Betty Sakamoto: Welcome to Betty’s Real Estate Corner, brought to you by Coldwell Banker Sakamoto Properties. We don’t have Roy today, so Cindy is here. Cindy Paulos is an amazing radio personality in several states. I’m not sure how many — I don’t know your whole story either.
Cindy Paulos: Well, you know, that brings us back to you, because just before we started the show, I was saying, “You know what? I know you, Betty. I’ve known you for how many years? 25, 30 years?”
BS: Something like that, yes.
CP: But I never really heard your story, your background, your history. You really are an amazing woman. I thought, how could I have known you this long and not known your background?
BS: It is pretty interesting. I started giving you a tiny bit of information, so I’ll give you an abbreviated version. Just so you know, I was born in Binghamton, New York, which is halfway between, let’s say, Buffalo, New York, and New York City. That’s where my family roots really are. Very Irish, you know, people who came from Ireland.
My grandmother, I gather, did come from Ireland. And, everybody else in the family, the Ryans, were my maiden name. My mother’s maiden name was O’Hara. So, this is very Irish, Irish, Irish.
CP: Oh, I didn’t know that.
BS: It was pretty amazing. The family moved during the war. My father was transferred up to Buffalo, New York, and again, during World War II. That’s where I really grew up. I went to all Catholic schools, and, certainly, it snowed in Buffalo. Yes, it snows more than you could ever even believe. And it was beautiful. It was spectacular.
It was never something that bothered you. You went to school whether it was rain, snow, or sleet. And it could be April and still snowing. It would be a beautiful day with sunny skies, really great, etc.
CP: Wow. I never knew that about you.
BS: Then I worked for some great law firms in Chicago. One of them happened to be Sidley Austin, which, at the time, was the largest law firm in the country. It was a very large law firm with really spectacular attorneys. They were all amazing. It was really great. And then…
CP: Were you thinking of becoming a lawyer?
BS: No, but there was a point when I had looked into it when I was young, and somebody said I should go to law school. One of the attorneys was trying to talk me into it. I had been married for only a little while, but again, I was very, very young and hadn’t gone to college, so that would have been interesting.
But I did discover in hindsight that I could have gone to law school. I didn’t need to have a college degree. I just had to eventually take the test.
CP: I didn’t know that either.
BS: Yeah, if I could pass the test, it would have been fairly easy. It probably wouldn’t have been that easy, but I was so into it at the time. That was a huge portion of my early life. Then, eventually, I got divorced and moved to Maui, but I came to Maui on vacation after getting divorced. I swear I was barely off the plane when I met Roy Sakamoto.
CP: Wow. Where did you meet him?
BS: The Sheraton Hotel, where I was staying. I had my daughter and one of her girlfriends. They were, let’s say, around ten. We had the greatest time there. They met Roy. And I kid you not, if I tell the whole story, we’re going to spend the whole day doing that. But it was really a spectacular day. I met Roy.
CP: Was he doing real estate then?
BS: Yes, he was. He was doing real estate. Then, I spent the rest of my trip here. I was going to go to Honolulu, actually flew to Honolulu, and then turned around and came back with the kids.
CP: Wow.
BS: And we checked in somewhere else. And again, Roy was taking us out to dinner, and we were having a great time. Then I went home.
CP: Did you know you were falling in love?
BS: No. I don’t know how to explain it. I know that when I left, I knew I had to go home and get back to work in my life, and I knew that much. But I think I was barely back there when I was on the phone with Roy. Life changed in a pretty big hurry.
CP: It’s amazing.
BS: It’s amazing.
CP: And of course, you seem to have immediately been drawn to Maui, as many people are, right?
BS: Well, it’s where Roy lived. I mean, Roy had grown up here. 463 Lahainaluna Road.
CP: You still remember the address.
BS: Of course, I do. We’ve been up there. I mean, it did burn down. A friend of ours owned it after Roy’s dad passed away. It’s such a tragedy to go up there now. But he and his dad had done some amazing things up there. They made bricks out of concrete that are really beautiful. Some of them are still there.
Our friend is fortunate that we have some of them, but they haven’t really started to rebuild. I’m not sure what’s going to happen.
CP: It’s a lot of that. We were talking about this before the show began, about the uncertainty that happens when you don’t know what’s going to happen with the different factions and beliefs, and what you can do to rebuild. There are a lot of questions that still need to be answered and dealt with. And it’s hard when you have that many people with so many strong beliefs.
We’re not talking about just, “I think this should be done this way.” We’re talking about people who passionately believe on both sides or even more than both sides, right? Because there are a few sides, right?
