Sometimes visitors come to my web site, sign up to receive daily emails containing new listings, and they never respond to the personal email I send them. I don't believe in generating automatic responses because I want visitors to know that if they have taken the time to poke around my site, read some of my articles, look at Sacramento market trends or watch virtual tours of homes for sale in Sacramento, they deserve a personal welcome from me. But, when I ask them to be more specific about what they want or offer to help them, half the time they don't acknowledge my email.
The next time I hear from them is when they want to write an offer. Which is OK with me.
First-time home buyers asked me to meet them on Saturday at a home in Folsom. To protect their identity, let's say the home was on the market for $401,000. I immediately called the listing agent who informed me he was already working on a counter offer, even though this home was just placed into MLS an hour ago. Must be his buyer, I thought, he's double-ending this. Turned out later that I was correct.
The agent called me back a few hours later to say another agent was also writing an offer on this home. It was a beautiful, turnkey home on a street loaded with curb appeal.
I pulled the comparable sales for that subdivision and drove to Folsom to meet the buyers. The door was difficult to open. (Agents should put confidential remarks in MLS when doors are hard to open.) When the buyers arrived, I gave them the comps and explained the market, why we are facing multiple offers on attractive, well priced homes and we discussed strategy. This home was easily worth $30,000 more than its list price. They decided to make an offer, so we drove to my Folsom office. That's one of the perks of working for a large company -- Lyon Real Estate has 15 offices in Sacramento County, and I have a key to every one of them.
We talked about each aspect of the offer, the strength of a strong earnest money deposit, a loan preapproval letter in Word format that will let us change the approval amount to our asking price, among other factors and, of course, the price. I gave the buyers privacy so they could discuss the price between themselves. See, while I can help to guide them by giving them enough information to make their own decision, I would never in a million years want to insist on a certain price. Why? Because it's not my money; it's not my home; it's theirs.
At this point, the listing agent appeared at my office. He was driving by, he said, and he had specific paperwork the seller wanted executed, so he was kind enough to bring those documents to me. As we were standing in the hallway talking, one of the buyers poked her head through the doorway. "Can we go back to the house for a second visit?" she asked.
Absolutely. I called the seller and made a second appointment. The seller said another agent had made an appointment very close to the same time but gave us the go-ahead. When we arrived back at the house, I could not open the door. I gave the keys to Mr. Buyer, and he couldn't get it open, either. So, Mrs. Buyer made an attempt. I glanced up to catch another agent pulling up in front of the house with her buyers in the car.
"Don't worry," I assured the buyers. "We are first. They will have to wait." Fortunately, the agent saw us struggling with the door and called the listing agent who shared the secret of how to open that darned door!
Turned out the buyers had a few questions about space for a pull-down projection screen. The overhang in the living room was the perfect spot. "Take all the time you need to look," I said. That was easy for me to say. I was standing inside a heated home, while the temperatures outside hovered in the low 40s.
We drove back to my Folsom office to write the offer. The buyers decided on a price of $409,000. That seemed reasonable to me, because the buyer in counter-offer stage obviously offered less than list price, most likely thinking he could steal the home. The second offer was likely to be at list price. And if the buyers who were sitting at the curb waiting for us to finish our second tour wanted to make an offer, most likely their offer would be around $405,000. It's how these things go.
Turned out the buyers forgot to bring a checkbook, and they lived 20 minutes away. I waited for them to come back. The clock was ticking. By now, I had been in Folsom for three hours, and I had another appointment in Elk Grove scheduled within the hour. No lunch for me, I surmised.
When the buyers came back, I pulled out the vast stack of required paperwork and began to explain each document. I handed them my exclusive buyer broker agreement and noted that signing it meant they would work only with me -- that they could not work with a different agent to buy a home in Folsom. This is how I work. I'm very straight-forward. I expect loyalty, because I don't work for free.
"So, if this offer isn't accepted," began Mr. Buyer, "then you're saying we can't work directly with a listing agent or a different buyer's agent to buy another home in this area?" They understood.
"Yes. If you don't want to work with me, you don't have to sign it. Do you want to work with me?"
They did. After all, that was one of the reasons we were sitting in my holiday-decorated office on this chilly Saturday morning.
Mr. Buyer then said, "We've been looking at a lot of home with a lot of different real estate agents. What do we say if another agent calls us with information on another property?"
