buying a home in sacramento: Zillow Confuses Home Buyers Looking at Homes for Sale - 05/05/18 09:16 AM
My phone rings a lot from buyers asking questions about homes for sale on Zillow. Just because a home is listed in Zillow inventory, buyers think it is for sale. The home could be foreclosed upon years ago or just owned by an unhappy homeowner who fell behind a month of two on his mortgage payments, and there is his house, listed as a preforeclosure on a public website without his knowledge nor permission.
The home could also be for rent either legally or listed by crooks who want to take your money and run. Doesn't matter, I get phone calls on … (13 comments)

buying a home in sacramento: How Can a Purchase Offer Be a Time Waster? - 12/08/17 09:27 AM
Well, now that I typed that title to my blog, I can actually think of one way a purchase offer can be a time waster. Those are the offers that stand no chance in hell of acceptance. Usually from the so-called wanna-be cash investors. When they submit an extremely low offer, especially when we have a bunch of other offers over list price, it is a PITA.
It means I have to catalog the offer, and process it, fully realizing it is a piece of garbage. And that, yes, is a waste of my time. However, that is the only exception I … (5 comments)

buying a home in sacramento: The Grass is Greener Concept is Not True When Home Buying - 05/16/17 08:30 AM
It's funny, you know, how a buyer can change her mind once she gets into escrow. We received a letter accompanying an offer a while back, and the offer was for a higher price than the offer we ended up taking. The letter talked about the buyers, their kids, hopes and dreams and how much they loved the property.
 
This of course touched the seller's heart, and she felt a bit of remorse that they wouldn't get the house. I snapped her back to reality. Don't trust what any buyer says. Once they get into escrow, all of a sudden that … (10 comments)

buying a home in sacramento: Buying a Home in Sacramento Means Negotiating Your Offer - 07/31/16 03:09 AM
With some homes in Sacramento, it's very easy to manipulate the situation in order to sell a home for more than list price. Of course, an obvious way to do that is to price the home low, below market value, and try to stir up a feeding frenzy, but that kind of strategy can also backfire. Many homes sell with some sort of negotiation.
I might advise buyers if they definitely want the home, to offer list price, providing it's a fair price. There is nothing wrong with offering a fair price. If it's an 80% desire, maybe offer 5% less. If … (4 comments)

buying a home in sacramento: Sizing Up Purchase Offers to Buy in Sacramento - 07/19/16 03:00 AM
One of the necessary ingredients that I look for in a purchase offer from a buyer in Sacramento is the level of commitment to buy the home. As a veteran listing agent in Sacramento, I know that a strong desire equals a smooth transaction.
Oh, everybody is preapproved in some format or another, which basically means little, but the sales price the buyer offers might yield a clue. The price a buyer offers doesn't have to be a lowball to be a suspect. For example, if a buyer offer list price with no explanation nor back story from his agent, it … (4 comments)

buying a home in sacramento: The Process of Making Decisions Involves Options - 04/17/16 02:35 AM
Everybody processes making a decision differently. Take my husband for example. We were discussing this morning on the phone that he left town without buying fresh vegetables. One of the choices I offered up is a choice he would never consider, so my options are different than his.
He is the kind of guy who, when he runs out of vegetables, will say to himself, hey, I should go to the store and pick up some vegetables. Whereas one of my options might be, you know, maybe I just won't eat any vegetables this week.
You can read more about this in … (10 comments)

buying a home in sacramento: If You Cannot Buy a Home in Sacramento This Spring - 04/07/16 01:30 AM
Just looking at the numbers and demand for Sacramento real estate this spring, it is evident to me that there are many home buyers who will not buy a home. Oh, they might be trying, and writing offers hand-over-fist, but none are getting accepted. Some buyers blame offer rejection on their financing, saying nobody wants to sell to an FHA buyer or a VA buyer for example, and that's nonsensical thinking.
We work with FHA and VA buyers who are going into escrow and buying a home. It's not the financing that is doing them in. You can read more about this … (5 comments)

