Elizabeth Weintraub • Sacramento Short Sale Agent • Land Park

An agent yesterday called me a crack up. Because I told him: If your buyer is happy, my life is complete. OK, so maybe I was half joking but I was also half serious. As a Sacramento short sale agent, I am concerned if the buyers for my listings are happy. Primarily because if the buyers are not happy, they can make my life and my short sale sellers' life a living hell. And a living hell is not where I want to be or anybody should be.

We short sale agents have enough stress. How much stress, you ask? I'll tell you. Yesterday, I stood at my FAX machine and pressed "copy" over and over. Nothing happened. You know what they say about doing something over and over, right? And getting the same results? That's the definition of insanity.

My fax machine has been acting weird lately. It tells me I am offline when I am faxing. And it won't produce a copy. I've been too busy to work on it. It's one of those annoyances that is not a high priority until it is.

So, I asked my husband to take a look at my FAX and figure out what's wrong with it. He looked at the function buttons, and I thought he was going to press menu and do the things I have already done. But, no. He opened the tray. It was empty. I had no paper.

It's the ability to laugh at myself, out loud and very loudly, that brings me back to center. A place of peace.

I listed a new short sale in Natomas yesterday, a beautiful two-story with 3,369 square feet and a pool / spa. 440 Lyman Circle, Sacramento, CA 95835 is exclusively offered by Lyon Real Estate as a short sale at $304,900. For more information, call your Sacramento short sale agent, Elizabeth Weintraub, at 916 233 6759. For a private showing, call Linda Swanson at 916 607 0111. Photo of the pool and spa below, by Elizabeth Weintraub.

What is wrong with the world? What is wrong with people? Those are fundamental questions that many of us ask every day, especially those of us who call ourselves a Sacramento short sale agent. Two things I want to say about this. The first is a seller in Land Park emailed me yesterday because he received a nasty anonymous letter. No return address in a plain white envelope addressed to him personally. It was about the For Sale sign in his yard.

You know who can find the name of a seller very easily? Any subscribor to MLS. Any real estate agent can find out who owns a property through MLS. Was it a Coldwell Banker agent? A Dunnigan agent? A Century 21 agent? I don't know. I don't even know if it was an agent but it looks suspicious, and I suggested he file a police report.

The second thing is there is a new film opening at the Crest Theatre today in downtown Sacramento, which is touted as a movie that everybody should see. It's playing at noon, 2:45, 5:30 and 8:15 PM today through Sunday. Monday through Thursday, you can catch a 5:30 or 8:15 show. It's called I AM. It talks about what is wrong with the world and ends up discussing what is right with the world. Did you know that in Aboriginal culture, cooperation is favored and competition is seen as mental illness? Hence, that letter about the sign.

Something else to ponder today -- is it better to buy a short sale home in Elk Grove or in Natomas? I get asked that question a lot. For many people who prefer Natomas, it's because the community is closer to downtown, notwithstanding the Crest Theatre. It takes about 12 minutes to drive downtown from central Natomas.

Here is a short sale home in Natomas. If you've been on the fence between buying a condo or a single family home, this might be the place for you. It combines the best of both but gives you a lot more space. The yard is small, granted, just a covered patio maybe 10-feet wide, pretty maintenance free.

But the home itself sits on the street, around the corner from the main entrance, and it is not located back inside the alleys, so it feels very much like a spacious home inside. It's near Regency Park and Club Center in a PUD development built in 2004.

This home has almost 1,900 square feet and is a 2-story. It's an open floor plan on the first floor. The kitchen boasts oversized ceramic on the floor, granite counters and all the stainless appliances stay, including the black LG refrigerator. The kitchen, dining and living room form a great room concept. But an added surprise is a first-floor bedroom, which no other model has.

The laundry is upstairs in a separate room with cabinets, and the washer and dryer stay. If you want personal appliances, btw, you have to ask for them in the purchase contract or the seller can remove them prior to close of escrow. There is a large master suite with a beautiful master bath and 2 more bedrooms, plus another guest bath. All together, 4 bedrooms and 3 baths. Plus, of course, a 2-car attached garage facing the side.