BS: It is a passionate issue, but it’s also a financial issue for a lot of people because they lost their homes. They had insurance, but what was the insurance for? I mean, did they have enough insurance to rebuild a home today?
CP: Yeah, that’s a huge point. They’re seeing this in Los Angeles, obviously.
BS: I’m sure. Same in Los Angeles, because you never expected, whether you were in Los Angeles or Lahaina on Lahainaluna Road or any of the other streets, that your home would be gone. Maybe you would have a fire, and it would get put out, and the fire department would come. We do have Maui’s most amazing fire department and firefighters that you could have anywhere in the world.
CP: Absolutely true.
BS: They work so hard here, and it’s been so difficult for them. That’ll never change. I mean, I think Maui people care. They care about the community. They care about everybody’s home. It’s… I don’t know. It’s overwhelming.
CP: I’ve been lucky enough to know a couple of firefighters. In fact, one did an album with me, which I heard about, and I am amazed at their courage, strength, and stamina. They had to be strong even when their own families and homes were being affected. We still have to be amazed that they were there and the price they had to pay to get through all that. Sooner or later, some of that takes a toll on you.
BS: It has to, because so many of them couldn’t leave where they were. To even go to their home. There was nothing they could do but believe somebody else was taking care of that.
CP: Yeah. Speaking of homes, which is what you do, we were just talking about how we navigate these strange times. It seems like one thing after another. Of course, there was COVID, then the fires, and now we’re trying to figure out what’s happening with the economy.
I invest in real estate. I was telling you, I have money in real estate. As many people are saying, well, we didn’t expect the market to go down so fast. I wish I hadn’t invested in Tesla, but I mean, some of these things have gone way down. But you, in real estate, you kind of have to test the waters and see what’s happening as well, because everyone wants to own their own home.
Everyone wants to be able to navigate this, and you have properties available. But when there’s uncertainty and fear, it’s very hard for people to make decisions. So, how do you navigate through that?
BS: Well, I think right now, people—there certainly are still properties for sale. But it is a very difficult thing because, for Lahaina, let’s say, we’ve lost so many properties that it takes away a huge portion of the market for everybody. So, it is different than it ever was, and that’s going to be hard to see what’s going to happen.
What is the future going to bring for people in Lahaina who want to build? I think a lot of that is going to be a new product that comes out. I think we’re going to see more – I’m not exactly sure who’s going to be doing the new construction. Kapalua has had huge increases in prices, etc. There are fewer things on the market, so it’s getting more and more difficult.
So I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t think anybody possibly has that vision into the future.
CP: So when that, and you’re seeing this, of course, because you’ve been in real estate a long time.
BS: I’ve been here 50 years, and I’ve been in real estate pretty much all that time.
CP: Have you ever seen a time like this?
BS: Never. I don’t think so. I mean, Roy may look at it differently because I think men and women do, you know, just if you take that part…
CP: Maybe a little more emotional from women, probably a little bit more.
BS: Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. Roy, having grown up here, looks at things differently than I would look at them. He sees it through eyes that, in a way, are more pure because he’s been here from the very beginning. And his—like everybody—his heart and soul are in what’s going on here and what’s going to happen.
It’s very hard. The same thing for anybody, whether you’re renting or owning real estate, it’s very hard. It’s a difficult time.
CP: It is. I know you personally, and I know how much you really care. You make friends with a lot of the people you’ve worked with, and they really count on you because you are honest with them. There’s this relationship that develops between someone helping people with advice as well as investments. I think you’ve really embraced that ability where people do trust you. I’m sure a lot of people ask you, “What should I do?”
BS: Well, you’re right. I mean, they do. And you try not to, but usually somebody knows what they want. They have a good idea of what they want, and then you can help direct them into something that really works for them, unfortunately. I think most everybody has ended up happy. But, I mean, now people have lost homes, insurance is difficult, and everything.
CP: I hadn’t even thought about that aspect of it.
BS: Yeah, I mean, it’s very hard. Some people didn’t even have insurance, and some of the older buildings… I think they may not have realized the value. You need something to cover whatever could be covered with an insurance policy. Sadly, many people didn’t have enough insurance. Maybe none of us do. We should all look at whatever insurance we’ve got right now.
CP: I know, that’s true. But then, of course, now the prices are higher than ever.
BS: True. But I think everybody should talk to their insurance agent, talk to a real estate agent, and figure out what it would cost to rebuild their home. And see if you can end up with enough insurance should there be another disaster. So your insurance company would step in and rebuild. But I don’t know if you can plan for everything. I think it’s impossible.
