Betty Sakamoto: Aloha and welcome to Betty’s Real Estate Corner brought to you by Coldwell Banker, Sakamoto Properties. Roy and Betty Sakamoto are here in the studio. Meyer Computer here with us recording this so that it can be on our website. Check out our website sakamotoproperties.com and look around for it. Actually, I’ve googled it a couple of times looking for KAOI radio Betty’s Real Estate Corner and it’s kind of fun because I bring up some of the old ones that I have forgotten. It really is fun to listen to them, for me and I hope it is for you. Today, we have got a lot of different thoughts going on. We’ve got Dr. Norm Estin checking in again about covid and everything that’s going on today. I think he is really got some interesting things to report because our statistics are changing. We’ve all again start paying attention and do the right thing. At least do the right thing for yourself make it happen and think that it is not just about you it is about a way bigger picture. Roy is here, he brought a lot of information for us to share with you. Hale Makua, today is the 75th anniversary.
Roy Sakamoto: Well, this year. Yes
BS: We are in that period. 75th anniversary of Hale Makua which as most of you know the nursing homes here and they started during world war II. Basically by somewhat the Buddhist church that was trying to find places for the frail and elderly of Maui that needed assistance at that time because the hospital was used for servicemen. Right now, you have got the website Roy to tell them a little more about what’s going on for some fundraising right now.
RS: There’s a great silent auction going on in celebration of our 75th anniversary at Hale Makua. If you go to halemakua.org you will see a link to the auction site and some of the items are fantastic. There are 2 rounds of golf on the Kai course in Kaanapali. Value is $410 and it’s up for bid right now. There’s an Island Art Party class value at $59 that you can bid on. A Bounty Music card value of $60. Go to halemakua.org and you’ve got a few more items here.
BS: Wait, here’s one that I think is really worth doing. Marco’s grill & Deli in Kahului. Everybody knows where that is. They have a $100 gift card. Now, here’s the really good news is that there’s a current bid on it for $95. You’ve got a great restaurant there and you are making a donation. It would be really fun to see if some of these go over the asking price. There’s one $125 gift certificate to Merriman’s at Kapalua. Again, they are bidding these up pretty quickly. That’s a fabulous thing for any charity and I know we all look at it and try to come up with a really great deal in there. There still are some really great deals.
RS: And some fun stuff. There’s a $25 gift certificate to Polli’s Mexican restaurant. There’s a $78 value for Puka Perri Gold, filled puka hoop earrings in fact there are 2 of those.
BS: Sam Sato’s gift card.
RS: Yeah. Here’s a great one, an ocean view room at The Four Seasons Resort plus a $250 dining credit at Duo Steak & Seafood. The value on this is $1,512.
BS: Sunset sail for 2 on the Trilogy.
RS: Yeah
BS: That would be great. We’ve done that. It is really pretty fun.
RS: A $50 gift certificate to Rainbow Acres Cactus & Succulent Nursery. A $50 gift certificate there. Maybe we should bid on that Sam Sato’s.
BS: I think we should. That would be fun. Oh, wait, $70 Island Grocery gift card. The owners there are absolutely the most spectacular people and everybody should shop at Island Grocery. It is really great. It is a place really island-friendly. They’ve got a lot of hard-to-find specialty-type items, national branded grocery items also. Check that out at some time but for right now there is bidding on a $70 gift card. Check that one out. There’s jewelry that’s on here. There’s really some fun.
RS: Yeah, that’s a great one. A $250 gift certificate to Maui Divers’s current bid is only $120 right now so get your bid in, on all of these items.
BS: Here’s another really nice one. There’s a resident art from Hale Makua and there’s one called nature’s innovation. It looks really great and it says own a priceless piece of art created by one of Hale Makua’s residents. Acrylic on canvas take a look at it and it is something that is beautiful and would be worth having and framing and having it for any home. Again, take a look at halemakua.org. Give it a shot and let’s all get it. The bidding is happening you never know when your family will be the one that needs Hale Makua. We were in that position a long time ago now when Roy’s mom was sick and the outcome of that which he may know the year but a long time ago and she’s passed away since. They took such fabulous care of her that Roy ended up starting to do a lot of work for them, got a great golf tournament. Was the seniors’ golf tournament in Kaanapali and that really was great for Hale Makua. Roy and myself we really worked hard at getting a lot of people to help with Hale Makua and make good contributions over the years. It is a fabulous nursing home and you never know when somebody you know might need some assistance. They will get them healthy, get them out of there, get them well so help Hale Makua. Roy now has been on the board for probably the better part or more than 40 years.
