You can't be a Sacramento short sale agent or any kind of real estate agent, for that matter, without running into crazy people. It just comes with the territory. Lots of agents don't mind working with crazy people, but I find them to be a little bit too unpredictable. You never know when they will fly off the handle, what will set them off. They can hit you blindsided. If you aren't careful, they could probably shoot you in the back, too. That's the thing, you just never know.
Real estate is a dangerous business. It's not that I am paranoid, because I am actually a fairly trusting person. I believe in the goodness of people. Laugh if you like, but I truly do believe that people want to do the right things and they are innocent in their hearts. Then, there is this other side of me that has walked down the wrong side of the tracks at night. This side of me carries a can of mace.
I don't have it in my heart to lay it all on the line when I first meet a crazy person. Part of the reason is because sometimes they don't have to know what I think. They want their home sold, and it's my job to sell it. It's not my job to ask them why a week's worth of dirty dishes are in the sink or why they don't use the pantry for their groceries. I don't question the broken bed and mattress on the floor. I try to step delicately over the piles of busted-up crap and garbage, strewn from wall to wall.
If I don't take this listing, somebody else will. There is an agent around every corner. One for every 35 people in California. And since it's a short sale, the odds are fairly high that some other agent might not close it. Then, where will these people end up? Who will take care of them?
The problem is that at some point down the road, I have to disclose to these people that they live in a dump and their home is a toxic-waste bed. I have to say the emperor has no clothes. The problem is the aftermath. I get to watch the seller's face turn green and her head spin around in its socket, just like Linda Blair. Then, she chases me around the dining room table with a broken switchblade, screaming in gibberish.
Who says real estate isn't exciting? But I don't think I am going to take these types of listings anymore.
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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.
