Elizabeth Weintraub • Sacramento Short Sale Agent • Land Park

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

You probably could not fit a ferris wheel into the back yard of most homes in Land Park, but my new listing in Land Park has a huge yard for a low price -- more than one-fifth of an acre -- which might very well be big enough for a ferris wheel. I've always adored ferris wheels. There's just something about being swept up into the air, whooshed to the ground, and going around and around that is a lot of fun.

You know who else loves ferris wheels? Well, he's dead, of course, but Michael Jackson. The state NAACP is pushing an idea to the state Parks Commission to turn Neverland Ranch into a state park. Colony Capitol LLC, a Santa Monica-based equity firm, has said it would like to sell the 2,600-acre property for $100 million. But will the state of California buy it and turn it into a state park? The state of California doesn't even have two nickels to rub together, so I don't see how that's going to happen.

Still, I would probably go see it if I happened to be down in southern California, if for no other reason but to ride that ferris wheel.

If you might like to put a ferris wheel into your own yard, I invite you to check out this new listing in Land Park. Bring your tape measure to see if it's possible. You might also have to check with the city to find out if there are height restrictions for putting up structures in the back yard because honestly, I have no idea. I'm just joking around.

This home is offered as a short sale and has two very large bedrooms, one of which is a master suite. I suppose if you weren't going to put a ferris wheel in the back yard, it could be possible to add on a new master suite and turn the existing master into a junior suite. Or you could do nothing and simply move in. It's large for a two-bedroom, 1 1/2 bath, with about 1,468 square feet.

It has beautiful hardwood floors throughout, except for the kitchen and baths. You'll find all the delightful touches you've come to love in a 1938 cottage -- coved ceilings, nooks and crannies, spacious rooms, crown molding and even plantation shutters. There is a quarter basement, too.

The dining room features leaded glass built-ins and a curved window with grids. It seems to have an original chandelier, but don't quote me on that. This room serves as the focal point, leading to an oversized hallway on the right and the kitchen is straight ahead.

In the kitchen, you'll see ceramic tiled counters, plenty of cabinets and storage, a built-in electric range, a separate oven and, of course, a dishwasher. There's a door to the basement and another door to the back yard, plus a bank of windows that overlooks the gorgeous yard.

But the piece de resistance is that fabulous yard. First, enjoy the expansive brick patio. It leads from the steps and winds through the covered gazebo-like area to the koi pond and water fountain. Beyond that area you'll delight in finding even more gardens, including a magnificent trumpet vine sporting orange blossoms interwoven through an arched arbor. Plus, there's a detached one-and-one-half to 2-car garage.

2781 Marty Way, Sacramento, CA 95818, is exclusively offered by Lyon Real Estate as a short sale at $385,000. For more information, please contact your Land Park agent, Elizabeth Weintraub, at 916 233 6759.

Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub

OK, my hand is in the air, and I vote for roofer. When the temperature hits 115 in Sacramento, the last place anybody on Earth should want to be is on top of a hot tar roof. I mean, given the types of jobs a person can do in the construction industry, sweating in the hot summer sun some 10 feet in the air falls to the bottom of my list.

My neighbor in Land Park is putting on a new 50-year staggered-design comp roof. His old roof was shake, which didn't quite fit with the surrounding homes in Land Park. Most of the homes on my street were built in 1948.

When he's finished, he'll have new underlayment, R49 insulation in the attic, and an air circulation system in the eaves to keep down his utility bills.

I watched the roofers tear off his shake and the decaying underlayment. Then, as they were approaching the spot where the ladder was propped, one of them managed to stomp through the overhang and break a few boards. Which they will have to replace.

The roofers also started laying the OSB on the north side of the home yesterday morning, working their way around to the south side by mid-afternoon. You would think it would make more sense to start on the side that gets hotter in the afternoon in the morning instead.

But maybe that's why I am a Land Park agent and not a roofer.

Photo: Elizabeth Weintraub

How did I get to be almost 60 years old without ever going to Yellowstone National Park? Besides Old Faithful, Yellowstone has almost 300 waterfalls and it's the world's first national park. It's bigger than Rhode Island and Delaware put together. It has 10,000-some thermal features, petrified forests, exotic plants, calderas, weird wildlife and, at more than 2 million acres, a person can't see it all in a week.

