All agents get these kinds of phone calls. You can't sell short sales in Sacramento without hearing when something awful happens. If a house is vacant in a targeted neighborhood, odds are something terrible will happen. Somebody will swipe the AC unit out of the yard or kick in the door to steal appliances.
Every so often they go so far as to cut off the lockbox. That's hard to do because I've done it myself with a reciprocating saw. It took me a whole 20 minutes, with a lot of vibration and noise. Why the listing agent left his lockbox on my house I'll never know. Those things are expensive. He didn't have very many listings. Maybe that's why. Absolutely no attention to detail. Short attention span, perhaps.
But it's with relief when this Sacramento short sale agent gets a phone call that's NOT about vandalism. When somebody calls to begin a conversation with: I live next door to . . . my first thought is did the place burn down yet? Still standing? That's good. No broken windows? Check. Door still locked? Check.
Yesterday a woman called to complain. I'm a good Sacramento short sale agent. I know patience. I listened to her tale of woe. Her neighbor had moved and the house was vacant. During those winds from last week, the lock on her neighbor's gate broke and the gate flew open. This caused a gap in the fence, and the neighbor's dog could squeeze through the boards and escape. She wanted the fence fixed.
See, I know what happened. She spotted a for sale sign in the yard. A big honkin' sign with my name in small letters hanging from the bottom. I must be responsible for fixing the fence, she thought. So, she called me. And there is no better way to enlist the cooperation of a person you've never met than to raise your voice, demand return phone calls and otherwise be just as obnoxious as you can. Because that works so well!
In fact, if you don't get satisfaction, there is another phone number in huge print on that real estate panel. You can call that number and ask for the manager of the office to complain that her agent won't fix your fence. While you're at it, perhaps you should call Governor Jerry Brown and let him know about it, too. I'm sure he's interested. Maybe you should call the Sacramento Bee. I know, call the cops. File a police report. Then, if you ever call the cops for help, they'll note an asterisk next to that house address and be slow to respond. I'm just kidding, I don't think the cops really do this.
I let the caller know that despite her attitude, I would pass on the message to the seller. No, I won't give her the seller's phone number. No, I won't give her the seller's email address. I imagine it never occurred to this woman that she might have tools lurking in her garage that would aid her in fixing the fence. Fences are shared in Sacramento. That means both parties are responsible for fixing the fence. The party that is annoyed the most, that's generally the most responsible party.
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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.
