sacramento real estate agent: Sacramento is Featured in The New York Times as a Travel Destination: 36 Hours in Sacramento
- 11/02/09 01:02 AM
A weird thing happened yesterday. Instead of receiving The Sacramento Bee on my doorstep, The New York Times Sunday edition was there. I realized something was amiss when I opened the door because instead of a skinny little wad with a dead spider stuck in the middle, the paper was thick and neatly bound. I put on my reading glasses and sure enough, I was holding The New York Times. I'm pretty sure The New York Times and The Sacramento Bee hire separate couriers. Hmmm, most curious. I wondered if maybe my husband switched our subscription without telling me. Naw, he … (9 comments)
sacramento real estate agent: Good Reasons for Sacramento Agents to Attend Real Estate Closings
- 10/28/09 02:04 AM
Some agents don't go to closings with their clients, but I always try to attend. I believe it's important to be at the signing with my clients because they might have questions, and because I like to show my support. To me, it's part of my job. After all, if I've helped my clients get that far in the escrow process, why would I flake out at the time of signing when they may still need my services? If the escrow company, which the seller's agent has chosen (services are supposed to be negotiated between the seller and buyer, but we … (15 comments)
sacramento real estate agent: Is This a Good Time to Buy in Sacramento? Check Out These Real Estate Stats
- 10/13/09 02:13 AM
An investor called me from the Bay area yesterday to inquire about the real estate market in Sacramento. She asked the familiar question: "Is this a good time to buy?" That's sort of like asking a street vendor with hot dogs for sale if it's a good time to buy a hot dog. What's the vendor going to say? No? He's got product to move. But I am straight-forward with people. It seems like a good time to be an investor in Sacramento but it's a struggle. It's not easy to buy a house in this market. I suppose Bay area … (5 comments)
sacramento real estate agent: It Can Take Many Counter Offers to Sell a Home in the Sacramento Real Estate Market
- 09/28/09 02:09 AM
It ain't over until the fat lady sings. Some negotiations take time, especially for a Sacramento real estate agent. It doesn't need to be a short sale, either, to end up with 4 or 5 or more counter offers on a transaction. In fact, many short sale offers are accepted in the first go-around, but a lot of regular sellers who have equity are finding that buyers want to play the negotiation game. Some carry it to extremes. And who's to blame them, really? Buyers want to make sure they get the lowest price possible as protection against flat or falling … (9 comments)
sacramento real estate agent: Only 15% of the Real Estate Agents in Sacramento Sell 1 or More Homes a Month
- 09/25/09 03:10 AM
People find it difficult to believe that when I started in this business in the 1970s, I sold homes without inspecting them. Never saw them. I owned a small real estate company and was responsible for counseling buyers, writing and negotiating the transactions. My agents tracked down the deals. Almost every transaction involved owner financing. To work like that today would be unthinkable and ripe with liability. I had previously been an escrow officer and before that a title searcher at a title company. I thought I knew everything about real estate. I was young and cocky. That's why I took … (48 comments)
sacramento real estate agent: Review of Indigo Girls at the Crest Theatre in Downtown Sacramento
- 05/13/09 02:21 AM
When I received an email from the Crest saying tickets for the Indigo Girls were going on sale at 10 AM, I was in a meeting at my Midtown Sacramento Lyon office. I stepped out of the room to text my husband, imploring him to hop online to order tickets. He's not as fussy as I am regarding seating arrangements, because I prefer 4th row center stage over 2nd row off to the side, but when I'm not buying the tickets, I don't complain. Even though I am bringing it up here now. That's not really complaining in my book. … (4 comments)
sacramento real estate agent: Sacramento Home Buyers and Sellers: How to Tell If You're Ready to Hire an Agent
- 04/18/09 03:22 AM
Every agent uses different criteria to determine whether he or she will work a particular client. Some agents attempt to work with every person who walks through the office door, emails or calls them. Some agents are judgmental and may dismiss otherwise perfectly good clients for goofy reasons. Some may work only with sellers or only with buyers. We're all different. Here is my philosophy of how I decide whether to take on a new client. First, I will speak with or email every individual who contacts me. I believe that is simply professional courtesy. Sometimes Sacramento sellers and buyers just … (8 comments)
sacramento real estate agent: Review of the Grange Restaurant in Downtown Sacramento
- 04/14/09 03:24 AM
The Grange has received mixed reviews since opening downtown Sacramento last winter. When I asked my husband where he wanted to go to celebrate his birthday, the word "Grange" left his lips, so that's where I made our reservation. The Grange is part of a new hotel, The Citizen, remodeled inside an 88-year-old office building. The entrance is on 10th Street, with valet parking on J Street. The feeling inside the restaurant is that of an airplane hangar, designed to be upscale urban with a bit of an eclectic twist. I sat there imagining elevators and employees running late for work, … (6 comments)
sacramento real estate agent: Hey, Guess Who Will be on FOX40 News Monday Night?
- 03/18/09 01:44 AM
A reporter from FOX40 news called yesterday. He asked: "Where are the good areas in Sacramento to buy right now and what constitutes a good deal?" After all, he had just purchased a $250,000 home in Elk Grove -- a home that would have sold for more than half a million a few years ago. I introduced this FOX40 reporter to clients who are presently in escrow. This husband and wife team established a budget for their home search and scoured the Internet. They printed out my list of 10 questions for Interviewing an Agent, marched down to my office and … (23 comments)
sacramento real estate agent: Please Give a Warm Active Rain Welcome to Sally Dunbar of Lyon Real Estate
- 02/14/09 03:55 AM
Psst. I'd like to introduce you to Sally Dunbar, a newbie on Active Rain. Sally is a 30-year real estate veteran who works at Lyon Real Estate's Fair Oaks office on Madison. (I work at the Lyon office in Midtown.) She's been licensed since 1979, is a director of the Sacramento Association of Realtors, a top producing agent and Master's Club member. So far, Sally has posted 5 blogs and received one comment. She's just beginning to figure out how Active Rain works, so I'd like to encourage everybody who reads this to scoot over to Sally's blog and say hello! … (19 comments)
sacramento real estate agent: New Sacramento Restaurant: World Seafood & Sushi Buffet
- 02/14/09 02:08 AM
My husband and I finally found time to check out the new buffet restaurant that just opened in Sacramento. The World Seafood & Sushi Buffet is located south of Land Park, past Fruitridge on the east side of Freeport near Claudia. It's a non-descript building. We showed up for lunch last Wednesday around 1 PM, and the place was practically deserted, so I don't know how many customers were actually there around noon. Without customers in the room, the air was chilly. It's a huge dining space, filled with lots of empty tables, so we received superior service from the staff … (7 comments)
sacramento real estate agent: If One Box of Chocolates is Great, Two Boxes Are Even Better!
- 02/12/09 01:59 AM
My grandmother was born in Hungary in 1903 and passed away in 1988. She told me shortly before her death that she was tired of living and was ready to go. I've never really understood that concept but perhaps I'm not old enough yet to reach that conclusion. I can't fathom it. But then I'm in relatively good health with very few vices except for chocolate. Whenever my grandmother came to visit when I was a child, she used to bring me a box of See's Candies. Did you know that See's Candies was founded in 1921 in San Francisco? That … (18 comments)
sacramento real estate agent: The Time Has Come, the Walrus Said, to Buy a New Cell Phone
- 02/10/09 02:34 AM
Have you seen those ads for the emergency medical alert monitor? You know, the device that you wear, I dunno, around your neck or something, in case you fall down and can't get back up? I see ads for those all the time. Now that I'm getting older, I can't help but wonder if I will end up having to wear one of those things when I hit my senior years. I doubt it though, because I'm always wearing my cell phone and bluetooth earpiece. It feels almost like I'm packing a pistol. When I leave the house, I pat my … (20 comments)
sacramento real estate agent: Sacramento Home Sellers' Privacy Violated by a Buyer's Agent
- 02/06/09 06:20 AM
A Sacramento home seller called me yesterday to complain that when he came home from picking up his children, he discovered strangers had entered his home without permission. The fact that the intruders were a buyer's agent and buyers wasn't readily clear, and my client was understandably freaked out. I promised him I would put the agent on notice that he is not permitted to enter a home simply because he can spot a lockbox on the gas pipe. He is required to check MLS showing instructions. On this particular listing, the showing instructions say to call the seller's cell before … (74 comments)
sacramento real estate agent: Senate Approves $15,000 Tax Break for Home Buyers
- 02/04/09 12:48 PM
This is exciting -- the Senate today voted on the economic stimulus package and approved a tax credit for up to 10% of the purchase price with a maximum of $15,000 for home buyers. It's an amended version of what the House passed, which means it still needs to go to committee. But this is double the amount of the present tax credit which, at the moment, isn't really a tax credit at all but instead an interest-free 15-year loan. President Obama is behind this big time. Doesn't look like the Republicans are as enthusiastic, but they are in the minority. … (32 comments)
sacramento real estate agent: Why Not Spread a Little Sunshine Today and Say a Kind Word?
