While I was researching short sales in Sacramento for a client this morning, I noticed my MLS profile needed an update. So, I clicked on it to make the change. At the very bottom is a place for additional languages. I typed in Klingon. Well, I don’t really know any Klingon words, so I erased it and typed Pig Latin. Hit the Save button. Apparently, Pig Latin is not a recognized language because MLS would not let me save it. Those MLS programmers, always looking out for practical jokers, I guess.

The listing my client asked about is a short sale home in East Sacramento. It is listed for, let’s say, $399,000. This buyer can’t go above $350,000. He wanted to know if he could buy that short sale for $350,000. Lots of buyers these days seem to think we are in a buyer’s market. I suppose they have difficulty interpreting the market because newspapers and TV yak constantly about foreclosures and short sales. But with falling inventory (we’ve lost about 2/3rds of our inventory over the past couple of years) and rates below 5%, it’s a seller’s market in many Sacramento neighborhoods.

I researched this East Sacramento short sale. Looked up the owner’s name, which sounded familiar, in Realist. Googled the owner. Yup, the owner is a real estate agent. And the owner / agent works at the same company as the agent who listed this short sale. I read the owner’s blog. The owner / agent talked about not really understanding short sales nor believing that they close. Those are all bad signs.

Then I looked up the owner / agent’s sales production in MLS for last year. The agent qualified for Master’s Club. Doesn’t appear to be hurting financially. I ran the name in the tax rolls. The owner / agent owns quite a few other homes in Sacramento. It would appear that the owner / agent may not have a hardship and may not understand that a hardship is generally required to do a short sale. I could be wrong, but I’m probably not.

Well, maybe the owner / agent’s real estate buddy has short sale experience? I entered that name as a listing agent into a search for all sold properties from January of 2009. Not a short sale among them. I can tell by the DOM. If the listing agent has never closed a short sale, that’s a red flag because the listing agent controls the entire transaction.

I have sold several homes in this particular three-block area, some of which were my own listings, so I know it pretty well. Well enough to know that the market value of that home is more than $399,000, so the bank will probably reject offers at list price. This means a lowball offer won’t stand a chance.

I presented this information to my client and asked: “Do you really want to buy that East Sacramento short sale?” I have a feeling he’s going to say Ixnay.

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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.

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