There's an agent in my Sacramento midtown office who goes through cell phones like Kleenex. He has lobbed his phone off a hotel lobby, pitched another across the room and dropped a third in the toilet. Yet, he survives without going insane. I don't know how he does it.
If I lost my cell, I'd most likely panic. I'd rush down to the nearest T-Mobile and buy another BlackBerry without batting an eye. I wouldn't immediately search for my phone. Fortunately, I back up my address book online because that chip is the most important thing inside a phone.
So, I was a little astonished when showing homes in Sacramento a few weeks ago to discover a Verizon phone on the kitchen counter in a vacant home, among a handful of scattered business cards. I picked it up, and started pressing buttons. All phones are not intuitive. I could not figure out how to dial a number.
The phone contained information that clearly indicated it was owned by a real estate agent. I handed the phone to my client, who is a computer teckie guy, and he couldn't figure out how to dial a number, either.
As he was looking for a home phone number in the phone's address book, I grabbed my BlackBerry and called the cell numbers listed on the business cards scattered about. The Verizon phone did not ring.
"Maybe the agent who owned the phone mixed up the phone with his business card," joked my client. The agent apparently did not leave a business card on the counter. But we found a home phone number, and I called it from my BlackBerry. We reached the owner's daughter and explained that we found a lost phone containing a home number. She thanked us for finding her mom's phone. Then she said her mom sells real estate in Orangevale and wanted to know what her mom was doing showing homes in Land Park or anywhere in Sacramento. Aiiiieeee. If we knew that, we wouldn't be calling the daughter.
I gave her daughter the address of my Lyon Real Estate Land Park office and left the phone with the office assistant there on duty. I realized later that I didn't leave my business card with her phone, so the person who lost it will never know who turned it in for her. But that's OK. The important thing is that the agent get her phone back.
Since my BlackBerry is strapped to my person or my bag, losing it is out of the question. That doesn't mean there aren't days, though, that I wish one of my cats would bat it through the screen door.
The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, coming May 15
Photo: Big Stock Photo
If you're looking for a Land Park agent who specializes in Land Park, Curtis Park or East Sacramento, call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759.
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Certified HAFA Specialist
My Sacramento Real Estate Listings
Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout the four-county Sacramento area. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate. DRE License # 00697006.
The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available at Amazon.com.
Lyon Real Estate is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.
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 Lyon Real Estate.
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.
