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Elizabeth Weintraub
Ballistic Missile Threat Inbound to Hawaii Emergency Alert
The emergency alert in Hawaii went to every resident with a cellphone who opts in for alerts.
Yesterday started out like any other Saturday in Hawaii, fully not expecting an emergency alert for a ballistic missile threat. This Sacramento Realtor sat on our lanai in my nightgown. Working like usual. Busy answering early morning emails and typing a blog. Then, all of a sudden, shortly after 8 AM my cellphone produced an unfamiliar loud screech. Grabbing it, I spotted the following message:
BALLISTIC MISSLE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.
Holy shit. I am not awake. It was all in caps, which made it even scarier. I glanced toward the ocean, studied the fishing vessels and sailboats. Oh, man, I needed more coffee. However, no boats rushed to shore. The street down the hill had very little traffic. I heard no sounds of neighbors opening garage doors or gathering in the streets. My husband was sound asleep in the bedroom, but I saw no reason to wake him.
If a missile was heading this way, we’d all be dead soon enough. There is really no shelter. It would be awful news to wake him with, hey sweetie, we’re about to die. Would you mind waking up. No, I don’t think anybody wants to be awakened like that. It’s best just to let him sleep.
I quickly brought up Twitter on my cell. Frantically searched keywords. Nothing there about an emergency alert in Hawaii for a ballistic missile attack. If this was anybody’s fault, it would be those well meaning but misguided folks who voted for Trump. There is no doubt in my mind that North Korea would bomb us in a heart beat. But I also know that Hawaii’s air sirens are messed up and everybody’s been complaining.
What are the odds it was all a mistake? Pretty high, I figured. I finished my blog. About 20 minutes later, I receive a second alert that the first emergency alert was indeed a mistake. But not before my friend, Hella Rothwell, sent me a text from Oahu. They made everybody leave her building in Honolulu and many hotels in Waikiki closed down. Even Home Depot in Kaila-Kona closed and shuffled everybody out.
Ah, just another day in paradise. But at the end of the day is this: Parents in Hawaii actually stuffed their children into holes in the ground because Trump can’t shut up about his big fat nuclear button.
This Woodside Oaks Condo is Like Living at a Resort
Spacious living room with corner fireplace in a Woodside Oaks condo.
Look no further for your Woodside Oaks condo at Alicante Villas! Because this is the only condo for sale in Woodside Oaks Alicante Villas. And it could be yours, all yours! This Woodside Oaks condo has everything you’ve dreamed about. A beautifully updated kitchen featuring glass cabinet doors and granite counters. Stainless appliances, too, and a stone floor. In fact, the stone floor in the entry extends into the kitchen.
Off the kitchen is a private dining area with a recently installed very modern ceiling fan. One can retrieve a plate from the pass-through and transport it directly to the dining room table without walking around the kitchen.
Further, you will adore the spacious living room. You’ll find a brick fireplace in the corner. Also, sliding glass doors to the mostly covered and entirely enclosed patio. Just behind the patio is the covered parking spot so you can see your car, for those who need to always know their vehicle is within viewing distance from the house.
Both bedrooms in this Woodside Oaks condo are decent sized with ample closet space. The guest bathroom features a granite counter and an enclosed tub with a shower over it. There are mirrored closet doors in the guest bedroom, which seems to enlarge the space. In the master bath, of course you’ll find a long granite vanity with plenty of storage, but the floor is also stone, lending it an updated look.
The HOA dues are a bit high but oh, you get so much! There is a swimming pool, a spa, workout gym, plus you can barbecue right at the pool. Many professionals live in this complex. It’s close to UC Davis Medical Center and downtown.
512 Woodside Oaks, Unit #1, Sacramento, CA 95825 is offered exclusively by Elizabeth Weintraub at Lyon Real Estate at $235K. Please check out the virtual tour and plan to come to our open house on Sunday, January 14th, from 2:00 to 4:00 PM, hosted by Josh Amolsch from the Elizabeth Weintraub Team. Or, call 916.233.6759 for more information.
