A short sale or no short sales, when buyers don't conform to the marketplace, many agents will dump those buyers because they view those people as a waste of time. Conforming to the market means the buyer is looking in the price range the buyer can afford to pay, and the buyer is willing to buy one of those available homes. Now, I don't work with insane people, if I can help it, but I will work with buyers I like -- even if they don't fit the mold -- as long as they are serious about buying a home.
See, this is the thing, first-time home buyers for neighborhoods such as East Sacramento or Land Park often want more home than an entry-level price will allow. I'm talking about those two-bedroom, one-bath, 1,000 square-foot homes. Without much updating, these homes sell between $250,000 and $300,000, give or take.
I've been working with a buyer for more than a year who really wants a home in East Sacramento. That's because I know I can help her, and I like her. We were in escrow twice, trying to buy other agents' short sale listings, both of which collapsed due to circumstances beyond our control. In one situation, the seller, mid-stream, elected to pursue a loan modification. Poor guy, lottsa luck. In the second, the listing agent wasn't on top of the short sale and the bank foreclosed. Spittooey. I hate it when that happens.
This particular buyer, in reality, wants a nicer home than she can afford to buy. Does that mean she doesn't deserve it? It's sort of like looking for a needle in a haystack. But those situations are present in East Sacramento. This buyer is patient. I know how to spot deals when I see them, because they are there if you know where and how to look.
Last month, we found this buyer an excellent East Sacramento short sale. Believe it or not, the bank approved the short sale in two days -- and it wasn't a Wachovia short sale, in case you're wondering. It was a situation in which the previous buyer had walked away upon short sale approval and the home was scheduled for auction. The home had appraised for about $35,000 more than the buyer is paying. As an East Sacramento agent, I knew it was a steal when I first laid eyes on it. Plus, the bank is paying the buyer's closing costs, a stipulation of the contract that the listing agent did not believe we had a chance in hell of getting.
Reminds me of a David Duchovny poster.
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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.
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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.
