land park agent: How Much Trouble Can I Get Into Driving From Land Park to Midtown?
- 04/04/10 02:16 AM
When I was a kid, we called Coca-Cola soda pop, or "pop" for short. That's how you can tell that I was raised in the Midwest and not in Sacramento. Now, people from the East Coast tend to refer to carbonated beverages as soft drinks. I've heard that in the South, everybody calls a soft drink "Coke" regardless of whether one is talking about a 7-Up or cola. Kids today don't realize that in the early 1950s, Coca-Cola came in glass bottles, not cans, and tasted much better from a drugstore fountain. There was also no such thing as Diet Coke. … (10 comments)
land park agent: Spring Time in Land Park is for Many a Favorite Time of the Year
- 03/30/10 01:58 AM
As I was showing homes in Land Park last week, a buyer oohed and aahed about how wonderful the weather has been lately. That's because it's spring. She said, "If we had this weather year-round in Land Park, it would be just like living in Carmel, and homes would cost a million bucks." And you know what? She's right. We haven't had our first bloom of the rose gardens yet, but I'd like to show you some of the flowers in my Land Park gardens. I happen to enjoy white flowers. It's not that I'm overly spiritual but white is … (13 comments)
land park agent: A LAND PARK TUDOR IS BACK ON THE MARKET AS A SHORT SALE, WHY?
- 03/05/10 01:10 AM
Sometimes I wonder if I'm no better than a Labrador. I might be subject to labrador attention deficit disorder. You know how a dog's attention can suddenly be diverted, right? You're playing with the dog, tossing a ball, when SQUIRREL. The dog's head jerks in the direction of the squirrel, ears up, and you're no longer important. I am usually working on 2 or 3 different projects when my daily autoprospecting email arrives in the morning around 5 AM. This is a system that shows me every listing that is emailed to my buyers. Pretty soon I'm clicking on the new … (7 comments)
land park agent: Elizabeth Weintraub Picked Up 2 More Awards from Lyon Real Estate for 2009
- 02/26/10 01:36 AM
Lyon Real Estate always puts on a great annual awards ceremony. Even during a time when many real estate brokerages are hurting financially, closing up their doors, Lyon still takes care of its agents. Granted, yesterday's awards ceremony was not on par with the Cirque du Soleil act we enjoyed a few years ago, but it was still enjoyable. They opened the presentations with a video, based on our theme of Winter Olympics. The Olympic flame was passed from one office to another, and we got to see our office mangers prancing through cubicles and running down sidewalks carrying a flaming … (16 comments)
land park agent: Selling Homes in Land Park and Sacramento Short Sales Earned Weintraub an Award
- 02/25/10 01:19 AM
The last time I won a third-place prize, I was probably about eight. Somewhere, I have an old newspaper. My mother was an editor in the 1950s at the Circulating Pines, which was a local newspaper in a suburb of Minneapolis. She put a story and a photo of my brother and me on the front page. I am holding in my lap a long-haired black cat named Spittsboo, sitting on the front steps of our childhood home in Circle Pines, Minnesota, next to my brother. He is holding a salamander on his shoulder. I placed third in a pet contest. … (12 comments)
land park agent: Neighborhoood of Land Park Chosen for Yard Waste Collection Program
- 02/18/10 01:29 AM
The City of Sacramento Department of Utilities has announced that Land Park residents are now eligible for the voluntary Containerized Yard Waste program. The way the City of Sacramento has set up the program, all the homes in Land Park are automatically enrolled in the program, unless you decide to opt out. Personally, I'm all for it, and I'll tell you why. How many times have you been shaken awake by the annoying sound of that giant claw scraping the street? Do you admire the piles of dead leaves, tree branches and yard waste dumped in front of our Land Park … (6 comments)
land park agent: Buyers Who Work With Elizabeth Weintraub Enjoy an Edge in the Land Park Market
- 02/11/10 02:00 AM
One of the many reasons that buyers for homes in Land Park like to work with a Land Park agent like me -- apart from my sheer brilliance, snarky sense of humor, fastidious attention to detail and all-out modesty -- is because Lyon Real Estate routinely holds listings out of MLS for 72 hours. We offer these listings to our buyers before our competitors even know these Land Park homes are for sale. Yup, it's true, Elizabeth Weintraub's buyers often get first shot at buying a home in Land Park. I walked through a soon-to-come new listing yesterday. This is an … (8 comments)
land park agent: Trying to Buy a Home in Sacramento Can Be Very Frustrating for Home Buyers
- 02/07/10 01:57 AM
Whenever I leave the comfort of my home-based office, I try to plan my driving route to incorporate stops along the way so I can maximize my time. For example, if I need to drop off dry cleaning, I'll do it on my way to my midtown Lyon Real Estate office, rather than make a separate trip to the dry cleaners. That explains why I never have anything to wear. Because I had to drive out the 99 freeway yesterday to put a lockbox on another Elk Grove short sale listing, I figured I'd stop at a few furniture stores on … (9 comments)
land park agent: Do Sacramento Home Buyers and Sellers Want a Real Estate Agent Who Has Confidence?
- 02/06/10 01:10 AM
For as long as I can remember, people have said that I intimidate them when meeting me for the first time. That kind of reaction is a bit puzzling to me. I mean, I'm no Darth Vader. I'm not a particularly threatening type of person in stature or appearance. People at the post office don't cross their forefingers and fall to the ground when they see me coming. Yet, I hear over and over that when people get to know me, their initial impression of me changes. I go from being threatening to gregarious, friendly and caring. A Sacramento home buyer … (14 comments)
land park agent: Although Sacramento Enjoys a Diverse Culture, Bigotry Still Exists
- 02/03/10 12:49 AM
I get business one of two ways these days. Either people find me on the Internet or they are referred by previous clients. When I ask callers who found me on the Internet why they picked me, I often get the same answer. It's rarely because they believe I am brilliant, witty or experienced. Rats. They say it's because I have a friendly face. If people are looking at the Lyon Real Estate website for Midtown Sacramento agents, my profile is all the way at the bottom. Because my last name is Weintraub, and it's sorted alphabetically. My office services primarily … (16 comments)
land park agent: How to Increase the Odds That a Buyer's Sacramento Short Sale Will Close
- 01/23/10 12:58 AM
If a buyer for homes in Land Park asks me to show a short sale listing, I do investigative work before putting that home on tour. There's just no sense in letting a buyer fall in love with a home that might not close escrow. See, the problem with short sales in Sacramento is the entire short sale process is dependent upon the listing agent. The buyer's agent has no involvement after the offer has been accepted by the seller. I check to see if the Sacramento short sale agent has other listings and whether any of those are short sales. … (12 comments)
land park agent: How Elizabeth Weintraub Shows Homes in Land Park and the Sacramento Core
- 01/22/10 01:06 AM
I'm often amazed when I receive an out-of-the-blue offer for a listing, meaning the buyer's agent has not made prior contact with me. It's sort of like they figure that buying a home in Sacramento is on par with flipping through a Macy's catalog. Photographs and the sales price of a home tell only part of the story. There is always a story. This weekend, I'm showing homes in Land Park, Midtown, East Sacramento and Carmichael to several sets of home buyers. I work with buyers based on the homes that they want to see and the homes that I think … (13 comments)
land park agent: The Worst Thing That Could Happen to a Real Estate Agent
- 01/21/10 01:01 AM
What's the worst thing that could happen to an East Sacramento agent? Or to any real estate agent, for that matter? Well, apart from rolling over a guard rail in the rain. Over the last week, 2 vehicles at different locations slid off the freeway while going around a curve and landed on the road below. They survived, thank goodness. We've had so much rain and wind in Sacramento; it's like an obstacle course driving through East Sacramento and Land Park -- swerving to avoid downed tree branches, blown over trash cans and unemployed real estate agents angrily stomping in rain … (19 comments)
land park agent: Representing More Than One Buyer for the Same Home is a Lousy Idea
- 01/18/10 12:52 AM
Because today is a holiday for most people, I booked back-to-back appointments this morning to show homes in Land Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Which means my email in-box and voice mail will most likely be full by the time I return to my home office. If I never stepped foot out of my office, I'd always be caught up but, unfortunately, that's not how the world of real estate works. I generally don't answer my phone nor reply to emails when I'm with clients. I try to focus on them. As I began putting together the tours for these buyers, … (12 comments)
land park agent: This Land Park Short Sale Has All the Bells and Whistles at a Price of $450,000
- 01/13/10 12:10 AM
When I drive buyers around to show homes in Land Park, I sometimes point out the homes on Vallejo Way, between Land Park Drive and 14th Street, which I listed and sold. I tell buyers how I sold that entire block on the north side of Vallejo Way. Which is true. But I also quickly point out that there are only 2 homes on that block. That's always good for a chuckle. Now I have a new short sale listing in Land Park on Vallejo Way. It's a breathtakingly beautiful home, boasting more than 2,000 square feet, built in 1937, with … (3 comments)
land park agent: The Look in Their Eyes Tells Me They Think I Have Gone Off the Deep End
- 01/12/10 01:13 AM
I've been pretty busy lately listing short sales throughout Sacramento and in Land Park. In fact, I just listed another short sale home in Land Park last night. This is a home that had previously been on the market for a long time, listed with several other real estate agents at prices that buyers for homes in Land Park would not accept. Since this weekend, I've taken 3 new short sale listings, which I will negotiate for those sellers personally. At all my appointments lately, after I explain how the complete short sale process works, I've noticed the same thing happening, … (10 comments)
land park agent: Do You Do Things Because You've Always Done Them or Because You Want To?
- 01/10/10 01:02 AM
Some people would say that when a person looks back on the path one's life has taken and decides to make changes, it's because one has reached a "certain age." Personally, I disagree, probably because I'm the type of person who often reflects on the direction I am moving and wonders if that direction is the road best taken. For example, those reflections are the reason I ended up in Sacramento. But I am also a creature of habit. I suspect to some extent we all are. You may head to Starbucks each morning to get a latte. Because that's what … (20 comments)
land park agent: My Hardwood Floors Finally Have the Final Top Coat
- 01/09/10 12:07 AM
It seems like forever since we've sealed off the dining room and living room from the rest of our house. The pass-through window between the kitchen and living room has a sheet of plastic taped over it, and the other 3 doors are closed, much to the dismay of our cats. You know how cats are, right? Always sticking their little paws under the door and pulling. A shut door to a cat is a slap in the face. I dropped off 8 sets of drapes at the dry cleaners yesterday, which will be ready to pick up in a week, … (15 comments)
land park agent: A Neutral Color is the Color of Choice When Preparing a Home for Sale
- 01/06/10 01:17 AM
I receive a lot of interesting emails from readers all over the country. I do my best to answer questions. Many of those questions center on short sales, probably because I write a lot about short sales and enjoy a strong internet presence as a Sacramento short sale agent. But since selling short sales takes up only about half of my annual real estate sales, I also field questions on other activities such as selling homes in Land Park and throughout Sacramento that are not short sales. A reader from my About.com homebuying site wrote yesterday. She was clear that she … (14 comments)
land park agent: Two Coats of Sealer Have Been Applied to My Hardwood Floors in Land Park
- 01/05/10 01:54 AM
The floor refinisher, Brian, and I engaged in a conversation yesterday about the tack cloth. He didn't know what I referring to because it's not something, I suppose, that he uses. My concern was removing every bit of dust from the floor before Brian put on the first coat. Brian is very patient with me because he's such a patient guy overall. Patience is one of the virtues that makes Brian an excellent floor refinisher. He explained that over his 9 years of refinishing floors, he's tried all sorts of methods and products and has settled on those that he feels … (17 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.
When I was a kid, we called Coca-Cola soda pop, or "pop" for short. That's how you can tell that I was raised in the Midwest and not in Sacramento. Now, people from the East Coast tend to refer to carbonated beverages as soft drinks. I've heard that in the South, everybody calls a soft drink "Coke" regardless of whether one is talking about a 7-Up or cola.
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