sacramento real estate: For Whom Does a Sacramento Listing Agent Work?
- 06/23/12 12:05 AM
An agent who got kicked out of a transaction accused me recently of not working for the banks. That's right, Sherlock. In a Sacramento short sale, I work for the seller. I am not an REO agent. I don't work for the banks. I am a Sacramento real estate agent who has a fiduciary relationship primarily to the seller, limited in scope to the buyer. But as a listing agent in Sacramento who sells a ton of short sales, I work for the seller. Not for the bank. As a fiduciary to the seller, I need to protect the seller's confidential … (2 comments)
sacramento real estate: Where Do Real Estate Agents Draw the Line Before Crossing It?
- 06/26/10 03:32 AM
I have noticed something peculiar happening in the Sacramento real estate market. Now, ordinarily, I do not pay much attention to what other agents are doing because, quite frankly, it's none of my business. My business is to write weekly articles for my homebuying website at About.com, sell my listings -- short sale or otherwise -- put my buyers into contract and write a daily Elizabeth Weintraub blog. That's enough stuff to keep me busy. You know what they say about busy people? If you want something done right, ask a busy person to do it. Lately, though, I've noticed that … (63 comments)
sacramento real estate: Review Appraisals May Cause Delayed Closings in Sacramento
- 05/29/09 02:51 AM
It's not just conventional lenders -- which may be subject to the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) -- that are calling for review appraisals in our Sacramento real estate market. Many FHA loans, once submitted to underwriting, emerge from underwriting with a loan condition for a review appraisal as well. The HVCC was put into place on May 1 as a well intended but messed-up process to ensure accuracy and honesty in an appraisal. Now, conventional lenders must submit a request for an appraisal to an appraisal management company. This company then plucks an appraiser from a pool of appraisers. … (8 comments)
sacramento real estate: April 2009 Real Estate Stats for Sacramento Show Prices Going Up
- 05/16/09 02:56 AM
Home sellers and buyers in the Sacramento market are advised to ask their Lyon real estate agent for Trendgraphix reports specific to their neighborhood. After all, only Lyon agents have access to Trendgraphix; these reports are exclusive to the company and show precisely what is going on in any given area. I use Trendgraphix with my clients, especially with my first-time home buyers, to help them understand what the market is doing, and from there we form a strategic plan. Newspaper and TV stories are mostly general and some pertain to national statistics. And, quite frankly, sometimes people who read articles … (7 comments)
sacramento real estate: Do Not Toss Your Jawbone Into a Flaming Fire, Unless You've Already Tried That
- 03/11/09 01:47 AM
Fed up with my Motorola earpiece, 3 years ago I began investigating new devices and decided the Jawbone headset was most likely the best on the market. I bought a snazzy little red number and have been delighted with it. It truly blocked out noise. I was once standing in the middle of a casino in Reno when an appraiser called me -- bells, chimes, clanging -- and we could both hear each other; the sound was crystal clear. But 3 years is a long time, and Jawbone has made exciting advances. So, I bought new Jawbone yesterday. The new generation … (20 comments)
sacramento real estate: A Fine 2009 Hardly Describes the Sacramento Real Estate Market
- 01/03/09 04:07 AM
My MetroList subscriber log-in screen has a message for me this morning. It shows a couple of beaten-up New Years Eve noisemakers and this note: "Have a Fine 2009." I wonder if the marketing crew at MetroList were limited by space requirements for characters or if they simply decided that it's cute to rhyme 2009 with fine, but it makes me scoff. A fine 2009? Is that the best they can do? I'm not going to have a "fine 2009," I'm looking forward to a spectacular 2009. But that doesn't rhyme. I don't even like the word "fine." For one thing, … (10 comments)
sacramento real estate: Picking an Offering Price is Tricky in Sacramento's Real Estate Market
- 12/11/08 02:11 AM
I believe it's good practice to insist that home buyers choose an offering price because it's their money and their investment, whether the property is a home or a 500-unit apartment building. I give buyers enough information about the neighborhoods we tour, the market trends and facts for the area, coupled with comparable sale data to help them make a decision. Yet almost every buyer pushes that issue and says, "But that's why I hired you as my agent -- I want you to tell me what to offer." It's human nature. I take that to mean they want my opinion, … (11 comments)
sacramento real estate: Using Sound Judgment is Different From Being Judgmental, Especially When Dealing with Buyers
- 10/24/08 11:19 PM
I don't know about you, but it's not always easy to figure out which flowers are ready to be deadheaded and which are babies. In the past, I've felt pangs of guilt after I've snapped off a flower head believing it was dead, only to discover after the flower was in my hand that it was a new baby trying to emerge from its bud, and I had snatched away its life. Many new flowers resemble those that are spent. It's hard to tell the difference. It's better to let them be for a while to see if they open … (51 comments)