CP: No. It’s funny because we’re talking about the stock market. Everyone knows the stock market’s a crapshoot. You know, you gamble. I mean, everyone knows, if you look at anything, that it’s a gamble when you invest. Truthfully, I really think real estate, owning a home, is a much better, safer gamble than anything in the stock market.
I mean, anyone right now could look at what’s going on and say, “Well, if I invest at all, that’s all it is. There’s value there.” And the average price of a home still stands at about what, on Maui?
BS: You know, the average price would depend on neighborhoods. It depends on so much, it’s hard. I don’t really know what…
CP: But it’d be 1.2 million, 2 million? Probably about a million for the average price?
BS: I don’t know. I really don’t know. That’s not what everybody would like to think. The average price of the lower end, I hope, is a little bit less, or in the things that are going to be coming on the market. I think there will be some lower-income properties that people will end up buying.
I’m not sure what is really happening. I’ve, in a way, specialized—or I have at Kapalua, a good deal of the time, and Kaanapali. It’s harder to do that right now just because there are fewer listings. So, it’s a change. Everything has changed drastically.
CP: What do you see? You have some paperwork in front of you.
BS: We’ve got a lot of different properties here. Some of them are residential. Hold on a minute. Usually, I’ve got my husband here, and we go through some of these together. But, I mean, you could, like, let’s say, find something down in Wailea – close to the beach.
That was originally listed at $6.7M, but is now listed at $ 5.4 M. How long, how much street… But that’s a different type of property. This is a beachfront property. I don’t know. I mean, it’s just way too complicated right now to even talk about it. Condos, you could buy a condo, most anywhere.
CP: And I think people are looking at that.
BS: They are. Like, Maui Lani Terraces – you could find a studio for $299,000. And again, I think that’s…
CP: What? You think $299,000?
BS: $299,000.
CP: Seriously, that cheap?
BS: Yeah, yeah. But it’s a small studio, about 350 square feet at Maui Lani Terraces.
CP: But it would be a starter, right? I mean, some people come to you who are just new and want to start, and that’s probably a good way to start—get something like that and then build up, right?
BS: It could be. It just depends on where you’re starting from.
CP: Yeah.
BS: So, it really is a hard market. It’s a hard market to get into. It’s actually 11:22 now, so time is passing quickly. But if we went back and just thought about what someone would be doing who wants to come into the market here, I think a lot of times somebody will come here and find a rental for a while, or they’ll start out renting a hotel for ten days or two weeks.
Then maybe come back a second time to learn more about Maui and where they’d really like to live and what they’re going to do if they’re going to be working here, etc. So, I think it really is..
CP: That’s a very good point that you brought up.
BS: Yeah.
CP: I mean, the thing is, the truth is, I know a lot of people who have already come here. I came to Maui when I moved here 36 years ago. I had come and visited here maybe five times, six times, seven times before that. You do need to know that you’re serious, because there’s one way you think as a visitor, versus the way of living. I’m sure you see this—people originally buying where they want to live. When you’re a newcomer versus when you know the island, what you want is very different.
BS: Absolutely. If you’re going to have kids in school, you might want to be located, maybe not in West Maui. Maybe you want to be near some of the other schools. Maui Prep is now a great West Maui school, and that’s a private school. There are scholarships available, so there’s a different way to do things.
The West Maui schools certainly had some issues, and now some of them have relocated somewhat, like Lahainaluna High School—nothing happened up there. It’s really great.
CP: Lahainaluna High School, you’ve been a big supporter of that.
BS: Absolutely. I love it.
CP: Did Roy graduate there?
BS: Yeah, he graduated from Lahainaluna in 19…
CP: A long time ago.
BS: ‘60. He graduated from there in 1960.
CP: And he looks so young. He really does look young. It’s amazing.
BS: I know.
CP: Amazing. He stays in such great shape.
BS: I think it’s a job.
CP: How do you stay in that great shape? My God, I think about him like…
BS: We try to work. I mean, we try to walk every day. We get out and at least get a little bit of a walk.
CP: Me too, every day.
BS: We have a trainer who comes to our house a couple of times a week…
CP: You do workouts?
BS: Yes.
CP: Good on you.
BS: But I mean, we don’t have a lot. Roy’s pretty good. We have some weights and a little of this, a little of that. He’s a great counselor for having us pay attention to what we’re doing.
CP: Well, I know that you have your kids come visit, and they keep you in shape, too.
BS: They do their best. Mostly, as they’ve gotten older, they’re all gone the minute they’re here.