RS: Not quite, maybe 30.
BS: I think it’s more. He is just been modest.
RS: Here’s another priceless piece of art. It is titled magical sunset.
BS: Oh, that’s fabulous.
RS: Isn’t that great?
BS: Yes
RS: Painted by Futoshi Otoma. She is a Hale Makua resident. You’ve got to hit on our website
halemakua.org. Get to the website for the auction and it’s a great time to put in a bid. It is a fantastic piece of art.
BS: Homemade Bakery gift certificate. Now, we better stop this. Think about some real estate. We are going to have Norm Estin checking in soon. We better think about all of the different things going on right now. One of the things I want to talk about as we start thinking about properties. We have a new listing at the Ridge at Kapalua. Keep in mind very few listings I mean if there are 2 right now including this one it’s a lot. It is a 1 bedroom, 2 baths, really great golf course ocean view. It is really a spectacular unit. It is in excellent condition. Roy’s got a lot of information.
RS: Yeah, it is a ground floor. It is one of the few that you can access directly from the parking lot. There are no step-ups or step-downs. It is fantastic. It is a 1 bedroom, 2 baths at the Ridge apartment number is 2312.
BS: The 1st owner, think about that one is Hale Irwin. Hale Irwin was Kapalua’s touring pro at the time of construction. Again, he had the choice of any unit that he wanted and that’s what he chose. Now, I hear we’ve got Norm Estin on. We are going to put him on here and hear what he is got to say. Aloha Norm.
RS: Hi Norm.
Dr. Norman Estin: Hey, Aloha. Good afternoon.
BS: Okay, good to hear your voice. We’ve been talking about your checking in with us. We’ve kind of let whoever’s listening know that you are going to check and give us an up-to-date on why we’ve really got to get moving and get vaccinated.
NE: Terrific. Great. Nice to check in with you. What we are seeing now is kind of up-to-date for what is happening here on Maui, in the state around the country, and around the world. We are once again seeing unfortunately the number of coronavirus cases rises pretty much everywhere in the United States. Anywhere between 15% and 50% more than they were a few weeks ago in every state. States with low vaccination rates like Arkansas, Missouri, Louisiana, Nevada they’ve had less vaccination rates than having even more cases and some of those hospitals are filling up. The ICUs have fallen running out of ventilators. We don’t have that problem here yet but we are seeing more cases than we have been. Many of them are this new delta variant. This isn’t a more severe version in terms of being more dangerous in terms of what it does to you but it spreads more rapidly. People get sick a lot easier with it. Right now, the vaccinations that are available will protect you against this variant as well as the other variants that are out there and more of them are coming up all the time as the virus evolves around the world. The vaccines now will protect you against these new variants as well as the standard ones that we had earlier in the year. The great thing about it is if you get vaccinated you have almost 0% of catching covid at all and if you do the data that you won’t die for sure protection against dying and more importantly it protects you pretty much against the long covid of the long-acting version of the virus. We now know that about a 3rd of the people that come down with covid will have symptoms for a long time. Many years and probably forever some kind of neurological symptom, brain fog, or any of the long covid variants that you’ve heard about on the news. That’s what we want to protect people against. The bottom line for the listeners is if you have already had your vaccinations and completed the whole course, the 2-course vaccine you are safe. You can cross your fingers and count yourself as being very fortunate and lucky. You may or may not need a booster in a few months who knows but if you know anybody who hasn’t been vaccinated yet now is the time to say “Hey, this is the time to get moving because these cases are again on the rise”. We want to prevent these from becoming full-pledged outbreaks.
BS: You know Norm, another really important thing for people to remember is it’s not just about them. It is about everybody that they love, near them, and about everybody in Maui, in the world. It is a worldwide thing and as much as we are a small island if we can take care of our island and others take care of their places we are all helping the world. It is a worldwide virus.