The Downside to Living in Paradise on the Island of Hawaii
Ala Wai Harbor in Honolulu, by Hella Rothwell.
Before we bought a house in Hawaii, I carefully studied the downside to living in paradise. Although we typically enjoy azure skies, brilliant sunsets and warm breezes year-round, there are other weather related phenomena that can strike the islands. Aside from a tsunami, and being on the wrong side of town, there is also vog. Vog is air pollution coming from the Kilauea volcano. Kona winds blow the vog southwest, as opposed to Tradewinds which blow from the northeast.
So for about 12 to 23 days every year, we get vog at intermittent times on Hawaii Island. Health experts advise sensitive people to stay indoors. The small particles and gases in the vog can irritate your lungs and cause headaches.
But that’s a small thing. People say it is expensive to live on Hawaii island, but I haven’t noticed a big difference except for electricity rates. We pay about 4 times more than we do in Sacramento.
Gold Dust Day Gecko on Big Island, Hawaii
The bigger downside to living in paradise are the bugs. At home in Sacramento, we might find a house fly zipping about the house, turning our cats into Mexican jumping beans. On the Big Island, so far since November 30th, I have smacked dead 8 baby geckos in the house, and broom-hockeypucked out two adult Gold Dust Day geckos.
They creep along the ceiling, watching you, muttering to themselves, uh, oh, she’s gonna get us. I murdered a gecko in the garage by accident. Sometimes I find them dead from starvation. My housekeeper plucked a dead baby gecko yesterday from behind the toilet in the guest bathroom.
Dead cockroach on Big Island lanai.
Also, after Kona Pest Control sprays, I always find dead cockroaches and centipedes. Sometimes they crawl under the bed to die. Other times they litter the lanai. Always on their backs, the cockroaches. I hadn’t had a problem with them in the house until last night. A friend down the street told me to always keep a can of Raid. So I bought a can of Raid last month and didn’t get a chance to use it until last night at bedtime.
Centipede outside bedroom door on Big Island, Hawaii
Sleepy eyed, as I closed the sliding door to the side yard, I suddenly noticed a black object scooting across the floor. My instincts took over. I grabbed my weapon. Wow, shooting the cockroach with a can of Raid was really easy. I thought it would blast a big spray but it’s a dedicated poison stream. Which allows you to stay far enough way while continually spraying your target with extreme precision. Never thought I’d say this, but thank you, Raid.
Termite droppings by a kitchen sink in Hawaii.
Yet, that was not the highlight of my day yesterday, oh, no. The highlight occurred when my housekeeper stepped on a crunchy pile near the kitchen sink. Like I told my husband later, being like Mr. Magoo has its advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantages are not being able to see, and the advantages, in some cases, is also not being able to see. Things aren’t always in sharp focus without my contact lenses in my eyes.
Termite droppings on a hand.
The housekeeper called the stuff ant droppings, but I sent both of the photos I shot to Kona Pest. They said it was probably termites. I will find out tomorrow when they come out to spot spray.
I have also been on a mission to rid the garden of white flies. Noble mission. Almost fanatical. Because those suckers are really hard to dispose of. Yet everyday I turn on the hose and spray the crap out of the underside of my leaves. Then I spray the top with soapy fungicide. Nothing compares to holding a branch with my left hand while spraying with the right hand and feeling that icky stream of white-fly water falling from gravity into my armpit.
So, the next time you think everybody is living the life of luxury, the stuff dreams are made from in Hawaii, realize there is a downside to living in paradise. Not for the squeamish. I have only 3 weeks left on this trip, and then it’s back to Sacramento. Of course, I work on Sacramento real estate whenever I’m not chasing a gecko with the broom. Because like I love to say, I could work on real estate from my home office in Sacramento over the winter or I could work from Hawaii. Easy choice.
Does a Sacramento Seller Need to Do Home Inspection Repairs?
Telling sellers they do not have to perform home inspection repairs can fall on deaf ears.
