Tumgik
#calls and meetings and planning and talking and whatever for 4 years over the municipality of a village
anyab · 1 year
Text
Dads will make small town politics a matter of life and death
5 notes · View notes
Text
i ain’t done anything for @tolkienocweek yet, mostly because my covid-induced neet-dom has decoupled me from any association with sidereal time and thus there’s no way i could guarantee getting something out on its specific day. still, i do have one character that could potentially qualify for day 3 (background characters) or day 4 (self-inserts), sorta. i’d like to introduce you all to the proprietor of the fëanorian ethics department, the as-yet-nameless fed elf
fed elf is a... moderately idealised self-insert of mine, though she’s taking on a life of her own
she’s also a noldo. of course she is
her Noldorin Craft™ is, as i’ve said before, arguing. she has very strong opinions about almost everything and will debate them at length
she’s moderately infamous for it in tirion
she’s especially fond of philosophy, in the ancient-greek asking-a-million-rhetorical questions style. what should we do? why do we do the things we do? why do the valar get to tell us what to do?
... you can probably tell which side of the fëanor/fingolfin debate she landed on, if it wasn’t already obvious
she’s not particularly close to any of the future capital-H House, but she is in their rough orbit. one of the miscellaneous guild trolls that form the rank-and-file of their initial expeditionary force
idk if she’s ~devoted to the cause enough to go to formenos, but when the trees get eaten and fëanor rolls up into tirion with the solution to all their spider problems, she is all for it
she’s a passing acquaintance of maedhros from those times when he’d show up in her guild hall for debate night, so she probably ends up with his crew, at least initially
... there’s a very good chance her first attempts at crafting a new noldorin ethical system happen on that horrible night aboard the blood-stained swanships of alqualondë
in any case, she gets good enough at murder to not die before the brothers hellspawn are divvying up east beleriand, and the formerly reasonably undelineated fëanorian host is splitting up into its various garrisons
most people stay with whoever they’re already riding with, but there are exceptions. she is one of them, as soon as she hears about caranthir’s Plans she immediately switches allegiance to the future lord of thargelion
he’s deliberately trying to set up on the trade routes! they’re gonna make contact with the dwarves! there are apparently trails leading over the blue mountains, links to communities of elves unlike she’s ever seen!
so many new people to argue with!!!!!!
so she heads up to lake helevorn, and helps with setting up the city. she winds up filling some middling role in east beleriand’s military bureaucracy, when she’s not on orc-killing duty
but her true passion is *~ethics~*
there is actually a practical component to this. due to Certain Events the noldor (especially the fëanorians) aren’t as-well suited to their pre-darkening moral codes as they might have once been
they need a new one, with contingencies for, like, murder, and all the other new situations they’ll encounter in this new world! the questions of what’s right and wrong have been blown right open, and fed elf is possibly the happiest she’s been in her life. they’re building everything else from first principles, why not this?
and the fëanorian host in aggregate does actually care about morality, even though outsiders never believe that. it’s what separates them from the orcs (in their minds at least); they’re doing everything for a Cause, not for destruction’s sake alone. say what you want about the fëanorians, their problem was never a lack of ideals
she gets people coming in sometimes, wanting to know what the right thing to do in a situation is. either that, or they think she’s wrong about something and want to explain why in depth, which is almost as fun
soon enough, there’s a small shop just off the main streets of lake helevorn called the fëanorian ethics department
(she’s the only one with a shop, but she’s not the only member of the host with Opinions. the guy on the other side of the market district whose system is fairly similar in the broad strokes but completely different in the details is her personal archnemesis)
for most of the first age, fed elf has it pretty good. by her standards, at least, and she’ll happily exposit at length as to why they’re the only ones that matter
the work on the system of ethics never quite stops, but it does slow down. she’s less prescriptivist than most noldor, so she does a lot of observation and interviewing and stuff, and also new things keep happening for her to cover, but she does manage to nail down the basics!