So, come this fall, my husband and I are taking a vacation to Yellowstone. We planned this trip last year just before The National Parks by Ken Burns was released on DVD, figuring that we'd never get a reservation onsite in 2010 after that movie hit Netflix. The problem with going to Yellowstone is it's in the middle of nowhere, which means you pretty much have to drive there. Even with flying into Jackson, Wyoming, it's still a 3- to 4-hour drive. And of course, there are no direct flights into Jackson from Sacramento.

The average altitude in Jackson Hole valley is about 6,500 feet above sea level. That's higher than Denver. Most of Yellowstone is over 7,500 feet. Yikes. I realize that adjusting to high altitudes takes a few days because the oxygen level is much lower the higher you go. Hey, I used to live in Colorado. Plus, high altitudes can make you dizzy and give you nausea.  So, to sort of ease into it, we're planning to take an extra day and spend the night in Jackson, Wyoming. Have you ever looked online at 5-star hotel rates in Jackson, Wyoming? You wouldn't think that a place in the middle of nowhere would charge $1,000 a night for a hotel room, but there is such a hotel in Jackson.

I suspect people who would spend $1,000 a night for a hotel room are the same people who might light their cigars with a $100 bill. It's not that I couldn't afford to pay $1,000 a night for a hotel room, but why would I want to? You don't get enough bang for your buck. It's still just a hotel room. Hair dryer, tub and bed. The TV doesn't rise up and vanish into the ceiling. There's no Jacuzzi or dancing bears in the room. Butlers aren't dangling grapes over my head. Nobody is massaging my feet . . .

If you'd like a lot of bang for your buck and you're a home buyer who is looking at homes in Land Park, I just listed a very special home at a great price. This is a 3-bedroom, 2-bath 1940 Tudor, featuring all the little nooks, crannies and woodwork vintage you'd expect to find in a Squeaky Williams home. As an added bonus, there is a large room over the 2-car garage that can be used for guest quarters, a hobby space, art studio or workout room. It's accessed by a genuine spiral staircase inside the garage.

The sellers remodeled the kitchen a few years ago, and it's gorgeous. Granite counters, maple cabinets, wood flooring, stainless appliances, including a counter-depth, built-in Sub Zero refrigerator. The breakfast nook area has a wood ceiling. Off the other end of the kitchen is a laundry room, with drawers for holding laundry supplies and maple cabinets, plus the counter over the space for the front-loading washer and dryer is attached by Velcro, so it can be removed to put your own washer and dryer in that space.

In the living room and dining room, you'll find hammered wood beams and crown molding. Almost all of the flooring is original oak hardwood. Each of the bedrooms has unique architectural characteristics crafted from wood. There is a fireplace in the living room and another fireplace in the master.

The master suite has wood vaults, too, plus a spacious bath with a skylight, dual-sink custom vanity and 3 cedar-lined closets. There is also a separate area for a desk and computer. From the master, you can access the back-yard deck through French doors. But you can also get to the back yard from the dining room. The fenced yard has a flagstone walkway, gardens and 2 mature alders.

3109 16th Street, Sacramento, CA 95818 is exclusively offered by Lyon Real Estate and Elizabeth Weintraub at an affordable price of $499,000. For a private showing, please call your Land Park agent, Elizabeth Weintraub, at 916 233 6759.

View the virtual tour of 3109 16th Street.

Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub

Home buyers in Sacramento often tend to put too much emphasis on the list price. I've heard buyers say they won't pay list price for any home, and I send those buyers elsewhere. Well, not at first, of course. I try to educate them. What if the home is underpriced? But you can't always pound a square peg into a round hole.

Some listings are overpriced homes, some are priced at market value as a highly desirable home, some are underpriced. Especially when you're looking at homes in Land Park. This Sacramento neighborhood is popular because of its close proximity to downtown, its stately and classic homes, and its tree-canopied streets, among other reasons.

A buyer told me a few weeks ago that the home she is buying is not a terrific bargain because she paid the seller's asking price. I don't know if she really believes that or if she was hoping that I could work more of my magic and get her a concession. The thing is she bought a home within a few hours of it hitting the market. That listing attracted multiple offers. Her offer was the winning offer, due in part to the way I structured it. She was lucky to buy this home at all.

Plus, after she fixes it up and sells this home, whether it's a few years from now or decades, this home will still hold the same appeal that it did when she bought it. Which means buyers will fight for it. She will own a treasured commodity. See, the time to think about selling a home is when you buy it. Other buyers down the road will jump on that desirable home in Land Park for the same reasons this buyer did.

On the other hand, I closed a transaction this month in which a Land Park home was listed dramatically under the market. I recognized its value immediately. It had been pending and fell out of escrow. When I saw it come back on the market, I notified my buyer and he submitted an offer. I managed to get my grubby little paws on his lender's appraisal and my eyes popped out of my head. It appraised for 12% more than the sales price. In a market where low appraisals are often the norm.

If you're trying to buy a home in Land Park, you might want to ask yourself: How much is this home worth? Not how much the seller is asking. List prices can be deceptive. A Land Park agent knows the values in Land Park. If you want an edge, then work with a neighborhood specialist. This is true not only in Land Park but anywhere in the country. Otherwise, you might be throwing offers at a wall and none of them will stick.

Photo: Elizabeth Weintraub, corner of 12th Avenue and Land Park Drive

One sure-fired way to help conserve water in Sacramento is to grow drought-tolerant plants. When a winter storm in January 2008 took out my birch trees, I decided to remove part of my deck and turn that area into a garden filled with cacti and succulents. Not that I knew much about cacti but I'm one of those people who enjoys learning new things by implementation first, studying later.

For example, when I buy a new piece of technology, I rarely read the manual. Probably because I don't want to read 150 pages translated from another language into English to figure out how to turn a gizmo on and off. I like things that are intuitive, solving puzzles myself.

Today, I am trying to figure out what kind of cactus I planted in my back yard. Another person might have determined whether the cactus was suitable for a particular location, type of soil and weather before planting it, but not me. I stick it in the ground and worry about it later. As a land park agent, I see lots of homes in Land Park with cactus and / or succulents growing in yards. It might be a pear cactus tucked away by a fence and sheltered from the elements or, more commonly, Echeverias, because they are so easy to grow in Land Park.

When I planted my barrel cactus 2 1/2 years ago, it was about 5-inches tall. Now it's over four feet. I have discovered there are two types of barrel cactus genera: echinocactus and ferocactus. This cactus is a ferocactus pilosus. Its common name is a Mexican Lime Cactus. In the spring it sports gorgeous red cactus flowers.

Usually this cactus gets little pups sprouting off its base. Sometimes I cut them off and throw them away or else I plant them. But check out the ring of pups on this baby now. They are growing not at the base but around its neck like a necklace. If I leave them alone, this cactus will most likely turn into a work of art. But isn't all of nature a work of art?

Photo: Elizabeth Weintraub, ferocactus pilosus in Land Park, Sacramento

The New York Times says parents who are addicted to technology could be adversely affecting their children. It's parents' constant use of cellphones and instant messaging that can cause children to feel hurt and ignored. The article describes how a boy, 2 1/2 years old, tried to get his mother's attention while she was looking at her BlackBerry. This kid whined, tugged at his mother's leg and, in a moment of final frustration, bit her. It struck home because that's exactly what my cats do when I'm on the computer.

My cats start out by meowing at me. Doesn't matter which one, all 3 of them do it. I'm often so engrossed with my Land Park real estate business that I usually don't even hear them. I tune out their cries for attention. When ignored, my cat will then stand on his hind legs and pat my arm several times with his front paw. It's what I call the "Hello, do you have any Grey Poupon?" maneuver. I continue working. At this point, the cat either stomps away or CHOMP, he bites me, take your pick. Cats aren't stupid.

They don't break my skin. They just put their teeth on my arm as a not-so-subtle reminder that they could eat me in my sleep if they wanted to. That's what happens to some people, you know. Like that commercial, "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up." An older person could suddenly keel over and, in that position, be unable to feed the cats. Sooner or later, the starving cats will eat that person clutching the table leg for dear life; they don't care. They're hungry.

I'd like to think that if I had a heart attack or something and collapsed, my cats would be smart enough to dance on my cell and tap Sacto 9-1-1. But the truth is if my husband wasn't around, they would eventually eat me. Believe me, yours would do it to you, too.

Photo: Elizabeth Weintraub, Brandon in Land Park, Sacramento

A few years back, I listed a home in Land Park for a seller who had lost his mother. We talked about staging the home, but the seller refused. He couldn't bear to disturb any of his mother's belongings until the home sold. His mother's artwork collection hung on the walls, her knickknacks were everywhere, and all of the flooring was covered in worn carpeting, which made it difficult to sell that home. Without staging, the home reflected his mother and held little appeal for home buyers. But that's what the seller wanted. His home, his choice to make; not mine.

Many months later, we eventually sold it and for more than list price, too. Imagine the buyer's astonishment when she pulled up the carpeting to discover wide-plank, beveled hardwood floors throughout. The floors were in immaculate condition because they had not been exposed for probably more than 40 years. If the floors had been uncovered during the sale process, that home would have quickly sold and most likely for a lot more money. Those floors were icing on the cake for that buyer.

However, not all of the homes in Land Park have hardwood flooring under carpeting. The fact is buyers don't know what's under the carpeting until all of the carpeting is removed. I know some buyers will sneak into a closet and tug at the corner of the carpeting to look at what's under it. While that will give you a clue, it won't tell you if the entire room has hardwood floors. Buyers also do not have the right to mess around with a seller's carpeting. Carpeting is a fixture. Buyers are not allowed to pull up a corner of the carpeting without the seller's permission.

While the odds are if hardwood floors are exposed in one of the bedrooms, the other bedrooms most likely have hardwood floors, even if they are covered with carpeting or area rugs. But buyers simply do not know the condition of those floors nor if those floors are actually wood, much less hardwood. If a home has had extensive pest work, part of the floors might be plywood or some other kind of replacement material. Who's to say that the seller might not have overwatered a plant and ruined the hardwood floors, like I managed to do in the middle of my living room? Or, as gross as it sounds, pets could have urinated on the carpeting and into the hardwood.

When I bought my home in Land Park, the home had carpeting throughout. Lovely stretched-out orange shag in the family room, too. Today, all of that carpeting is gone. My floors are hardwood, bamboo, Marmoleum and ceramic tile. The bamboo and Marmoleum are considered green home improvements. I had hoped for hardwood throughout, but only my living room and dining room have hardwood floors. I was a little disappointed when I discovered that not all of my floors were hardwood, but that comes with the territory.

A buyer who bought a home in Land Park found out the hard way that his new home did not have hardwood flooring throughout on the day that escrow closed. Imagine his shock when he discovered the pest company workers were still in one of the bedrooms working on the flooring when he showed up to get the keys. The carpeting was yanked back to expose sheets of plywood and what appeared to be OSB. To say this buyer was a little disappointed is an understatement. But this was a bank-owned home. It was sold in its "as is" condition. The pest workers say the floor was already destroyed when they began the pest work.

It's enough to make you cry.

Photo: Elizabeth Weintraub

A survey released last month by Zillow showed consumers spend more time buying a car than shopping for a mortgage to buy a home. However, when you look closely at that survey, it makes sense. There might be more to buying a car than researching a mortgage. For one thing, you've got to decide on which car to buy. I think consumers start with the manufacturer, then they choose a model and, finally, they select options and discuss delivery dates.

When choosing a mortgage, home buyers are buying a bag of money. All money is the same. It's the cost of that money that varies.

Once a buyer chooses a product, whether it's a car or a mortgage, the only thing left to decide is from whom a buyer will purchase that product. I recall shopping for a car in Orange County back in the 1980s. While talking to a dealer about buying a specific vehicle, the sales manager brought up his competition. He began to explain why his dealership and vehicles were better than his competitor. Before he said that, I had been ready to sign on the dotted line. However, now that he had told me about a competitor, I decided to go to that competitor myself and check out a different car . . . which I ended up buying from his competitor. Talk about over-educating the consumer.

Now, another factor to consider, beyond the cost of that bag of money for a mortgage, is the performance level of the individual who will be handling a borrower's loan. Lately, it seems that borrowers, especially first-time home buyers, are spending more time comparing lenders to each other. Borrowers examine Good Faith Estimates and APR rates. They negotiate hard on that 1/8th percentile difference. They generally spend zero time asking about performance.

If a lender can't close a loan by the estimated closing date, it doesn't much matter whose bag of money a buyer is grabbing. Delays in closing can result in any of the following:

• Cancellation of contract
• Loss of home buyer tax credit
• Per Diem charge when buying a foreclosure
• Renegotiation of a short sale approval
• Inability to move into a new home over a specific weekend
• Domino collapse when selling and buying concurrently
• Loss of movers at month end
• Having no place to live because new tenants are moving into your rental

One of my Land Park buyers is closing escrow this week. He had his lender all lined up when were looking at homes in Land Park. But when he made the offer on a bank-owned home, that bank told him he had to choose its own bank for a loan if he wanted the bank to pay his closing costs. So, let's see. If he goes with Bank A, he gets more than $10,000. If he chooses Bank B, he gets nothing. Well, that's a no-brainer.

But I was prepared for a delay. It was practically inevitable. One of the ways I handle this sort of thing is to give the REO bank an addendum that specifies escrow will close on X day without additional cost to the buyer. Yup, I come right out and ask for it. Even though the contract says the buyer will pay X $ amount for each day the buyer runs past the closing date. An experienced Land Park agent can help a buyer to avoid paying those penalties.

Photo: Big Stock Photo

Sometimes things turn out to be a blessing in disguise. I was a little astonished yesterday when a client emailed me to ask if his home in Roseville had gone to auction yet. When I pulled up the information in the tax rolls, for some reason, I also ran the address in MLS. It was a shock when I pulled up the listing that had expired this spring. My client had listed his Roseville short sale with a friend of mine and not with me. The agent must have known, but the agent never called me.

The first thing that crossed my mind was why did that agent's listing expire? Why didn't the agent instead withdraw or cancel that listing from MLS? Like in grade school, it goes on your permanent record. Very few agents want expired listings to be noted in their MLS records. Typically, we withdraw those listings before they expire.

The second thing I wondered about was whether I had somehow inadvertently offended the client. I had helped him to buy a home in Land Park last year. At the time, I recall sending the client to a tax accountant and a lawyer for tax and legal advice. I also sent his file to credit approval -- a process that takes several weeks -- before we wrote any offers on homes in Land Park. That's because I didn't want the liability of a buy and bail scenario, plus I needed to make sure that an upside-down home would not disqualify this buyer from buying a new home.

Not every lender will reject a file from underwriting when a buyer has no equity in an existing home. But most of them will. To get through underwriting, a buyer with an existing underwater home has to show strong financials and to be able to afford to own both homes. Even then, there's no guarantee they'll get the loan.  So, we got this buyer manually preapproved through underwriting before buying a home in Land Park. Nobody wants to get to the closing table and find out a loan has been rejected.

Turns out, after he closed on his new home, my client decided to dump the home in Roseville. His income was too high to qualify for a short sale without making a seller contribution, which he didn't want to do. The loans secured to that property were hard money. You can bet your booties those lenders, especially the second short sale lender, would demand a contribution. I wondered why this Sacramento short sale agent did not have that discussion with the seller prior to listing and refuse to take that short sale. Even more weird was the fact the client said he had refused to submit financials to the short sale lenders. I typically collect that information upfront and thought other agents did the same thing. Apparently not.

It's not a short sale listing if the seller doesn't qualify, especially if the seller won't submit the required documentation. It's an exercise in futility, which very few Sacramento short sale agents would willingly undertake. Most of us are in the business of closing our short sales.

The client told me he wanted to spare me the agony. That's why he listed with a competitor. He knew that his short sale would never get approved. I happen to like the agent he listed with, too. It's not fair that he put the agent through the wringer. But I'm glad he had the foresight not to call me. Because I would have had to turn him down.

P.S. To protect the identity of those in this story, certain facts in this blog have been changed.

Tip for Land Park gardeners: If you're planting tomatoes this spring, be sure to slip some yarrow into the garden. Yarrow attracts beneficial insects that eat tomato-destroying bugs. It's the organic thing to do.

Photo: Yarrow with insects in my Land Park garden, by Elizabeth Weintraub