140 Natalino Circle, Sacramento, CA 95835, is exclusively offered by Lyon Real Estate as a short sale at $199,000. For more information, call your Sacramento short sale agent, Elizabeth Weintraub, at 916 233 6759. For a personal showing, call Barbara Dow at 916 761 7398.

Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub

While the California Housing Financing Agency is adjusting its Keep Your Home California program by now letting those homeowners who have refinanced or taken out loans originating after 2009 to apply, you sort of the get the idea that CalHFA is having a hard time finding anybody who really wants to keep a underwater home. They say more than 2,000 are receiving help but they don't say how many have been approved for the program. And you know they wouldn't extend the program to loans after 2009 if they had enough applications for loans prior to 2009.

Sort of seems that perhaps, and I'm just throwing it out there, that people who need assistance to keep their homes are those whose homes are not underwater and not in the process of qualifying for a short sale. And maybe there aren't too many of those types of homeowners who need assistance outside of that arena.

Here is a short sale in Natomas. If you work downtown and want a short commute, this drive would be about 10 minutes. It's a great home for young professionals or an investor. This home is a halfplex that sits on the corner in a L-shape. The other half wraps around and faces another street, so it's very much like a single family home.

It has 2 bedrooms and 2 baths, plus an attached 2-car garage with laundry. It was built in 1987. The kitchen is open and it has tiled counters, a ceramic floor, a dishwasher, stove and refrigerator. There are laminate floors in the living room and dining room, plus a brick fireplace.

You'll find two exterior access points to the yard, one from the living room to the front yard and sliding doors in the master to a side yard. The front yard is fenced, and it has a gated patio area. Good sized rooms, attractive paint colors. Pretty much move-in condition.

1911 Bandon Way, Sacramento, CA 95833 is exclusively offered by Lyon Real Estate as a short sale at $89,000. For more information, call your Sacramento short sale agent, Elizabeth Weintraub, at 916 233 6759. For a private showing, call Barbara Dow at 916 761 7398.

Photos: C. Laver

I'm looking at my notes for this morning -- when you get to be my age you have to write everything down -- and right next to "refill cat's Prozac prescription" is "buy second Jawbone." That's because my Jawbone has been bleeping out on me, some days before lunch. They don't seem to make a Jawbone that will let you talk continuously for 8 hours, hard as that may seem to believe.

I don't know if you've been to the Jawbone website lately, but now the devices each have their own individual name: the Thinker, the Bombshell, the Catch.  I'm surprised it's not a "collection." Oh, wait, it is. The Icon Collection. The worst part is having to make a choice. I had planned on getting a red one, but the Icon design is lighter and pretty cool. I'm gravitating toward the style that looks like earrings. Making choices is difficult when there are so many fabulous options to choose from. Aackk. This is more difficult than buying a pair of red shoes.

Here is a fabulous option for a home that once you see it, you'll want to buy it. No hesitation, no questions asked. This is a Pulte-built one-story in the subdivision of Northborough in Natomas. It's located on a quiet cul-de-sac right off Rockmont Circle. It has 2,369 square feet and, although it was built in 2002, the sellers have already made upgrades and improvements.

They replaced the counters in the kitchen with beautifully fabricated granite slab and installed a custom-designed island. For entertaining purposes, there is space in the kitchen for a table, additional seating along the breakfast bar plus a formal dining area in the living room. Some of the ceilings are 12-feet high. The entry ceiling could be 16-feet high.

This home has 3 bedrooms plus a home office, which could be converted to a 4th bedroom, and 2 1/2 baths. The family room has a raised fireplace and a space for a built-in entertainment center.

The back yard is exquisite. You'll find a custom covered patio that runs the entire length of the home, with columns, a wood ceiling, ceiling fans, lights -- everything you'd expect to find in an outdoor entertainment area. It's a perfect space for escaping the heat of simmering Sacramento summers. The yard is huge for Natomas. It's almost 1/3 of an acre. There are raised garden beds at one end and, at the other, a Koi pond and waterfall. The Koi fish can stay if a buyer wants to take care of them during escrow.

15 Seacrest Court, Sacramento, CA 95835 is exclusively offered by Lyon Real Estate as a short sale at $280,000. Call your Sacramento short sale agent, Elizabeth Weintraub, for more information at 916 233 6759.

Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub