Elizabeth Weintraub • Sacramento Short Sale Agent • Land Park

Have you ever tried to grow an avocado tree from the pit? I was describing the error of my ways last night at a dinner event held at Ella Dining Room and Bar in Sacramento. A farmer was at our table. She brings in Hass avocados from southern Cal to ripen naturally on her farm in Sacramento. I had no idea that avocados are picked and then sprayed with a chemical to make them ripen faster, nor that the more natural way to ripen avocados is to leave them out in the sun. They don't ripen on the vine in any case.

I mentioned that as a kid growing up in Minnesota, I was fascinated by avocados. I tried to grow them by inserting a toothpick in each end and sticking the pit in a glass of water placed on a window ledge. Half the time the water evaporated, but even when I would remember to put water in the glass, the darned things never sprouted.

Well, that's because I was sticking the toothpicks into the north and south poles. Imagine my shock when I finally figured out after moving to California that you needed 3 toothpicks (I always wondered what that extra toothpick was for), because the sprouts occur on the soft ends. Duh. Fortunately, I wasn't the only clueless person at my table.

Here is a home where you could try to grow avocados. However, let me say that I think our winters are too cold and wet for them, but I have had luck in sprouting them and putting them into the garden, where they eventually die when the rains set in. Hey, it was fun while it lasted. Avocados still make a nice houseplant, though.

This is a 2005 one-story, built by D.R. Horton in the Bilby Meadows subdivision of Elk Grove. It has 4 bedrooms and 2 baths and approximately 2,078 square feet. It's on the market as a short sale because the sellers are moving to North Carolina for a job transfer. Why are so many people from Sacramento moving to North Carolina? I have a lot of clients who either choose North Carolina or Texas. Those seem to be the two most popular destinations.

One of the unique features and upgrades in this home is its distressed 5" plank hardwood floors. It really makes a difference in the overall appearance and is simply beautiful. The floors extend from the entry, into the kitchen, dining area and family room.

You'll find plenty of upgrades throughout such as stone on the front of the home, plantation shutters on the windows and a better grade of carpeting. In the kitchen, the counters are quartz, and the cabinets are cherry. The darker wood blends nicely with the hardwood flooring. There is even an island with a sink in the kitchen, which does double duty as a breakfast bar.

Two of the bedrooms are located at one end of the hall and two are at the other end. This is especially nice if you have a baby and want the nursery right next to the master suite.

Although you can't tell it from the photo of the front, this home has a 3-car garage. The single-car garage faces the 2-car at a 90-degree angle. You can access the single-car entrance door from the sidewalk entrance.

10328 Marlaw Way, Elk Grove, Ca 95757, is offered exclusively as a short sale by Lyon Real Estate at $275,000. For more information, please contact your Sacramento short sale agent, Elizabeth Weintraub, at 916 233 6759.

One of the main duties a Sacramento short sale agent performs when listing a short sale is to match that seller with the perfect buyer. Because not every buyer who writes an offer on a short sale is really a buyer. I'm not sure what you call those people, but they aren't buyers. One buyer's agent took offense the other day when we asked his buyer to deposit funds into escrow, but that's what buyers do. They submit an earnest money deposit. So, eventually, the buyer relinquished the check.

I'm not in the business of playing house. When I was a kid, though, I used to do it. I jumped in my sandbox, pounded boards into the ground all around it, hung up old sheets and pretended it was my house. It looked like a house, but in reality, it was really just a sandbox.

Over the weekend, I received a phone call from a buyer's agent regarding a certain short sale listing. He was very excited and couldn't wait to tell me how much his buyer loved my seller's home. He had an offer to send. Great. We love offers. Oh, wait, he just then read the seller's instructions in MLS. What the? Were we serious? We actually intend to close this escrow and want his buyer to wait for approval without writing offers on other homes? What were we smoking? He wasn't sending an offer now, and he defiantly terminated the call without saying goodbye.

I hate to say it but this was a Lyon Real Estate agent. I guess as agents we're all different. I've closed more than 30 transactions this year so far because that's the business I am in. I'm not in the business to open escrow; I'm in the business of closing escrow.

