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Elizabeth Weintraub
Should You Make a Hard Boiled Egg in the Microwave?
You might wonder if you can make a hard boiled an egg in the microwave. Perhaps you have heard of eggs exploding in the microwave and are a bit afraid to try it. I had my reservations. No idiot. In fact, I had never considered microwaving an egg to make it hard boiled because that’s what my stove is for, right? I might not cook anything else on my stove, but boiling a pan of water with eggs and letting them sit for 10 minutes is my most common cooking technique.
Everything else, pretty much, except a Thanksgiving turkey, I make on the grill or in the microwave. This only happens when I’m cooking for myself. Of course, my husband uses the stove for all sorts of things. But for me, boiling eggs is pretty much it.
Which would be OK except I do not have a stove at the moment. Lowes is still remodeling my kitchen, and the counter guys are holding up everything. Over the past 2 days they managed to cut and screw down 3 pieces of plywood. And that’s it.
So I googled how to make a hard boiled egg in the microwave. The first website that popped up was Good Housekeeping. I followed the directions. Boiled water in the microwave for 4 minutes, then added my egg (after poking it with a needle, which is really hard to prick). I boiled it another 2 minutes, let it sit a minute and it was raw.
This is a brand new fancy schmancy microwave, too. OK, I tried Wiki How and boiled my water for 4 minutes, added the egg, added a teaspoon of sale to prevent the egg from exploding and microwaved it for 6 minutes on 50% power. I let it sit in the water for 5 minutes. The egg was perfect! I was so surprised.
They said you can tell if it’s hardboiled by twirling it on a flat surface. If it spins easily, it is hard boiled. Today, I heated my water for 4 minutes, added 4 eggs, salt and on 50% power microwaved for 6 minutes. With the additional 3 eggs, it did not work. They were still runny. I took them out of the ice bath, put them back in the water and microwaved another 10 minutes. I threw them all out.
Gosh, I can’t wait until they finish the darn counter tops so I can have my stovetop back. Hey, it just dawned on me, I could use the side burner on my Weber grill and boil eggs outside. Ha!
Sacramento Housing Market November 2018 Report
The Sacramento Housing Market November 2018 report is not surprising to me. Our inventory is up 25% over last year at this time. That is a huge uptick in inventory, even though it dropped slightly from last month. But an uptick in inventory over last year is not necessarily a good thing because it has resulted in lower closed sales.
Comparing November of 2017 to this past month, we’ve seen a drop of 12.6% in closed sales. Bad news for many Sacramento real estate agents whose income may drop, but good news for buyers.
Our median sales price in Sacramento is up to $365,000. Prices are still rising, inventory is falling, closed sales are down and pending sales are also down. Some of this is seasonal, but the upshot is buyers have far more choices now than, say, last spring.
Some properties are taking longer to sell as well. On average, our day on market has risen to 41 days in Sacramento Housing Market November 2018. Although I can say from own my production, I recently listed 5 new homes and 4 of those 5 plus another listing have sold within a few days. But they were priced right. If listings are not priced for the market, they might not sell because buyers are not crazy anymore.
No, no, no, buyers are much more cautious. Some want to “sleep on the decision” and, of course, those are the guys who regret that decision. But taking their time is often OK. They might be up against only one other offer, not 5 or 10. At least they are smart enough to want to act now. Because they see prices rising and interest rates going up. If they plan to buy a house, now is the time.
Plenty of houses available. Not as much competition from other buyers this time of year. If you’d like more information or want to discuss the Sacramento Housing Market November 2018 report, please call Elizabeth Weintraub at Lyon RE, 916.233.6759.
Should You Tell Sellers When Agents Are Sending an Offer?
In my real estate practice, I feel sellers prefer to be kept informed, even if something never happens. Because a Sacramento listing agent can certainly throw out a disclaimer. Like, listen, Mrs. Seller, don’t get all excited but this agent says he is sending an offer. In some ways, I know you want to hear everything, and in other ways, maybe not. So you let me know what you want to hear.
The problem with deciding to tell sellers when agents are sending an offer is the offer might never materialize. That is the downside. If the seller gets her hopes up because she hears an offer is forth-coming but never arrives, it can be disappointing. Managing seller reactions and maintaining client happiness in a transaction is an art.
Of course, I pretty much tell my sellers everything. Whether to tell sellers when agents are sending an offer depends on the situation. I can think of a few situations in which this news might not be welcome. Not only that, but when it doesn’t materialize, often the buyer’s agents don’t inform the listing agent. Perhaps their thought process is the listing agent will figure it out when no offers shows up.
What they don’t realize, I imagine, is we don’t remember every buyer’s agent who says they are sending an offer. At least I do not. I figure I’ll get it or I won’t. But I do pass along the information to the sellers.
Every so often, I will work with a seller who asks me to stop sending feedback after showings, too. Because the feedback tends to be redundant and it might not be pleasant to read. I guess I have the opposite problem of other agents if sellers ask me to stop sending them so much information. Would much rather over communicate than under communicate.
What do you think? Should we tell sellers when agents are sending an offer?