she does consultation, in varying levels of official capacity, but she’ll also just. answer anyone who comes in with a question. or asks one within earshot
it’s mostly noldorin fëanorians she has debates with, the sindar and atani generally prefer to ask her whatever they want to know with minimum fuss, but whenever she gets a real fight going they all join the crowd. watching fed elf argue with people is one of lake helevorn’s municipal spectator sports
she also has conversations with travellers! these usually start when some newcomer is staring in befuddlement at the sign outside her shop and she takes the opportunity to pounce
she asks them detailed questions about their own ethical systems, which she files away for potential future incorporation/argument ammunition. they fairly frequently ask questions of their own, most often variations on ‘you guys seriously have morals?’
sometimes this even turns into a proper ethical debate! these aren’t usually as well-argued or intense as the ones she has with other fëanorians, particularly if she’s not talking to a noldo, but when she meets someone who’s a proper match for her it is the highlight of her year
running the shop does generate a fair bit of paperwork she tends to be too emotionally invested in to deal with properly, so she hires help now and then. one recurring underling is a clumsy perpetually-ill atan who is nevertheless really good with the filing and holds fierce opinions of their own, even if they hide under the table whenever anyone so much as raises their voice
(that atan is me. much less idealised self insert)
like every other elf in the host, fed elf is still under arms. she has a unit, she’s part of the orc patrol rotas, when caranthir needs to do a battle she pulls her broadsword out from under her desk and reports for the muster. east beleriand is just a pretty violent place in general, and her most impassioned arguments frequently shade into all-out duels. east beleriand, where even especially the philosophers will knife you
but just like fëanor promised on tirion upon túna so long ago, she’s built a place where she can be the best version of herself, and she couldn’t be happier (marketplace douche notwithstanding)
like so much of the host, she has big plans for when they topple angband and reclaim the silmarils. it’s just, well
i am not entirely sure what fed elf’s fate is after the fall of thargelion. most likely she died at some point, because so do most of her peers and also because she has an aversion to cutting her losses that’s definitely gonna backfire sooner or later
it’s either that, or she abandons everything she ever worked out to flee over the blue mountains, or she sticks with the host long enough to see all their ideals and dreams burn to ash. out of all of them death is probably her kindest fate
if she does die - she’s definitely a kinslayer at least one time over, she is staying in the halls for a While. the local maiar completely stonewall her every time she tries to argue her way out, she has plenty of time to sit around and think
because yeah, the host’s century-long self-immolation has given her a lot to think about. she was wrong, it turns out, in several important ways, and from the outside she can see how much the ethical system she put her heart and soul into was bent towards destruction
if she ever gets out, it’ll be after a lot of self-reflection, a massive dose of humility, and her accepting her own small-but-not-insignificant role in the nightmare they created
the fëanorians as get let out of the halls of mandos are without fail less violent, more self-aware, and just generally more conscious of their actions than they were when they went in. fed elf is no exception to this
she’s also no exception to the rule that their time in elf afterlife therapy generally fails to lower their volume at all. soon after her rebirth, after some time spent rethinking her personal moral code, fed elf puts out a thesis as to why elwing’s refusal to give up the silmaril was perfectly justifiable under fëanorian ethical mores
this pisses off a measurable proportion of aman’s sapient population. soon the furious letters of rebuke are pouring in nightly
exactly. as. planned
41 notes · View notes
torrancehomes1 · 5 years
Text
South Bay Homes:Sam Xavier the interview.
