Betty Sakamoto: Aloha and Merry Christmas. Welcome to Betty's Real Estate Corner brought to you by Sakamoto Properties where prestige is our business, reputation our foundation. Today we're considering this to be our Christmas show and that's exciting for us. So, my husband Roy Sakamoto is here, as it should be for Christmas.

Roy Sakamoto: Good morning, dear.

B: Good morning.

R: Merry Christmas everyone.

B: Merry Christmas. We're getting closer and closer, so I think that we have seven shopping days left and I still need them so I think that it's important. Seven shopping days until Christmas.

R: Well, we're in the Christmas spirit and I'd also like to say "Merry Christmas" to all of our service people, all of our men and women in the armed forces: Thank you for all that you do and Merry Christmas to all of you.

B: That's actually a great, great comment and we should all remember that. Any of us that have a serviceman in our life or maybe his family ? and I think that a lot of Hawaii people have servicemen that are in their families. So, the wives happen to be at home and the husband isn't here. So, let's try to take this as a moment that we can do some sort of an assist. Maybe babysit: take care of the kids while she is shopping. Or figuring things out that she needs to be able to do to have as good a Christmas as she can have with her husband, possibly, in harm's way. So let's all remember that. Whether it's a serviceman or just a neighbor, Christmas can be such a hard time for people and anything that we do that will help somebody along, let's remember to do it. I mean, do at least one thing that gets you nothing, you don't get paid for it. For Christmas this year come up with one thing and do it and help somebody, what is it they say? Do something that nobody knows that you did.

R: Well put, very well put.

B: You know, one other quick thing. We come in everyday with Danny Couch and he does that "I Love Hawaii" song and he has some amazing recordings. But, he also has a fabulous Christmas album that I brought with me and left in the car so that we could have come up with one of his fabulous Christmas songs. And he is one of ? for me ? one of Hawaii's most fabulous entertainers, and he's written so many of his own songs including "I Love Hawaii". So, let's all pick up those and send them as gifts this year. I know I will because I do it every Christmas. I love them.

R: Danny does happy songs which is great.

B: He does, really happy songs. You know, just a couple quick things. Just so you know, check out our website which is SakamotoProperties.com, SakamotoProperties.com and you can reach us almost any time at (808) 669-0070. If you don't reach us, leave a number and we'll get back to you fairly quickly. Find us on Twitter @MauiSakamoto or connect with us using hashtag #BettyMauiRadio. So, we're trying to really stay in touch with all of you as much as we can and we look forward to an amazing 2014. Roy?

R: I can't believe that it's 2014 already.

B: Yeah, me neither.

R: The first event of 2014 is the Hyundai Tournament of Champions coming up at Kapalua.

B: That's going to be fabulous. Again, great field. If you check out any of their sites also, it's amazing to see who is coming this year and it's going to be a fabulous tournament. You've got the dates and everything in the back of your head don't you?

R: Well, the ProAM starts on January 2nd which is a Thursday. The tournament itself is the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th of January. From Friday to Sunday.

B: And Roy does have, just so you know, he does have a winner's trophy since it's been in the Hyundai. So we have these in the office, we have a Hyundai one, we have one that is a Lincoln Mercury, we have one that's a Mercedes championship, and we have one that was ? what was the other, there was one other?

R: An Isuzu one.

B: Isuzu, yep. So we do have a lot of these fabulous trophies that Roy has won during all of these championship tournaments. So we'll be out there. Roy will be playing. We figured out, toward the end, I think it will still be this year we'll get who you'll be playing with.

R: Actually on New Year's night it's the Golf Party so that's when we find out who the lucky pro is going to be.

B: Now that will be it. It's true, I swear, each person that you've played with has gone on that year to win, and win, and win. And it's been pretty funny because we made comments about it to the guys that he's playing with but it turns out that way every year. Whoever plays with him and a lot of the pros have said that they've never played with a more fun group because they take it seriously and they are out to win. But, they're also just having fun. They're ragging on one another. If the pro misses too many putts, they'll make a joke about him like what do we got you out here for, you're supposed to be the pro. But eventually it will get the pro laughing and having fun with them which is really part of your game, wouldn't you say?

R: Well, it really is and that's kind of the basis of our participation to go out and have fun. We're not going to beat the professionals, by any means, but we go out and have fun with them.

B: And bring home the trophy.

R: And bring home whatever trophy.

B: Yeah, that's pretty fun.

