land park agent: My Land Park Yard Gets a Makeover -- The Lawn is Gone -- Day 25
- 09/21/09 02:26 AM
Who knew Bermuda grass would be so difficult to kill? Probably everybody but me. When Kevin told me it would take about a month before my new sod would be installed, he was right on the money. This is the time of year that we see many homes in Land Park undergo some type of renovation. Kids are back in school and cooler weather arrives -- although the highs predicted for early this week (low 90s) are still pretty warm. Kevin arrived bright and early Sunday morning with his team and sod cutter. After spraying the lawn with RoundUp on 3 … (10 comments)
land park agent: Home Sellers May Want to Look at the Sacramento Market Through Buyers' Eyes
- 09/16/09 02:23 AM
A reporter from CNBC called me yesterday to talk about selling your home in today's real estate market. She said I blew her away. She had no idea the market in Sacramento was so wild. We talked about home staging, home pricing and home marketing. Apparently, CNBC is doing some sort of fall special promotion about home selling. She primarily wanted to talk about preparing your home for sale. But I focused on pricing because pricing is key. Basically, I explained if a buyer walks into the home and asks: does anybody lives here? -- then it's staged correctly. But the … (7 comments)
land park agent: Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures Among Sacramento Agents
- 09/14/09 02:17 AM
Retail stores have been hit so hard by this down economy that some retail establishments are offering discounts on top of discounts without the customer asking for it. I dragged my husband to Macy's at the Sacramento Downtown Plaza this weekend to look at sofas and rugs. Since my little fiasco with the nail polish last week, we've decided to replace not only our family room area rug but also the sofa. For good measure, I'm throwing in a plasma TV and new surround system, too. He's lucky that I'm not planning to install a skylight, but don't for a moment … (14 comments)
land park agent: Land Park Agent and Zuma Master Meets Zuma Novice at Level 5-3
- 09/13/09 02:32 AM
One of the things I really like about taking a Sacramento short sale listing is the fact that few sellers expect a listing presentation. Even when I list homes in Land Park, for example -- in situations where sellers are generally not upside down -- many of those sellers follow the market so closely that they have no interest in examining the comparable sales. Some Land Park home owners don't even want to hear about my marketing plan -- they simply want me to help them stage the home, price it competitively and get it sold. So, that's what I do. … (8 comments)
land park agent: How Do You Keep Weeds Out of Your Lawn in Land Park?
- 09/12/09 01:41 AM
The last time it rained in Sacramento this year was probably in May, but I would not be surprised if it rained this morning. I can see lightning to the west, and the breezes abruptly changed from an almost uncomfortable and muggy heat to much cooler air over the past hour. Plus, dark clouds are rolling in. That may be good news to some in Sacramento but it's not to me because I don't need rain at the moment on my lawn. We're trying to kill our lawn. It looks like a desert right now, brown and crunchy. Kevin, our landscaping … (9 comments)
land park agent: How Do You Get Nail Polish Off a Cat?
- 09/11/09 01:51 AM
Perhaps it's a Midwestern thing, dating back to my childhood in Minnesota. Whenever my mother needed something in a hurry, she would send us kids down to what she called the "corner grocery store." The store was not located on a corner and was about a mile from our house. But wherever we lived in Minneapolis, the neighborhood always had a corner grocery store where we could go for emergency supplies. I have a corner grocery store near my home in Land Park, too. This store is even located on a corner. It's closer than driving to Walgreens on Broadway. I … (21 comments)
land park agent: Keys, Keys, Why Aren't the Keys in the Lockbox at Closing?
- 09/09/09 02:07 AM
When I closed escrow on my home in Land Park, the listing agent forgot about the lockbox on my railing. He never came over to pick it up. So, after a month or so, I hauled out my trusty reciprocating saw and cut it off the rail. Just in case you ever have to do this, let me tell you that the shackle steel is really hard, and it can take a long time to cut through it. Most of the time, when escrows close in Sacramento, the listing agent immediately removes the lockbox. If the buyer's agent doesn't pick up … (14 comments)
land park agent: The Direction Your Home Faces in Land Park Can Make a Difference to You
- 09/07/09 02:44 AM
When I counsel home buyers for Land Park, I typically ask them which direction they prefer their home to face. Much of the time, they look at me like I'm looney. Then it hits them, yes, the direction a home faces is a preference. In the northern hemisphere, southern exposure gets the most sun, even though the sun moves from east to west. But the way the streets are laid out in Sacramento, especially in the core areas close to downtown such as Midtown, Land Park and Curtis Park, many streets run east and west. This means most of the homes … (9 comments)
land park agent: Did a Sacramento Escrow Company Make a Mistake on Your Closing Statement?
- 09/04/09 02:12 AM
Everybody knows that Sacramento service providers are cutting back on staff, due to the depressed economy. Sacramento title and escrow companies are no exception. The problem that arises is many escrow officers are handling twice, maybe three times, the workload. When you're overworked, you're bound to make errors. I was auditing a file last night that is due to close next week, comparing the estimated closing statement to the purchase contract. The buyer's loan amount was wrong. Although we haven't yet signed loan docs, I suspect the loan documents that were submitted to escrow were incorrect. This would fall on the … (7 comments)
land park agent: Standing Water and Oak Floors Just Don't Mix
- 09/02/09 01:17 AM
At least now I know where my housekeeper vacuums. Around objects. She doesn't move them. I'm not at home when she shows up for work, so I see only the end result. I moved a planter yesterday and found it was stuck to my wool rug. That was weird. I gave it a little tug and it came free. A chunk of wool was stuck to the bottom of my planter and left a bare spot in the rug. There was an ugly ring where the planter had been sitting. That spot was crusty. I peeled back the rug from the … (14 comments)
land park agent: The Walkway for my Home in Land Park is Now Completed
- 08/28/09 02:12 AM
Today is my 10th wedding anniversary. Every year my husband and I celebrate by giving each other traditional gifts. It's something goofy that we do just for the fun of it. The idea is that the gifts should not be really expensive, but something that we'll look at when we're 90 and say: "Where did that thing come from?" Just kidding. For our 4th anniversary -- which is flowers, btw -- I gave my husband a rose bush. Lots of the homes in Land Park have showcase rose gardens. Planted it in the middle of our rose garden in the … (13 comments)
land park agent: My Land Park Yard Gets a Makeover -- New Sod and Walkway -- Day 1
- 08/26/09 01:37 AM
My work days lately have been brutal and long. It's that first-time home buyer tax credit that is partly responsible for fueling the unrelenting activity in Sacramento's real estate market, so I often find myself doing 3 things at once, on top of balancing new projects. An agent called yesterday about one of my short sale listings. He said his buyer was in Spain, but I heard him say that his buyer was insane. "Yeah, yeah, to some extent they all are," I replied. No, he really is in Spain. "Oh, I believe you, buyers are crazy mad," I laughed. The … (9 comments)
land park agent: The Number of Home Sales in Land Park and Curtis Park Rise in July
- 08/23/09 02:35 AM
Almost every home buyer I run into wants to live in either Land Park or Curtis Park. We've got tree-canopied streets, a gorgeous park, shopping, restaurants, a movie theater, friendly neighbors and we can walk to downtown or Midtown Sacramento. Who wouldn't want to live in Land Park or Curtis Park? That sentiment is most likely reflected in the rising home sales, too. The number of homes sold in 95818 for the month of July has shot up 85.7% over a year ago. Last July, only 14 homes sold in 95818. This July, the number of sold homes is 26. Interesting, … (6 comments)
land park agent: Releasing Contingencies in the Sacramento Market is Risky for Shaky Buyers
- 08/20/09 02:29 AM
