You're a Realtor, so Show me a Home!

Lately, I seem to be wading through quite a few clients who come in wanting to see homes and who - unfortunately - I have to turn away. Equally unfortunate is that sometimes they don't understand why and end up getting upset. So this is a post trying to explain my position.

There are two sides to a real estate transaction - the listing (seller's) agent and the selling/co-operating (buyer's) agent. When most people call to see a home, unless they call the listing agent directly, the Realtor who receives the call hopes to become their agent, that is, the buyer's agent. This does not mean that he hopes to sell them just that particular home, but simply wishes to work with them until the right home is found. Hopefully, the client likes him enough to stick with him throughout the search.

Also, as Realtors, we are ethically required to ask if you are currently working with another agent. If you are not happy with your agent and are looking for a new one, feel free to tell us. But I seem to run into quite a few clients who have an agent and are still asking other agents to show them homes.

Why is this? Even in this competitive market, are there really Realtors who will turn their backs on buyers? Or have we turned so pessimistic that we don't believe our clients will ever buy homes?

Either way, please remember: I for one will never show you a home if you are currently committed to and working with another agent. It really is your agent's job. I would hate to take time away from clients who are committed to me - after all, I wouldn't want them to be shopping by themselves.

$0 Down? How About Buy a Home with $250?

Congratulations to Jessica and Brandon, who just bought their first home together. Because they timed this buyer's market so perfectly, they were able to buy 4951 Clearwood Way in the Foothill Farms area of Sacramento for just $205,000 with 100% financing.

The home had sold just a year ago for over $300,000 and was a bank foreclosure.

In a very conservative initial appraisal, the home was valued at $220,000 - about 10% over selling price. When more comps were added at the lender's request, the appraisal value shot even higher - at right around $245,000.

There's no doubt about it - REOs are where the discounts and deals are. And if you've been careful enough to keep your credit scores high, you might just be able to bag this incredible market with just about $200 - $1000 out of pocket!

First-time Homebuyers a Real Joy!

I've always said I absolutely love working with first-time homebuyers. Of course, it becomes even more fun when the homebuyers are excited, have timed the market just right and are your friends!

Yesterday, we opened escrow on a fantastic property my clients and friends found in the Foothill Farms area. It is a 3 bedroom 2 bath house and had an asking price of $199,000. The home sold last year for $330,000 and then was foreclosed. As an REO, it is one of the best deals around. My fingers are crossed - I imagine all our fingers are crossed!

Sacramento Homes are still Seeing Multiple Offers

No lies here.

I submitted an offer for my friends who are buying a home and was surprised to learn that there were multiple offers on the table.

Another client I am helping to locate a home in Natomas had exactly the same results. He saw a home he wanted to take a closer look at and when I checked the MLS, it was pending sale.

How could this happen in this market? Aren't we all bemoaning how horrible it is out there - using dramatic speech like "blood on the streets?"

The secret is simple - it's price.

There obviously is pent up buyer demand out there like previously noted in the real estate market predictions. When a home is priced correctly, it will sell. And sell fast - in as little as two weeks, with multiple offers.

Some examples:
240 Regency Park Circle, Sacramento, CA 95835 - asking price $334,900
4951 Clearwood Way, Sacramento, CA 95841 - asking price $199,000
4805 Winamac Drive, Sacramento, CA 95835 - asking price $295,900

Is a Realtor Really Necessary?

True story.

I’m working with some friends of mine on the purchase of their first home and I’m very excited about their decision. Buying in this market affords them opportunities unheard of in the last few years. While we were getting them pre-approved however, they came across a FSBO (for sale by owner, for those of you that haven’t learned Realtor-Speak yet) through their family. So they told me that they would go check it out and would want to be represented anyway in the event that they liked it.

Now I’m not a big fan of FSBOs. And it goes beyond just the fact that there’s the possibility of not getting paid or the absolute insult that we Realtors are not needed in such a momentous thing as selling a house! No. The problem I have with FSBOs is that there is no one counseling the seller about how much the home is really worth.

Therein lies the rub.

Back to the story - my friends sent me the address to the property they were considering, and I pulled up comps (comparable properties that have sold in the last six months within a mile radius) in the area that related to the home. As it turns out, what the seller was asking was completely off the charts. He was following the classic FSBO example stated very eloquently by Tom Hopkins:

3 GIGOs + 1 SWG = 1 OPT

In other words, 3 garbage in garbage outs plus 1 scientific wild guess equals 1 overpriced turkey.

The seller here had obviously called a few neighbors that had lied about how much their homes had sold for (or that they had sold at all), added his own scientific wild guess and come up with the overpriced turkey of a house! But wait, it doesn’t end here. As if the house wasn’t overpriced enough at 15% over market, he added another 10% to the price before the clients (my friends) left the home that evening.

A broker from my past and a very smart man once said, “Realtors are not there to make flyers for you. Anyone can make flyers! Realtors are there to educate you on the market and counsel you through the sale (purchase) of your home.”