South Bay Homes:Sam Xavier the interview.:
south bay homes redondo beach torrance lomita pv palos verdes condos homes real estate
Un edited auto Transcript:
2
well welcome to amazing South Bay homes
0:06
radio this is here coach Tim and I’m
0:09
here with a special guest today
0:11
sandy Xavier of amazing South Bay
0:15
homes.com and he’s going to tell us
0:17
about the amazing South Bay and a little
0:21
bit about the real estate market in the
0:25
South Bay of Los Angeles Sam welcome to
0:27
the show oh thank you give the young
0:31
radio podcast yeah very cool
0:35
Sam tell me about first of all you know
0:38
we’re here in the South Bay but there’s
0:41
people you may be from other parts of
0:44
the country listening today and they may
0:48
think of South Bay as something else can
0:51
you can you tell us about the South Bay
0:53
where is it well the South the South Bay
0:55
it could be known in maybe three or four
0:57
parts of the area continental United
0:59
States
0:59
there’s a South Bay in Florida there’s a
1:02
South Bay here in Los Angeles there’s a
1:05
South Bay in San Diego as well as
1:07
there’s a South Bay in the Northern
1:09
California about what I specifically
1:12
focus on is the South Bay Los Angeles
1:15
and that comprises about 13 different
1:18
cities and municipalities and we’re
1:21
running along the coast here in Southern
1:23
California in Los Angeles County just
1:25
south of the Los Angeles International
1:27
Airport and it also encompasses the
1:30
Palos Verdes Peninsula as well as San
1:34
Pedro so my understanding is essentially
1:39
it’s the South Bay South Santa Monica
1:42
Bay right yes that is correct him and so
1:46
on the far side of the bay is Santa
1:50
Monica and Malibu and in the middle is
1:52
LAX and then all the way to Peavy and
1:55
something that you told that when you
1:57
said Peavy went off in my mind and that
2:00
is one of my favorites of the South Bay
2:03
is is being up on the hill up there at
2:05
night and there’s a thing called the
2:08
Queen’s necklace right yeah yes they’re
2:11
very beautiful ocean land you can
2:14
typically find that view
2:15
pal 32 states as well as parts of the
2:19
Hollywood Riviera which is actually a
2:21
you know neighborhood in South Redondo
2:23
Beach so let’s go back a little bit
2:27
before we get into deep into the South
2:30
Bay Area’s what uh what got you into
2:35
real estate how how did you get into
2:38
this game
2:38
well I give that question there’s a lot
2:41
and it’s kind of an interesting journey
2:43
I was in computer IT sales for about 16
2:47
years I started out after college back
2:49
on the East Coast was in Washington DC
2:51
area and I moved to Southern California
2:54
in the summer of 1991 and I was
2:58
primarily working with a lot of
3:00
government aerospace educational
3:03
institutions on their requirement for as
3:06
well as data storage and after the
3:09
Millennium in the year 2000 2001 now
3:13
computers Borland became a commodity and
3:16
my services were gone pretty much no
3:18
longer needed so what we did was we put
3:22
together a plan of starting my own
3:25
business and I bought and sold several
3:28
homes in my lifetime and at that point I
3:31
got my license in the summer of 2004 and
3:35
I started practicing that fall and I’ve
3:38
been doing it ever since and I have a
3:40
partner on the Xavier and Xavier team
3:42
and they’ve been doing Savior and she’s
3:44
my wife and she was a stay-at-home mom
3:47
and we have heard of a business back in
3:49
2007 and today we are a successful
3:53
husband wife team with Remax estate
3:56
properties and we service the greater
3:58
South Bay area so you know what I I
4:03
think of realtor and I think a lot of
4:05
people do this and there’s there’s a
4:09
stereotyping that’s put out there on
4:12
television and for whatever reason
4:15
either earned or unearned but it is what
4:17
it is what makes you so successful in
4:21
your job in your niche well in our team
4:26
our biggest focus is our customers
4:29
clients that we serve whether it’s a
4:31
seller a buyer on landlord a tenant or
4:34
even a property investor we treat each
4:37
individual equally and what we do is we
4:40
sit down and we find out what are the
4:42
four five things that are the most
4:44
important to them when it comes to
4:46
buying or selling real estate and from
4:48
their retailer what the market has to
4:51
offer here in the South Bay of Los
4:52
Angeles to meet their requirements and
4:55
fulfill whether it’s a relocation
4:57
whether it’s a job transfer what it’s
5:01
getting to a better school district you
5:03
know it’s a lifestyle so we kind of look
5:05
at ourselves as you know we don’t we’ll
