short sale approval: 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)

short sale approval: This Is Why Your Neighbor's For Sale Sign Is Falling Over - 07/04/12 08:03 AM
Neighbors wonder what's going on when For Sale signs stay forever in the yard. What's wrong with that Sacramento short sale? Because of the changing demographics in neighborhoods over the past 5 to 7 years, many neighbors don't know each other anymore. So, they can only speculate what's happening in their community, especially among the short sales and foreclosures.
The truth is there is probably nothing wrong with that short sale house. People might think it's the bank that is being stubborn when it's just as likely to be the buyer who is causing the problem. How do I know this? … (9 comments)

short sale approval: You Might Pay a Price for that Short Sale - 06/26/12 07:06 AM
You either like snakes or you don't. I'm not fond of slithering. I once came across a snake in my yard when I lived in Minneapolis, and I grabbed the garden hose and sprayed it into oblivion. My sister, on the other hand, loves reptiles. She keeps frozen mice in the freezer for her snake. When it comes feeding time, she drops the frozen little ball into warm water to thaw. Then she blow dries the mouse with a hair blowdryer.
If I had a snake, it would starve.
I'm not willing to go through that much work to raise a … (4 comments)

short sale approval: Guns Don't Kill People, Home Buyers With Guns Kill People - 05/24/12 06:40 AM
You might be wondering about the real estate market in Sacramento. The truth is it's way better to be a seller in Sacramento right now than to be a buyer. But that doesn't mean if you're a seller and a buyer that you're hosed. Be happy that you're not living in New Delhi where the monkeys are running wild in the streets, biting people and snatching bags from people's hands. Authorities have trapped something like 13,000 monkeys since 2007. Although I can certainly see the comparison to home buying and selling in Sacramento. It's a crazy market. Too bad we can't … (5 comments)

short sale approval: Banks Rarely Reject a Short Sale Due to No Hardship - 05/18/12 07:05 AM
You wanna know what Sacramento short sale sellers wanna know? They all wanna know the same thing. Will their short sale be approved? The answer to that question if I am their Sacramento short sale agent is most likely yes. That's because I rarely get a short sale denied due to lack of hardship, and even those types tend to eventually close.
One of my readers mentioned in another blog that banks have 2 faces. That's a good analogy. There is the public face and there is the private, behind-the-doors face. The public face says we need to abide by our … (5 comments)

short sale approval: Do I Look Like I Fell Off a Turnip Truck To You? - 05/13/12 07:47 AM
One of my clients said to me the other day that he's afraid of me because he reads my blogs. He was half laughing but he was also half serious, I suspect. Of course, I find that sentiment hilarious. I do not think of myself as a frightening or scary person. Confident, but not overly so. Direct, but not insensitive. I have limitations. However, there is a line that most people won't cross because they know there are consequences.
Agents, especially, know there are consequences. The idea of consequences, I realize, is foreign to many people born after 1985, and to … (15 comments)

short sale approval: A Buyer's Agent is Your Key to Short Sale Offer Acceptance - 05/06/12 07:52 AM
Stop selling your buyers and start selling yourself, I want to tell buyer's agents. But it's not really my place to say it. I'm just a Sacramento short sale agent. I represent sellers. I refer buyers to my trusted team members and work exclusively with sellers. My job is to get the bank to accept their short sale and close that puppy. I do it quickly, efficiently and quietly, without a lot of drama, if I can help it.
But this seller's market is taxing on everybody. It's really hard on sellers. Oh, you might think it's all fun and games … (9 comments)

short sale approval: There is No Such Short Sale as a Citimortgage Freddie Mac HAFA Short Sale - 04/20/12 07:13 AM
After closing hundreds of short sales in Sacramento, this agent has learned a thing or two about short sales. There are some situations that really get my goat. And there's nothing I can do about it, which is even more frustrating. Because I like to fix things. It's why I love home improvement projects. It's in my nature. Fix. Improve.
But I can't fix the short sale problem at Citimortgage. Well, Citimortgage is no longer Citimortgage. It's now One Main Financial. But its short sale department seems to suffer from some serious issues. For one thing, it cannot for the life … (4 comments)

short sale approval: Mike Wallace and the Integrity of a Short Sale Offer - 04/09/12 07:23 AM
Mike Wallace made us better people. Of course, there is the aspect of never in a million years wanting to open the door to find Mike Wallace standing there with a film crew . . . even though I consider myself innocent and unnewsworthy. I'm not alone. Many people were nervous when Mike Wallace was around. Generally for good reason. But it doesn't undercut the impact of that reporter's work on broadcast journalism. I am saddened a guy of his caliber is now only with us in spirit.
I am also saddened that although I put two short sales into escrow … (12 comments)

short sale approval: I Shall Not But Love You Better After Short Sale Cancellation - 04/04/12 08:47 AM
If you want to listen to how many ways can I say no, ask me about repairs on a short sale. Or, price renegotiations after short sale approval. There are at least 50 ways to say no to renegotiations after short sale approval.
As a Sacramento Short Sale agent, I try to be explicit when I send the approval letter to the buyer. Often I explain to buyer's agents, just in case they've been living under a rock, that their transaction is an AS IS short sale. There are no repairs. No additional credits. No adjustments to price for unforeseen conditions. … (32 comments)

short sale approval: Short Sales Are About Compassion and Guiding the Seller to Closure - 03/15/12 08:20 AM
It's funny how perception works. You can say what you want about hocus-pocus positive thinking hoo-ha, but how we look at things shapes how we perceive them. I was looking at my listing inventory this morning and finding the glass half-full. Freaking out a little. Thinking, crap, my listings have fallen to 10. I better go get some more listings lest I no longer care to carry on my business as a listing agent.
Notwithstanding that I have 52 listings in escrow. Nope, my focus is centered on those 10 that haven't sold yet. Notwithstanding that 5 or 6 years ago, … (6 comments)

short sale approval: What If You Bought the Wrong House? - 03/14/12 06:57 AM
There are so many mistakes people can make in real estate. Being a first-time home buyer carries risk. Buyers can buy a home in the wrong neighborhood. They can pay too much, relying on a worthless appraisal to protect them. They can buy at the wrong time, at the height of a bubble. They can count on two incomes always being available. And, apparently now, they can buy the wrong house.
I always try to email buyer's agents after they show any of my listings. I ask for buyer feedback and the agent's opinion. I thank them for showing and offer … (10 comments)

short sale approval: Should You Work With a Sacramento Buyer Who Won't Commit to Buy a Short Sale? - 03/08/12 07:01 AM
I know that buyer's agents in Sacramento have it tough right now. I hear agents lament about buyers. How they have to "learn their lesson the hard way" by writing a lowball offer on a home they really really want only to lose out to another buyer because they did not listen to their agent. Why don't buyers listen to their agents? Is it possible that buyers think they know more than an agent?
Sometimes, that's probably the case. It all depends on which agent a buyer hires. You can get an agent who doesn't have much experience just the same … (8 comments)

short sale approval: A Nail-Biter Tale of a Wells Fargo and Citimortgage Short Sale in Sacramento - 02/29/12 07:09 AM
A short sale seller called me yesterday after his short sale in Rancho Cordova closed. He reminded me that he was unable to close this short sale with his previous agent. He thanked me profusely for closing this short sale for him. I had forgotten that this was listed before with another agent. That's how long I've hung in there for this seller. But it's all coming back to me now.
OK, I don't remember why his previous Sacramento short sale agent couldn't sell this home. Maybe he sold it but couldn't close it? Maybe he had little short sale experience? … (4 comments)

short sale approval: How Do You Know That Sacramento Short Sale Will Close? - 02/27/12 08:02 AM
How do you know that short sale will close? I get asked that question from buyer's agents. Why? Because I'm a Sacramento short sale agent. I am not so full of myself that I would presume that every agent out there knows how much business I do. And even if they did know who I was, my success doesn't imply, necessarily, that I list short sales that won't close. We short sale agents can't always call 100% of the shots. But I come pretty darn close to it. My reputation depends on it.
I want a buyer's agent to feel secure … (4 comments)

short sale approval: The Prompt Notification of Short Sale Act vs. the C.A.R. Short Sale Addendum - 02/23/12 07:50 AM
The unfortunate odds are 9 to 1 that I will receive a short sale offer my sellers cannot accept. That's because buyer's agents are unfamiliar with the C.A.R. short sale addendum. I don't know of any training classes for them regarding the S.S.A, so I am going to provide 2 valuable tips for buyers and their agents at the end of this blog.
First, realize that C.A.R. designed the short sale addendum in such a manner that it is misleading. They did it because they did not want to frighten away buyers. Section 1A refers to the amount of time a … (6 comments)

short sale approval: Why a Preapproval Letter Ain't Worth Jack Crap and What To Do About It - 02/10/12 09:16 AM
There are a lot of agents in Sacramento who watch what I do and copy me. I'd say these guys are pretty smart. Because what I do works. I prove it over and over. As a Sacramento short sale agent, I like to believe I'm fairly competent and good at my job. So, if I tend to set the standard for what a short sale agent should do to be successful, that's OK. I don't mind agents using my methods. I freely share because we're all in this boat together.
Last year I did almost 100 transactions. I'll probably exceed that … (16 comments)

short sale approval: Just Because Wells Fargo Has a Small Title Company Doesn't Mean It Should Use It - 02/02/12 10:07 AM
This is not the first time it has happened. Unfortunately, it won't be the last. And it wouldn't be nearly so much fun if every time I called the Wells Fargo office in Des Moines I wasn't disconnected after holding. If you don't know your party's extension, press 2. And you're zapped into voice mail hell or hung up on -- one or the other.
But I stop to consider the fact those employees at Wells Fargo in Des Moines had to get out of bed in Des Moines. I try to have empathy for them. It's 28 degrees in Des … (4 comments)

short sale approval: The Long Road to a HAFA Short Sale Closing in Sacramento - 01/27/12 10:21 AM
Some short sales will forever stick with this Sacramento short sale agent because the sellers are such delightful people. In the end, it's all about helping the seller. And sometimes I work with sellers whom I suspect would be raked over the coals if their situation fell into less than honorable hands. There are some people who make me want to take extra special care of them; I feel protective. Like my recent HAFA short sale closing for this elderly couple in their 80s. They reminded me of my grandparents, long gone.
The first buyers who committed to buy this short … (7 comments)

short sale approval: Why a Good Sacramento Short Sale Agent Does Not Shuffle Papers and is Not Merely a Messenger - 01/15/12 11:55 AM
I should get out and talk to people more. Apart from my own sellers and a few agents in my office, I don't see very many people. But when I do talk to other people about what I do, some of the most amazing stuff comes out of my mouth, if I say so myself. It tends to astonish me. Probably because I don't spend much time talking about what I do to other people. I am more focused on them and what I can do as a Sacramento short sale agent to help them.
Yesterday, I went to Elmhurst over … (5 comments)

 
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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

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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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