Elizabeth Weintraub • Sacramento Short Sale Agent • Land Park

I usually do not listen to the radio. In fact, I probably haven't listened to the radio since the mid-1990s. I mean why when you have CDs or an iPOD? But because I have only one CD slot in my new car and no place to really store CDs, I haven't messed around with the CD player.

However, the radio tells me who is playing and the name of the song right there on my dash. So when I want to stop thinking about the fact that I am a Sacramento short sale agent and tune out the world while I'm driving -- if you've been reading my stuff for a while you can understand the need for a stress reliever now and then -- I listen to the radio. The scrolling song titles suck me right in.

I haven't found a really good radio station in Sacramento yet, but I did hear a new tune that I'd like to share with you. It's called Old Man by Redlight King. It's a sampling of a tune from Neil Young's Harvest. Harvest is an album that developed so many scratches in it that I eventually melted it in a pot of boiling water and made an ashtray out of it. You can only listen to Old Man Scratch Take a Look at my Scratch so many times.

Yet, you can look at the photos of this short sale home in Lincoln Crossing over and over and never tire of them. Sort of like staring at an album cover, turning it over in your hands, caressing it. Not the sort of thing you do with a CD. But back to my topic. This is a gorgeous and stunning home.

I've seen some large homes in Lincoln Crossing but nothing like this particular model. It's ginormous. By that I mean this home has 5 bedrooms -- 6 if you count the office, which also has a closet -- and 5 baths, make up 4 full baths and 1 half bath. It's just under 5,000 square feet.

There is a loft on the second floor that doubles double duty as a game room -- it holds a pool table quite nicely so the backs of your pool cues won't hit the walls. A nice feature, in addition to the master suite with dressing area, is there are also 2 junior masters, one of the first floor and one on the second floor.

The first floor has mostly oversized ceramic tile throughout. I believe the formal living room with a ceiling that soars above the second floor -- I mean, you could lie on the floor and shoot rockets at the ceiling, it's THAT high -- is carpeted. The family room boasts a gas fireplace and a spacious wet bar with extra cabinets. You could probably entertain a group of 200 of your closest friends in this home and not feel compelled to hand out deodorant samples. Did I mention it has a salt water pool heated by solar panels?

1305 Earlham Lane, Lincoln Crossing, CA 95648, is offered exclusively by Lyon Real Estate at $356,000 as a short sale. For more information, please contact your Sacramento short sale agent, Elizabeth Weintraub, at 916 233 6759. For a private showing, call Barbara Dow at 916 761 7398.

Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub

It seems that whenever I drive to Lincoln in the winter, it is raining. If I'm driving to Lincoln, it's to do one of two things. Either list a short sale in Lincoln or remove my lockbox from a short sale listing in Lincoln that has closed escrow. The only thing worse than having to shoot photographs of a short sale in the rain is driving around Lincoln in the rain about to run out of gas. Don't ask me why, but there aren't very many gas stations in Lincoln.

Here is a D.R. Horton home in Lincoln Crossing. It's a popular model built in 2006. Some builders closed off the bonus room on the second floor to make this model a 5-bedroom, and it could still be done today; however, it is actually a 4-bedroom with a bonus room and office space. That won't stop me from marketing it as a 4- to 5-bedroom, though. Because it could be 5 bedrooms, with a little effort. It's just not a 5-bedroom now. But it does have 3 baths.

The square footage is noted as 2,570, and it's a two-story, of course. It seems to sit a little closer to the sidewalk in the front, but that's because the space on the lot is largely devoted to the back yard. There is a side, stamped concrete patio, but the back yard patio is huge, plus it has a flagstone firepit off in the corner.

There are a ton of upgrades in this home, which the seller paid for through the nose. Maple cabinets that are stained rouge, oversized ceramic flooring tiles (probably about 20 inches), high-end light fixtures, slab granite in the kitchen -- Kohler sink, Moen faucets, frameless beveled mirrors, cultured granite in the baths and a jetted tub in the master.

1274 Torrington Lane, Lincoln, CA 95648 is offered exclusively by Lyon Real Estate as a short sale at $235,000. For more information, please call your Sacramento short sale agent, Elizabeth Weintraub, at 916 233 6759.

Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub

Buyers who need to close escrow by June 30th to qualify for the first-time home buyer tax credit are reluctant to buy a short sale. That's because so many of those short sales take 90 days or more to get approval. If a buyer closes escrow on July 1, the buyer loses out on the $8,000 home buyer tax credit. However, this Lincoln Crossing home is a Wachovia short sale, which means it can close way before the tax credit expires. In fact, if a buyer bought this new Lincoln Crossing short sale today, which is March 1, I'd venture to guess it would close about mid-April.

Sure, you may hear horror stories about short sales, and many of them are true. The worst short sale in this Sacramento market, hands-down, no-holds-barred, is a double Countrywide. A double Countrywide short sale is two loans that originated at Countrywide, now held by Bank of America.

That's one of the reasons why I take all my Sacramento short sale listings for 12 months. It's my standard of practice. I'd say 90% of them close before that, but at least I don't have to track when the listings expire as I have enough other pressing issues to contend with on these short sales. Clients also prefer one-year listings because they know I will not abandon them 6 months down the road if those short sales take longer to get approved.

With a Wachovia short sale, the listing period is not a concern. Wachovia has its act together and has streamlined the short sale process. If a buyer is lucky enough to find a Wachovia short sale in Sacramento or Placer County, it's a double blessing. Not only will that short sale move as smoothly as silk, but the sales price is likely to be very attractive.

Check out this Wachovia short sale in Lincoln Crossing. This is a 4-bedroom two-story, with 2 full baths and 1 half bath. The living room / dining room has Berber carpet, a chandelier and no furniture. That room has never been used.

You'll find an island in the kitchen, with a hanging pot rack over it. The pots do not stay, but the rack does. The seller says when the home was purchased in 2006 from Centex, all the upgrades were purchased as well, except the flooring in the kitchen does not extend all the way into the family room. That's because the builder had already installed Berber carpeting in the family room. But the kitchen definitely sports all the bells and whistles -- granite counters, stainless appliances, cherry wood cabinets, wood-like flooring and a pantry closet with a frosted door. There is also a breakfast area.

The family room has soaring ceilings that reach all the way to the second floor. There is a fireplace with gas logs. It's a great room concept, meaning it's open to the kitchen. This type of layout lets family members interact during meal preparation. A mom can watch her kids in the back yard while she's making lunch. A guy can cook dinner in the kitchen and still speak with his roommate who may be watching TV in the family room.

The home has 2,248 square feet, according to the county assessor. All four bedrooms are upstairs. The master suite overlooks the massive back yard and affords views of the terrain beyond the home. It sort of makes you feel like you're out in the country. Yet, the train is close, as is the Highway 25 Bypass that's being built. There is something soothing and comforting about hearing a train at night, approaching from the distance.

As an added bonus, buyers for this Lincoln Crossing home qualify for membership in the HOA. The homeowners association has a pool, spa, gym, clubhouse and offers recreational activities. It also tries to ensure conformity within the community, meaning you won't find cars stranded on the street or forgotten trash cans at the curb, like other parts of Lincoln. The HOA dues are reasonable at $115 per month.

1046 Ashford Lane, Lincoln, CA 95648, is offered exclusively by Lyon Real Estate as a Wachovia short sale at $199,000.

For more information, please contact your Sacramento short sale agent, Elizabeth Weintraub at 916 233 6759.

Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub

THIS HOME SOLD ON APRIL 30, 2010 AT $228,000.

Buying a home these days is a little bit like buying a pair of shoes at Macy's. After listing a Sacramento short sale in Del Paso Manor last week, I stopped at Macy's in the Country Club shopping center on El Camino. Macy's was having a shoe sale, and I needed a few pairs of flat, brown shoes. Figured I'd grab them before the spring colors arrived.

The store was mobbed with buyers. There was one sales clerk to serve them, and he had one arm. OK, his arm was in a sling, but still. I picked up eight pairs of shoes to try on; however, Macy's had only one pair in a size 6. It had no inventory, just like our Sacramento real estate market. This was madness.

Its sale rack also had very few size 6 shoes. Most shoe stores put size 6 shoes on display, yet even the display shoes were size sevens or eights. I suppose Macy's needs to continue paying the rent on the store even if it's not producing any income.

This new Lincoln Crossing listing isn't producing any income either because the tenant is moving out today. It's available as a short sale, and there's only one lender. It's possible this home could get short sale approval in April and close escrow in May.

If you're looking for a 2-story with more than 2,400 square feet and a big lot, this home is for you. The kitchen is open to the family room and overlooks the back yard. It has an island with tile and a breakfast nook. There is a formal dining area in the living room as well.

This KB home built in 2005 features 4 bedrooms, which include an enormous master suite, and 2 1/2 baths. The master bath has a sunken tub plus double sinks in the vanity. I measured the master suite, and it's approximately 20 feet by 20 feet. You'll find the other 3 bedrooms upstairs and laundry. Hurry, there's not much like this home for sale in Lincoln Crossing.

838 Devonshire Lane, Lincoln, CA 95648 offered exclusively by Lyon Real Estate as a short sale at $208,000.

For more information, please call your Sacramento short sale agent, Elizabeth Weintraub, at 916 233 6759.

Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub

I love it when I turn on my computer in the morning and find a short sale approval letter sitting in my inbox. Sort of sets the mood for the day. And even though I get up at 5 AM most mornings, those banks on the East Coast are still ahead of me. The approval letter I received this morning is for a short sale in West Sacramento.

Here is a short sale in Lincoln, California. It's a KB home in Lincoln Crossing. Except for the home to its immediate left, every other home on the street appears to be a two-story. This and the home next door are the highly desired one-story model.

It has a stucco exterior, built in 2004, with a tile roof. You'll get the typical 3 bedrooms / 2 baths, but it has an open feeling, which can make a home appear even more spacious than the 1,835 square feet the assessor's office shows. The kitchen has an island, which gives you a place to put chairs on the other side of it for a breakfast bar. But there is also space in the kitchen / family room combo for a dining room table.

The back yard is beautifully landscaped, and you will enjoy a fabulous view of it from the kitchen. Behind the fence is a greenbelt and open space with a walking path.

Even better is the home owner association. The dues are only about $115 a month, but you get a clubhouse, gym, pool and spa. Plus, it's located near Roseville Galleria.

960 Downing Circle, Lincoln, CA 95658, offered exclusively by Lyon Real Estate as a short sale at $210,000.

Call your Sacramento short sale agent, Elizabeth Weintraub, at 916 233 6759 for more information.

Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub

THIS HOME CLOSED ESCROW ON JUNE 30, 2010 AT $199,800.