sacramento real estate: The Number One Rule of Sacramento Real Estate - 06/05/13 10:31 AM
Why is it that the most important rule in real estate is so often overlooked? You know what I'm talking about; I don't even have to say it, but I will: location, location, location. Part of the reason buyers overlook this is most likely due to emotional attachments. They love the interior of the home so much that they forget where the exterior of the home is located. Or, it might be the time of year that disguises what's around the corner or lurking up the street. Or ignorance, maybe nobody told the buyer that rows upon rows of low-income housing … (4 comments)

sacramento real estate: A Crazy Busy Saturday in Sacramento Real Estate - 06/01/13 10:13 AM
There are real estate agents in Sacramento who I have heard tell sellers that the sellers should not hire me because this Sacramento real estate agent is too successful. I know this because sellers have told me that. Which is a very ridiculous comment to make. Either the agents who say that are not busy and wish that they were, or they have no idea how to create and organize a schedule like I do so they can be effective as I am. Or, maybe it's both, hard to say.
I juggle a lot. But I don't take on more business … (8 comments)

sacramento real estate: But Wait, I'm Not Done Spinning Straw Into Gold - 05/16/13 07:42 AM
I have to talk about some of the transactions in Sacramento that I do because, well, some of them are pretty darn unbelievable. I look back at them and I can't believe I did it. Plus, they make for interesting stories, if you're a person who enjoys reading about real estate. I am constantly amazed at all the people who like to read about Sacramento real estate. I would think that if you were not in the business yourself or not buying or selling a home that real estate would be kind of a boring topic for you, but I guess … (8 comments)

sacramento real estate: When Should an Agent Offer Constructive Criticism to Another? - 03/30/13 10:26 AM
I love to give my clients help when staging a home and getting it ready for the market. That's one of the things I do really well. I can envision how a home should look and what will give it its greatest appeal. Not every home needs to be staged, and if it doesn't, I tell them that, too. I find myself to be brutally honest because, as I believe Mark Twain said, then you don't have to remember what you said. Plus, it makes me feel good about myself to be honest. I could not imagine being any other way. … (6 comments)

sacramento real estate: How High Do You Go in Sacramento to Buy a House? - 03/11/13 08:56 AM
How high do you go in Sacramento to buy a house? How high do you go in Sacramento to price a house? These are very difficult times in Sacramento real estate because prices and appraisers and sellers and buyers and real estate agents **everybody** is all over the board.
It's like ants running everywhere instead of marching in a straight line.
I see the Sacramento Bee publishing a press release from Lyon Real Estate almost verbatim instead of actually reporting the news. What kind of reporting is that? Oh, wait, it's the advertising page of the Saturday newspaper. But the fact … (3 comments)

sacramento real estate: A Sacramento Real Estate Agent Talks About Road Rage and Real Estate - 03/10/13 09:50 AM
I spotted an odd car yesterday on the 99 freeway while coming back from Elk Grove. It had a back window covered in lettering. I don't know how the driver could even see out of his window with all the writing on it. It was hard to make out, but it looked like the car belonged to an insurance agent because I could kind of see the logo about fire, homeowners and life insurance -- I'm so glad I am not in that business. The phone number was at the bottom, but my car sits kind of low to the ground … (2 comments)

sacramento real estate: What Do You Feel About An Agent's Communication and Service Skills? - 01/23/13 06:36 AM
One of the things that I read in my client reviews over and over about this Sacramento real estate agent is how much my clients value my communication and service skills. They are blown away that I respond quickly to their needs.
Little do they know that I provide that kind of service because if I didn't take care of them right then and there, I might forget and, if I forgot, I would have to shoot myself in the head because that would be inexcusable behavior.
I haven't forgotten anybody yet. And it's gonna stay that way.
Read more in … (6 comments)

sacramento real estate: How to Tell Which Neighborhood in Sacramento is Right for Home Buying - 01/05/13 09:55 AM
The way that I can tell when a vacation is coming to an end is not by the calendar. It's not by the way my pants no longer want to fasten. Hey, just yesterday I zipped up those jeans and today it seems to be stuck. I think my pants shrunk in the humidity.
Nope, the way I tell that a vacation is about to come to an end is the number of my daily multiple vitamins begins to dwindle. When I run out of vitamins, I will be sitting in my own kitchen retrieving them from the bottle I keep … (4 comments)

sacramento real estate: The Hobbit Movie Gave Me Two More Reasons to Buy a Sacramento Home - 12/17/12 07:43 AM
Even if you've read the book cover to cover a million times, I think you will still enjoy the movie, The Hobbit. Especially if you get a chance to see it in Sacramento in 3D and high-speed. The guy at the ticket counter at Century Stadium in Sacramento gave us a little pre-rehearsed speech about how high-speed film can make people dizzy and sick, and I asked if he's had complaints. Nope, he just thought we ought to know. Yeah, right. But the movie was enjoyable. Even if it was annoyingly long.
The Hobbit, in reflection, also gave me two more … (6 comments)

sacramento real estate: Don't Cry for Me Argentina or How to Complete Seller Disclosures - 12/07/12 07:09 AM
I tell all of my sellers in Sacramento to disclose. Disclose everything. Don't hold anything back. And I go into great detail about how to complete the seller disclosures. I explain how buyers rarely even read them because they're signing a big ol' pile of papers either before or after a home inspection, and they're just so danged excited to be buying a home in Sacramento that you can tell them anything at this point, and they won't question it. They're too busy figuring out where to put the Christmas tree or what color to paint the bath.
But I also … (5 comments)

sacramento real estate: There is No Wouldja Couldja Didja - 11/20/12 08:09 AM
We'll ask a buyer's agent politely but if an agent's buyer fails to perform, we're not gonna be very happy about it. Just because I'm a Sacramento real estate agent doesn't mean I can't play nicely in the sandbox. Hey, I know what side my bread is buttered on, and I'm always very happy to work with an agent who is working. I'm not so happy to work with Sacramento agents who aren't working, with those who ignore our requests to perform.
Agents sometimes think it's something personal, when there is nothing further from the truth. It's never personal. It's always … (7 comments)

sacramento real estate: What is the Most Important Thing for a Sacramento Real Estate Agent? - 11/12/12 07:16 AM
My goal in selling Sacramento real estate is not, surprisingly, to make a big whopping pile of money. Most people think that's the reason we real estate agents sell real estate. Compensation is a component, but it's more of an after fact than a motivating factor. It's the result of customer satisfaction.
Making my clients happy is my number one goal of being a Sacramento real estate agent. It's the butter on my bread. And I know which side of my bread is buttered. The side that will fall to the floor if dropped. Ick, cat hair all over that bread.
… (5 comments)

sacramento real estate: A Sacramento Real Estate Agent Should Not Send a Buyer Out Alone - 09/30/12 07:29 AM
A Sacramento real estate agent asked me yesterday if he could send buyers to see a home by themselves, without him as an escort. He said he had something else incredibly important to do, I imagine, so he could not personally show the home to his buyers. You know, when I'm so busy or otherwise engaged that I can't provide quality service to my client, I arrange for somebody else to do it. Another Sacramento real estate agent.
Most Sacramento real estate agents would never send a buyer over to a home without the agent being present. Buyers deserve representation and … (10 comments)

sacramento real estate: Turn of Events for Sacramento Real Estate - 09/08/12 06:48 AM
It's finally happened in my world in the Sacramento real estate market. I've been watching, watching, watching, and up until now have not seen it. Oh, I've read the reports that show the median sales price inching upward but that doesn't mean a whole heck of a lot in the overall scheme of things. Prices can easily fluctuate, especially on a per-square-foot basis, from month to month. Some of it is seasonal. Some of it depends on inventory numbers. People forget that when you are comparing 3 homes, the median price is always the middle.
I am also seeing a big … (2 comments)

sacramento real estate: Meet the Elizabeth Weintraub Team - 08/26/12 08:17 AM
Some people have noticed that I have a new logo. Others have noticed that I have a new website. Even some of my Sacramento clients have contacted me to say how much they like my new website at elizabethweintraub.com.
Yes, it astonishes me to know that people who no longer do business with me because I've sold their home or whatever still are interested in what I have to say. I don't know why, really. I talk a lot about Sacramento short sales, which make up more than half of my real estate business in Sacramento. I did not know that … (9 comments)

sacramento real estate: A Tip for Getting the Edge When Buying Homes in Sacramento - 08/03/12 06:16 AM
In this Sacramento real estate market, it doesn't matter how many offers the seller has received. Yet, agents continue to call and ask that question. Why doesn't it matter? Because any well priced home will be sold within hours if not within days of hitting the market. If a listing agent doesn't have an offer when the buyer's agent calls, you can bet an offer is on its way. Maybe 10 or 20 offers are in the works. It just doesn't matter.
What does matter is how strong is your purchase offer? How well written is your offer? Have you included … (6 comments)

sacramento real estate: It Takes How Many Sacramento Real Estate Agents to Change Light Bulbs? - 08/02/12 07:45 AM
How many Sacramento real estate agents does it take to change a light bulb? None. They are confident the electricity will be restored soon. There is a lot of hoopla going on in the industry at the moment as home buyers fight over what little inventory we have left.
I try to prepare my sellers for the onslaught of activity the minute their home hits the market, because the Sacramento real estate market is really in a frenzy. I tell them how sorry I am for all the phone calls and traffic, but to hang tight because we'll probably be in … (7 comments)

sacramento real estate: Can a Seller Cancel a Short Sale After Lender Approval? - 07/28/12 07:29 AM
I tell Sacramento sellers upfront that when they sign a listing agreement with me, I will release them if they change their mind. I am not one of those Sacramento real estate agents who will hold a seller hostage against the seller's will. It's pointless to do. It's bad for my public image, and it's bad for the seller; there is no win-win in holding a gun to a seller's head. Sometimes, sellers have a change of heart, cold feet, whatever, and that's OK.
I recall a few years ago a seller crying after signing a purchase contract. I had sold … (12 comments)

sacramento real estate: Is That an Escrow In Your Pocket or Are You Just Happy to See Me? - 07/26/12 07:33 AM
I was interviewed by Reuters a few weeks ago for an article about short sales. Linda Stern did a piece about a rush of short sales this summer. There is a rush going on in our Sacramento real estate market, all righty, but it's the rush to buy, not a rush of inventory. All of a sudden, home buyers have awakened from their Rip Van Winkle slumber to discover holy moley! Prices are affordable! Interest rates are 3.5%! It's time to buy!
Except, there is nothing to buy. Ain't that the way it goes in life?
We have less than one … (13 comments)

sacramento real estate: Retrospect Can Prepare an Agent for the Future - 07/24/12 07:24 AM

On the way out of the town of Nederland, heading down Highway 119 toward Boulder, is the Barker Dam. The dam holds water in the Barker Reservoir. There are not as many cars pulled over at that stretch of road. Not like you'll find further down where there's fishing in Boulder Creek or hiking paths or Boulder Falls. But there is a view at that spot looking back at Nederland across the water. It's a clear view of the town nestled in the valley. It's a view in retrospect.
As a visitor, you probably don't think to stop and shoot … (8 comments)

 
Elizabeth Weintraub, Sacramento Short Sale Agent, Land Park, East Sac, Lyon RE (Top 1% at Lyon Real Estate #00697006) Rainmaker_large

Elizabeth Weintraub, Sacramento Short Sale Agent, Land Park, East Sac, Lyon RE

Sacramento, CA

More about me…

Top 1% at Lyon Real Estate #00697006

Address: 2801 J Street, Sacramento, CA, 95816

Office Phone: (916) 233-6759

Cell Phone: (916) 233-6759

Email Me

Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate, midtown Sacramento. Selling since 1974. Home Buying Guide at About.com. Sacramento short sale agent.
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Author Bio: Elizabeth Weintraub is a Sacramento real estate broker, author, home buying guide for About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park 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 closes short sales throughout Sacramento four-county area. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you.

 


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