Fortunately, last night I received a very nice offer from a buyer who not only will give us a big, whopping $10,000 earnest money deposit but offered to wait at least 4 months for short sale approval -- without letting the eyes wander. It won't take that long. I will probably get approval in 45 days on this one. But this is the perfect buyer for that short sale listing. Because this is a buyer who undoubtedly will close escrow. We're in sync. Dancing to the same tune.

Here is a new short sale listing in Elk Grove, waiting for the perfect dance partner. If you like mid-century homes, let me tell you, 1966 was a great year. Bar-bar-bar, Bar-bar-bra Ann. It's all happening at the zoo. All the leaves are brown and the sky is blue. You're gonna love the funky '60s glass in the front door of this home.

It has an open floor plan. You walk past the floating brick wall and into the dining room / kitchen and step-down family room area. On the way, you pass the formal living room, which is a satellite and lonely room because people just don't use a living room anymore. Which means if you wanted to, you could actually use this room as a home office. Hey, it's your house, you can do whatever you want.

The family room has a sliding door to a covered patio area and a wall with bookcases on each end and a brick fireplace in the middle. The fireplace is wood burning -- this is 1966 built, after all -- but it's also gas piped.

In the kitchen, you'll find a free-standing electric stove, built-in dishwasher, and the refrigerator stays with the home. The cabinets are original but in pretty good condition for the age. Of course, the home has central heat and air.

All the windows were replaced with dual pane in April of last year. They slide side to side. In fact, the living room window glass runs the entire length of the front wall.

The master suite features a built-in make-up vanity, which I wish I had in my own home. It also has its own bath, which is updated. There is another bath in the hall and a bedroom on the other end.

But wait until you get to the yard. It's really pretty with cedar trees, roses, an Asian ornamental fruit tree and an uncovered patio at the rear. Let's see, what else, the laundry is located in the attached 2-car garage, the washer and dryer stay, and there is a utility sink. Well, what are you waiting for?

9424 2nd Avenue, Elk Grove, CA 95624 is exclusively offered by Lyon Real Estate as a short sale at $170,000. For more information, call your Sacramento short sale agent, Elizabeth Weintraub, at 916 233 6759.

Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub

Because first-time home buyers make up the majority of home buyers in Sacramento, I work with a lot of first-time home buyers. It never amazes me what types of questions they ask. I tell all my buyers there are no dumb questions. If a person has no experience in buying a home, an agent should be there to guide every step of the way.

Every so often I might get asked a question that is amusing, though. Like last week. A buyer did not understand why the seller wouldn't give him the keys. Even though the transaction has not yet closed, the buyer thought the seller should turnover the keys so he could start working on the home. "It needs so much work," he said, "I'd like to get started." The only problem is he can't have the keys until he owns the home. He won't own the home until escrow closes.

This four-bedroom, two-bath home in Elk Grove does not need any work. It's in move-in condition. The seller recently replaced all of the carpeting and bought a new stove. The burners on her old stove were sort of crusty. I suggested that she soak the burner grates overnight in oven cleaner. Or she could try scrubbing them with a Brillo pad. But instead the seller bought a new stove. Hey, that's something I would do. The new gas stove matches the newer built-in microwave and dishwasher. The seller is also leaving the refrigerator.

Originally, this home had a 2-car garage. With a permit, the seller enlarged the entry and added a fourth bedroom. Now it has a one-car garage, but the conversion was done so beautifully it appears to be original, even though it is not.

The family room has a gas-piped fireplace, and you'll find a separate dining area. This great room concept features a wall that is open near the ceiling, creating a sense of space.

Two of the bedrooms are located down the hall toward the back yard. A third is off the dining room, and the fourth is off the entry, making this remote bedroom perfect for out-of-town guests, a teenager seeking privacy or maybe a roommate.

The master suite overlooks the pool and has sliding glass doors to the patio. The pool was added a couple of years ago, and the seller said it cost about $40,000. It's beautiful. The pool is gunite construction, it has a water fall, plus solar heating. Gardens form a back-drop behind the pool.