R: One more thing about the tournament is that it's a benefit for many Maui charities. So come on out and support the tournament. You can get tickets for the ProAM day ? for Thursday ? and then for rounds one, two, three, and four ? from Friday to Monday. The money benefits the Maui charities, there's the Lahainaluna Foundation, Hale Makua, I'm not sure ?

B: We should have bought the list with us.

R: Well there's five or six Maui charities who are very involved. The volunteers are great and they're volunteering their time and efforts for the charity and for the tournament. So come on out and support us.

B: If you take a look, even, at the website for the tournament and I'm sure there's a Hyundai Tournament of Champions website. It may be, I'm not sure through who. Maybe you can check with us if you're really interested in knowing who the charities are. But, it really is something worth supporting and really, golf does support charities around the world and it's no different in Maui. I know that they've done some great things that have helped the Lahainaluna Foundation, it's really helped Hale Makua. There's a long list: The Boy Scouts are one of the charities. The Boy Scouts over the years have been around there helping with some of the clean up and picking up the garbage, etcetera, and the kids are really great. So it's an amazing tournament. There should be something happening on probably the day of the ProAM. I think that they had the Lahainaluna band last year and I'm not sure if they're going to be there again this year, but it was pretty fabulous.

R: I believe that's set for Friday morning.

B: Is it? Okay, well everybody should check it out and come out because there was hula, there was this, there was that, and when you eventually watch it on television it's different from any tournament that you will see. So really check it out and support it because it's important for our community. Hanging on to this tournament, I think, is vitally important to the community. There's a lot of money that gets spent by the people that come and they become our visitors for those weeks and we need them. So let's all be especially kind.

R: And it's a great chance to get up close and personal with the professional golfers. We've been to tournaments on the mainland and you can't get within twenty yards of the golfers. It's hard to see, hard to see shots and putts and so forth. But out here at Kapalua you're able to get up real close, right on the ropes and talk to them and a lot of them will talk to you. Not during the tournament, but during the ProAM you can talk to them. Or after the round you can talk to them and they'll sign autographs and so forth. It's a very friendly atmosphere and it's great.

B: The ProAM day is great. Roy is right, on the ProAM day they're really kind of having fun with the amateurs and you just have to look out for some of the amateur shots. So don't hang in the wrong ropes like you might with the rest of the tournament. But it's fun because they will talk to you and so many of the guys are really fabulous about signing autographs. Last year ? oh I can't think of his name ? the orange, he was wearing orange.

R: Ricky Fowler.

B: Ricky Fowler, nobody could have been greater than Ricky Fowler with all of the kids or with anybody. He stood there after every round, whether he played good or bad, and even if there were a hundred people there he said hello to them and he signed an autograph and he put some little nice thing with it. He did his best with every kid to be super kind and he was really amazing. I'm sure there were some others but I really have to hand it to Ricky Fowler. And the kids, they call them "Little Rickys", there were all these kids all over the course that were wearing sort of an orange Ricky Fowler cap and I think it's great for our kids to see a guy like Ricky that's really an amazing young man. So, I hand it to Ricky Fowler.

R: Oh absolutely. So anyway, come on out and support the tournament. Come have fun and watch some great golf being played ? it's really fun.

B: Meanwhile, we're going to try to sell some real estate so we also, outside the Plantation, we have a Sakamoto Properties desk sitting right there between the restaurant and the Pro Shop and one of our agents are going to be there. They are there almost every day and during the tournament we'll definitely be there pretty much all day, every day. So come by and talk a little bit of real estate with us. Ask questions and we can point you in the direction of who to talk to if you need financing or refinancing on something. But, let's talk to you. We've got information on real estate around the island ? primarily Kapalua, Kaanapali, and West Maui but we can figure out anything that you want. So come by, again, the Plantation. You can come up there and have lunch at the Plantation Restaurant, do a little shopping at the Pro Shop, and hang out there. You can reach us if you want to recheck hours or anything, but it should be almost anytime, at (808) 669-0070. Don't forget to check us out on Twitter @MauiSakamoto and connect with us on Twitter using hashtag #BettyMauiRadio. So again, what about some real estate that we could sell?