NE: That’s absolutely the point like with most public health things and especially something that’s respiratory would spread through the air like this. None of us are safe and protected unless all of us are especially with something new like this. It is the same thing with what we saw in the world with polio and smallpox unless we are all protected, none of us are, individually. It is going to be the same thing here. The faster we can get to it the better. It is unfortunately been slower to be accepted than other vaccinations in the past and it doesn’t really make sense. There’s no doctor or scientist who can really understand why it hasn’t been accepted because it’s been such a well-tested and such a safe vaccination. I’d encourage anybody out there who knows somebody who hasn’t gotten one to go to your doctor. Go to Maui health which is the hospital or any of the pharmacies. CVS or Walgreens will have this or any of our doctors on call.
BS: Doctors on call. Where are they located now, Norm?
NE: Get that vaccine.
BS: Give us a quick note on there’s your Kaanapali office which is located where the Time Supermarket is. Do you still have the Hyatt office some of the time?
NE: Some of the time but it is mostly the Times facility and then if you are on the Southside.
BS: The Wailea?
NE: Brand new facility at The Shops of Wailea. Anybody can go in there and get a vaccine. Again, it is free and covered by your insurance. If you don’t have a current insurance plan it’s complimentary there’s no charge for it at all. Again, if you have a Kaiser plan Kaiser will do it. If you have another health care facility or doctor you go to. They should be able to get it to you as will any pharmacy.
BS: Super. I guess then we got that covered for today, Dr. Norm. Thank you so much for calling in.
RS: Thanks Norm.
NE: All right. We will keep you posted. Thank you again.
BS: See you soon.
NE: Aloha
BS: Aloha, bye. Back to a little real estate or back to Hale Makua?
RS: Great of Norm to give us an update. It is fantastic.
BS: He is really single-handedly brought a lot of vaccinations and a lot of comfort to the people of Maui.
RS: No question. Absolutely.
BS: He is been in computers and television and newspapers and he is really individually stepped up and done everything he can to help us all get through this problem that we’ve got. It is a worldwide problem so let’s all do our share whatever it takes.
RS: Yeah and that’s interesting you know the Olympics is starting next week and obviously a lot of trouble over there in Tokyo. Some of the athletes are not going because of previous instances of covid or fear of getting covid. It’s going to be an interesting Olympics coming up.
BS: They will still be Olympic champions for 2021.
RS: Yeah, they’ll still have their gold medals, silver, and bronze.
BS: They’ll have their gold medals.
RS: Yeah
BS: Hey, a quick back to 2312 at the Ridge if you don’t mind.
RS: No.
BS: I just feel like it’s something if somebody’s looking for a Kapalua condo it’s a great value and it’s one of the best locations. Again, keep in mind in the early days when Hale Irwin had an opportunity one of the top golfers of all time to buy whatever he wanted he chose 2312 at the Ridge. He and his family kept that for many years until we were selling it for them and ironically we found all sorts of stuff that they had in a storage locker which we were going to ship to them until we reminded them that their kids who were in high school. It was basically things like their little cars and play toys. Wasn’t there a wagon?
RS: There was a dump truck.
BS: A small dump truck.
RS: A small plastic dump truck.
BS: So we finally realized didn’t need to.
RS: Hale Irwin for you golfers out there you’ll know that he is one of the best golfers in history. A good friend of ours, a really nice family man, a great guy, and used to represent Kapalua on the PGA tour for quite a few years.
BS: Quite a few years. He is an amazing man. He won the US open a couple of times.
RS: A couple of times, yeah.
BS: Anyway, again 2312 is what we are talking about.
RS: 2312 give me a call Roy at 870-7060 or Betty at 870-7062 or call your favorite realtor and tell him or her that you wanted to see Ridge 2312 and to contact the Sakamoto’s and we will make it easy for them to show.
BS: The listing went live I believe yesterday.
RS: A couple of days ago.
BS: A couple of days ago. We are already showing it and I’ve got to believe that we are going to have some offers pretty quickly just because that’s the way it’s going. It will be a great rental unit for someone, a perfect home, and for anybody with any difficulty getting around. It is one of the few units at the Ridge, 1 or 2 bedroom that has zero stairs. You can walk out on the golf course side and have no stairs. You can enter with no stairs. It is really spectacular and that does matter today to a lot of people.
RS: Oh, totally. Absolutely. Again, call Roy or Betty. Roy at 870-7060, Betty 870-7062 and tell us you’d like to see Ridge 2312.
