Because I receive so many phone calls throughout the day, it's sometimes difficult for me to answer my cell when it rings. This means callers often end up having to leave a message. I'm only one person and can't be on two phones at the same time. To deal with this situation, I have my team member's name and phone number listed first in MLS. This way she can talk to buyers and buyer's agents for me, freeing up my time to deal with other Sacramento short sale business.
However, every so often, I get a buyer's phone call. The first thing they ask is "How much is that home listed for?" Well, I have to answer them honestly. I know they expect me to throw out a number, but that number has variables to it, and I feel compelled to explain. Because list price and sales price can be two very different animals in a short sale.
That short sale can be listed under market value, at market value or even above market value. It depends on the type of property, location of home, whether it's a seller's, buyer's or neutral marketplace, the type of short sale: FHA, regular or HAFA short sale, among other factors.
In addition to all of that, I have a fiduciary duty to get the highest price possible for the seller. I can't tell a buyer to offer less. I have one short sale in Sacramento, for example, that is in escrow at more than $100,000 above list price. Another Elk Grove short sale received more than 15 offers.
While I would never discourage a buyer from writing an offer, sometimes I have to wonder where buyers get their prices. A buyer yesterday wanted to offer 50% of the sales price. Now, I realize that some of us come into life with all of our brain cells intact and some of us lose a few brain cells along the way; however, some of us should not be allowed to wander the streets alone unsupervised. But we can thank Ronald Reagan for that.
Photo: Big Stock Photo
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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 Sacramento. 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 through bookstores everywhere and at Amazon.com.
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.