This is not a short sale nor a foreclosure. The seller has owned this home for a long time, which means a buyer could close escrow very quickly. Best of all, it's offered at a reasonable and affordable price for an Elk Grove pool home in Laguna Vista.

5527 Adobe Spring Way, Elk Grove, CA 95758 is exclusively offered by Lyon Real Estate at $213,000. For more information, call listing agent Elizabeth Weintraub at 916 233 6759. Or come to the open house on Sunday, June 6th, from 2 to 4 PM. Check out the virtual tour.

Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub

I'm looking for 3 things when I walk through a client's home to do my agent visual inspection disclosure. The first is saleable features. What is it about this home that makes it special? The second is defects. What am I required to disclose to a potential buyer and should the seller fix the defect? The third is presentation. How would I rearrange a room or change it?

Yesterday, as I walked through my new short sale listing in Elk Grove, furiously scribbling on my clipboard, I heard a familiar sound coming from one of the bedrooms. Why was this music familiar to me? I poked in my head and found this little boy sprawled out on the bed with his laptop, playing a computer game. Aha. Plants vs. Zombies. My favorite game! I instantly put down my clipboard and got all excited: "No, no, he's going to eat your sunflower and get runover by the tractors. Put down a pea shooter."

The kid kept telling me that he knew what he was doing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The voice of experience in my head realized the dreadful sound of DUM, DUM, DUM was just around the corner. He was losing. Hate to say it, kid, but the zombies ate your brain. I could see it coming.

Sometimes people don't want advice. I recognize that trait. You can try to be the most helpful person in the world, with your heart in the right place, but if the recipient is not receptive, your advice falls on deaf ears and is worthless. Next time, though, I bet he puts down a pea shooter.

Here is a charming 3 bedroom, 2 bath home in the Laguna Vista subdivision in Elk Grove. It's located just east of Franklin and north of Calvine on a delightful street dotted with homes exhibiting curb appeal and pride of ownership.

It has soaring vaulted ceilings with interesting angles in the living room, dining room and master suite. There is a fireplace in the living room, and the dining area is separated by a column.

The kitchen is very large. It has a garden window, sliding doors to the back yard, a vinyl floor, oak cabinets, ceramic counters and an island. There is space in the kitchen for a table as well. First-time home buyers will like this home because it comes with all the appliances such as a free-standing refrigerator and stove, built-in dishwasher and microwave, plus the washer and dryer in the hall laundry room stay with the home.

You can't really see the sliding glass doors in the master bedroom because there is a dresser planted in front of it. But the master does have outside access. The master bath has dual sinks and a walk-in closet.

The back yard is fenced and sports a lemon tree and an orange tree, both of which appear to be producing fruit. There's also a large uncovered patio area.

5400 Lake Pleasant Drive, Elk Grove, CA 95758 is exclusively offered by Lyon Real Estate as a short sale at $165,000. For more information, please call your Sacramento short sale agent, Elizabeth Weintraub, at 916 233 6759.

Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub

See, this is what you get with flashy shoes. I was sitting at my client's kitchen table yesterday signing paperwork for my new short sale listing when all of a sudden I felt something cold on my toes. Made me jump. I looked under the table and discovered a small child stroking my feet. She was attracted to the sparkly glass glued to the top of my shoes. It was a good thing I didn't kick her. I managed to do that later, though, and felt awful about it.

With little kids, you've got to watch them 24 / 7. They just do whatever they want to do without thought to possible consequences. They are free spirits.

Then, we were standing near the family room talking about the extensive amount of upgrades in the home when I jumped again. Somehow, this little girl had quietly crawled across the floor and was back to pet my feet. This time, as I jumped back, I accidentally knocked the baby to the floor. Thump, she landed on her butt and started to cry. My heart broke. Geez, I can't take a listing without killing the kids. I wonder if she'll grow up to be a shoe-aholic like me?

Here is a new short sale listing in Elk Grove. This is a Cambridge home, the Saint Helena model, built in 2006, with 4 - 5 bedrooms and 3 baths. Several amenities make this home stand out from the other short sales on the market in the Eastmeadow subdivision. First, it has an excellent location at the end of a cul-de-sac. This means you won't have to put up with traffic driving by your home. Second, it has almost every imaginable upgrade apart from a warming drawer in the kitchen, including a water softener, whole house fan and multizone controls for the HVAC.

You'll find beautiful pecan hardwood floors in the kitchen, formal dining room and hallway. All the stainless kitchen appliances stay, including the counter-depth and extra wide refrigerator. A large island with a sink and granite counter has a built-in trash compactor. There is plenty of space in the kitchen for a table.

The sellers say they counted the windows in this home and they have more than 50 of them, most of which feature plantation shutters. The laundry is on the first floor, and so is that highly desirable downstairs' bedroom. Full bath as well, plus a butler's pantry off the kitchen. The family room is open to the kitchen and has a fireplace next to a custom built-in entertainment center. In fact, this home has 3 fireplaces: family room, living room and master suite!

On the second floor, you'll find an open area that could be used as an office or den area. Around the corner is a big bonus room. There are 2 more spacious bedrooms, another full bath with ceramic flooring and vanity, plus a gigantic master suite and sitting room. The home boasts about 3,598 square feet. It's like having your own little world upstairs.

The back yard is immaculate and pretty private. It has a covered patio, plus there is another patio set up for dining off the dining room. Of course, it has the coveted three-car garage as well.

6916 Riqueza Court, Elk Grove, CA 95757, is offered exclusively by Lyon Real Estate as a short sale at $340,000. The sellers originally paid more than $750,000 for this home. For more information, please call your Sacramento short sale agent, Elizabeth Weintraub, at 916 233 6759.

See the virtual tour of Riqueza.

Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub

How fast can a Sacramento short sale agent type a listing? You would not believe the volume of paperwork involved in taking a listing. In fact, some agents don't type listings; they hand write. But when one types as fast as I do, which is about 120 WPM, typing a listing is the only way to go.

I write so many month after month that I've finally got it down to a science. Why, I can prepare a listing in about 40 minutes, disclosures and all, down to the printed label on the file folder. While talking on the phone. But not while brushing my teeth or with one hand tied behind my back. I do have my limitations.

I was in the middle of preparing a listing yesterday when a buyer called. He wanted to know when he would receive an addendum, which we needed before his closing. So, I stopped what I was doing to focus on him. The listing agent had not yet replied to my request for an addendum.

I explained to the buyer that I had no idea why we had not yet received the addendum, as I had made multiple requests. Speaking as though I was addressing the listing agent, I raised my voice a little and said, "This makes me want to say, why don't you just get in your car, drive over to the seller's house and get that darned addendum signed, for crying out loud."

My buyer responded meekly, "OK, but where do I go?"

I laughed so hard I thought my sides were going to split. I don't know which I found more amusing -- that the buyer, a doctor, for even a moment thought I would speak to him in that manner, or that he was actually willing to get in his car and go to the seller's house.

Here is a new short sale in Elk Grove. This home was built in 2005. It has 4 bedrooms, 2 baths and a giant loft that is presently used as a 5th bedroom. It's basically a single story with a loft, and it has 2,667 square feet, according to the Sacramento County Assessor.

The entry features a tiled hall, offset by floor-to-ceiling columns. The living room, off to the right, is carpeted. It has a great room concept, combining the dining area, kitchen and family room with a fireplace. Upgrades include 2-inch blinds on the windows, tiled counters and ceiling fans.

Laundry is located in a separate room, and it has a 2-car attached garage. An usual feature is the back yard. There is a greenbelt and a scenic creek, which is full when it rains.

10252 Shoech Way, Elk Grove, CA 95757 is exclusively offered by Lyon Real Estate as a short sale at $265,000. For more information, call your Sacramento short sale agent Elizabeth Weintraub at 916 233 6759.

Photos: Yonous and Elizabeth Weintraub

I received an email yesterday from one of my short sale sellers who had closed an Elk Grove short sale on October 30th and bought a new home on December 30th, 2009. This was before FHA issued its new guidelines. The new FHA guidelines this year say FHA will approve a loan for a seller who sold on a short sale, providing the seller was not delinquent on the mortgage. I've been looking for a lender who will do this because none of my sources is funding such loans.

The client was excited to share the news, and added that he bought the home without an agent, using the help of a "sales associate." While I am not thrilled that the client was hoodwinked into believing he did not need to hire his own buyer's broker and therefore did not call me, I am super jazzed that he bought the home. His email made me realize that I need to be more diligent in letting my clients know that I can represent them if they want to buy a new home from a builder.

The last new home construction that I negotiated was a model home. Buying a model home from a builder is a bit complicated because those homes involve upgrades already in place. But builders in Sacramento are hurting financially and are willing to wheel and deal at the moment. Not only did this particular single woman home buyer get her model home at a terrific price, she also received all of the furniture for free. It pays to hire an agent, and it doesn't cost a buyer one thin dime.

The thing that struck a chord with me in my client's email was the fact a bank made him a loan 3 months after his short sale. This is what happened: Even though he was current on his payments to Wells Fargo, the bank made a notation on this client's credit report that the second loan was charged off. We tried to get that verbiage removed from the short sale approval letter, but Wells Fargo refused. After the short sale closed, Wells Fargo reported the loan as a charge off with a balance owing. The client called Wells Fargo and insisted that the loan should be reported with a zero balance because the debt was forgiven. So, Wells Fargo changed the reporting status to: Paid in Full for Less Than Agreed with a zero balance. After that adjustment, the client's FICO score jumped from 651 to 740.

This is why it's a good idea for sellers who do short sales to check their credit reports after closing. Another not-so-lucky client had Bank of America file a foreclosure against her after the loan was paid off as a short sale. And she was current on her mortgage payments when it closed. That was a real mess to untangle.

However, if you are thinking about buying a home after a short sale, and if your payments are current, you might want to contact Flagstar Bank and ask about an FHA loan. Flagstar is funding loans for buyers after selling as a short sale. The minimum FICO score required by Flagstar is 650.

I am tickled pink that another of my Elk Grove short sale listings finally closed escrow yesterday. I had put this home on the market on August 3, 2009, at an offering price of $190,000. It was a double Countrywide short sale, meaning it had 2 loans that had originated with Countrywide and are now serviced by Bank of America.

The seller had paid $422,000 for this home in 2005. You can see the value has fallen by about 50% over the past 5 years.

Because this home had a fabulous view from the second floor, we received 9 offers. It's a Kimball home with peach and pear trees in the back yard.

The winning offer was $215,000. The buyers hired a very smart real estate agent who was savvy enough to run the comparable sales and write a clean offer. Plus, the buyers were patient. Their agent informed them that this could be a long short sale process due to the double Countrywide loans.

You can do the math on this closing and see it took 7 months to close. Now, part of that problem was the file had been initially submitted to Bank of America through its old process, which involved faxing 100 or so pages of documents that the bank would eventually misplace. Halfway through the short sale, Bank of America allowed the file to be uploaded to Equator. It zipped along from that point.

See, the secret to successfully closing short sales is to contact the bank every single week and request an update. Even if there is nothing to update. With some of my short sales, I have almost daily contact with the bank. Success is due to persistence. Organization. The bank notes in the file how often the agent calls, and files with activity tend to receive priority. I sometimes get emails from other Elk Grove short sale agents asking me how to pull their short sales out of that dark hole at Bank of America, and that's what you do. You call or email the negotiator and politely push.

Yesterday morning, Bank of America approved the HUD. Along with the HUD approval, the bank sent an arm's length affidavit to be signed. Why didn't Bank of America send that document months ago?  Oy. To close this, I had about 2 hours to get that affidavit signed by me, the buyers' agent, the buyers and the seller who lived back East. Thank goodness I wasn't out showing homes in Land Park yesterday morning and was at my home office to hammer this thing closed. By 11:30 AM, the buyer's lender had funded and we closed in the afternoon.