5:07
just sell how to change people’s life
5:09
with helping them get on to the next
5:11
chapter in their particular situation
5:15
yeah you’re I remember your wife Bindu
5:19
saying at one point that and I forget
5:24
this sometimes that this is someone’s
5:27
biggest financial transaction that’s a
5:31
real life
5:32
yeah that’s almost like your trademark
5:35
didn’t do the primarily attire
5:37
specialist and when when she’s
5:40
interviewed she always tells buyers that
5:43
hey you know I’m going to help you with
5:46
the largest transaction that you’ll ever
5:48
cross possibly ever make and if I won’t
5:50
buy it you sitting by it so we look at
5:53
it as if it’s our own money when it
5:55
comes to health and a buyer purchase a
5:58
home or investment property and she
6:01
really seems like she puts her almost
6:04
like a mama bear around around her
6:08
clients is oh yeah feeling I guess just
6:10
like myself we treat everybody like
6:12
family so we you know engage with us
6:14
you’re like you know my brother my
6:16
sister my aunt my uncle my parent and we
6:19
only want the best for our client
6:22
incredible so over these many years I’m
6:26
sure you’ve probably have seen some some
6:29
pretty wild transactions are there any
6:32
favorites or or funny stories that you
6:36
have in your in your history and
6:38
experience that you you mind sharing
6:40
well we’ve seen it all
6:43
even as they say you know we focus a lot
6:46
with the senior community and a lot of
6:49
it is into life of probate trust sale
6:53
and that we talked a lot of seniors you
6:58
know sell that or liquidate that asset
7:00
for their family estate a lot of them
7:02
move off to assisted living but you know
7:05
end result is at the end of the day you
7:09
know that is a large asset in somebody’s
7:11
estate and what we like to do is
7:14
investigate you know who lives there you
7:16
know we might have you know been in a
7:18
property that’s been lived in by the
7:20
same family household for maybe 40 or 50
7:23
years to a half a decade and from there
7:25
you know we’ll see all kinds of
7:27
memorabilia when it comes to you know
7:29
their albums they’re from you aren’t
7:32
work on the walls their personal tape
7:35
you know it’s kind of like encompass
7:37
somebody’s whole life when you go to
7:39
list one of those homes and a lot of
7:42
times we have to be more or less the
7:44
seller because if the owners passed away
7:46
we’re going to be the ones that are
7:49
going to hire the estate sale company
7:50
we’re the ones are going to hire the
7:52
clean out trash out companies we’re the
7:54
ones are going to sell automobiles and
7:56
once the property is on the market you
7:59
know we’re going to be actively trying
8:00
to find a new buyer for that home and
8:02
create lasting memories just like the
8:05
previous homeowner did phenomenal I’m
8:10
sure along that same theme there’s are
8:13
some favorite areas of the South Bay
8:17
that you’ve sold homes or maybe you’ve I
8:19
know that you know you’ve represented
8:21
many a home seller and a home buyer over
8:24
the years but you’ve also as part of
8:28
that process have to get a handle on the
8:31
inventory so every week you’re out and
8:33
about looking at what’s new and and
8:36
making sure that you know what’s on the
8:38
market are there any homes that you just
8:40
found really fascinating or or
8:43
intriguing throughout in your
8:45
marketplace here in the in the South Bay
8:47
yeah well what we’ve seen over the left
8:49
10 years a lot of new development so got
8:53
developers coming in and they’re
8:55
transforming the neighbor
8:56
so you might have a beautiful you know
8:59
beach cottage on the avenues and salford
9:01
ando beach and sure enough one by one
9:04
you got the developers that are coming
9:06
in bulldozing those and building these
9:08
beautiful mini mansions
9:11
matter of fact that we’re working with a
9:12
family right now they bought the home in
9:15
2004 called Brandon the Builder 3300
9:19
square feet two-story Mediterranean and
9:22
sure enough the husband got transferred
9:25
to Austin Texas and they approached us
9:29
to get their home on the market and
9:31
listed its soul so it’s in a great
9:33
school district our kids actually went
9:35
to the same elementary school where this
9:37
home reside we know that particular
9:39
neighborhood and the proximity to
9:42
Riviera Village the Esplanade and South
9:46
Redondo Beach on a cul-de-sac it makes
9:49
the perfect home for a family that’s
9:52
looking to raise their kids and be in a
9:55
great school district of matter of fact
9:56
we’re Redondo  Beach Unified School
9:59
District was just mentioned in the top
