A client implied a few days ago that I have other sources of income primarily because I am a real estate broker. It occurred to me how little the public knows about the real estate profession. They talk to friends who feed them misinformation. Being a real estate broker means I am held to a higher standard of knowledge, which can result in a higher level of personal liability, actually. But it doesn't equate to a higher commission check. I still work for Lyon Real Estate, which has its own broker.
Moreover, sometimes sellers think that we real estate agents have a magic wand for selling their home. That we are going to do something special, out-of-the-ordinary or spectacular like fly the Goodyear blimp over their home and drop ch-ch-ch-cherry bombs or give away a free BMW. They figure we know just what to say to make that buyer whip out the checkbook and write an earnest money deposit.
The truth is buyers do whatever the heck they want to do. And I'm seeing a lot of them pause and reflect before writing an offer, which is excellent news. Impulsive purchases can lead to buyer's remorse and cold feet.
A few months ago, I'd receive offers from buyers before I even noticed their agent had shown them the home. I try to check MLS every night to follow up on my listings. Now, I see offers coming in a few days after a showing. So, either buyers are looking at more homes before making an offer or they are taking their time to consider which home they want to buy.
When I put a home on the market, I would like to kid myself that it's my carefully crafted description of the home that is motivating a buyer to go see it. However, we all know it's the photos. Because you can't sell a home online. The only thing a listing agent is doing by putting a listing on the online is motivating a buyer to want to see that home. You can't sell a home if you can't get a buyer inside of it. Photos entice a buyer. Photos tell a story. Photos speak a 1000 words. Photos deliver a message.
One of the things I've been focusing on lately is showing buyers the view from inside out. What can you see outside of the window? What is the view like? If you were standing on the front steps of that home, what do you see? Sometimes it's a picture I want to include in my listings, and sometimes it is not. We've all been there with that buyer who doesn't want to get out of the car when we pull up. Bbbbut that house is brown, and I don't like brown houses . . . whine.
I just listed an unusual condo in the Astoria condominiums in Natomas. It's a 4-story with the master suite located on the top level. It also sits at the back of the development with a view of the greenbelt. It's this location that makes the condo worth its asking price of $130,000. 2580 West El Camino Avenue, #10101, Sacramento, CA 95835 is offered exclusively by Lyon Real Estate as a short sale. For more information, call your Sacramento short sale agent, Elizabeth Weintraub, at 916 233 6759. For a private showing, call Linda Swanson at 916 607 0111.
Photo: Elizabeth Weintraub
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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.
Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.
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.
Your blog has given me an idea for another blog. It's a takes a special person to be able to work in this business. Every year my income is a gamble. Especially with current market conditions and in this extremely rural area. ( I got my license 4 years ago...just as the market crashed in our area ) I had this discussion with my broker who's been in the business for over 30 years. He agrees with me and he's run the numbers. The average income for an agent in our county is $3000 a year. Last year I sold over 2.5 million dollars worth of real estate. Not bad in this rural area. As in all professions you have some that work hard and others that don't. But this conversation made me pause to think about why I'm actually working as a real estate broker. I was able to justify my career pretty well, and should probably save that finding for a blog post. Your blog got me to rethinking on this train of thought.
Elizabeth: That is a wonderful walkway and view you show. Photos make all the difference. Sometimes I start with some photos but, when looking at them later, decide to change them. And you are right about being a broker. The buck stops with me.
Hello Elizabeth, you invariably get a LOL out of me. The Goodyear Blimp....you are funny. I can so relate to this post....our world seems sometimes comedic and sometimes downright hysterical. You have to have a good sense of humor and a perspective of allowance to get along and enjoy our business. You do both delightfully. We are always learning and alway improving how we work. Photos have long been a tool for us in selling our listings and yes, that view is a huge element in what people are looking for. Spot on as usual! I'll have to read down your blog to see if you got that vacation home...Hope you are having fun and doing well! Have a beautiful day!
Hello Jeanean: How nice to hear from you! I figure you can look at things from an amusing viewpoint or you can cry, and it's better to laugh.
Hello Hella: What a name. I like it. I think I want to say it over and over.
Hi Debbie: Holy cow, $3,000 a year? That really puts things into perspective. How can anybody in your area live on that? I'm happy this inspired a blog for you, though.
Elizabeth - This statement, you have written is so ture - "The truth is buyers do whatever the heck they want to do. And I'm seeing a lot of them pause and reflect before writing an offer, which is excellent news. Impulsive purchases can lead to buyer's remorse and cold feet."
In a transaction I am currently involved with, the buyers not only have had a home inspection, and termite inspection, but there was the inevitable roof inspection, along with a pool inspection, and an arborist to inspect the 10 mature Oaks on the property. Add to it, that the prelim disclosed a water line cutting diagonally across the back portion of the lot, that needed investigation with the water company, since the pipe was a substantial 30" line that supplied much of the neighborhood, and coming into close proximity of where the pool is.
There is much to give today's buyers pause. In a way that isn't necessarily a bad thing, if it prevents a future real estate meltdown like the one we are currently mirred down in. Today's buyers don't go into things as willy-nilly as they did 5 years ago.
I agree with you, Myrl. Buyers are exercising a lot more caution, and that's a good thing. But when it comes to short sales, these are sold "as is" -- so it's even more important that buyers know what they are getting into.