buying a home in sacramento: When Is the Best Day of the Week to Present an Offer? - 02/22/16 03:14 AM
Optimum timing. Those of us who are analytical and try to find the best times for the things we do in life often extend certain types of expository rationales to our professional interactions. Some things you learn from trial and error. Like, it might make sense to grab an airline ticket a year in advance if the fare is terrific, but it's not so great if a year later when it comes time to go that flight has been changed from 1:00 in the afternoon to 2 AM.
When you're representing a buyer in Sacramento, for example, who has elected to write … (15 comments)

buying a home in sacramento: What a Multiple Counter Offer Means to Sacramento Buyers - 01/19/16 03:23 AM
As a strong Sacramento listing agent, I often hope for a multiple counter offer situation for my sellers. Why wouldn't I? It puts my sellers in the driver's seat, makes them feel like they are in power, and they are, and it drives up the desirability of their home among other buyers. Everybody wants what somebody else wants. Being able to create a multiple counter offer situation means the sellers will probably get what they want.
Yet it doesn't mean that just because we received a bunch of purchase offers, that any particular offer except for one is worth accepting or even … (4 comments)

buying a home in sacramento: Nifty Tip for Negotiating a Home in Sacramento - 01/18/16 03:43 AM
I could talk all day about buyer's agents and their buyers' offers but I won't bore you with all of my ramblings. Just know that sometimes I see buyers sabotage their own purchase contracts, so I have some included advice about that in my personal blog today.
Above all, I would add that buyers should not ask a buyer's agent to  send comparable sales to the listing agent to justify the buyer's offer position. The listing agent already has the comparable sales and has discussed them with the seller. Sending your list is insulting. Even if your numbers DO make some … (8 comments)

buying a home in sacramento: Buying a Paper Shredder is Almost as Hard as Home Buying - 09/29/15 09:40 AM
When my husband and I cashed in a big pile of coins of Sunday, we had almost enough between us to buy a fairly decent cross-cut paper shredder. But did I? No, I did not. And my paper shredder is on the blink.
We took it all apart, and removed the gummy stuck on sheets, and tinkered around with it, but it's bit the dust. It's horrible, I think, that we have to rely on paper shredders, not only for our personal things but definitely for my business paperwork. I can't just toss any document regarding a client into the trash. That's … (5 comments)

buying a home in sacramento: Making an Offer Before the Open House in Sacramento - 09/21/15 01:52 AM
Increasingly I've noticed that some home buyers in Sacramento are very eager to get an offer submitted to a seller on a Saturday before the first open house. Their thoughts are, I suspect, that another buyer will swipe their dream home if they don't buy it first.
So what do they do under these circumstances? They take a brand new listing that's only been on the market for a few days and try to knock tens of thousands off the list price. Even though the list price may be very attractive. They are so worried that another buyer will steal their home … (12 comments)

buying a home in sacramento: Citibank Custom Credit Line Scam and Identity Theft Protection - 09/12/15 02:58 AM
Whenever somebody is trying to pitch a new service to me, I am the skeptical type who will always probe into what's behind the hype and wonder what's in it for them. Trust but verify is always my motto. Because there are too many scams going on in this world to keep up. In fact, I don't even try to keep up anymore because they are like rabbits and continually multiply.
Hackers, scammers, crooks, everywhere I look, and that's just in the Sacramento real estate business.
Some of you may remember what happened with the Citibank Custom Credit Line scam being run on … (7 comments)

buying a home in sacramento: Signing a Purchase Offer is Not Quite Enough - 08/25/15 10:56 AM
In this day and age, there are still Sacramento buyer's agents who don't stop to read the signs that their buyer is a flake. I suppose in their defense they are simply happy the buyer is working with them and willing to buy a home. If they buy a home, the buyer's agent gets paid, and has performed a worthwhile service.
I know some agents in Sacramento say they rarely work with sellers and, if they have a choice, they prefer to work with buyers. They say that's because buyers are always happy at closing and thrilled with their new home. Now, … (11 comments)