Photo: Elizabeth Weintraub, Elk Grove short sale agent

Not every potential home buyer will buy a home in Sacramento this year, regardless of how much a buyer may yearn for a home. How do I know this? Because I speak with first-time home buyers who want to buy a home nearly every day. I listen to their wants and needs. From this information, I determine whether these buyers are realistic and motivated. See, a buyer can possess all the motivation and determination in the world, but if a buyer is stuck in fantasy land, the odds of buying a home are dramatically reduced.

I try to be non-judgmental. I know that buyers are not professional real estate agents and don't possess intimate knowledge of the market. Part of my job is to educate buyers. Especially those who rely on Zillow or other websites that provide inaccurate information. Armed with knowledge, a buyer is then able to make an informed decision.

A few weeks ago, a buyer called to say she was unhappy with her agent because she wasn't getting results. Since agents are generally in the real estate business to make a sale, it was entirely possible the problem wasn't the agent. The buyer asked if I would research a particular short sale home in Elk Grove. Her agent had shown her the property. She had not made an offer nor signed an exclusive buyer's broker with this agent.

I called the listing agent. The agent had 5 offers, several of which were all-cash offers, and those all-cash offers exceeded the list price of $400,000. As with many short sale listings, the price was artificial and below the comparable sales, priced to drive multiple offers. I know the main reason that some banks reject short sales is because many offers are too low, so a lowball offer was not going to fly. Not to mention, it makes little sense to compete in these types of situations if a buyer is unwilling to offer over the listed price.

The buyer asked if she could buy this $400,000 home for $300,000. I explained all of the reasons why this type of approach was not going to work. Even if all the other buyers vanished by the time of short sale approval, leaving this buyer in first-place position as the lone survivor, the bank would not take that type of offer. On top of which, this home was was highly desirable and unique -- which means those other buyers aren't going away.

A few days later, the buyer emailed me to confess that she had gone back to see that home again with her agent. She was so overwhelmed with desire that she wrote an offer on the spot for $300,000. She asked if I would still work with her and show her other homes while she waits for an answer from the seller. I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the buyer is not buying this home.

Now, I am not in the business to swipe other agent's clients. There's enough business in Sacramento for everybody. I had explained earlier how real estate agents work and why this buyer should decide which buyer's agent she wants to hire. She told me she really liked her agent but did not feel her agent could perform.

I suggested she stick with her agent. I didn't drop this buyer simply because she wrote an offer with her agent, although loyalty is paramount. I also didn't drop the buyer solely because she promised to work with me and failed to live up to her promise; although, I prefer to work with buyers who keep their word. This buyer performed contrary to her own best interests. I was forced to turn her loose because she could not, would not, did not listen to my advice.

Even my cats would agree.

Photo: Elizabeth Weintraub, from left to right, Pia, Pica and Brandon

The President of the Sacramento Board of REALTORS personally called me last Friday to ask if I would list a short sale in Elk Grove. The seller had called the Board, asking for a recommendation to a Sacramento short sale agent. Often, when an agent calls to ask if I will work with a client, that agent expects a referral fee. I don't pay referral fees on my short sales because then I'd make even less than the 25 cents I already earn.

However, the President assured me a referral fee was unnecessary because the client's needs come first. I was honored and humbled to hear I was chosen because, and I quote:  "Elizabeth Weintraub is the best short sale agent in Sacramento." I did not realize I had earned that reputation. Probably because I keep my nose to the grindstone and don't pay much attention to what goes on around me. I'm very focused on my business. But it was nice to hear.

I picked up a key from the property management company, drove to the home in the rain and found a for rent sign on the ground, which I moved to the side yard. Our relentless combination of rain and wind has torn down a lot of fences in the Sacramento area lately, but all of these fences were intact. I picked up the trash from the front yard, and when the rain let up a little bit, shot my exterior photos.

Then, just as I was getting ready to submit the paperwork to MLS, the seller called to say her husband changed his mind and is feeling rushed. So it's back out to Elk Grove to remove the lockbox. Such is life.

Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub