I get business one of two ways these days. Either people find me on the Internet or they are referred by previous clients. When I ask callers who found me on the Internet why they picked me, I often get the same answer. It's rarely because they believe I am brilliant, witty or experienced. Rats. They say it's because I have a friendly face.
If people are looking at the Lyon Real Estate website for Midtown Sacramento agents, my profile is all the way at the bottom. Because my last name is Weintraub, and it's sorted alphabetically. My office services primarily East Sacramento, Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and downtown Sacramento. At the bottom of the Lyon website is not the best place to be. I mean, a person's scrolly finger can wear out getting down to the bottom. We have more than 80 agents in our office.
Although I'm happy to be blessed with a friendly face and personality, I don't think that's the best reason to choose a real estate agent. But consumers have very little information to choose from when scrolling through photographs of real estate agents.
As I was driving along Business 80 yesterday on my way to show a home, I received a phone call from a prospective home buyer. She was calling about a listing in Sacramento. OK, what is the street? She yelled into my ear: Sacramento! No, what is the name of the street? She screamed again as though I was deaf: Sacramento, California!
Excuse me, I can't give you information about a listing if you don't tell me the name of the street where the home is located. What is the name of the street? The buyer finally responded: Cougar. I know that street. That's not an area where I specialize, but I told the buyer that I would be happy to refer her to another agent to show that home.
The buyer decided to argue with me, saying her mortgage broker told her that real estate agents can show homes anywhere in Sacramento. She insisted that I show her that home. Hey, it wasn't my listing. Instead, I referred her to my associate who is a neighborhood specialist in that area. To protect the innocent, let's say my associate's name is Bonnie. I gave her Bonnie's phone number.
A few minutes later, the buyer called back. She said, "I want to work with an American."
"I can assure you that Bonnie is an American."
"No, she's not," the caller hissed, "I got her voice mail, and her last name is Hernandez."
My mind went blank. I was shocked. It took me a few seconds to figure out what this caller was saying to me. I guess I must live in a protected world because I rarely run into this type of discrimination; although, sadly, I am aware that it exists. I didn't quite know how to respond, so I did what I usually do and relied on my gut instincts, my immediate reaction.
"I can't help you," I replied, "Because I don't work with bigoted people." I swerved to miss a slow-moving vehicle, pulled my cellphone out of its holster and pressed the "end call" button. I was kinda surprised at my reaction because I don't ordinarily hang up on callers. But she royally offended me.
Photo by Big Stock Photo
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Certified HAFA Specialist
My Sacramento Real Estate Listings
Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout the four-county Sacramento area. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate. DRE License # 00697006.
The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available at Amazon.com.
Lyon Real Estate is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.
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The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of Lyon Real Estate.
Disclaimer: If this post contains a listing, information is deemed reliable as of the date it was written. After that date, the listing may be sold, listed by another brokerage, canceled, pending or taken temporarily off the market, and the price could change without notice. It could blow up, explode or vanish. To find out the present status of any listing, please go to elizabethweintraub.com.
Wow, I guess you run into all kinds of nuts out there. Sometimes we have the State of Michigan calling to try to set us up for a Fair Housing violation with a loaded question, and they call this 'testing'.
Yes that type of tactic is sadly used from the real estate agency to test agents. Buy more sad than that is the fact this type of bigotry exists. It not only exists it is not going away. Passed down from generation to generation. Talked about made fun of and encouraged in family settings and gatherings. The eccentric uncle who is admired in the family for his " humorous stories ".
I recall a group that I used to take coffee with. I truly enjoyed there company and I did quite a bit of business from these 5 people. They often referred me to friends a relatives. Of course that was before the discovery of their deep seated bigotry as it flared its ugly head one day in a very uncomfortable confrontation with the group towards a couple of family's who came to the restaurant for the first time.
I stood up voiced my displeasure with the group and never returned.
Elizabeth - BRAVO! Good for you! While this kind of stuff still catches me off guard when faced with it, I have learned to deal in a rather similar way. I immediately tell them I'm not the right LO for them and that they need to find someone else to work with - PERIOD, END OF DISCUSSION!
This is the 21st century and there is simply no place in this world, let alone our own little space in it, for that kind of nonsense. On another note though, you do have a friendly face but if I were a buyer looking to purchase in Sacramento, I would pick you because you are definitely one smart cookie, a great writer and really funny too. JMHO :)
Being a hispanic with an accent has given me the opportunity to feel racism on my face. I specially felt it in South Carolina. I could go on and on, but it is something I prefer to forget.
I have to say that being discriminated against, has made me very aware of the others who are being treated with disrespect. I won't allow it in front of me. Tere
Elizabeth - You create the illustration, of how much ignorance still continues. About the time I begin thinking we have made great progress when it comes to race relations, a story like your's pops up! We still have far to go!
I'm glad you did that. She deserved it. I also abhor bigotry.
So is a bigot a protected class and we are going to have special rules to deal with them? Sounds like rule number one "Hang UP".
I run into this in the rental world from both sides. Owners that don't want certain races or children are too common. Some applicants assume we did not rent to them due to race, not realizing that their credit did them in.
The common them on the owners is that they are older and have biases they rarely have a need to use. The tenants are just using it as a tool to get what they want.
From the desk of David Dee,
Elizabeth, way to go! It's despicable but bigotry still exists in this day and age. I would have done the same thing.
Elizabeth, I am shocked, but then not.
The audacity of that caller.
I would not have worked with her either, no way.
All I can say is Wow - I don't know what I would have done, I would have been so shocked by that statement which is totally unacceptable, I'm glad you hung up on her Elizabeth, who would want to do business with someone like that anyway.
Elizabeth- Amazing Ignorance! It is ignorant because she is bigoted but let's even put that aside for a moment. What is it about Hernandez that she does not like? Is she assuming that just because her last name was Hernandez she is Hispanic? What if she was Irish married to someone Hispanic? Does that mean she also hates Irish? I mean, the sheer stupidity gets me the most- or that name is a Spanish name and people in Spain are mostly very fair skinned what everyone would call white. Does she hate that name because she does not like tan skin or because she does not like people who speak Spanish? Nestor is Cuban. So does that mean she hates my son who is half Cuban too? It just does not make sense!
I know what you're saying, Katerina. I was pretty tempted to ask if she hates Jewish people, too, because many people wrongly assume that I am Jewish. But I had enough to do at the time, circumventing traffic accidents on the freeway and thinking about my next appointment than to come up with a better response than I did. This was completely out of the blue.
Good response to her - I can't imagine a better one.
Wow! Sounds like the poor soul who is "lucky" to get her as a client is going to have their work cut out for them. Just the way she spoke to you in the beginning would be enough of a challange. Aren't you glad you don't have to work with her? That's one of the perks of this job. I think you handled it well. I might have thrown my phone. LOL!
Elizabeth, amazing story and one of such relevant in our market. You do set the bar for the Industry!