BS: Check with us about the Ridge or anything at Kapalua because we are available to fill you in on the history of Kapalua, fill you in on what’s on the market now, etc., and just understanding the market in general. We can help you. Anybody looking for an owner-occupant property you should still be thinking about buying it’s going to be difficult. We are all going to be trying to find properties for people but because the interest rate is still so great. I was talking to my daughter today was in the real estate mortgage business and she was saying the thing everyone also has to remember which is great is that it’s not just about getting your home it’s about how it’s going to work in the future. You could invest your money in many things but all you have is a sheet of paper at the end of a month. Here you are going to have something that you are going to own and for whatever it’s worth at the end of 30 years it will be paid in full. Maybe 15 years if you are able to do that. The thing is you will pay right now less money and rent it’s a pretty good chance depending on what you are buying. It really makes a lot of sense. We can help you talk to lenders. We can help you figure out the market. We have agents that are waiting and that we can get a call to them immediately so that somebody can talk to you quickly.
RS: There are a lot of tax advantages too. Whatever you are paying in rent if you compare it to paying for a mortgage you take your mortgage deductions interest, property taxes. I think you will be way ahead compared to just paying rent. Again, you know buy, buy, buy. You’ve got to buy.
BS: It makes sense.
RS: Yeah. Here’s a great one that’s a first-time homeowner I am sure we’ll jump on this. It is a Kahana Manor, 1 bedroom, 1 bath in Kahana between Kaanapali and Kapalua. It is a 1 bedroom, 1 bath listed at $499,000. Great price. It is listed by Rick Kepler from our office. You can reach Rick at 283-3729 this is for Kahana Manor unit number is 313.
BS: Another property. This is going totally in the opposite direction from that. It is located at 6291 Honoapiilani Road. It is listed at $9,900,000, Oceanfront, 3.5 acres. A house basically just under 5,000 square feet. Fabulous property for someone that’s thinking in that range it’s so one of a kind. Call us if that’s in your wheelhouse and we can have you see that. Just give us a call. You’ve got the numbers or you can find us sakamotorproperties.com and you will find the property on there as you will find all of these properties on that website.
RS: Yeah, that’s a really rare property to have that kind of acreage. Oceanfront adjacent basically to a beach the locals call slaughterhouse steps from Honolua Bay. All surfers will know Honolua Bay. It is a fantastic piece of property.
BS: And just adjacent to the Kapalua resort. Technically, it is not Kapalua but you will still be totally a part of the resort. It is going to be a pretty exciting property for whoever buys it now.
RS: What’s cool is it has it’s own well too.
BS: And it has its own well.
RS: Yeah
BS: We are down to almost the 2-minute warning so we’ve got to start paying attention to our timing but again check out halemakua.org and find the website that we are talking about.
RS: It is a benefit for Hale Makua. It is celebrating our 75th anniversary of Hale Makua. Get on that website halemakua.org hit on the link to the auction site and bid on some great stuff.
BS: Whatever you bid on even if you pay more than it’s worth just go for it. You are making a contribution to Hale Makua. Everything’s been donated. Again, each one of you so many people on Maui know someone that’s been affected by Hale Makua and their family member has been totally taken care of there. It is not like you go there and you are not going to leave. Many people will get well and they’ll be back to their life fairly quickly. If it does become your residence it’s a happy place. We’ve spent many hours there talking to people. It is spectacular.
RS: Yeah and it’s not only nursing home. There are other facets of Hale Makua. There’s day health, there’s home health. We do a lot of rehabs there also for people that have had strokes, heart attacks, car accidents even babies as young as a few months old have been residents. They are temporary residents of Hale Makua.
BS: Another quick thing, this kind of is a little self-serving but I want to say this is one of the things that most people should understand about real estate brokers. We do all, do a lot of things other than selling real estate. Roy’s been on that board for so long and so many realtors. I’ve been with the Lahainaluna High School Foundation for a lengthy period of time and we all care about our community. We care about everybody.
RS: It takes a village.
BS: It takes a village. Back to Danny Couch and I love Hawaii. For whatever it’s worth I love Hawaii.
RS: We all love Hawaii.
BS: Aloha
RS: Aloha
BS: See you again KAOI. Aloha.