You better believe it.

Hey, Courtesy Still Exists!

That I have to make special mention of this on my blog tells me it's not all that common, but I'm just glad to be treated well as a real estate agent by another Realtor and that Realtor's client.

Here's the full story: Last evening I made an appointment with a potential client - someone I "met" from Elite Properties' website asking for a home showing. We spoke on the phone for a bit and I made an appointment to go out and meet him today. I asked him if he was working with a Realtor already (agency requirement) and he said no. He was looking for an investment property for his brother and the brother had asked him to shortlist a few. Sounded good.

But just a few minutes ago he called and said that the brother already had a Realtor and my client didn't know. So he was calling me to cancel the appointment. He added that the Realtor involved had asked him to do that, so as to not waste my time.

Isn't it nice to know that courtesy still exists in this world where sometimes we have to drive out to places and then the client just never shows up?

Crosswoods Condos Holding their Value

I've always maintained that if you buy a house in a good neighborhood, it will (mostly) maintain its value even in a bad market. One of those good neighborhoods is Crosswoods in Citrus Heights. I remember a client of mine who would buy nowhere else but in that neighborhood.

And I must say, I agree with him.

Here are the numbers: in an overall dismal condo market for Sacramento county where there were over the last six months 1478 condos on the market, only 39% were sold or pending sale. The median price for these condos was $215,000.

By contrast, there were only 40 Crosswoods condos for sale over the last six months of which 47.5% sold for a median price of $237,500.

Before and After Pics from First-time Buyers Coming!

I received a very pleasant email the other day from my clients of last year. I represented Jacob & Zoila in the purchase of a home in October of 2006 close to Curtis Park and I remember the entire transaction as specially relaxed and easy.

Of course, that always happens when you look back on something through the eyes of nostalgia. They had the usual fears of first-timers but were (I thought) marvelously aware of their goals and what they wanted out of a home.

And got it.

They bought a fixer with a Cal HFA loan (not FHA) which was 100% financed with a silent second (state funded for first-time buyers.) Recently I heard that they have made a huge amount of repairs to the house and I will be getting "before and during" pictures, not "before and after." The pictures will be here soon.

It is my belief however that they will be laughing all the way to the bank when this market turns. And I will be the first to congratulate them. I'm so proud of clients that know what they want and go for it even in the face of fear.

Yes, buying a first home can be scary. Buying ANY home is scary. But if you have done your research and know you are buying it cheap enough, you will reap the rewards.

No matter what the bubble-heads say.

Should Real Estate Appraisers have Strong Opinions?

I had to open the door for an appraiser yesterday for a property where I represent the buyers in a purchase and he seemed a little opinionated. I know, appraisals are supposed to be “opinions based on market comparables” but he seemed a little too happy about the Sacramento housing market going down.

I kept thinking, Should I be worried for my buyers? The home is a cosmetic fixer and seems like someone’s failed flip, but perfect for my buyers that wish to put sweat equity into it and are first time buyers.

But the appraiser said he had no sympathy for investors because they drove prices through the roof and now we’re hurting because of them. And so, no - I did not mention that I was an investor and owned rental properties of my own. Why this hatred toward investors? At first, I thought I would put in my two cents and distinguish investors from flippers, but then I thought, Why bother?

I’m worried. I have a problem with passionate appraisers. And that worry happens to be in both directions, by the way. I would be concerned about someone being too optimistic as well.

Short Sale Approved for First-Time Buyers!

I've been working with a really great couple recently on the purchase of their first home and am really excited to announce that the home they liked has been approved for a short sale. We've all (the lender, the buyers, me and the seller's agent) been waiting with bated breath for about a month now. No, I'm not kidding. The date on the contract says July 11th.

I met this couple while showing my listing on 7710 25th Avenue - which is still in the approval process for a short sale - and liked them instantly. For first-time buyers, they already know a lot about investing for the future, have experience maintaining property and are not afraid of the work owning a rental property involves. With the purchase of this home, which will be their primary, they will also be jumping into managing a rental for their relatives.

I see a bright future for them if they stick with it. And something tells me they will.

A Post Completely Unrelated to Sacramento, Real Estate or Landlording

Well, maybe not completely. There's very little I do that's completely unrelated to all of the above. I share Cari McGee's reaction to "Under All is the Land."

But a phone call last week got me thinking. A telemarketer called me with something she said related to my real estate business. Now, I do listen before I dismiss them, especially if they begin like she did by asking me questions that related to my goals and accomplishments. Good beginning - a promise of something good, maybe.

But that promise was never kept. She did not keep a single word she said. I was supposed to get an email to confirm an appointment which I did not receive. The day we were supposed to have our "teleconference appointment," she called me twenty minutes before and said she had a training class she had forgotten about and would like to move our appointment to two p.m. that day.

Well, I did not keep that "appointment." And I did not return her call and hoped she got the message. Apparently not, because today I get a text message asking me to "forgive her" and asking permission to talk with me again.

