Elizabeth Weintraub • Sacramento Short Sale Agent • Land Park

I am honored and excited to introduce my team member, Linda Swanson. Linda joins the Elizabeth Weintraub Team with 21 years of real estate experience. She was first licensed in 1989 as a salesperson and a few years ago received her broker's license. We are working together very closely.

You probably have no idea what it's like to work in a giant real estate sandbox all by yourself. You know, nobody to talk to outside of your clients and your cats. Lots of Sacramento real estate agents socialize with each other but I have precious little time to stand around the copy machine and chat, much as I may like to. I'm busy taking care of my clients, postponing trustee's auctions and selling those Sacramento short sales.

And now I have a playmate. Not just anybody, either. Linda was a scientist in another life. Hey, I know what you're thinking -- I don't mean this in a mad scientist sort of way, mind you, but she's a real, honest-to-goodness scientist. She graduated from the University of Wyoming and, with her background, has that uncanny ability to analyze, explicate, examine key factors of a transaction from all angles; she's probably a lot smarter than me.

Linda lives in Davis with her first and only husband and jogs every morning with her dog, Miles, a golden retriever. While I am typing away in my blog at 5 AM, she's out running down dark streets, so she's probably in much better physical shape than I am. Apart from an occasional workout on my elliptical, the most exercise I get these days is dragging my trash cans out to the curb. And lately I've been letting my husband do that.

We both share a love of animals. Linda volunteers with the Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue group. She's obviously a dog person, and I am a cat person. We've got the ying and yang thing going on. Plus, she has a great sense of humor.

Apart from being a real estate veteran with many years in the business, Linda has also worked in new home sales, an area I know very little about. But that experience has given her invaluable knowledge and insight for working with first-time home buyers. She's also been a sales manager for a new home builder, so she brings home staging and marketing experience to the team. She understands how a home is constructed from the ground up, which blends with my thirst for doing all those home improvement projects. Notwithstanding, Linda is a top producer -- she sold 20-some homes last year. How could I be so lucky? I think all the stars have been aligned lately.

Working with Linda on my team now means I can focus exclusively on doing what I do so well, selling homes in Land Park, Midtown and East Sacramento, and being a successful Sacramento short sale agent. I am thrilled to pieces. I've put off taking on another agent for years, but the time is right, and I've found exactly the right person. You can contact Linda Swanson at 916 607 0111. And yes, she's working on her Active Rain Profile.

For me, it was pretty horrific to read about the pregnant cow who was shot Tuesday for freaking out at the California State Fair. So, I was a little relieved when I read this morning's paper that animal advocates showed up yesterday at the Fair to voice their opposition.  It's good to know that people care and are willing to protest. Because the guys taking care of the cows were obviously unprepared to handle an emergency situation. They didn't think that far ahead or that cow and her baby would not be dead.

The police did what police are trained to do. Shoot to protect the public. Can't really blame them. But I can blame the people who were responsible for the health and safety of the pregnant cows. And the people who decided that the "miracle of birth" belongs on exhibition at the State Fair in Sacramento. When I was a kid, we didn't truck off to the Minnesota State Fair to watch calves being born. Nope, they stuffed our first-grade class on a bus and took us out to the country. I eagerly jumped off the bus, took a good strong whiff of the country air and vomited my guts into the dirt.

They put me back on the bus and made me sit there by myself while all the other kids got to go see the cows. When my classmates returned to the bus, one of them was kind enough to bring me a souvenir of the class trip: a small plastic cow. I didn't want a stinkin' plastic cow. I wanted to touch and look at real cows. I was very disappointed.

My mother, in an effort to show me where meat comes from, hauled me and my siblings off to a meat packing plant in Johnsville, Minnesota. We watched cow and pig bodies hung upside down from a conveyor belt move slowly past a glass window. They didn't much resemble cows or pigs. They certainly didn't look anything like the meat products in the refrigerated display cases at the store.

So, to this day I eat meat. I'm not a vegetarian. Although, many of my close friends are vegetarians and vegans. But I can tell you this, if I had to personally slaughter an animal for food, no question about it -- I'd never eat meat again. Still, it saddens me greatly to think about the dead cow and her baby. I hope precautions are put into place so this horrible incident never happens again, even if it means discontinuing some of the miracle-of-birth exhibits at the State Fair.

You can make contributions to the Humane Society of the United States, if you like.

No photo today

I drove 68 miles round-trip yesterday to remove a lockbox, and I learned something new. I finally figured out why I sometimes get communication error messages on my Supra display key. It's not because the display key malfunctions. It's because the lockbox is in the sun. That little red rectangle communicates with the display key via infrared. If it's sitting directly in the sun for a long period of time, the infrared rays from the sun knock out communication with the display key. Who knew? Makes perfect sense, though.

So, the thing to do is block the light to the lockbox by shading it, wait a few minutes. Voila, the display key will communicate. Well, it also helps if an agent doesn't press enter on the display key until the antenna is pointing directly at the infrared spot. Just a tip for you in case you're out with your Sacramento short sale agent and the darned lockbox won't open. It's not Supra's fault nor the agent's fault. It's the sun.

We have plenty of sun in Sacramento. As my clients say, it's why our real estate in Sacramento isn't priced like the homes in Mendocino. Our market is affordable. And it's becoming even more affordable with the rapid rise in inventory and the gigantic proportions of short sales coming on the market. My stack of potential short sales is growing, too. I tell all my callers to let me know when they are ready to sell, and I will get that home sold for them. I don't pressure them. Then, I put their paperwork into a stack.

I just hope they don't all call at the same time, which is why I am hiring an experienced real estate agent to help me with some of my other business. I'll introduce you to her tomorrow. Like me, she is also a veteran real estate broker and not just a salesperson. It's important to me that I continue to provide superior service to my clients, regardless of how busy I get. Let's just say I'm plenty busy. You can look at my Lyon website to see Elizabeth Weintraub's short sale listings and closings for 2010, and that should give you an idea of just how many I personally close. I've been selling short sales for 5 years, and I've been in real estate, oh, since Eric Clapton shot the sheriff.

However, I am always ready to focus on closing that next Sacramento short sale. I am never too busy to answer my phone. And that's the way I will continue to run my short sale business. My clients will always get personal attention from me.

Photo: Big Stock Photo

You know how I said a while back that I never dream about real estate? Well, scratch that. Last night dreamed about a couple of my Sacramento short sales, complete with a soundtrack. I woke up and thought, hey, Sacramento Short Sale -- The Musical! It starts out with You Keep Me Hanging On. I could still hear the drums pounding in my head as I crawled out of bed.

Not the sappy Supreme's version -- because we all know that only Vanilla Fudge did it justice. There wasn't a kid alive back in 1967 that didn't sing along with the lyrics: "Set me free, why don't you, babe," and who wouldn't stop what she was doing, lean forward to shake her head and growl when they got to: "And there ain't nothing I can do about it."

That's what happens when you're buying a short sale and the listing agent doesn't have any experience with short sales.

It's the perfect opening number for a disgruntled Sacramento short sale buyer to belt out in Sacramento Short Sale, The Musical. I try to prepare buyer's agents and their buyers for the wait on my short sales. Having done so many, I can do a pretty good estimate of time for short sale approval based on my experiences with the lenders.

My new listing in Natomas has a loan held by Chase, and it's only one loan, so I am negotiating this one myself instead of letting my law-school graduate associate agent do it. That's because I've got Chase short sales down to a science. And Chase has actually been a lot more cooperative lately. I managed to get approval last month on two hard-money loans held by Chase sans the right to a deficiency judgment. I was pretty excited over that triumph. This is the part in the musical where we go to a bubbly song, maybe something like the Dave Clark Five, "Glad All Over." And the sellers rejoice with a victory dance.

Flashback -- naw, naw, not one of those free flashbacks we've been promised that have never happened. A real flashback in the musical. The buyer is walking around the corner of the K Hovnanian subdivison: Cottages at Westshore in Natomas. This delightful community is located just the other side of I-5 heading west on Arena, past El Centro. Cue in: the Monkees, I'm a Believer. I thought love was only true in fairy tales . . .

This is a home only two years new! It has 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths and about 1,576 square feet. It's affordable. An open floor plan on the first level with a tiled entry. Carpet in the living room, and there is a ceiling fan, plus lots of windows. The dining area is located off the kitchen and features a storage closet, plus ample space for a dining room table.

This lucky buyer can also enjoy guest seating at the breakfast bar, and marvel at the white ceramic counters, a black built-in microwave, with matching dishwasher, free-standing gas range and a bonus -- the refrigerator with an ice maker in the door. The sink is double wide and a single sink, which is hard to find these days in newer construction. There is also a half bath on the first level.

Upstairs, we find 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. The guest bath has a tub with a shower over it and a window. All 3 of the bedrooms are good-sized but the master is very generous and features a big walk-in closet. The master bath has a walk-in shower and a ceramic floor, plus double sinks.

The buyer will spring out of this home excited and enthusiastic, grab his buyer's agent's shoulders and bounce around in circles to the strains of Jumpin' Jack flash, it's a gas, gas, gas. The buyer loves the partial city view from the second floor and is thrilled to get a 2-car detached garage. Maybe the thought of buying a home with a tankless water heater pushed the buyer over the edge. Hard to say. The buyer will write an offer. And the offer will be accepted. And this short sale will close. Then, all the actors will come out on stage, hold hands and sing Yellow Submarine. In the town where I was born . . .

4046 Vittoria Lane, Sacramento, CA 95834, is offered exclusively as a short sale by Lyon Real Estate at $180,000. For more information, call or text your Sacramento Short Sale agent, Elizabeth Weintraub, at 916 233 6759.

Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub

The Land Park car wash people showed up over the weekend to wash my car, and I had forgotten to pull it out of the garage. So, I asked my husband to do it. When he came back into the house he asked, "When was the last time you had your car in for service?" Uh, oh. He said it shook vehemently upon starting and the engine light came on. Of course, when I later turned the key, it was fine, but that dang engine light is still on. I wonder how long I've been driving with the engine light illuminated?

I sure hope it's not time to buy a new car. I probably deserve a new car, but I don't have the time to shop for a new car. Too many choices. It's very time intensive to shop. Believe it or not, I rarely shop. I buy almost everything online, never step foot into a grocery store -- because my husband handles the meal planning and grocery runs -- and, if I must buy clothes, I favor a specific designer's line. Shopping is pretty much a leisure activity. When I have time for leisure, I don't spend it shopping.

Now, looking at homes, that's a different story. I love to show property. That's because a home is more than four walls and a roof. It's a collection plate of memories and emotions -- past, present and future. Buyers tell me they know within 3 minutes of entering a home whether they want to buy because "it feels right." So I try to pay close attention to the way a home feels. In fact, many senses are involved. Sight is only one.

After listing a short sale in Natomas this morning and attending a closing in Midtown this afternoon, I am showing homes in Land Park, which I dearly love. Thank goodness I can borrow my husband's car. I find that buyers for homes in Land Park sometimes pay too much attention to the characteristics of the home, its architectural detail and curb appeal, and sometimes not enough attention to the most important sense of all -- common sense. Because price points for homes in Land Park can be all over the map. Some are priced too high so it's easy to overpay. Even in a market with HVCC which, knock on wood, is being revised. As a Land Park agent, I've listed and sold homes for a few sellers that probably should have never sold for the prices buyers paid. I live in Land Park. I know what's market and what's not.

Common sense says a buyer should ask his or her agent to look at the comparable sales before writing a purchase offer. In this market -- heck, in any market -- it makes sense to also look at the pending sales and active short contingent prices because they are indicative of the way the market is moving. The low-end market in Land Park is being hammered at the moment. Some homes are for sale at prices lower than their comparable sales. That gives me something else to focus my attention on than whether my car is about to explode.

Photo: Big Stock Photo

Don't deviate from the plan. That's my motto. Because I've learned that 9 times out of 10, if I make an exception to the way I do business, it comes back to bite me. In other words, it's better to be safe than sorry. Once you've got a system that works, stick to it. Don't back down. Ever. The day you do, you're screwed.

But I know that you won't listen to me because sometimes I don't even listen to me. I've been known to break my own rules. But at least I know better . . .

In the fall of 1998, it was cold in Chicago. I grabbed my then-boyfriend's hand, pulled my fox fur collar closer to my neck and we scurried along Michigan Avenue. The wind was blowing in over the lake. Brrrr. You might think that Chicago is called the Windy City because it's windy, but that's not the case; Chicagoans say it's named the Windy City for its windy politicians. We had flown in from Minneapolis and were headed for that famous building with a sculpture of a rabbit drummer in front -- I believe, if memory serves, it was the John Hancock Center.

My husband was and still is a journalist. Like many journalists from Chicago, he cut his teeth by working at the City News Bureau. It has a fond place in his heart. Rough, rowdy and real. In 1998, the City News Bureau was closing after more than 100 years of service, and we were going to the top of the John Hancock building to attend a farewell party. It was bittersweet for many alumni in attendance. The slogan that every beat reporter knows and repeats from the City News Bureau is: "If Your Mother Says She Loves You, Check it Out."

I latched on to that phrase because I know it is true. It's good to be skeptical. Like Dr. Gregory House says, "Everybody lies." It's even more important to be skeptical as a Sacramento short sale agent -- or any kind of real estate agent, for that matter.