- 02/03/09 02:14 AM
I was feeling a little pressured yesterday because I had my usual set of Monday deadlines to meet, mixed with qualifying several new clients, searching for homes in Land Park that fit a stringent, almost impossible, set of criteria, warding off telemarketers -- I get 2 or 3 calls a day from people pitching products -- and implementing my new marketing plan for 2009. Mondays are always blogging days for my About.com site. Plus, I try to pump out at least one article, and send listing update reports to my sellers, but I had an appointment with a client, which meant … (27 comments)
sacramento real estate agent: The Saga with Earnest Money Deposits on Bank-Owned Homes in Sacramento
- 01/30/09 01:40 AM
As the number of foreclosures on the market in Sacramento continue to fall, banks are becomingly more demanding. It's not enough that they may want to see copies of the buyer's bank statements, a large earnest money deposit, a direct lender letter (which means some borrowers have to qualify twice) and proof of eye color before they'll look at an offer on a bank-owned home, but some reo lenders are insisting that the buyer's earnest money deposit become non-refundable upon offer acceptance. Since turnaround time can be excruciatingly slow in many cases, that time lag can give a buyer the chance … (20 comments)
sacramento real estate agent: A Home Can Be on the Market for a Year and Get Two Offers on the Same Day
- 01/27/09 01:00 AM
A reader from my homebuying forum on About.com asked me why there isn't more transparency in real estate. This buyer was in escrow on a short sale when the seller received another offer from an all-cash buyer. That second buyer offered to sell the home to the first set of buyers at a higher price. The reader put the blame of the housing bubble on agents pushing multiple offers that drove up prices, and implied that listing and selling agents are working together behind the scenes, devising secret plans to get higher prices so the agents can earn more money. In … (16 comments)
sacramento real estate agent: Real Estate Agent Beaten in Midtown Sacramento
- 01/26/09 01:11 PM
I received a very disturbing email from an agent I'm in escrow with. Her husband threw her a 30th birthday party at The MoMo Lounge, a block away from my midtown Lyon real estate office at 27th and J Streets. According to my friend, her husband was assured there would be security provided for this very important and private party. In the middle of this special occasion over the weekend, the agent saw three people she did not know standing by the handbags. She walked over to question them, asking if they were friends of her husband. The man spat in … (15 comments)
sacramento real estate agent: Review of Akebono II on Freeport south of Land Park
- 01/26/09 01:45 AM
Ever since the 1980s, I've been dining on sushi and sashimi at least once a week or so. I'm like an addict who needs a fix. After a week without sushi, I begin to feel a strong craving for raw fish. I don't want to turn into a walking thermometer like Jeremy Piven, but if I find hamachi in the vicinity of my mouth, in it goes. A Japanese restaurant opened in Sacramento a couple years ago down Freeport, just south of Sutterville from Land Park called Akebono II. I think the first Akebono is in Granite Bay. It's a strange … (4 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.
A weird thing happened yesterday. Instead of receiving The Sacramento Bee on my doorstep, The New York Times Sunday edition was there. I realized something was amiss when I opened the door because instead of a skinny little wad with a dead spider stuck in the middle, the paper was thick and neatly bound.
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