Sacramento, CA

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

Sometime around mid-October, I received an offer on one of my Sacramento short sales. The buyer's agent swore that the buyers loved the home. On top of that, the agent promised in writing not to write any more offers for those buyers as everyone waited for short sale approval. We received approval from one lender and were working on gaining cooperation from the second lender when a cancellation of purchase agreement appeared in my email inbox.

The explanation was the buyers decided they could not afford the improvements they wanted to make. They had not gone back to the home since the day they wrote the offer. This epiphany seemed to have come to them right after they received the approval letter, when reality sunk in. The agent didn't have the guts to pick up the phone and call me. For all I know, that agent had been out showing these buyers other homes and writing other offers.

If that was the case, this agent could possibly be held liable for breaking the REALTOR Code of Ethics. Article 1 says agents must be honest with each other. On top of that, though, buyers who walk away from a short sale after signing a contract could be held liable for breaching the good faith covenant inherent in contracts. A lawyer could argue in court that those types of buyers probably had no intention of following through on the purchase should a better opportunity present itself along the way.

Moreover, what if the seller was already in foreclosure, facing a trustee's sale, and relying on this particular buyer to perform? Is it possible that the seller could hold the buyer personally liable if the seller lost the home to foreclosure as a result of the cancellation? I'm not a lawyer, and I can't give legal advice, but it seems to me that it's possible a seller in that situation might have legal recourse against such a buyer.

After all, by ratifying the contract, the buyers prevented the seller from selling to a serious buyer -- a buyer who may have been able to perform during the allotted time frame. Buyers who are writing multiple purchase offers on Sacramento short sales may want to rethink that kind of strategy. What do you think? Do short sale sellers have a legal right to sue a buyer for damages if that buyer's failure to perform and breach of good faith leads to foreclosure?

Even if you are local, you may have heard of SACTO, but not had a clue what they do. Today, the Sacramento Association of Realtors hosted our Finance Forum in which Barbara Hayes from SACTO spoke. She gave us a truly "meat and potatoes" picture of the purpose and success of this organization.

SACTO is an acronym for Sacramento Area Commerce and Trade Organization. Their sole purpose is to bring jobs to the Sacramento area. They are non-profit, non-political in nature and were created out of the Metro Chamber years ago. They work with the local 26 governments that make up the Sacramento area. How do they stay out of politics, but work with governments? They receive feedback from companies either in the area or contemplating coming to the area. They then provide this feedback to the appropriate governance's. Last year, they were responsible for bringing 1000 jobs to the area.

In a time when there is a definite shortage of jobs, SACTO is busier than they have been in the past 5 years. The "incubation" time from the beginning of talks to actual job realization is about 12 to 18 months, so we should be looking forward to some good times in the relatively near future.

It may be surprising to learn that about 50% of the potential jobs being considered in Sacramento are involved in "clean or green" technology. Nationally, California is viewed as the mecca of green technology and Sacramento, supplying access to policy makers, give Sacramento (both locally and statewide) a strong appeal. We are an appealing location due to several factors: Sacramento's climate is ideal (other states such as Arizona and Nevada are too hot) and our former military bases generate incentives to use their locations. The very thing that has stagnated our economy in this area is also a great asset...the potential work force. Our educational institutions also give us a benefit. University of California at Davis has a globally known expert in wind power. California State University in Sacramento is known for it's "smart" technology, developing smart grid technology opportunities with a 127M dollar grant (the second largest grant in this field). The Los Rios community colleges are committed to developing grad students into green force experts. Sacramento is winning more companies than anywhere else in California.

Our second largest job force is in consumer goods. There are several factors contributing to this fact. At one time, companies were relocating to states such as Arizona, Utah, etc. However, when oil prices went up, the cost of shipping exceeded the benefits of going to those states. Also, a state with 38M people is hard to overlook globally. Succinctly put, we are too large to fail. According to Time Magazine, California will chart the course for the future. According to the magazine, California is the center of innovation and talent.

Locally, Sacramento has a plethora of benefits to offer potential employers. The very fact that our property values have gone down has provided for affordable housing. The Sacramento International Airport supplies an easy supply line. Our mild climate (a 75 degree average high and a 50 degree average low) reduces cost to companies concerned about high heating and air conditioning costs. Sacramento claims the highest number of intersecting major highways and freeways in the country (Interstates 5, 80 and Highways 50 and 99). This makes transporting of goods cost effective. Our health industry is thriving with UC Davis, the Sutter Health, Mercy and Kaiser. We offer recreation of every sort within 2 hours of Sacramento - skiing (water and snow) snorkeling, biking, running, baseball, soccer, boccie ball...just name it and it is here! One company that came to town discovered windsurfing..and that clinched the deal! We have the highest performing students statewide.

Nestle is presently committed to a 10M dollar investment in Sacramento. By the end of the year, they will have spent 3.5M of that commitment. 70% of the workforce are local contractors. A solar manufacturer from Asia (yet to be announced) will be investing initially in a 150,000 square foot building to be expanded to 300,000 square feet. They will employ 200 people. We are seeing increased interest in China due to their growing wealth.

We have a beautiful and vibrant city...and it is nice to know that others are realizing what Sacramento has to offer!

The usual scenario goes like this: An upside-down homeowner loses his job and the family scrambles to make the mortgage payments. They borrow on credit cards, ask other family members for help, sell possessions. They may ask the lender to do a loan modification and spend months trying to qualify before the lender shoots them down.

Then the bank files a Notice of Default. A few weeks before the trustee's sale, a friend suggests a short sale. Desperate, the homeowner then calls a Sacramento short sale agent, hoping for a miracle and to save what little credit the homeowner has left.

I've pulled quite a few Sacramento short sales out of the fire just moments before the home was auctioned off to the highest bidder at foreclosure. But I'm not a miracle worker, regardless of my reputation. Sometimes I can save a seller from foreclosure and sometimes I can't. It's much better to call me to list your short sale before the Notice of Default is filed.

This is how the Notice of Default works in California. Generally, the homeowner falls behind a couple months. The lender sends letters asking for payment with late fees. After 60 days or so, before the Notice of Default is filed, the lender is required to inform the homeowner in writing of its intent to pursue foreclosure. By law, this letter must be delivered to the homeowner at least 30 days before filing the Notice of Default. If you receive such a letter of intention, pick up the phone and call your Sacramento short sale agent. Don't put it off.

The Notice of Default is recorded in the public records. After 90 days, the publication period in a newspaper of general circulation begins. After 20 days, the home may go to auction on the 21st day. This means from the day you stop making your mortgage payments, you may have about 6 1/2 months before you lose your home to foreclosure.

Time is of the essence. You don't have the luxury of time when you're trying to do a Sacramento short sale. If you are trying to negotiate a Bank of America short sale, for example, on a loan that originated with Countrywide, you may need a full 6 months to get short sale approval.

So don't stuff those bank letters in a drawer hoping that it will all go away if you simply ignore what's happening because it won't. It will just get worse. Get legal and tax advice, then call your Sacramento short sale agent as soon as you possibly can. I can't guarantee that I'll be able to postpone the trustee's sale, but it's entirely possible.