It seems a lot of my business comes from people who say they have called a lot of other real estate agents -- what am I? Chopped liver? -- However, by the time they get to me, they are so happy to talk to an East Sacramento real estate agent who answers her phone that they are beside themselves. I had such a call a week ago.
The buyer emphatically said she was not ready to work with a real estate agent but had questions about my listing. We talked a little. I listened. Asked questions. She responded. Then I suggested that maybe she would benefit by receiving listings directly from MLS, instead of driving around and calling listing agents who don't answer their phones.
Based on her needs and my knowledge of the market, I emailed her data on a few homes in East Sacramento on Monday. She called me on Tuesday to arrange a tour for Wednesday. By Thursday afternoon she was in contract. And in shock.
When I met her dad on Sunday to show the property in daylight hours, he took me aside and said, "I've known a lot of real estate agents in my life -- a lot -- and this is the first time I've heard an agent suggest a lower price than what the buyer wanted to offer."
Hey, it's my job to get the buyer the best deal possible. Maybe her dad never worked with a buyer's agent before? I can't, for the life of me, imagine an agent refusing to provide guidance on offer pricing. We're in the trenches day in and day out; we know our inventory and market value. To withhold this knowledge from a buyer seems unthinkable to me and would be a violation of our fiduciary relationship with our clients.
The upshot is this buyer purchased a probate home in East Sacramento for $225,000. When was the last time you heard of that kind of sales price? The deals are out there if you know where to look. So, the next time you call a listing agent, ask that agent about the area where you are looking. You might be pleasantly surprised at what you can find.
Photo: Elizabeth Weintraub (a home in East Sacramento but not the home in this blog)
The Short Sale, by Elizabeth Weintraub, coming from Archer Ellison in January 2009.
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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.
