About Sacramento's Land Park

Almost every home buyer I run into wants to live in either Land Park or Curtis Park. We've got tree-canopied streets, a gorgeous park, shopping, restaurants, a movie theater, friendly neighbors and we can walk to downtown or Midtown Sacramento. Who wouldn't want to live in Land Park or Curtis Park?

That sentiment is most likely reflected in the rising home sales, too. The number of homes sold in 95818 for the month of July has shot up 85.7% over a year ago. Last July, only 14 homes sold in 95818. This July, the number of sold homes is 26.

Interesting, the inventory (actual number of homes for sale) for July topped out at 70 homes for sale. Of those, 10 were bank-owned homes or offered as short sales. The average price-per-square foot was $258. But inventory is dropping. July's inventory was 2.7 months, meaning it would take less than 3 months to sell every home on the market.

Here are the Trendgraphix charts, used with permission, that show housing trends over the past 15 months in Land Park and Curtis Park:

It is always exciting when there is a new infill project in a city. Sacramento is no different. We have some remarkable infill projects going...one of them the largest in the United States.

The Railyards has it's own set of challenges. It is a downtown infill and must deal with parking, city codes, and other downtown businesses. I would not pretend to understand all of the dynamics of this massive undertaking.

The project that is nearer my heart is between Land Park and Curtis Park. Curtis Park Village is a much needed development that is decades in the making. Paul Petrovich purchased the property 5 years ago and has been investing in it ever since. I am sure he thought his biggest challenge would be the 80,000 cubic yards of toxic soil left by the Union Pacific Railroad. After cleaning this up, an additional approximately 320,000 cubic yards of toxic soil was discovered. Basing his cost on the citys first estimate, his costs went up substantially. To recover this cost ($4000 per day), he has increased the size of the commercial portion of this development.

Now his challenge is not the toxic cleanup, but the neighborhood's reaction to the increase in commercial space. There is an atmosphere of entitlement by many in the neighborhood to have Curtis Park Village done their way.

So, how much input should a neighborhood have? Should they be able to demand specific features in the developement?

Because of HVCC, some buyers are standing on shaky ground if they release contingencies. It's considered typical practice due to standard verbiage in the C.A.R. purchase contract to release contingencies on the 17th day after contract acceptance. Of course, there is a box to check that leaves the loan contingency in place until close of escrow, but try checking that box and see how far you get with the seller. So, most buyers are under the gun to perform all inspections and firm up their loans within 17 days.

The problem that can pop up in this market is when the agent is negotiating a Request for Repair. This is when a buyer finds some significant defect in the home and asks the seller to give a credit toward closing costs. If the seller agrees to credit the buyer, the seller, in return, may ask the buyer to release all contingencies. This action may put the buyer's earnest money deposit at risk if the buyer, for some reason, cannot close escrow.

Once a file gets into underwriting, it might not emerge as approved. The underwriter may ask for a review appraisal or issue funding conditions. It's a tricky situation if the buyer can't meet those funding conditions or the review appraisal returns with a lower opinion of value.

I have buyers in escrow on 2 homes in Land Park and another is buying a home in Curtis Park. All 3 transactions involve after-the-fact negotiations. Fortunately, these buyers are rock solid with high FICO scores, and the sales prices are in line with the comparable sales for the neighborhoods. But it still doesn't mean it's not risky to release contingencies.

What I wonder about are the buyers for homes in other areas of Sacramento, areas that aren't as stable as Land Park, areas where property values have declined more than 50% over the past 4 years, and the buyers have shaky credit. Those buyers might want to think twice before asking for a seller credit.

One of my Land Park buyers is a school teacher, and yesterday was the first day of school for him. Because of the state of our budget in California, many school teachers are receiving pink slips, but fortunately he wasn't one of them. He's buying a home in Land Park very close to William Land Park, and the home is loaded with character. But more about that in a moment.

He told me something I could not believe. Well, maybe most of you already know this, but I don't have any kids and haven't stepped foot in a school classroom for decades, so I have no idea what goes on at school. He said that his school district maintains an online web site where password-protected parents can go to look up their children's test scores and homework assignments. Daily.

Wow, how times have changed. Today's kids can't lie to their parents. They can't say that they have no homework or that they're getting good scores on tests. This is fascinating to me.

Anyway, while we were waiting for the home inspector to finish up, talking and looking out the windows admiring the view, all of a sudden a tree branch fell from a towering sycamore. It landed within a few inches of my buyer's car. Welcome to Land Park. With all of our trees, sometimes branches fall. Sometimes trees fall on your house, too. Luckily, this guy's car was spared.

The home is truly magnificent. I love these classic homes in Land Park. Original plaster walls, high curved ceilings, picture railings, leaded glass windows, arches, wood floors and grand staircases. They have a feeling to them that is difficult to describe. It's similar to standing inside Notre Dame and feeling history running through your veins. There's a definite connection to the past that defies present day.

These buyers have been searching for a home in Land Park for a long time. It had to have just the right amount of character for them. And the home they are buying fits that bill to a T. I am thrilled to pieces for them. Happy clients equals a happy agent.

But boy, kids today must have it really rough at school.

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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 Sacramento. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. DRE License # 00697006.

The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available through bookstores everywhere and at Amazon.com.

Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub, crepe myrtle tree in a Land Park yard.

The order in which we film the show for House Hunters is not necessarily the order in which the homes are viewed on TV. In fact, I have no idea how each of the homes we are filming will appear, whether you'll see home #1 as home #3 or vice versa. But I do believe that viewers will have a difficult time figuring out which home these Natomas buyers actually purchased.

I opened the home in Natomas early yesterday because I am supposed to meet with the producers about an hour before the buyers get there. That's to give them time to set up their cameras and lighting, so we're ready to rock and roll when the talent arrives. We had three problems.

First, it was extremely windy. Too windy for us to stand in the street to discuss the home. Second, we had to do a lot of retakes because at the crucial part of a scene, just as luck would have it, a plane would fly by overhead. But the kids took the cake. They were driving these cute little play cars up and down the side street, bumping into curbs, into each other, and making a pile of noise.

The way we knew we were finished with each room was when the producer would call out "room tone." This meant we were to return to our original places in the room and stand still so they could record the sound in the room. After each scene, they also filmed individual actions such as Lali opening a cabinet or Chris looking inside the oven. But hearing room tone meant we could move on to the next room. Hooray!

As for me, I had a difficult time doing the retakes. The first run-through is winged -- well, really, the whole show is off-the-cuff. We pretty much say whatever comes to us about each room. After touring the kitchen, for example, it's hard to do it over and remember what was said. At my age, I can remember what happened 40 years ago but 2 minutes ago is another story.

So, I was sitting on the living room floor, watching Lali do her "confessional." That's a brief scene at the end of each day from each of us, talking about what we saw and what we think. She is such a natural on film. Then Chris leaned against the kitchen counter and delivered his thoughts. He came across as a professional, very expressive and sincere.

Plus, of course, I was also grateful to be off my feet as I thought about some of my short sale transactions, trying to quietly check my BlackBerry for urgent emails while I'm marveling at how well Lali and Chris are doing. Then it came my turn to wrap up the day. I knew earlier what I was supposed to say, but it completely slipped my mind because I was focused elsewhere. Chris grabbed my camera to take a photo. He's such a sweet guy. But I did have to ask the producer, "What am I talking about again?"

That's because I just received news that my Land Park buyer had his offer accepted. Woot! We've been in negotiations on this home since Monday. It's an upper-end home with multiple owners, and I've been talking with the agent daily, trying to pull this deal together for my buyers. Little moves quickly above half a mil anymore, and negotiations can take a long time, especially in certain price ranges in Land Park.

When I called my buyers to give them the good news, I briefly explained what I was doing with House Hunters in Natomas. They asked me about the show and how they could get more information about it. Uh, oh. I have this odd feeling that I could get a call next week from these Land Park buyers saying, "Guess what? We got approved to go on House Hunters! Will you do it with us?" Well, my neighborhood and homes in Land Park are quite different from those in Natomas. Quiet streets, classic homes, an abundance of character. No airplanes, either. Besides, I'd do the show again, I guess. It's kinda fun.

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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 Sacramento. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. DRE License # 00697006.

The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available through bookstores everywhere and at Amazon.com.

Photo: Elizabeth Weintraub