R: Okay, but you can also find all of our what we're up to and all of our listings on SakamotoProperties.com so come on to our website. It's very navigate-able and very easy to move around in it. Whether you're looking for a small condominium, a large condominium, a small lot, or a large lot, or a small house, or whatever, we've got all of the information for you on our website. So come on over to SakamotoProperties.com

B: Yeah, the website is great. It's been put together for us by Meyer Computer, they do a really, really great job. And one of the best things about it is that people tell us that they can navigate it really well. Recently, I've actually met someone that when he met me, the first thing he told me was that he spends half of his life on our website. Now he happened to be working with another broker which was kind of funny but it was still a great moment. He said that our website was the one that he could go to and he could find almost anything. Now he happened to have also, in previous years, hooked up with a broker who was extremely great and professional so it was super. But it was really fun that he said to me, "You know, there's a lot of fancier websites or whatever but you guys have one that's perfect. You can find your way around it and find any property on Maui". And when you get into it, there's a certain spot in it and you can find properties from around the world that are listed with Who's Who in Luxury Real Estate. We've been a member of that for probably now fifteen years. And it's great, and you can get on it from our website. So SakamotoProperties.com and if you want to find a listing in Spain or Italy or almost anywhere that you can think of.

R: Phuket.

B: Phuket? You'll find it.

R: As it says on our website, "Shop Maui or Shop the World".

B: Shop the world and you can do it right there at SakamotoProperties.com and phone (808) 669-0070. Hey Roy what about the new, we've done some really great listings and really great sales this year at Pineapple Hill, but the new listing 210 Crestview. Have you gotten most of the information on that?

R: I've got all the information on it. It's, boy, there's no better view than from 210 Crestview. It's a three-bedroom, five-bath home. Fairly new, it's only like three or four years old. Unfortunately the owners have some health issues and are needing to move back to the mainland. But there's no better view than the top of the Pineapple Hill: 210 Crestview. It's listed at three point five million. The floor plan is superb, well laid out and you've got to come see it. Plus, there's no steps.

R: That's right it's three bedrooms, three and a half baths and there are no steps ? at all ? in it which is really great because that's something that we're asked about a lot these days as people become more conscious of that. You know, we went through these periods where there are all these different levels to a home and you went up a few stairs to the bedroom and down and back to the living room and back to the kitchen and people are getting away from that. Now we do have more and more people that are retiring here or have second homes here that like the idea of it being all on one level. They've set it up so that there's a great formal dining room, which for a lot of people means a lot. It's a wonderful family home. And there's a dining area more or less which people use as a dining room but it's somewhat an octagon. It can hold a huge table and it's right looking out to the ocean. It's an impressive view. A fabulous, fabulous kitchen. The master bedroom couldn't be greater. Everything in the place. These people were there through the whole construction and saw to it that everything was done great. So, it's well worth getting a look at.

B: And the pool and the pool deck ? it's just superb. Everything is top quality. You need to see this.

R: It's really amazing. Another one, 1008 Sunset. We've kind of been pushing this for a while. It's a little larger square footage ? not a lot ? same, three bedrooms, three and a half baths. Great views, and it's different. So, we've got some really great properties there that we can show you and many of them with very little notice. So give us a call if this is the direction that you're going in and we'll do our best to get you in to take look at them. So again, call us (808) 669-0070. What about Roy, another one especially right now coming up to the tournament it really would be great. We have one great home which has eight-bedrooms and eight and a half baths, again at Pineapple Hill. It was built on three lots. For somebody looking for a larger home it's really an unbelievable property.

B: That's the only one at Pineapple Hill on three lots. You're right on the golf course, so your view is unbeaten. You've got the ocean, Molokai, Lanai, and sunsets all year round. There's a huge free-form pool. There's three-bedrooms on the main living area and five-bedrooms upstairs. Huge kitchen and entertainment area and it's really geared for outdoor living.

R: It really is, and the pool there ? I believe ? is thirteen or fourteen hundred square feet. The pool alone, and it's really amazing and we've seen them with kids and the kids' friends and everybody in the pool. And it's a pool that adults and children can really have a great time. The kids could be running all over it and you could have little kids and bigger kids. It also has a great Jacuzzi or hot tub which is set up away from the pool. And I think that anyone that has kids around and a pool know that's a good thing because that way the kids stay in the pool instead of all in the hot tub where the adults kind of want to be. It's an amazing home. So, we've got some great ones, those aren't the only ones. But Pineapple Hill, the Plantation Estates, Honolua Ridge, those are the subdivisions where you'd really like to be in Maui and at Kapalua they're fabulous.

B: And how about our brand new listing at Coconut Grove?

R: Another amazing property, Coconut Grove. Oceanfront at Kapalua, sitting right there on Kapalua Bay with that beautiful, unbelievable Coconut Grove right in front of it. There's nothing better.

B: No, and this is a three-bedroom, three and a half bath about 2,280 square feet, air conditioned, right on Kapalua Bay. You're not going to get closer to Kapalua Bay.

