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Don't Work So Hard That Your Head Explodes

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

Elizabeth Weintraub Bike RidingPeople ask me how I manage to take time off when I sell so many homes in Sacramento. How many, you might ask? Over the past year (according to MLS) this Sacramento real estate agent has sold 112 homes, maybe more. I figure that production is about 20 times the amount that your average, run-of-the-mill Sacramento agent sells. Does that mean I am crazy busy all the time with no time for myself? Absolutely not. I even have a second job, if you can believe it. I write for the New York Times About.com, covering home buying and selling. I manage its website for that topic as well. I suppose that makes me doubly crazy to some.

What really makes me doubly crazy to some people is the fact I sell a lot of short sales in the four-county area. I have worked with all major banks on a short sale, with a strong emphasis on Bank of America short sales and Wells Fargo short sales. But I also work on many short sales through Chase Bank and Citimortgage, now OneMain Financial. My least favorites are probably PNC and Green Tree but they are definitely doable short sales, just a lot more hassle.

I specialize in FHA short sales and HAFA short sales, in particular GSE HAFAs such as a Fannie Mae HAFA or a Freddie Mac HAFA. Those are especially tricky and complicated, but I excel at attention to detail. This is not bragging, I am proud of that fact and, if I don't share this stuff with you, who will?

It's being organized and working with my fabulous team that saves my sanity. My desk is not piled with paperwork or with files stacked a mile high; it's orderly. I have systems for everything I do and back-up plans.

And that's what frees me to take off Sundays. I can go bike riding if I want. Maybe stroll through the Rock Garden in Land Park. Lounge at a leisurely brunch in Midtown. I check my cell messages for emergencies. But Sundays are my day off. Everybody should schedule a little time in their lives for themselves. Slow down.

Photo: Elizabeth Weintraub at Capitol Park

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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(13)

Edward & Celia Maddox
The Celtic Connection Realty - Queen Creek, AZ
EXPERIENCE & INTEGRITY - WE TAKE THE HIGH ROAD

Sometimes I feel that way with difficult clients.  Best Regards,

Jun 24, 2012 01:24 AM
Elite Home Sales Team
Elite Home Sales Team OC - Corona del Mar, CA
A Tenacious and Skilled Real Estate Team

I have known that we need to take down time and time off.  It is a way to keep centered.

Jun 24, 2012 01:38 AM
Jeffrey DiMuria 321.223.6253 Waves Realty
Waves Realty - Melbourne, FL
Florida Space Coast Homes

I think you need to schedule your down time the same way you schedule your appointments. Love your post.

Jun 24, 2012 01:43 AM
Terri Poehler
Realtor - Coral Springs, FL
Coral Springs Real Estate Agent

Elizabeth, is that you?! Darling you look marvelous!

Jun 24, 2012 01:54 AM
Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Broker
Elizabeth Anne Weintraub, Broker - Sacramento, CA
Put 40 years of experience to work for you

Hey Ed & Celia: There is no such thing as a difficult client in my book.

Hi Elite Homes: We need to regroup from time to time and can't keep going 24 / 7 or we would burn out.

Hi Jeff: You're right, and I do schedule time to take off because if I left it totally up to circumstance, I would never do it. I am a workaholic, and I recognize that in myself.

Hi Terri: Yes, that is me in Capitol Park in Midtown Sacramento. I don't look so bad for a person who is turning 60 this Thursday, if I say so myself.

Jun 24, 2012 02:05 AM
Nancy Conner
Olympia, WA
Olympia/Thurston County WA
And it's a great day for a bike ride! Love your new photo btw...
Jun 24, 2012 02:09 AM
Edward Gilmartin
CRE - Boston, MA

If someone has 112 sales in one year you can be certain that other parts of that persons life have suffered.

Jun 24, 2012 02:12 AM
Dan Hopper
Dan Hopper - Gold Way RE - Westminster, CO
Colorado Broker / Referral Services

Early Happy Birthday, Elizabeth.... so how often have YOU been able to get Wells Fargo to NOT reassign a short sale negotiator, when you end up starting with a new buyer after the short sale approval identifed a different buyer that fell through after being loan denied?  I do not beleive I have ever got them to NOT start the process over again.

Jun 24, 2012 02:22 AM
Chris Ann Cleland
Long and Foster Real Estate - Gainesville, VA
Associate Broker, Bristow, VA

I am loving these photos of you.  How can a Sacramento Short Sale Agent look so carefree?  Because she knows how to get stuff done when she's working and knows when it's time for a break.

Jun 24, 2012 03:15 AM
Mary Douglas
United Country Ponderosa Realty, Red Feather Lakes, Colorado - Red Feather Lakes, CO
REALTOR, Red Feather Lakes, Colorado

I've been wondering how you get it all done Elizabeth!  I finally have a Sunday "off" and look where I am! :-]

Love you photos, too!

Jun 24, 2012 03:48 AM
Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Broker
Elizabeth Anne Weintraub, Broker - Sacramento, CA
Put 40 years of experience to work for you

Hey Nancy, It was a great day for a bike ride!

I think it's a mistake to be absolutely certain of anything in this life, Edward.

Hi Dan: I've had Wells Fargo do a soft decline before. My experience is it's generally a 50 / 50 chance they'll close it, though.

Hi Chris Ann: I know you have the same hectic schedule that I do -- so you completely understand that if somebody wants something done quickly and efficiently, they should ask a busy person to do it!

Hi Mary: Playing around on Active Rain is not exactly the same thing as working.

 

Jun 24, 2012 10:10 AM
Barbara S. Duncan
RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR
GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

Those are beautiful new pictures of you, Elizabeth!  You do look great.

Jun 24, 2012 12:36 PM
James Dray
Fathom Realty - Bentonville, AR

Good morning Elizabeth in case I forget H A P P Y   B I R T H D A Y  have a wonderful day and take some more time off.

Jun 24, 2012 08:24 PM