That was an easy one to answer. "You say you are working with Elizabeth Weintraub who has more than 30 years of experience in this business and is one great Sacramento real estate agent." I laughed. They laughed. They signed the paperwork. I dashed out the door to head for Elk Grove. On the way, I called the listing agent to let him know he could expect the offer in his email.
The following day, the agent called. His sellers liked the offer, although it was very close in price to the fifth offer he received that day. They liked the fact the buyers put down a healthy earnest money deposit of 2%. The contract was clean and tight. But what really impressed them was the fact the buyers had taken the time to come back to the house for a second visit and that their agent called to make a second appointment instead of just driving over unannounced. All these little things add up.
They got the home!
The Short Sale, by Elizabeth Weintraub, coming from Archer Ellison in January 2009.
Photo: 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.
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.
Elizabeth,
It is nice to work in a different world, whether it is Sacramento's world, where every agent is blessed, of Elizabeth's world, carefully crafted and brought to life by you, but it is like the science fiction to me.
People are fighting for properties, sounds a bit prehistoric, but sooooo wonderful. I was laughing at your description as it is so true in details, and how you see it.
I was a bit surprised where you say about the Buyer Broker Agreement. You ask the to sign it and you mark the whole area, not a particular house? What if the say no, you would still be working with them on this property, but they would retain the right to go to anyone else?
We do not use Buyer Broker agreements that much, so this is unexplored venue to me.
Elizabeth, great story and I like your response of why work with you as the exclusive buyers agent. Very confident and professional.
Fianlly, a Real Estate story that tells me I am going in the right field.
Something caught my eye. I came from Mortgages....what did you mean that the pre-approval letter was in word, so you could change the amount to the asking price. Pre-Approval letters are just that...the couple was approved for a certain amount due to their income and debts, how do you change such a document?
Elizabeth - That's a great story! Every buyer in your area should use you - Congratulations on the accepted offer! :)
Elizabeth: I love a happy ending. And the better the agent, the more likely they are. Congratulations.
Elizabeth, lots of great professional tips in this one, and the one that stuck out was that the listing agent (all listing agents) should have a front door that unlocks and opens as smooth as butter.. First impressions count. Although now that you are back in a multiple offer market, I'm sure you will see conditions start to slip.
List and Sell (be a pro and be strong) Gary @ RentonHomeFinder.com
"....one great Sacramento real estate agent." Excellent close, laugh or no laugh, that is telling it like it is.
Hi Jon: If your market in Daytona had a combination of very few listings, falling prices and buyers who are tired of being priced out of the market and who recognize great deals when they see them, it wouldn't be like science fiction to you. However, I am the first to recognize that many Sacramento real estate agents are hurting in this market -- they refuse to work short sales, foreclosures or with first-time home buyers or investors, and that's where our market is the strongest right now. I will also add that this particular transaction is not a short sale nor a foreclosure. Neither is another offer I got accepted last week. Some days you just get lucky.
You asked if I would have worked with the buyers if they had refused to sign the buyer broker. The answer is no. Relationships are a two-way street; an escrow is typically for 30 to 45 days. That's a long time to be in a relationship with a client who doesn't value it. Life is too short. I don't sell houses. I sell service.
Hi Nancy: I meant that the preapproval letter is in a Microsoft Word format, not an Adobe PDF. Word documents can be changed. So, if the buyers are approved for, say, $450,000, I can lower the price to $409,000 and print out the letter. There is no reason for the sellers to know that the buyers can pay more. I would never increase the price, though. Most lenders refuse to issue preapproval letters in a Word format, so I don't work with those lenders. I don't know why they are so stubborn because the letters are not binding.
Hi Fred: The thing is if the agent doesn't have confidence in herself or himself, how can the agent expect the buyers to have confidence in the agent? I have to laugh at some of the things that come out of my mouth.
Great Story I hope we all get to the point of having multiple offers soon. Good homes at good prices are still selling.
Elizabeth - You are so right about the first time buyer market in our area. It's very competitive for good homes, well priced, in good areas. Once you climb above the $250,000 price range, there seems to be a little less insanity.
YOU Rock - and your clients were wise to work with you.... I hate it when doors don't open easily
They got the house cuz they've got one helluva Sacramento real estate agent. How could they fail? :)
Btw, the door might have been a pain, but aren't ya glad it didn't have an alarm?
You're telling me, Jesse. I hate those alarms.