Sacramento, CA

We all know the Smart water meters were installed...it was just a matter of time till they were activated. As Homepointe pays recurring utility expenses at no cost for our clients, last week we started receiving the letters telling us that the water meters would be put into use starting January 01, 2010. This of course spurred countless phone calls and emails as to how best protect the interest of the property owners. What happens if tenants abuse the water and shower 20 times a day? What happens if a toilet runs continuously or a sprinkler valve leaks unnoticed? Will tenants turn off water circulation for pools or stop watering lawns to save money? Traditionally we encourage owners to absorb the cost of water, sewer and garbage. Now that water is metered the issue has gained importance. I typically tell the owner client their options:

1. Do nothing and continue to monitor the usage/billing.

2. Give the tenants a 30 change of terms to pay the water bill if in a month to month lease.

3. Generate a dollar amount that represents the average cost of the water bill--any amount billed over that amount is to be paid for by the tenant.

I'm interested to hear from others as to their experiences with the new trend of metered water.

James Safonov

jsafonov@homepointe.com

www.homepointe.com

Few guys understand what a woman means when she opens her closet and declares: I have nothing to wear. Guys look in the closet and they see clothes jammed in so tightly that one might break a hanger yanking something out. Wall-to-wall clothes. They scratch their heads and wonder how can a woman say she has nothing to wear when it's obvious that she has 6 times more clothing than them. In fact, it looks like the entire fall collection from Macy's in that closet.

See, here's the thing. When a woman says: "I have nothing to wear," it means she can remember the last time she wore every garment. I know, that doesn't make sense to many guys, but it does to a woman. And that which she can't recall, she probably doesn't like anyway. I imagine women who suffer from memory loss always have something to wear, so that can be the upside to losing your mind.

In my case, I realized yesterday that I have nothing to wear -- not for any of those reasons but because I had dropped 4 dress sizes. Very little in my closet fits me anymore. In case you're wondering, it's called the "don't eat" diet, which consists of consuming 3 small meals a day, no snacks, no desserts, and running around like a chicken with my head cut off slamming to closing those Sacramento short sales and homes in Land Park.

I'm back to the size I was in college. And I have my husband to thank. I thanked him, too, as I breezed in the door yesterday carrying a bunch of bags from my shopping spree at Macy's in downtown Sacramento. "What did I do?" he asked, bewildered. Well, he had stopped making me high caloric dinners and served up smaller portions, as I requested, since I had previously blamed my weight gain on him. He prepares our dinners and handles the grocery shopping. Now, I know it wasn't his fault, but it amuses me to share the blame. Call it a wife's prerogative.

At least now I'll have something to wear when I go over to East Sacramento today to shoot interior photos of my new listing. This is a very spacious two-bedroom home with an extra deep lot. And it's not upside down. Yup, not a short sale. It's owned by a regular seller. Been in the family for ages -- the mortgage has been paid off. I listed it last Friday for $314,900.

This East Sacramento home features hardwood floors, central heat and air, and one of the bedrooms has a murphy bed. The kitchen is huge, almost 25 feet, about the same size as the living room, with space for a table. In fact, you could also utilize part of the living room for dining and convert the formal dining room into a home office, if you needed an extra room. It has a 2-motorcycle garage, as the seller calls it, and a raised deck in the back yard for entertaining.

It goes into MLS today and showings start on Wednesday. If you're looking at homes in East Sacramento, give me a ring at 916.233.6759. I'd love to show you this. And I'll try to post more photos tomorrow.

A fellow blogger and agent on Active Rain, Pacita Dimacali, wrote a piece that included links which substantiate the theory that banks make more money on foreclosures than short sales. Pacita works in Alameda, about 90 minutes away from me in Sacramento, and she is also a contributor to my book, The Short Sale Savior. Pacita knows her stuff.

If the federal government is subsidizing lossses suffered by banks through foreclosure, it would appear that banks such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo and CitiMortgage have very little incentive to do a short sale. Yet, month after month, those same banks are approving my Sacramento short sales.

Now, Wachovia short sales are handled in a different manner. But that's primarily because Wachovia is a portfolio lender. Loans originated by World Savings, for example, that are now Wachovia short sales, close from sale date to recording in about 5 to 6 weeks.