CP: Isn’t that sad, though? But that’s the truth.
BS: Well, they’re all at the beach. They want to get to the beach and do that. Then my daughter, Julie—Julie Sherlock, now Julie Flynn Sherlock, went to Lahainaluna and graduated from there. She’s had a great experience here. But when she’s here now, she’s looking for her friends. She and her husband will come, and they will run all over the place. But it’s a great thing.
CP: But none of them wanted to stay, move back, and live here on the islands?
BS: Julie probably would have. She’s the only one. Roy has four kids, but they grew up mostly in California with their mom, and then they were here a good deal of the time. So it’s still hard to come back here and make a life. They all went to school there, so they’ve made a life somewhere else already and raised families.
CP: Yeah.
BS: So it is different.
CP: It is. And it’s so expensive. If you are going to move back, you should consider that.
BS: It really is. It’s a very difficult thing. It’s a very difficult move for anybody to make.
CP: Yeah. You have an amazing perspective. Truly, you have an amazing perspective on the long run, the long view, the overview of what happens over the years and Roy as well. You probably have never figured out how many homes you’ve sold to people. Oh, that might be an interesting thing. You have to look back and see how many people you’ve sold homes to on Maui.
BS: It’s a pretty big number.
CP: I’m sure it would be quite a huge family of people you’ve sold to.
BS: They keep coming. It really is great. We’ll hear from someone, and every so often, it’ll be a name that takes you a minute to kind of remember. And then, oh yeah. Maybe they already sold their place, but they’re coming back to visit. And that’s a whole other thing too. They come back, they want to know what’s going on, what happened, you know, when they decided to sell, or maybe they had to for different reasons. But that by itself has been really interesting.
CP: Well, it is. It’s kind of like an extended ohana that you have. And it’s very…
BS: It never goes away.
CP: Yeah. You did that. What a gift. I think it’s good for you and Roy to sometimes take stock of the fact that you’ve really been of service. We didn’t even cover all the nonprofits that you and Roy really passionately help and embrace. I know there’s a couple that you’re very involved with.
BS: Like Lahainaluna High School. I’ve been on that board for a long time, and we built a stadium there, which, without Sue Cooley, who was a Kapalua owner and became the person dedicated to seeing to it that Lahainaluna had a stadium, wouldn’t have happened. She saw to it that the stadium was built.
CP: What a gift.
BS: It’s one of the greatest high school stadiums anywhere in the United States, really, for how it was built.
CP: Wow.
BS: Yeah, it’s really a great job. It’s absolutely amazing.
CP: That’s a legacy.
BS: It’s a legacy. Roy’s been on the board of Hale Makua since his mother went there, and he became somewhat dedicated there. He’s been on the board for probably 30 or 40 years.
CP: I happen to know, we’re not talking about people on the board who just have their names there, but don’t do anything else. I happen to know that both you and him are very dedicated.
BS: Yes.
CP: And very involved. You’re not just a name on the board. You’re very involved.
BS: We’ve been really, really dedicated. It’s been great. And again, Sue was a riot. She saw to it that once she decided that was going to happen, she stunned all of us. Her husband had passed away, and she just went to football games with us. She called the boys, the football boys, her boys. She’d come into town, and we’d go back, head up to the school, and she’d see all the kids. Oops. Two-minute warning.
CP: Oh, and we’ve got to also make space for “I Love Hawaii.”
BS: Yes, “I Love Hawaii” is going to come back here.
CP: Okay, we should let people know how they can reach you.
BS: Well, you can reach us at 808-870-7060 for Roy Sakamoto, or you can reach me at 808-870-7062 for Betty Sakamoto. You can check out our website, SakamotoProperties.com, and we have a great website. You can find all the properties we have listed there.
CP: It’s fun just going through and checking that out.
BS: Check it out. Everybody should. Everybody should have to check that out. It should be required.
CP: Yes.
BS: Required viewing.
CP: It gives you an interesting overview and insight into what’s happening.
BS: Absolutely. But I think we’re going to be with Danny Couch within seconds now.
CP: Well, I just have to thank you, as always. It’s always a pleasure seeing you. I loved hearing a little more of your story. It’s a fascinating story. You know, it is. It’s an amazing story. And, to me, it’s inspiring. It really, truly is. I thank you for all the great work you do for the community and for helping people over the years find their perfect dream home.
BS: Well, I think I hope we have a lot of happy people because it’s been a miracle.
CP: I love Hawaii. I think I heard it here. There it is. Danny Couch is coming up. There he is.
BS: That is Danny Couch.
CP: Thank you!
BS: Aloha!