When I send home inspection repairs and findings to a seller, it is for the seller’s records only. I tell them this. But still, some home sellers react in unexpected ways. Some sellers take the home inspection very personally. They want to call the home inspector and chew off his ear. (For some reason, more men than women opt to become a home inspector.) Sellers find the composition of the report offensive. Many don’t like the “repair” or red flags noted.
Often, these are the very sellers who tell me at the time of listing that there is nothing wrong with their home. In their mind, they have the perfectly maintained home. I chuckle to myself because I know better. But I don’t argue with them. It’s not always so much that there is a lot of stuff wrong as it is buyers may feel as though they paid all this money for a home inspection, there better be some actual discoveries. Otherwise, why did they pay $450 for nothing?
So there are home inspectors who go out of their way on the well maintained homes to find a handful of defects, regardless of how small or insignificant. A chip on the edge of a roof shingle. Water marks on the windows. Scuff marks on the screen door. Which is really amusing when you think about this. Instead of a buyer feeling relieved to discover no major problems, some buyers openly choose irritation.
Funny story to interject. When I sent a recent file of home inspection repairs to a seller, the seller thought he was supposed to fix everything. Why? I dunno. He ordered delivery of light fixtures and lined up workers. It’s a good thing he checked with me because I told him to cancel the order and the workers. He sold his home in AS IS condition. Just like every California Residential Purchase Agreement states in paragraph 11. The home is sold AS IS.
Now, one of the problems lies with buyer’s agents who don’t want to alienate buyers. So, when their buyer makes noises about not buying a home with defects, the buyer’s agent has a go to. That go to is to write a request for repair and to ask the seller to fix things. I always tell my sellers they don’t have to fix anything. Especially when receiving a petty request for repairs. Instead, I lay out the options. They can just say no and take a chance the buyer will get her knickers in a twist and cancel.
But then again, the next set of buyers won’t ask for things. Pretty much guaranteed. If it’s a substantial sum of money, we might want to sell the house again to a more reasonable buyer. I do not mind selling a home twice and getting paid once if it helps the seller. Or, the seller can agree to give the buyer a credit or renegotiate the price. Or, fix some things and not all things. It’s all negotiable. But generally, my sellers just say no. It’s their right.
A list of home inspection repairs and suggestions is for the buyer’s edification. It’s not to reopen negotiations. And I have to admit, when I work with experienced buyer’s agents on the other side of the transaction, I almost never get a request for repair for my seller. Why is that, do you think?
December 2017 Sacramento Housing Report Shows Steady Prices
December 2017 Sacramento Housing Report
Welcome to the December 2017 Sacramento Housing Report. The first thing that strikes me about the numbers for last month is the fact the pending sales have increased over the same month a year ago. The pending sales for this December are up by 14% over December of last year. This indicates a much stronger demand at the end of the year than the demand that existed a year ago.
The second thing I noticed is inventory dropped in December by 24% over November. But most of that is people saying, what the heck, I want to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas without people traipsing through my house. It’s seasonal and typically more people take their homes off the market over the holidays.
Our inventory is still very low in Sacramento, per the December 2017 Sacramento Housing Report. There was an uptick of inventory in the fall but by December all of that pretty much vanished. Demand seems to remain constant. I keep wondering whether buyers will back off as interest rates rise, but I suspect they are doing the opposite. If I were a couple of first-time home buyers right now, I’d be worried about being priced out of the marketplace in the upcoming year. There is no slowdown in sight for appreciation. Prices keep climbing.
It’s a double whammy because interest rates are increasing and prices are increasing. However it doesn’t mean the market will fall because demand is so strong. If we had tons of inventory and very little demand, we’d be singing a different tune but that is not what’s happening in the December 2017 Sacramento Housing Report.
All I can say is 2018 will be an interesting year. Whatever happens, I’m prepared to serve my clients equally well if not better than last year. If you’re interested in more information about the Sacramento real estate market, call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759 and put 44 years of experience to work for you.