I'll tell you why I suspect that my sellers are getting short sale approval and the sellers Pacita illustrates are receiving short sale rejections. I believe it has to do with short sale pricing and how I market those listings. See, banks are in the business of making money, and they probably don't care where the money comes from. The government can give it to them or short sale buyers can give it to them.

After all, if a bank takes the property in foreclosure, it will still need to ultimately sell that bank-owned home to a buyer. If the buyer is already standing in front of the bank, waving money and paying market value, why wouldn't the bank accept the short sale? As a Sacramento short sale agent, I fully realize that I represent the seller and have a fiduciary duty to get the seller the highest price possible, even though that money is not going directly into the seller's pocket. It goes to the bank. But the bank is also the ultimate decision maker.

At the moment, according to MLS, my short sale listing to sales price ratio average so far for 2009 is at 106.5% of the sales price. Yup, as bizarro as it sounds, that's right. I generate so much interest on my Sacramento short sales that buyers pay over list price. The banks are happy, the sellers are happy and even the buyers are happy. That's how life should be.

It's that time of year again!! Don't miss your chance to attend one of my favorite annual holiday events, the 2008 Sacred Heart Holiday Home Tour of the Fabulous 40's neighborhood in East Sacramento! There will be 5 homes on tour, each featuring unique architectural styles.

This year, the tour schedule is Friday, December 4th, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, December 5th 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Sunday, December 6th 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Time is running out to purchase your tickets in advance for only $20! You can order them online, or you can purchase them at the Sacred Heart School office, or several local retail locations (such as William Glen, Haus by David Randall, La Maison Marche, Collected Works, etc.). Tickets at the event will be $30. If you are interested in volunteering at the tour, click here.

This fundraiser benefits Sacred Heart Parish School, and is organized by the Parents of Sacred Heart School.

I just listed a new short sale in Land Park yesterday, but before I get to that, let me tell you about a weird thing that happened on Friday. I've never, in all my decades of real estate, experienced this before. A buyer who was supposed to close escrow on a home in South Land Park sent me an email with an attachment. That attachment was a copy of the recording status of the home, and the email asked if the home had recorded. Since I was viewing this on my BlackBerry -- which has very small print on attachments, even if I zoom the image -- I stopped at my home office to look at it on my computer.

Sure enough, the document included a book and page number. But it also had Thursday's date, not Friday's. I contacted title. Whoa. The title company goofed up and recorded the wrong deed. That loan had just funded Friday morning, but title recorded the deed in error on Thursday. This didn't affect my buyers much, but it certainly affects the buyers who thought they had closed escrow on Thursday and probably moved in already. Just goes to show that even title companies make mistakes.

Sometimes, buyers make mistakes as well, especially when they are moving to Land Park from out of the area. Many homes in Land Park are unique, and their values can vary dramatically, depending on a plethora of indicators. That's why it's important to hire an experienced Land Park agent or it's possible that a buyer may overpay for a home here.

Unfortunately, some appraisers have no idea how to appraise a home in Land Park. They don't seem to know where the boundaries are for each subdivision or how crossing some boundaries can have an affect on value. So buyers can't always rely on an appraisal to substantiate value.

The sellers of my new Land Park listing paid $515,000 in the spring of 2005, probably the hottest market ever on record for Land Park. It is presently assessed at $429,236 by the County of Sacramento. So, if you're looking for a short sale in Land Park -- and there are only 3 active short sales available in Land Park at the moment -- you might want to check this out.

1000 Fremont Way is offered as a short sale at $325,000. This Land Park Tudor features 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and according to the County Assessor has 1,471 square feet. It has refinished hardwood floors, barrel ceilings, nooks, crannies, built-ins, crown molding, a fireplace, formal dining room, breakfast nook, master suite, a bonus room off the garage, partial basement and attic storage. It was updated in 2005.

Plus you get boat storage, RV access and a garage that will hold 2 small cars. The back-yard has a covered patio that is made to look like a beach, with a sanded concrete floor, the sides of the overhang adjust and a ceiling fan. There is also a lawn in back that you will never need to mow.

Although the home has an address on Fremont, it actually faces 10th Street, and is a corner lot. But the back yard has a southern exposure. The A/C was new in 2005. It's got everything a Land Park buyer could want.

1000 Fremont Way, Sacramento, CA 95818
Offered exclusively by LYON REAL ESTATE as a short sale at $325,000
Elizabeth Weintraub, Land Park Agent, 916.233.6759

Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub