the diagram given to the cabinet installers differed than the diagram I agreed upon in one small but important way. The microwave was to be installed at the entry to the family room and NOT to the right of the floor-to-ceiling cabinet. I noticed the installer had them switched.He showed me the drawing he had and, sure enough, it was transposed. That meant the side of the lower microwave cabinet was … (16 comments)
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elizabeth weintraub: Home Inspections -- Where Do You Draw the Line on Repair Requests?
- 07/25/08 11:47 AM
Much of what I advise home buyers depends on the price and terms under which they purchased a home. Not every aspect of real estate has a cookie-cutter answer. If you're buying an REO, for example, only an extreme health and safety code violation will generally persuade a lender to agree to a Request for Repair and, even then, odds are the answer might be "no."If you're buying a home way under market value, again, a seller might say "no."If you're buying a short sale home, the answer is almost invariably "no."But if you're buying a home from an individual seller … (16 comments)
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elizabeth weintraub: Down to the Wire: Cabinets Arrive Tomorrow
- 07/24/08 12:55 PM
It's been an exciting day. First, I threw on my sweaty old cut-offs and t-shirt from yesterday, pulled my hair back in a tangled mess and dashed out the door at 6:25 AM. I had to meet a home inspector at 6:30 and let him in to inspect a home in Land Park for my buyers. Riverside Boulevard was backed up, bumper-to-bumper cars, so I took a shortcut zig-zagging through the neighborhood. Jumped out of my car, grabbed my display key and headed for the lockbox. Oh, I had a few showings yesterday, my key said. Hmmm. No time to think … (19 comments)
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elizabeth weintraub: Today I Love My Contractors to Itsy Bitsy Pieces
- 07/24/08 06:51 AM
Day 2 -- Electricians, Plumbers and FramersPut a power tool in a framer's hand and wield that power tool with authority, and I swoon. There is something remarkably appealing about a young man clasping a reciprocating saw tightly in his left hand with his right forefinger firmly depressing the power button as he masterfully cuts a perfectly straight line through the wall. But, sshh, don't tell my husband.We now have a 36-inch wide by 30-inch high pass-through in the wall to the living room. I've been talking about cutting a hole in the wall for the past six years. My husband … (5 comments)
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elizabeth weintraub: Don't Assume That Professionals Know What They Are Doing
- 07/22/08 02:19 AM
The cats are very upset. Everything is not where it's supposed to be. Not to mention, two of them were locked in the bedroom all day yesterday. The other cat spends most of his time in a 4 x 4 pen because he has kidney disease, plus a touch of senioritis. He was pretty oblivious to the goings and comings around him. After all, he had cat food, clean water, fresh litter and occasional pets. He was in seventh heaven.Which is where I wished I could be. But not. You see, you absolutely cannot do a major home remodel and … (12 comments)
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elizabeth weintraub: Being Prepared Means More Than Showing Up on Time
- 07/21/08 04:24 AM
I would not walk into a listing presentation without a properly prepared CMA, which includes not only the active listings that will compete with this home, but data on the pending sales (even though they have not yet sold, I can generally weasel the price out of the listing agents) and, of course, the sold comparables. I adjust each comparable by adding or subtracting values to arrive at a price in line with the subject property. I also pull the expireds, canceled and withdrawn listings. By the time I sit down with the seller, I am fully prepared to discuss … (11 comments)
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As some of you know, I am in contract with a publisher to write a book about Short Sales. My deadline for completion is the end of October, but I am hoping to finish this project sooner. The book will be published in January.If you have an interesting story to share -- whether it's a success story or a nightmare -- I am welcoming contributions to include in my book. If you are a real estate agent, I will give you credit in the book -- your name, company and city -- and disguise those facts that would name an actual … (5 comments)
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