Because of HVCC, some buyers are standing on shaky ground if they release contingencies. It's considered typical practice due to standard verbiage in the C.A.R. purchase contract to release contingencies on the 17th day after contract acceptance. Of course, there is a box to check that leaves the loan contingency in place until close of escrow, but try checking that box and see how far you get with the seller. So, most buyers are under the gun to perform all inspections and firm up their loans within 17 days. The problem that can pop up in this market is when the … (6 comments)
land park agent: Some Sacramento School Districts Post Daily Test Scores and Homework Online
- 08/11/09 02:36 AM
One of my Land Park buyers is a school teacher, and yesterday was the first day of school for him. Because of the state of our budget in California, many school teachers are receiving pink slips, but fortunately he wasn't one of them. He's buying a home in Land Park very close to William Land Park, and the home is loaded with character. But more about that in a moment. He told me something I could not believe. Well, maybe most of you already know this, but I don't have any kids and haven't stepped foot in a school classroom for … (2 comments)
land park agent: House Hunters in Sacramento Day 2: Room Tone, Music to My Ears
- 08/07/09 01:35 AM
The order in which we film the show for House Hunters is not necessarily the order in which the homes are viewed on TV. In fact, I have no idea how each of the homes we are filming will appear, whether you'll see home #1 as home #3 or vice versa. But I do believe that viewers will have a difficult time figuring out which home these Natomas buyers actually purchased. I opened the home in Natomas early yesterday because I am supposed to meet with the producers about an hour before the buyers get there. That's to give them time … (10 comments)
land park agent: This Land Park Short Sale Home Was Approved By the Short Sale Bank in 26 Days
- 07/24/09 01:28 AM
Every day in this business holds new surprises in store for a Sacramento short sale agent. I'm old enough to understand that I can never underestimate what may happen. But nevertheless, I was still astonished when that short sale approval letter popped out of my FAX machine on Monday, 26 days after the file had been submitted to the lender. Now, that's a home run! This Land Park home had been for sale for less than a week by the time we had received 3 solid offers. The sellers chose the offer they liked best, and authorized me to send … (9 comments)
land park agent: What Caused the Power Surge in Land Park This Morning?
- 07/22/09 01:47 PM
I always get up early. I like the peace and quiet in the morning. No phones ringing, no emails coming in, just a nagging cat wanting to know when he's going to get fed and he eventually gives up and goes back to sleep. Even the birds are silent before the sun comes up. This morning, about 6:30 AM, I was sitting at my computer typing away when all of a sudden I heard this loud crack and ping. Everything electrical in the room where my home office is located went out. I didn't notice it because my eyes were glued … (8 comments)
land park agent: If You Live in Land Park, You Should Become a Member of the Land Park Community Association
- 07/20/09 04:26 PM
We are so lucky in Land Park that our community association, the LPCA, has expanded its member directors. We've grown to 15 board members to better represent the people of Land Park. The LPCA hosts BBQ family-style annual picnics in the park, as well as dedicating itself to addressing the concerns of such matters as the Sacramento park funding crisis, improvement projects and public safety. Membership for Land Park residents is only $15 a year. Membership entitles Land Park residents, which includes homeowners and tenants alike, to crime report roundables, help with Land Park neighborhood watch programs and assistance with National … (1 comments)
land park agent: This Is Not My Beautiful Land Park Home, Cried the Buyers
- 07/19/09 02:39 AM
As we turned west from Land Park Drive onto a lovely winding street south of Vallejo Way yesterday, I pointed out the home second from the corner that had been updated. That home is one of the most remarkable remodels I've ever seen in Land Park. Without changing the square footage of the home, the buyers had transformed that home from a 2 bedroom into a fabulous showcase with a master suite. I didn't even recognize it after the renovations. It sold in 2006 in the mid-500s as a fixer and flipped the following year for about $750,000. When I show … (14 comments)
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. <
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.
Who knew Bermuda grass would be so difficult to kill? Probably everybody but me. When Kevin told me it would take about a month before my new sod would be installed, he was right on the money.
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