Email ElizabethIf You Want to Ride ATVs on Big Island
When Loli asked if I wanted to go along on a FAM tour (familiarization) to ride ATVs on Big Island, I did not hesitate. Always up for an adventure. Well, as long as it’s not life threatening. I have so many ways to die now I don’t need to invite the opportunity. The only catch was I had to pull myself out of bed at 5 AM and hightail it down to the King Kam in Kona by 6:30.
Loli is a tour guide, a dietician, facial expert, Pele expert, natural healer, and I wouldn’t be surprised to catch her dancing naked under a full moon. Just the kind of friend every woman deserves, given the fact I only met her last week. Wanna ride ATVs, she asked? I can bring a friend for free.
You betcha! This is a Kapohohine Adventure called Maunakea Trails ATV. This outfit offers many tours, but to ride ATVs on Big Island is a special trip. They pick you up at the King Kam at 6:30 in Kona and drive you two hours away to Hilo. Only we had van problems on the way and pulled off just past Costco to get a new van. Back on the road to Hilo.
In the middle of all of this, two pending sales canceled. Isn’t that the way it always happens in Sacramento real estate? Buyers who fly out of control just before closing. As a Sacramento listing agent, I have no control over buyers or their agents. But I dealt with it. Almost a plus we had to pull off the road so I could talk with my clients and arrange a strategy. Always working, no matter what. That’s the life of a top Sacramento Realtor.
When we arrived in Hilo, it was raining. Of course. It’s always raining in Hilo, it seems. That is the wet side of Big Island. The dry side, where we have a house, is almost always sunny. So you either like the sun or you like rain. Take your pick. And I should mention the coqui are in Hilo in greater numbers than Kona.
The ATV adventure was totally fabulous, even in the rain. You get pretty muddy, especially if you hold back like I did, primarily because the two women in front of me were too slow. I waited until they passed an obstacle, and then I jammed, let it roar and slammed through the mud, jumping over hills. It was exhilarating. So much fun. I was covered in mud from head to toe, and yet I wore a helmet, sunglasses, a raincoat (provided) and leggings.
Nobody else seemed to be as muddy as I was. But I also go all out. No holds barred.
Those ATVs slip and slide around corners and are capable, surprisingly, of climbing over large clumps two-feet high of mud at high speeds. Nothing like the ATVs my husband and I rode in Alaska. He did not really enjoy that adventure, which was pretty mild compared to this, so it is probably a good thing he is in California and I am here.
Love you sweetie!
If you want to ride ATVs on Big Island, this is a good outfit to do it with. You can also combine it with Ziplining on Big Island, if you like. After the 2+hour tour, they prepare and serve a BBQ lunch at the waterfall. You can also swim at the waterfall, which we would have done if it wasn’t raining. And cold. Bring a backpack with a change of clothes and a towel.
On the way back we stopped again at the Hilton in Hilo for a break before heading to Kona. Our guide, Marcus, an extremely informative and tremendous asset to his company, showed us a butterfly bush where the Monarch caterpillars hang out to eat the leaves. They are all over this place. Caterpillars on almost every leaf. It is not milkweed. I went all the way to the mountains in Mexico to view the Monarch’s winter holiday without ever seeing a caterpillar. You can see the butterflies in Mexico or you can view them in Hilo!
My First Day at Planet Fitness in Kona
If I didn’t join Planet Fitness in Kona, it would be some other national fitness club. The time has been a long time coming. I’ve thought about it, pondered the pros and cons. Because I don’t like having to go somewhere for starters, much less having to go somewhere to do physical labor. To adhere to a new schedule. But if I want to keep in shape, I can’t count on my day-to-day activities to carry me.
Plus there is the fact that Planet Fitness in Kona tempted me. For starters, it is very close to our house in Hawaii, about 5 minutes. The introduction fee last month was 25 cents and this month it is $5.00. Monthly dues are ten bucks with a one year commitment. Our neighbor Buzz says they can’t stay in business with those rates. But if a bunch of people sign up for the one year, they can make money for a while after the new members flake.
We all flake. Not as badly as the California motto of dude, I flaked, but we do it. I bought a treadmill and used it half a dozen times before it became a coat rack. You’d think I would stop throwing good money after bad but no, I bought a Precor elliptical that we also do not use. We have good intentions, but that’s about it.
Which made me start thinking about a rowing machine. After all, I already bought two outrageously expensive pieces of exercise equipment. However, the difference with a rowing machine it works out upper and lower body. Bonus — both at the same time. Not to mention the best part. Sitting down. Yeah, I get to sit down; I like that. Can’t beat sitting down. Huge benefit.
The fitness trainer at Planet Fitness in Kona suggested an uphill incline on the treadmill as part of my custom plan. I am not a fan of uphill incline. If I were, I would not have to join Planet Fitness in Kona, and I could simply walk back to our house from the village. Since islands are formed from lava, and everything is uphill, uh, uh, ain’t gonna happen. Same reason I can’t ride a bike in Hawaii. I could get down the hill but it would take an uber with a bike rack to get back.
You mainlanders picture Hawaii as long walks along the beach, and not the climb. I get enough incline exercise walking to our mailbox.
Still, I got through my first day on the rowing machine. I come back on Thursday to begin my actual workout. Of course, I asked for the “old person special” — that workout for those of us who need to strengthen our core because nature is no longer able to care for us. There is no “skating” through life at this age.
The trainer asked me when I last worked out at a gym. Made me pause. I gave him the best answer: “before you were born, kiddo.”
When Your Garage Door Remote Stops Working
When your garage door remote stops working, it might be because your garage door remote is hosed. Sure, you know enough to check the batteries, right? Of course. Many take those flat 2032 batteries. I never noticed that the opener wasn’t working because lately I haven’t been using it. The reason I haven’t been using it is because I pull my car out in the morning and park in front of the garage.
Then, I leave the garage door open all day so contractors can come and go into our house. The construction company I hired to do the kitchen countertops have been working on the countertops for two weeks now. A job that should take 2 days. It’s always something with these guy: Abbott and Costello. They don’t have the right tools. No supervision. They misunderstand. When they cut holes for the faucet, they never looked at how far the handle turns for the faucet. They also cut the wrong pieces of quartz; it’s been a calamity of errors.
I went to have facial inside The Club at Kona. Could not take the level of incompetence creeping at me hour after hour. Thank YOU, Loli!!!
Now, because I have not physically used the remote for a while, I didn’t realize it had stopped working. OK, I changed the battery. Found 3 websites that showed 3 different ways to reprogram the particular model for my Liftmaster garage door remote control, and I tried all 3 ways. Stood up on the ladder on the top rung with nothing to hold on, felt my legs jiggle. Oh, ick. Could not make the garage door opener recognize the remote.
I did everything you are supposed to do when your garage door remote stops working, and nothing fixed it.
Well, phooey. Decided it was the remote that is faulty. Tried to order a new one from Liftmaster. Waited a week and no delivery. No charge on my Visa. So I called again. Oh, they misspelled my name so the order did not ship. Hello? Why didn’t they call or email? It’s a shame we are continually faced with such incompetence nowadays.
But they did give me the name of a Liftmaster dealer in Kona, and I dashed over there to pick up two remotes and a new keypad. Eureka. Tradewinds on Olowalu Street by Home Depot. The same street, I noted to their amusement, where the Kona pot dispensary is going in, LOL.
Installed the new keypad and programmed both remotes, and I’m back in business. But it took most of my day to accomplish this. Good thing my closings are on track in Sacramento. As a Sacramento listing agent, I am now down to only four unsold listings. Leaves me time to pay attention to stuff like this crap. Like when your garage door remote stop working.
A Sacramento Seller’s Last Steps to Close Escrow
When Sacramento sellers ask me about the last steps to close escrow, it’s handy to have content available I can forward. Instead, I tend to prepare and address based on each individual situation. But like I tell my team members, any question a client could possibly ask is probably answered by me online either at The Balance homebuying or on my website. Just put my name and the question into Google, and you’ll find an article. Pretty much guaranteed.