sacramento real estate: Sometimes You Gotta Take a Break From Real Estate, If Only for 10 Minutes
- 09/20/08 02:54 AM
So, this is a photo of me from Yearbook Yourself -- if I had been in high school in 1982. (I wasn't because I belong to the Class of 1970.) OK, this Yearbook Yourself is a totally silly site that seems to want nothing from you but to amuse, and there is nothing wrong with that. Erin Attardi turned me on to this site. She found it while on hold and waiting for a short sale negotiator to return to the phone -- and we all know how long that can take! So, she had a good excuse. Me? I have … (30 comments)
sacramento real estate: Don't Get Suckered By Trump University Coming to Sacramento
- 09/14/08 03:56 AM
Trump University is coming to Sacramento next week to give "introductory classes" on how Donald Trump can profit big if you buy his books, CDs and other seminars, er, I mean how you can profit big by buying real estate. Trump University took out a half-page ad in the Sacramento Bee to tout the Perfect Storm in real estate. In the ad, Trump University claims that housing inventories are at a 20-year high, which is absolutely ridiculous. Anybody looking at real estate stats will see the inventory has dropped at least 30% across the board in Sacramento. It also says housing … (12 comments)
sacramento real estate: When Two Buyers Want to Buy the Same House in Midtown -- What Should an Agent Do?
- 09/13/08 07:49 AM
I work with such a wide variety of clients that it's rare to run into a situation where two sets of buyers want the same house, but that's what happened last week. I had showed a Midtown home to a charming couple, we'll call them the Andersons, about three weeks ago. However, the Andersons decided to pursue an REO that ultimately sold way over list and at a price outside of their comfort zone. While I continued to show the Andersons other homes, I called my new buyers, we'll call them the Johnsons, and told them about the home in Midtown, … (18 comments)
sacramento real estate: Why are Land Park and Curtis Park Sellers Suddenly Saying No to Showings?
- 09/05/08 04:04 AM
Inventory in Land Park and Curtis Park has dropped about 30% over the past year, which means there is very little on the market right now. There is a small handful of homes near a million, OK, I can count them on one hand -- and only 20 homes over half a million. And some sellers are pulling a Nancy Reagan and just saying "no" to showings. A client sent me a list of the top six homes they want to see today. Of those, half are not available. Criminy, look at the way my requests for showings break down: … (8 comments)
sacramento real estate: Is the Customer Always Right?
- 09/03/08 02:59 PM
When I temporarily moved in 1990 back to Minneapolis from California, I thought maybe I would take a regular job, you know, a salaried position, while I looked after my mom who had cancer. I applied for a marketing director position at the electric company. One of the questions asked of me in my third interview was: Is the customer always right? Let's just say I didn't get that job. See, that's why I am cut out for real estate. Because I don't have to lie to anybody. A client referred a potential buyer to me last week. This was an … (17 comments)
sacramento real estate: The Sacramento Real Estate Market is Leaning Toward a Neutral Market
- 09/01/08 07:26 AM
I mean to post this graph a couple days ago because it shows exactly how far inventory has dropped in Sacramento. This shows there are 3.7 months of inventory in July, which means it would take less than four months to sell every home presently for sale. Typically, it's a seller's market when there are more buyers than sellers and inventory dwindles to a couple months. It's a buyer's market when there are more sellers than buyers and inventory exceeds 6 months, give or take. Neutral markets exist between 3 and 6 months of inventory. If you're wondering about whether … (2 comments)
sacramento real estate: Lease 2 Own Homes Ordered to Reimburse California Tenants in Rip-Off Scheme
- 07/18/08 01:10 PM
It looks like the lease2ownhomes web site is for sale now. My guess would be the company is trying to raise money to pay back those unfortunate victims of their rental scam, but I don't know this as a fact. As a side note, the company claims it is going into retirement, but we all know how that one plays out. It's likely the company will set up some other way to scam, er, earn a profit. It's owned by Tucows. Get it? 2 Cows. California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown, Jr. today announced that Lease2OwnHomes needs to repay the down … (3 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.
An agent who got kicked out of a transaction accused me recently of not working for the banks. That's right, Sherlock. In a Sacramento short sale, I work for the seller. I am not an REO agent. I don't work for the banks. I am a Sacramento real estate agent who has a fiduciary relationship primarily to the seller, limited in scope to the buyer. But as a listing agent in Sacramento who sells a ton of short sales, I work for the seller. Not for the bank.
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