buying a home in sacramento: Why Millennials in Sacramento Can't Move Out of a Family Home - 08/06/15 02:08 AM
The news from the California Association of Realtors just gets cheerier and cheerier, regardless of the spin they put on it. I received an email newletter last night, and I always read the emails I get from C.A.R. even if they don't particularly apply to my specific real estate market in Sacramento because I am interested in what is happening in real estate throughout the state.
Most of the news is centered around things we already know such as inventory is down and sales prices are up, which make it very difficult for a first-time home buyer to buy a home, in … (13 comments)

buying a home in sacramento: How Many Offers Will You Write to Buy a Sacramento Home? - 04/26/15 01:52 AM
An agent asked when we will present offers on a certain listing. I present offers as they arrive and, in fact have an offer now, which I disclosed and added: but the sellers hope to make a decision today. The agent asked if he could send an offer tomorrow instead. He's certainly welcome to send an offer whenever he wants, but we hope to make a decision today, I explained. His buyer does not need to obtain a loan and will pay cash, which I realize some agents believe is a big whoopedeedo, but, seriously, who gives a rats because it's … (6 comments)

buying a home in sacramento: How Home Buyers Can Win: Looking at Offers on Sunday - 04/20/15 12:23 AM
What a week last week has been; I feel like I could do my own HBO show like John Oliver's Last Week Tonight, and sometimes I do when I relay to my sister in Minneapolis on Sunday nights the humorous stories about what happened during my hectic week as a Sacramento Realtor. I had one potential seller tell me she was too overwhelmed to accept a full-price offer that gave her everything she asked for and more and, of course, when I suggested that maybe she should NOT try to sell her home at this moment, was subject to a tirade … (7 comments)

buying a home in sacramento: What is So Hard About Are You Working With an Agent? - 03/10/15 08:44 AM
There are lots of things that are difficult to answer, and are you working with an agent is one of those things. For starters, when an agent springs that question on an unsuspecting home buyer, the first reaction is generally, why no, I am not. And then the buyer feels like, hmmm, maybe there is something wrong with me, and perhaps I should not admit that I do not have an agent. After all, I am not a loser. I have no capital L embedded on my forehead. If everybody has an agent, why, I must have one as well. Is … (11 comments)

buying a home in sacramento: Overcoming Reluctance About Sacramento Home Buying - 11/13/14 01:09 AM
When I see home buyers in Sacramento struggling with the decision of whether to buy a home, I don't want to go "all Nike" on you, but I want to give them permission to do it because they'll probably be happier in the long run.
For a person like me, it's hard to step back and figure out why other people have reluctance to do what seems so natural to me. Reflecting on my home purchases as a kid, I never let anything stand in my way. No job, no money, none of that stopped me in my younger years. I've … (4 comments)

buying a home in sacramento: About Shadow Inventory Lurking in Sacramento - 11/09/14 01:39 AM
I realize there are some listing agents who don't want to be bothered once a home goes into escrow by having to field calls from other buyer's agents asking how their sale is moving along. They figure the home will close escrow and if it doesn't, well, they'll deal with it at that time. I always like to hedge my bets, reduce the risk for my sellers, so if a buyer's agent wants to submit a backup offer, I'm all over that. Especially on some pending sales that were hard enough in the first place to reach an agreement on and … (6 comments)

 
Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Broker, Put 40 years of experience to work for you (Elizabeth Anne Weintraub, Broker)

Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Broker

Put 40 years of experience to work for you

Sacramento, CA

More about me…

Elizabeth Anne Weintraub, Broker

Address: 3620 Fair Oaks Blvd, Sacramento, CA, 95864

Office: (916) 233-6759

Mobile: (916) 233-6759

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.
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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.



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