I received a very attractive offer last week from a buyer's agent on one of my Sacramento short sales. Everything about the offer screamed take it. It was well written. Healthy earnest money deposit. The buyer's agent and the buyer promised to wait for short sale approval. It was above the asking price. However, the buyer's preapproval letter did not match the loan amount. It was for less.

When your mother says she loves you, check it out. We wrote a counter offer asking for an updated approval letter that reflected the loan amount. No, problem, the agent scoffed. The buyers are fully qualified. I was tempted to let it go but I didn't. Don't deviate from the plan. Guess what? The buyers didn't qualify for the higher amount. Well, saved myself and my seller 3 months of agony.

The story on the front page of the Sacramento Bee this morning is about the whale-watching business in Monterey. At this time of year, the blue whales are ubiquitious along the California coastline as they migrate to feed on krill. It's sort of strange to think of the largest creature on earth feasting on a tiny shrimp.

Blue whales don't have any teeth. Don't ask me why I know that. Something must have stuck in my thick head in elementary school. I believe blue whales are also on the endangered list of animals we have thoughtlessly slaughtered over the years.

It would be nice to drive a couple of hours to the coast today to look for whales, but first I have to tell you about this gorgeous, and I mean drop-dead beautiful, home in the Wildhawk subdivision. It's in the Elk Grove School district, but the address is Sacramento, and the popular Arnold Adreani Elementary is nearby. So is the Wildhawk Golf Club.

The first thing that you will notice about this home is the way the garages are divided. It has two driveways. A one-car garage is located on the left side and a two-car garage is to the right of this home. Sort of like his-and-her garages. Then there's this huge tree in the front yard that blocks your view of this magnificent structure.

As you walk up the sidewalk, though, you are greeted by a lovely and enchanting entrance. It's professionally landscaped with in-ground lighting, just like the back yard. Once inside, look up, and you'll see soaring ceilings and a balcony overhead. Straight ahead is the formal living room that is part of the great room concept. The wall to the right of the living room has cut-outs that let you see into the family room.

The seller says the carpeting is high-end and cost more than $20,000. It's thick, light brown and very pretty. The entire home is very pretty. It makes you feel warm and comfortable, like you could move right in, and you can, just as soon as this short sale is approved and your loan closes. It was built in 2003 by Dunmore Homes and is a four-bedroom, 3-bath, about 2,539 square feet.

Apart from a formal dining room, there is space in the gigantic kitchen for a table, and you can also put chairs in front of the breakfast bar. It's a perfect environment for entertaining and can easily accommodate two or more gourmet chefs. There is an island, 5-burner gas cook-top, built-in microwave and electric oven, plus the refrigerator stays. There is a freezer in the garage that stays, too.

You'll also find that highly coveted first-floor bedroom in this home. Plus, a full guest bath and a laundry room that comes equipped with a washer and dryer, cabinets and a hanging bar for clothes.

Upstairs are three more bedrooms, which include the master suite, a guest bath, and a humongous master bath. The master has ceramic floors, dual vanities, each with its own sink and framed mirror, plus a big soaking tub and a separate shower. This room has 4 windows and a walk-in closet.

The back yard is breathtaking. You might want to check out my virtual tour to see it. It is professionally landscaped, with entertaining areas separated by small stone walls, plus a water feature and a fire pit. There is a birch tree, Japanese maple and a cedar tree, including an assortment of drought-tolerant plants that I can't name.

9992 Phoenician Way, Sacramento, CA 95829 is offered exclusively by Lyon Real Estate as a short sale at $302,000. For more information, please call your Sacramento short sale agent, Elizabeth Weintraub, at 916 233 6759.

Virtual tour of 9992 Phoenician Way.

Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub

Buyer's agents are the biggest roadblock to closing a short sale. Buyers, if you've been writing offer after offer on those short sales without success, perhaps it's time to fire your agent. I'll probably get a lot of grief for saying this, but that's the way the cookie crumbles or the pooper-scooper scoops, pick your metaphor.

As a busy Sacramento short sale agent, it's getting to the point where 2 out of every 3 offers I receive for my sellers are garbage. They are not real offers. I'm not talking about the expired preapproval letters, outdated earnest money deposits, or missing short sale addendums, because those are screw-ups that can be fixed. I'm talking about offers from those buyers who have little motivation to wait for the bank to approve the short sale.