Five Bedroom Quail Ridge Home in Elk Grove for Sale
This five bedroom Quail Ridge home in Elk Grove lies in the 95757 ZIP code. It is nestled between Bilby Meadows and Rio De Onar subdivisions, and Franklin High to the north and Bilby to the South. There are a little over 1,000 homes in this Elk Grove neighborhood. I sell many homes in Elk Grove, and specialize in 95757.
In fact, I have sold two homes on this street. Am very familiar with Jefjen, especially its proximity to Toby Johnson Middle School. The north row of homes on Jefjen back up to the school’s playground and field. However, this Quail Ridge home in Elk Grove on Jefjen is oriented at the end of Jefgen and faces a different direction, so it does not back to the school at all. It also enjoys a much larger lot than some of the other homes near it.
Jefjen runs east and west and then turns a corner perpendicular, running north and south. At the junction of these two intersections is where this home is located, and it faces west. The lot size, according to the Sacramento County Assessor’s office, which has not been verified, is .1891.
However, the interior square footage of this listing shows in Realist at 3,000 square feet. This is a huge home. The photo above is of the living room and dining area combination, looking toward the front of the home. You can also see the office with the knee wall and directly to the right is the highly sought after first-floor bedroom and full bath.
Spacious kitchen rests at the back of the home. As you can see, there is plenty of room for a breakfast table and chairs. The kitchen sports a full pantry closet, dishwasher, built-in microwave and dual ovens. It is also open to the family room, which features a fireplace and a ceiling fan.
About the only things you would probably want to do to this house before moving in is replace the flooring and paint the interior. But the price reflects those fix-up costs. You can also get a renovation loan through Dan Tharp at Guild Mortgage that rolls into a purchase money loan, which can close within 30 days. No extra stuff to close.
All together, this home has 5 bedrooms, 3 baths and an office. Look at this covered patio. Can’t you imagine entertaining, relaxing at a table under the ceiling fan while enjoying a lazy afternoon lunch? There is so much to love about this home. It is also a SMART home. Connect to the heating and cooling systems, or the timer for the water softener, the sprinklers, hot water recirculation pump, all from the comfort of your cellphone.
The shed in this photograph was custom built. It is insulated, with electricity and Direct TV. Such a perfect mancave / workshop.
Come to our open house on Sunday, December 9, 2018 from 2:00 to 4:00 PM, hosted by the incredible Barbara Dow from the Elizabeth Weintraub Team. If you can’t wait that long, catch the virtual tour or call Barbara for a private showing at 916.761.7398.
6301 Jefjen Way, Elk Grove, CA 95757, is offered exclusively by Elizabeth Weintraub and Lyon Real Estate at $450K.
The information in this advertisement, including, but not limited to, square footage and/or acreage, has been provided by various sources which may include the Seller, the Multiple Listing Service or other sources. Lyon Real Estate has not and will not investigate or verify the accuracy of this information. Prospective buyers are advised to conduct their own investigation of the Property and this advertised information utilizing appropriate professionals before purchasing this Property.
Laulima Food Patch in Kona Serves Remarkable Lunches
Who knew what kind of lunch we could get at Laulima Food Patch in Kona? I’ve walked past this restaurant a dozen times, always choosing Sakura for sushi, always wondering what it was. It’s at a right-angle to Safeway, nestled between Subway and Domino’s Pizza. But wow, what a discovery for all of our favorite foods. It’s like you think of the ingredients you would like to consume, and you can savor it all in a bowl.
There are vegetarian options, vegan options, organic vegetables, homemade dressings, gluten-free foods and many ways to serve it. First, you start with a base. It could be rice noodles, lettuce or brown rice. To that, you add vegetables like edamame, bean sprouts, pickled cabbage, cucumber, tomatoes, cilantro, sweet potatoes, quinoa, avocado — you name it, they make it. On top you choose a protein, like peanuts, hardboiled eggs, chicken, tofu, pork. The dressings are homemade, naturally.
Or you can choose a sandwich, like pulled pork, or the daily soup special or a plain salad. There are many options, including mouth-watering daily specials. Too many options for me, actually. I picked a special salad already created, but you can create your own, too.
Almost all of the food is from Big Island. It is prepared from scratch every day.
My friend, Linda, chose a bowl of cream of broccoli soup. Tons of drink selections. As we sat at the counter, one of the owners, I think, asked if we would all like red shirts with the logo of the restaurant on it. Sure. Who’s gonna turn down a free shirt? We could wear them as T-shirts or even a night-shirt. Funny thing is we immediately put them on. Nobody said anything to us, we just did it.
The Laulima Food Patch also offers catering. Looks like the average cost for lunch is around $15 plus a drink. We were heading to Poi Dog Deli for lunch and discovered it was closed for a private function. Which is how we ended up at the Laulima Food Patch, just across Henry Street. Give it a try, I think you’ll be amazed at how good it is.
It’s much easier to park at Laulima Food Patch in Kona than at Poi Dog Deli, too.
Healthful dining is always good. But delicious dining is always better. Laulima Food Patch offers both! And I’m not a vegetarian by any stretch. Open 10 AM to 4 PM, 75-1027 Henry St, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740. 808-329-8378.