R: And the exterior, the expansive, expansive lanai area. None of the other units have done exactly what they did and from there you walk out the front and down onto the fabulous sandy beach at Kapalua Bay which has been voted year after year by Conde Nast Magazine as the top beach in the world. So if that doesn't sell you then I don't know what will but it's really worth having a look it. Again, if you want to see the photos of it maybe just because it would be fun to see them, take a look at SakamotoProperties.com and hopefully you'll be able to see some of the photos that we have on there for that property.

B: And for the value seekers, we've just had a price adjustment on a one-bedroom, two-bath at the Ridge at Kapalua. The unit number is 524 and the price has just been adjusted to $799,000 and it's a great one-bedroom, two-bath, custom kitchen, mango floors ? this is a must see also. The Ridge is a great property, extremely well built, solid buildings, and well maintained grounds. It's the 524 at the Ridge, call us at (808) 669-0070 and we can make arrangements for you to see it.

R: You know another development, Roy, that I think we should mention is the Masters. We have a couple of amazing listings in the Masters. One is 1402 which sits right on the golf course. Huge views and it has pretty much a view from every room. It's listed at $1,150,000 and is totally redone. They redid it in a way that really works for someone that wants to live there because they built in some additional storage by changing the bathroom floorplan, etcetera. But, $1,150,000 ? two-bedrooms, two-baths. And then we have another one 204 with totally different views and listed at $995,000. You really have to see them both. The one 1402 sits right on the golf course and 204 sits almost at the top elevation so it's a very wide and expansive view. So, each of them, you have to see them both. But I think that we've got some great Kaanapali listings between us and all of the other brokers in the multiple listing service. So, let us help if you're looking for a Maui property and it's not just the big, expensive properties. If you find something on Maui, call Sakamoto Properties at (808) 669-0070 and one of us will help you find whatever it is in your price range. We'll help you figure out financing.

R: Oh, absolutely. We'll walk you through all the steps of getting financing, all the steps of having an escrow, and we'll just work right with you; all the way through.

B: And it is all of those things because it's not simple. You know, even when we're buying a property I've got to admit, it's not simple. I'm sure that it's easier for us than it would be for you but still when you're wrapped up and someone tells you to fill out this loan application you need someone that will help you. We'll put you in touch with a lender that will really take their time with you and help you fill out loan applications and stuff so that it isn't driving you out of your mind. And the same thing, through the whole process. I mean, finding an inspector to take care of looking at things for you and we'll help you through every step and even if you're an owner not living on Maui for years to come, we'll be there for you to help you get the right people to be taking care of your place. If you need a house manager, finding that person, if you need cleaning, etcetera, etcetera. We will be there.

R: We always have been.

B: We have been and it's actually fun.

R: That's part of what we do. It's fun.

B: Christmas for us, it turns out to be everybody shows up back in town and nothing could be really more fun. We get to be a little more homebodies these days than we used to be but all of a sudden it's Christmas and somebody is here. There's people with their kids and parents and you know, it seems like we have way too many dinners out. But it is great and it's great to see people show up again on Maui and the excitement in their eyes when they're happy to be back at their Maui home. Or maybe they sold even, last year but they're still coming back and coming back and we stay in that process also. You know we're at the two-minute warning.

R: I know.

B: Okay.

R: The downside to this holiday season is the waist line.

B: Yes, it can be.

R: I feel like I eat more during the holidays but that's okay.

B: It's okay.

R: That's what we do.

B: We opened a box of See's Candy today. I thought we wouldn't do that but we did it. Yeah, it's a nightmare.

R: Oh no, well save me the nuts.

B: Okay, we will. I'm going to eat the other stuff, whatever it is. So as we wind down, again, check out our website SakamotoProperties.com, call us (808) 669-0070.

R: I want to point out one more of our special properties real quick.

B: Oh, go ahead.

R: It's 480 Haniu Street, it's in Launiupoko and it's a great property. It's over five acres, it has an ohana, the auxiliary building and really the nursery is all set up and ready to go. It's listed at, the price-adjustment went to $1,695,000. It's very easy to see, call us at (808) 669-0070 or look at it on our website SakamotoProperties.com

B: That is an amazing Launiupoko property. So again, if you're looking for something like that, you're going to be able to do a lot with that property and there's so much that's already been done. But again, give us a call (808) 669-0070, and we've got some Christmas music.

R: Mele Kalikimaka.

B: Mele Kalikimaka.

R: Happy New Year.

B: Hauoli Makahiki Hou.