Frankly, I could do without the drama.

But it made me seriously think about how often Realtors do this. And how the best and most successful Realtors and Brokers I have met do not. With them, there is no drama, no need to ask "forgiveness." There is only The Client and The Needs of The Client.

I was also having a discussion with my husband about salespeople yesterday and he said that although the company he works for has salespeople, the customers prefer the technicians. Why is that? It's obvious, of course. Salespeople make promises; technicians do the job.

The thing about being a Realtor is that I am both. The person who makes the promise and the person that gets the job done. Which means I must be extra careful not to promise more than I can deliver.

Fulfill the needs of the client. There's nothing more to it than that.

How Real Estate Deals Get Put Together #1

Well, not all of them of course. I'm just mentioning this one because it's interesting and a little different.

My listing on 25th Avenue (a short sale) generated quite an interest. With about five offers on the table, I was required to submit the best offer to the lender. And so I did.

This lender is in no hurry to approve the sale. And all timelines start with the lender's approval only.

The potential buyer has already given her 30 day notice and needs a place to stay.

So the buyer's agent asks me if we can let the buyer live in the home and pay the sellers rent. Of course, I had to check with the lender and sure enough the lender wants the rent at close since this is a short sale.

So we agree on a fair amount. No, we are not in escrow yet. And my clients never thought they would ever be landlords, but it was one way to secure the buyer.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Timberlake, Woodside, Crosswoods - Worth Looking Into!

Last evening I went condo shopping with a new client to Timberlake on Fulton Avenue, Sacramento. This client wants to buy a rental property close to where she lives, so she can rent it out and have the rent cover the mortgage and other costs. I have to admit I had never been to the gated complex of Timberlake before and was quite impressed.

Here are condos that are surrounded by well maintained pools, and running water gardens, little bridges to get around the complex, fountains and so on. In other words you don't once feel like you are in the middle of the city of Sacramento. One bedroom condos range from $135,000 - $165,000. Association dues are around $250 a month.

While I was there, another such complex came to mind. Crosswoods in Citrus Heights. Crosswoods, also built around the same time, in the late 1970s, while not a gated complex like Timberlake has a greenbelt, jogging trails and definitely classifies as a world in itself, again in the middle of Sacramento but you would never feel it once you're inside. Prices for 2 bedrooms are between $250,000 - $300,000 with association dues at $265 a month.

I have been known to say I am not too fond of condos as investment properties. The reason for that dislike is that condos usually stay a little longer on the market than single family homes and mainly because some associations have rules about how many units in an association have to be owner-occupied and those rules are adhered to pretty strictly. I just don't like the idea of a homeowner's association for an investment property because in my experience it creates a lot more red tape than I can handle.

That being said, these condos are worth looking into. When the number of condos on the market dwindle, people gravitate toward the "Timberlakes" and the "Crosswoods." They definitely have an aura about them!

One Sacramento Neighborhood has Newcomers!

It's happening and I'm not a liar. Here's proof!

Okay, not be snarky or anything.

These are my new clients that just bought a home in Sacramento. They moved here from Florida and have the cutest accent.

It was such a pleasure working with them because they weren't the least bit jaded about the real estate market. They realized they were getting a good deal and jumped on it with no hesitation. The market analysis confirmed their happiness. Of course, it helped that they had done their own research online and knew the style and neighborhood of the home they were looking in.

They actually made an excellent purchase because of the following:

- they bought in a slow market

- they had done a lot (I mean A LOT) of research beforehand

- this one is the most important: the market analysis showed that homes in their neighborhood in a half-mile radius sold for anywhere between $30,000 more than they paid for their home to $200,000 more than they paid. Which means that every dollar they invest into the home will have more potential returns than say a neighborhood with a ceiling of say, $20,000 under all comps.

This is an excerpt from one of their emails:
"Thank you for all of your help and patience with this property and me! Thanks again. You are a wonderful agent."

Well, won the clients over.... now for you bloggers! :)

Smart Homebuyers Pick the Right Neighborhood

The 95841 are is just that - off Highway 80 and on Madison Avenue to Sacramento homebuyers. I wish it had another name. But in the midst of this week's home buying frenzy, I met some pretty wonderful people looking for a home in that area. Here's what was so surprising to me about them:

- They have a very good sense of what they wanted although at first it seemed vague. They have nailed down the style of the home and are razor sharp in that aspect. Most buyers do not know what they want. The good ones do!

- They have never lived in Sacramento and yet have identified an area that is fairly stable in value with low rates of crime. I was doing the "Elk Grove is safer" chant and then came home to realize the 95841 is far safer than 95624 according to the crime stats at the Sacramento Bee. Point 2 for my clients.

- They are not afraid of investing in real estate. They instinctively know that this is the right time and they are in the right place.

It's not funny any more, Sacramento renters! You're living in the last affordable metropolis in California. And after everyone else from everywhere else that sees the value in Sacramento has bought a piece of it, you're going to be upset that you weren't warned.