Elizabeth Weintraub • Sacramento Short Sale Agent • Land Park

I've been pretty busy lately listing short sales throughout Sacramento and in Land Park. In fact, I just listed another short sale home in Land Park last night. This is a home that had previously been on the market for a long time, listed with several other real estate agents at prices that buyers for homes in Land Park would not accept.

Since this weekend, I've taken 3 new short sale listings, which I will negotiate for those sellers personally. At all my appointments lately, after I explain how the complete short sale process works, I've noticed the same thing happening, right after I say that it's pretty much like any other non-short sale listing with one exception.

That exception is within 7 to 14 days, the sellers will probably be in escrow as an active short contingent.

When I tell sellers that prediction, their eyes open wide. I can see the shock in their expressions and sense their disbelief. And I know why. It's not an unusual reaction. It's a tough market. Sellers who have had their homes on the market, month after month without any offers, often feel they are facing a long road with no real destination. Sellers who own homes in severely depressed neighborhoods, which are not in the Land Park area, sometimes feel that the rug is being pulled out from under them, and they fear that no buyer will want their home.

The words: 7 to 14 days before you'll be in escrow, doesn't always register with sellers. In fact, when I explain that not only will they be in escrow, but they will most likely have multiple offers to choose from, their jaws drop.

But it's true. It's not like I have a crystal ball or anything; I just see it happen again and again and again. I've been a Sacramento short sale agent for a long time. The procedures that apply to regular listings are slightly different than how I handle short sale listings. I market those listings with other objectives in mind because the target audience is a bit different. But I can accurately predict how long it will take before a short sale seller is in contract.

Back-on-the-market listings, not so much. They are another story. But new short sale listings, yes. The basic reason why the days on market would generally run past 2 weeks is when the home is occupied by a tenant who requires an appointment. But soon as that tenant moves out, bam, offers roll in. Or the home requires too many repairs, which limits the type of buyers. Not every buyer wants a fixer upper.

If you're looking for a short sale agent in the Sacramento area, give me a ring or drop me an email. I'd love to speak with you.

Almost unheard of in Sacramento -- as we are at the mercy of the Sacramento River and the American River, not to mention the Folsom Dam -- but some parts of Sacramento are not located in a flood zone, and neither is this Land Park short sale. It's located high on a hill. I live a few blocks away and have researched the time it would take to vacate during a possible flood. I have 8 hours before my home could be underwater, and I'm talking about flood waters, not a short sale situation.

This Land Park home boasts all the charm of a Tudor inside: oversized fireplace, crown molding, hardwood floors throughout, except the family room and baths, which are tiled. Curved archways. Barrel ceilings in the living room and front bedroom. It also has modern updates. The kitchen is remodeled and features a spacious breakfast nook, but it also has a formal dining room. The family room is located through French doors from the dining room.

A unique feature is the pass-through from the kitchen to the family room, with additional dining offered along the tiled counter on the other side of the kitchen. The mastersuite overlooks the pretty back yard.

Where can you buy a home in Land Park for less than $200 a square foot these days? Come check out 917 McClatchy Way; it has approximately 1,454 square feet plus a garage. It's offered as a short sale at $289,000. On tour exclusively for Lyon Real Estate agents between 10 AM and 2 PM on Wednesday, June 17th.

Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub

917 McClatchy Way, Sacramento, CA 95818

Offered at $289,000, subject to third party approval as a short sale

Elizabeth Weintraub, 916.233.6759

Lyon Real Estate

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Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, 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 Sacramento. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you.

The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available in bookstores everywhere and at Amazon.com.

Sacramento Short Sale Agent, Elizabeth Weintraub, has the answers to your Sacramento short sale questions.

One of the things about online marketing is it may cause confusion among some home buyers and sellers. It's often hard to immediately pinpoint who the listing agent is for some of the homes you see for sale. Sometimes agents can't figure it out, either.

An agent called me earlier this week to inquire about a short sale Sacramento listing on Robertson Way in Land Park. I tried to explain that I do not have a listing on Robertson in Land Park. I have 18 listings -- 16 of which are Sacramento short sales -- but none is on Robertson. She refused to believe me. "Your photo is on this listing," she said, and continued to insist that Robertson was my listing, regardless of what I had to say about it. Finally, she turned to her buyer and asked where the buyer found the listing. "On the internet," the buyer responded.

The agent hung up before I could find out exactly which website the had buyer pulled that listing from as I market on a number of sites.

Then yesterday another person called me to say somebody had broken into a listing on Pomegranate. He wanted me to know the front door was kicked in and thugs were stripping the foreclosure home. "You should call the police," I said.

The caller said the police don't care and won't do anything about vandalism or the stripping of foreclosured homes. Why did he call me? Pomegranate isn't my listing. I asked whose name was on the sign in the yard? There was no sign in the yard. The caller had picked up my name online. Fine, I'll call the listing agent myself. I looked up the listing in MLS and called the listing agent's assistant to let them know their foreclosure listing may be getting stripped. They called the police.

I don't know if internet marketing is a blessing or a curse. But if you're looking for a Sacramento short sale agent or to sell a short sale in Land Park, rest assured that I'm your agent. Call me. I answer my phone.

Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, 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 Sacramento. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you.

The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available in bookstores everywhere and at Amazon.com.