One of the big benefits of writing about homebuying for About.com is I get to write whatever I want to write. Nobody tells me what to say or censors my material. It's like writing a blog except I get paid directly for it. You could write for About.com, too, if you have a passion for a topic and consider yourself an expert. It pays very well. You could probably live on it.
I noticed yesterday that I have written 97 short sale articles so far. Make no mistake, being a Sacramento short sale agent has been beneficial to me in more ways than one. For one thing, the huge volume of transactions that I now annually close has been exceeding the number of deals your average real estate agent closes over 10 years of time.
Every short sale I close helps me to write an article. It gives me invaluable experience. Experience that I freely share with the public. That's because I analyze almost everything I do. I try to figure out how I can improve my performance, my service and my commitment to quality. When I figure something out -- and there is always room for improvement in my book -- I share it.
For example, just the other day it dawned on me how to deal with price reductions. Specifically when the comparable sales do not support the falling real estate market in Sacramento. That's because in many neighborhoods, the active listings and the pending sales are listed at prices less than the sold listings. The market is declining. Yet BPO agents will use the comparable sales and give no value to the listings that will become the comparable sales.
Short sales take a long time to close. The pendings will be the comps, as will the non-short sale active listings. If you have an equity listing, a regular transaction in which the seller stands to make a profit, and that seller is listing the home for less than the comps state, you can be pretty well assured that home will sell eventually for less than the comps. Especially if it's been on the market for a while. But some BPO agents can't wrap their heads around that concept.
So, when I do a price reduction, there is a lot of leftover space on the ZipForm Modification of Terms. It's wasted space. It's space that I could be using to alert a short sale negotiator. It's my free billboard. And I hadn't been using it. So, now I talk about how long the home has been on the market, how many showings we've had, and I justify the price reduction. Why didn't I think of that a few years ago? See, this is a brilliant strategy, if I say so myself. And now you know how to do it.
Moreover, if you're stuck in short sale hell, have fallen into that big black hole of no return, no action, no emails, no phone calls, here is a solution for you and your short sale agent. Here is how to escalate a short sale. It's a response to a real email I received. I hope you enjoy it. I had fun writing it. And that's what this business is all about. Having fun.
Here is a photo of Crater Lake from my husband's present journey:
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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.