Why don't buyers want to wait for short sale approval? Because their agent told them they don't have to. Their agent told them to write as many offers as they can because when they all come back approved, they can have their pick. Why would an agent suggest this maneuver? So the agent can get paid faster. Some agents can't wait months for a commission check because they're not closing deals on a consistent basis. But this is not in the buyer's best interest. This practice is in the agent's best interest. According to the Realtor Code of Ethics, agents are supposed to put their buyer's interests above their own.

If a buyer cannot afford to buy more than one home, a buyer could be breaking the law when writing multiple purchase offers. Does the buyer's agent point out that fact to the buyer? Probably not. Greed and stupidity often go hand-in-hand.

The whining that I get when I call agents on this deception is: "My buyer just wants to buy a home." Well, guess what? My seller just wants to sell a home. Maybe we should put the two of them together? You think?

Some days I am ashamed to be part of this profession. Buyers do want to buy a home, and some want to buy a short sale home. Maybe agents should get out of the way and let them do it.

Photo: Big Stock Photo

A reporter called yesterday morning to ask me about the rising real estate prices and market recovery in Sacramento. After all, our Trendgraphix reports show a 42% increase in pending sales for June. That's the message delivered by Lyon Real Estate. However, inventory is up about 8% and sales are down by 2%. The average per-square-foot price also dropped by 2% to $125. The reporter asked me to comment on our market stabilization in Sacramento.

Much as I would like to paint a rosy picture of the real estate market in Sacramento, I have to call it the way I see it. And I don't see a big recovery. In fact, I see prices falling. I haven't heard much about this elsewhere but it's going on, I'm telling you. Just wait a few months. You'll see.

In the first half of the year, I could slap a price on my short sale listings close to the prices of comparable sales and expect to get it. MLS reports that more than half of the listings in Sacramento right now are short sales. However, when I pull up the listings and sales for any given area with a lot of short sales, what I see are the active listings, active short contingent listings and pending listings all priced LESS than the comparable sales. What does that tell you?

It tells me that I'm going to have a heck of a time arguing with agents who are doing BPOs for the banks on my Sacramento short sales. Because those agents will consider the comparable sales, which appear to have very little bearing on market movement. I don't like it when the comp prices are higher than the activity in the marketplace, in part because people can't think upside down. But also because it means that prices are falling. You just don't see it yet.

As a Sacramento short sale agent, it doesn't really matter to me personally which way the market moves because, like Eddie Murphy in Trading Places, there is always movement. I don't control it. I can't control it. I just go with the flow and sell those listings.

It's a squirrelly market, and that's what I told the reporter. I said, "Among those who qualified for the home buyer tax credit, anybody with half a brain already bought before June." She probably thought that I said the market was full of squirrels, I guess, which wasn't really what I meant. It's that the buyers who didn't qualify for or missed the tax credit now want to compensate for that loss by slamming those list prices. They want some assurance against future market fluctuation. And who can blame them, really?

Photo: Trendgraphix

I just finished reading Justin Halpern's cute little book -- when did they start publishing these tiny hardbacks? -- called Sh*t My Dad Says. It's a fun romp and totally engaging, not to mention, although appalling at times it contains a lot of common sense. Gotta say, though, by comparison, it made my dad look like Mussolini. Some of it made me laugh out loud. My husband thought the author was a bit self-centered. He said, "What kind of guy takes off for Mexico on a whim and doesn't think his family will worry about him?" Um, I raised my hand. Been there, done that.

See, I can admit when I'm wrong. Much as I may like to think that I'm always right, hey, sometimes I'm not. Comes with the territory of being a human and not a robot. Or maybe it comes with age. Now that I pause to reflect, I was always right when I was a young whippersnapper. Ha. Not so anymore.

Take this example from a few weeks ago when a buyer's agent sent me a Request for Repair, which asked for the lawn to be replaced. This was a short sale. As with any other short sale, the home is sold in its "as is" condition. So, I responded the way I always do when this happens -- and it often does -- which was to tell the agent the seller will make no repairs. The buyers get what they get. The sellers are not responsible for upgrades, improvements nor repairs. There is no pest report nor roof certification. The home is "as is." If the lawn is dead, it's dead.

The agent then asked me if that meant the seller was not going to honor the terms of the purchase contract and deliver the home in the same condition it was in when the buyers first looked at it. I quickly pulled up the listing and looked at the photographs. Sure enough, when I listed that Sacramento short sale, we were still in the rainy season. That lawn was green. Now, that we're in the middle of the summer, the lawn looks like everything else in the Sacramento countryside: brown, dried up and a fire hazard.

That agent had a point. And I told him so. The seller replaced the lawn.

Photo Illustration: Big Stock Photo