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Staying Cool in Sacramento

By
Real Estate Agent with Elizabeth Anne Weintraub, Broker DRE #00697006

staying cool in sacramentoOn Tuesday, I received a sign call on my Midtown listing. The home the buyer was calling about is a fixer Craftsman, and he wanted to know if I could show it to him at 2 PM on Wednesday. "But, it's going to be 108 on Wednesday," I pointed out. "Wouldn't you prefer to see it in the morning, say around 9 AM?" The home has no air conditioning.

Nope.

Well, he promised to call me by noon if he wanted to see that home, and I guess he had a change of heart. Never heard from him. Even though I didn't want to go out in the heat, I would have done it. Can't say I was really disappointed, though, that he didn't call back.

Land Park Tour

Then last night, a delightful Midtown couple asked to tour homes in Land Park. They are from the Bay area and have lived in Sacramento a little under a year. One of the homes they asked to tour was my Land Park listing on 7th Avenue, which is vacant. I quickly emailed the seller to let him know I was planning to show around 7 PM. He offered (without me asking) to run over and turn up the air conditioning.

Another home I had scheduled to show was suddenly unavailable, but the listing agent was kind enough to tell me about another home a block away -- listed by a different agent -- which was not yet in MLS. I called that seller and set up a showing. When we arrived, the A/C was blasting, the home was icy cold -- or at least it felt that way in comparison to the temperature outside -- and the seller had turned on all the misters in the back yard. It was a wonderful experience.

The third home was vacant. I was a little apprehensive as we walked toward the home. Sometimes sellers don't leave the air conditioning on or keep it so high that the air is stagnant and warm. But we were in luck! That home, too, was cooled and pleasant. The buyers asked about the home next door to it, which was also vacant but dated, meaning it is in its original condition -- no remodeling. "I can't promise you that it won't be hot inside that house," I said, "But we can see it if you want." They didn't seem interested in that home anymore.

Business Doesn't Stop Just Because It's Hot Outside

Another agent in my office said that she felt like going home and taking a nap yesterday because it was so hot. I can understand that sentiment, but I'd rather work. Because staying cool in Sacramento isn't hard to do with a little advance planning. Life goes on, whether it's hot or not. By comparison, let me say I would rather endure three weeks of 100-plus temperatures in Sacramento than, say, three months of sub-zero in Minneapolis. I love Sacramento.

elizabeth weintraub sacramento real estate agent

Photo: Big Stock Photo

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Elizabeth Weintraub is co-partner of Weintraub & Wallace Team of Top Producing Realtors, an author, home buying expert at The Balance, a Land Park resident, and a veteran real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown, Carmichael and East Sacramento, as well as tract homes in Elk Grove, Natomas, Roseville and Lincoln. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put our combined 80 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at RE/MAX Gold. DRE License # 00697006.

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of RE/MAX Gold. Disclaimer: If this post contains a listing, information is deemed reliable as of the date it was written. After that date, the listing may be sold, listed by another brokerage, canceled, pending or taken temporarily off the market, and the price could change without notice; it could blow up, explode or vanish. To find out the present status of any listing, please go to elizabethweintraub.com.

Comments(10)

Erin Stumpf (Attardi)
Coldwell Banker - Sacramento, CA
916-342-1372 / DRE# 01706589 Sacramento, CA

You know - the heat does not bother me so much as the smoke.  My lungs are hating that right now!

Jul 10, 2008 05:04 AM
Norma Toering Broker for Palos Verdes and Beach Cities
Charlemagne International Properties - Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
Palos Verdes Luxury Homes in L.A.

Elizabeth -- Great job of working around the heat--there is a way to overcome almost any obstacle in this business.  Nice job of working hard and smart!

Jul 10, 2008 05:14 AM
Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Broker
Elizabeth Anne Weintraub, Broker - Sacramento, CA
Put 40 years of experience to work for you

OMG, Erin, the smoke was awful. I thought the street behind my house (in Land Park) was on fire, but it was actually coming from West Sacramento. There was a brush fire near Raley's field yesterday afternoon. And the wind carried the smoke from the Buttes throughout the central valley. I heard flames in the Buttes were 150 feet high and firefighters couldn't get close enough to put them out.

elizabeth weintraub sacramento real estate agent

Jul 10, 2008 05:14 AM
Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Broker
Elizabeth Anne Weintraub, Broker - Sacramento, CA
Put 40 years of experience to work for you

Hi Norma: I imagine you enjoy a more stable climate with fewer temperature swings in Palos Verdes. But even with the heat, Sacramento isn't the scorcher some make it out to be. For example the downtown area and surrounding neighborhoods have an abundance of trees -- sycamores, oaks, maples, to name a few -- and you can walk for blocks in the shade.

elizabeth weintraub sacramento real estate agent

Jul 10, 2008 05:24 AM
C Tann-Starr
Tann Starr & Associates, Inc. - Palm Bay, FL

Oh my word -- flames 150 feet high? That boggles the mind! Seriously... I just can't imagine what all of you are going through.

Jul 10, 2008 03:36 PM
Mike Saunders
Retired - Athens, GA

Elizabeth - I used to do a lot of consulting work in Sacramento. One summer, maybe 1988 there was a spell of about 20+ days over 110 degrees. One of the local radio stations rented a car and parked it on the upper deck of a parking garage across from the Bull Market (if that is still there).

They placed a 6 pound roast beef in a pan on the windshield. It took a little over 4 hours for it to be cooked to the right temperature. The car rental company was not pleased.

Jul 11, 2008 12:03 AM
Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Broker
Elizabeth Anne Weintraub, Broker - Sacramento, CA
Put 40 years of experience to work for you

Hi Mike: You mean they put it on the dashboard, right, and not the windshield? I'd imagine that since rare roast beef needs to be 140 degrees internally, they might have overcooked it!

elizabeth weintraub sacramento real estate agent

Jul 11, 2008 03:34 AM
Mike Saunders
Retired - Athens, GA

Elizabeth - yep, under the windshield, above the dashboard. I believe they did it to 160 degrees.

Jul 11, 2008 03:50 AM
Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Broker
Elizabeth Anne Weintraub, Broker - Sacramento, CA
Put 40 years of experience to work for you

Wow, Mike. You'd think it would get a lot hotter in a car sitting in 120-degree sun than 160 degrees. At least today is fairly pleasant. We're in the 90s. The 90s in the midwest would be unbearably sticky and ishy -- see, you can tell I'm originally from the midwest because I still say ishy.

elizabeth weintraub sacramento real estate agent

Jul 11, 2008 11:37 AM
Mike Saunders
Retired - Athens, GA

Elizabeth - ishy? This is my first summer in Georgia, I will take 100 in Sacramento over 90 here anytime. The only worse places I have been for heat/humidity are New Orleans, Malaysia, Phillipines, and Viet Nam.

Jul 12, 2008 01:30 AM