What other Sacramento Realtor do you know who can say that? Rather than reinvent the wheel each time, it’s easier to just forward a link to my client. Because when you do the same thing over and over, that is a clue you should develop a system for handling that sort of task. For me, I am creating new content right now to describe a Sacramento seller’s last steps to close escrow.
Do not trespass. Realize if the seller needs to gain access to the property, that access is governed by the California Residential Purchase Contract. By default, meaning unless the buyer’s agent specified some other time, possession is turned over at 6 PM on the date of closing. That means a seller cannot show up at the house at 7 PM to retrieve a forgotten item. The seller cannot enter because the seller no longer owns the home at that point in time.
Remove all debris. This means removing items that might not appear to the seller to be debris. Sometimes sellers believe because an item was left in the home when they bought it, it’s OK to leave when they sell. No, it is not OK to leave a table in the garage or even old paint cans without express permission from the buyer.
Broom sweep clean. While it is not necessary to professionally clean the house, buyers do appreciate it more than you would know. If you wonder if hiring cleaners is part of the essential last steps to closing escrow, reflect on how you like it if this was your new home. Besides, it builds good will. Say a Christmas present arrives at the wrong address, your old address, for you? Wouldn’t you want the new owners to call you?
Deliver keys. Stash all manuals, keys, gate key, remotes, including the mailbox key, keys to a shed in the yard or an electrical box, all in a drawer in the kitchen. Take that garage door opener remote out of your car right now and put in the drawer. Otherwise, you might drive away with it and forget. If you must use a key to lock the front door, dispose of it, and don’t do it in the front yard.
Disconnect utilities. Notify the utility companies on the date of closing to disconnect the utilities. It’s generally not a good idea to cancel utilities in advance, just in case escrow is delayed for some odd reason. In Sacramento, as one of the last steps to closing escrow, the title company will notify the city that your utilities are to be transferred to the new buyer. Here is a link to moving resources on my website for notifying utility companies.
Seller Says I Won’t Sign a Counter Offer
How often have I heard an agent lament that her seller says I won’t sign a counter offer? How many times? I will tell you. So many times, I can pretty much predict it. This happens to me personally as a listing agent quite a bit as well. The seller says I won’t sign a counter offer because he or she is emotionally upset with the offer or terms of the purchase offer. So angry, as a matter of fact, that the seller does not want to give the buyer the pleasure of a professional reply.
I get it. Absolutely. They refuse. It’s the sellers’ right to refuse, to put her foot down firmly and say no, I won’t sign a counter offer. What that means is I have to call and explain how doing nothing guarantees a nothing outcome. People can’t respond to no response. It’s not in their makeup to put their tail between their legs and say, Oh, I’m sorry if I offended you, please look at my newly revised offer. Ha, ha, ha. Like that is gonna happen.
Ignoring a buyer’s offer is the worst thing a seller can do. Buyers want to negotiate, and they don’t know how to do it or they would not have been as insulting as their original offer. Because they don’t think how a seller will respond. Not only that, they don’t give a crap, either. They think the opposite, that if a seller ignores their offer, then the seller does not wish to negotiate much less sell the home.
Oy, oy, a Catch 22. Both stubborn parties.
My solution to when a seller says I will not sign a counter offer is to talk it out and explain why they should. I use real life examples. One from just a couple weeks ago when the seller refused to sign a counter offer and I pushed her to do it. We countered at full list price and the buyers said OK.
Trust me, the buyers would not have resubmitted an offer at full list price if we had just ignored them.
There is no “giving in” when a seller sends a counter offer to the buyer. A counter offer says your original offer is unacceptable, but here is what is acceptable to me. How is that demeaning? It’s not. It’s a position of power and strength.
So think about that the next time a seller says I will not sign a counter offer. If you’re a real estate agent, do your job by explaining exactly why a seller should sign a counter offer. Don’t just agree with the seller because you’re afraid to argue.
I tell my sellers to fight back. A lowball offer can feel like a slap in the face. Don’t turn the other cheek. Send a counter offer.
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