10:02
100 schools in California as one of the
10:05
top high school oh wow cool cool so you
10:12
have a couple things that I find
10:15
interesting one is you lead a referral
10:17
group of local businesses here in the
10:21
South Bay what prompted you to do that
10:25
and what what goes on there well that’s
10:29
a good question glad you brought that up
10:30
and you’d be actually even attended a
10:32
few of our meetings so back in 2014
10:35
almost five years ago I was looking at a
10:39
way to give back to my community and
10:41
I’ve been quite involved with the
10:44
networking and meeting people speaking
10:47
so what I thought was hey you know
10:49
there’s a lot of networking you know
10:52
groups are there out there somebody’s
10:55
you know charge you know thousands of
10:56
dollars to be a part of application fees
10:58
and I think eight there’s got to be a
11:00
better solution out there for the small
11:03
business owner that wants to get
11:05
together me and mingle every week so I
11:08
founded the Redondo Beach
11:10
referral networking group back in August
11:12
of 2014 I was one of the first members
11:15
started out with a group of maybe four
11:17
people that I knew that owned small
11:18
businesses and today after almost four
11:22
and a half years of meeting every week
11:24
we have over 25 members on our roster we
11:28
get referrals on almost a weekly basis
11:31
and our whole motto is to grow our
11:35
business with the fellow small business
11:37
owner here in the South Bay so we’ve got
11:39
people from bass industries we’ve got
11:42
automotive repair we’ve got an interior
11:44
designer we got a financial planner it’s
11:47
almost like a little City Hall me and my
11:49
wife are the realtors in the group and
11:51
it’s been quite a success we’ve
11:54
generated several new business
11:56
opportunities as well as we’ve met local
12:00
businesses that can help us with all the
12:02
different attributes of being a business
12:05
owner such as printing graphic design
12:08
signage you know in town so having a
12:12
resource for elder law with probate and
12:15
trust administration attorneys as well
12:18
as mortgage bankers when it comes to
12:21
getting them our new clients
12:23
pre-approved for financing to buy their
12:25
home and and you also make the space
12:29
available through your office although
12:32
right that’s that’s a one of the
12:34
advantages a lot of people investigates
12:36
and is so successful why don’t you start
12:39
your own company I said well the reality
12:41
is we already are
12:43
Company B franchise one of the biggest
12:44
names in real estate that’s Remax and
12:46
the Remax model is you franchise our
12:50
name and you run your business
12:52
accordingly so we have a office base of
12:56
about 15 offices throughout the Greater
12:58
South Bay area and west side of Los
13:00
Angeles as well as Palos Verdes and we
13:03
have a large conference center that’s in
13:06
my mind somewhat underutilized but the
13:08
company makes that available to us small
13:11
business owners and they make that a
13:13
part of our franchise fee so we don’t
13:15
pay an extra penny and we’ve got plenty
13:18
of parking and we have a speaker every
13:20
week and I’m just so glad that this
13:23
group
13:23
is well-known in the small business
13:26
community at the South Bay now let me
13:30
let me get into the the real estate
13:34
buying and selling for a second
13:37
when a person comes to you to buy I was
13:42
looking at your website and you have a
13:46
down payment assistant program correct
13:49
yes that’s right we work with the
13:52
company called landed and what they do
13:54
is they provide matching downpayment
13:57
assistance to any local school teachers
14:00
kiss trainer or pullies they’re looking
14:04
to get into home ownership we’ve
14:06
recently helped several people in the
14:09
Redondo Beach Unified School District
14:11
the Hawthorne uh School District get
14:14
into a home ownership and stop paying
14:16
the landlord mortgage very cool before
14:22
we wrap this up uh tell me the last
14:26
property that you sold tell me about
14:30
last property sold was a duplex it was
14:33
over here at the city of Gardena and
14:35
that is an interesting the case so the
14:38
owner lived down in South Orange County
14:40
her dad built it back in 1941 it was
14:44
just a little two-bedroom one-bath house
14:46
and then 1947 Edyta
14:49
identical 2-bedroom 1-bath in the back
14:51
and he passed away maybe 15-20 years ago
14:56
and my client inherited it and I
14:59
couldn’t believe it she had two tenants
15:02
that were there for maybe ten plus years
15:04
and each one more or less took over so
15:08
one of them had a large camper in the
15:10
back I think he was subletting out the
15:13
other one was a hoarder he had like 20
15:15
TVs and his little two bedroom unit and
15:17
that we brought in our crew and you know
15:21
unfortunately she had to do an eviction
15:22
to get those two tenants out but once we
15:25
did the sheriff lockout we got our
15:26
handyman over there and we refinished
15:29
the polling
15:31
we got our landscaper to take the
15:35
trailer off our hand we rebuilt the
15:37
fence we rely on placate both the front
15:41
and back yard and sure enough we put it
15:43
on the market and got it sold in less
15:46
than a week to a well-qualified investor
15:49
all cash and filled it as is very cool
15:53
now tell me about your most recently
15:57
listed property okay well we’re working
16:01
on a seller right now we’re in the
16:03
spring selling season and the most
16:05
recent is a four bedroom four and a half
16:09
bath 3300 square foot a luxury home and
16:12
it’s in the 2.3 million dollar range so
16:16
that is a property that not most buyers
16:20
here in the South Bay can necessarily
16:21
afford but one thing I wanted to mention
16:24
is the South baby and proximity to Los
16:27
Angeles the Hollywood movie industry
16:32
we’ve got several sports professional
16:36
sporting teams now with the Los Angeles
16:38
Rams as well as the Los Angeles chargers
16:40
moving to the area so there’s a lot of
16:44
high net worth individuals that may be
16:46
looking for a home of that stature so
16:49
we’re going to be staging it fully
16:51
staged with the modern furniture
16:54
decorating it we’ve done some minor
16:57
cosmetics to make it appear as if it was
17:00
a brand new home and it’s going to be
17:02
going on the market next week and we’re
17:05
going to have a broker’s open on
17:06
Thursday and public open houses every
17:09
weekend till we get it under contract so
17:11
if you looking for a beautiful two-story
17:13
Mediterranean and the Greater Southie
17:15
really city of Redondo Beach we would
17:19
love to hear from you and have you come
17:21
check it out you just reminded me of the
17:26
Redondo and Hermosa along the coast
17:30
they’re pretty big for the the kings and
17:33
Laker Lakers and a lot of Lakers the
17:39
king Dodgers matter of fact
17:44
another notable client that we recently
17:46
worked with was Kenley Jansen the
17:50
pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers
17:52
helped him buy a home here in South
17:55
Torrance about two years ago and we
17:58
worked through his agent and sure enough
17:59
he was in the process of renewing his
18:01
contract with the LA Dodgers and he was
18:05
even so anxious to get into the home we
18:07
leased it out to him while he was in
18:08
escrow
18:09
very neat that’s me that’s a great story
18:12
well Sam I appreciate your time I would
18:15
love if you would give your website as
18:18
well as how to get a hold of you through
18:20
the old-fashioned means called the phone
18:23
sure okay well our website known as w w
18:28
amazing South Bay home dot-com and you
18:32
can reach me directly on my cell and
18:35
that’s three one oh eight six six seven
18:38
five nine eight we’re also all over
18:42
social media we have a social media
18:44
business page on Facebook it’s called
18:46
Xavier and Xavier Realtors you can go
18:49
there as well as we have a kind of a
18:52
love branded Facebook page which matches
18:55
our data identity on the internet that’s
18:57
called amazing South Bay home very neat
19:01
Sam I appreciate your time and i really
19:05
suggest people get in touch with you
19:07
when they they have any real estate
19:08
questions or needs yeah yeah we welcome
19:12
you to come to one of our many offices
19:14
we were based here in Revere village on
19:17
Lane Avenue and Sal for John Doe beach
19:19
we also have a Torrance office here on
19:22
Hawthorne Boulevard and South torrent
19:24
but wherever you’d like to meet we’re
19:26
always open to coming to your place it’s
19:29
a little bit more convenient for you
19:32
very good champ I appreciate your time
19:35
thank you very much you’re welcome Tim
19:39
it’s be
from https://www.amazingsouthbayhomes.com/blog/south-bay-homes-sam-xavier-interview/ from https://amazingsouthba.tumblr.com/post/183131339801
0 notes
amazingsouthba · 5 years
Link
south bay homes redondo beach torrance lomita pv palos verdes condos homes real estate
Un edited auto Transcript:
2
well welcome to amazing South Bay homes
0:06
radio this is here coach Tim and I'm
0:09
here with a special guest today
0:11
sandy Xavier of amazing South Bay
0:15
homes.com and he's going to tell us
0:17
about the amazing South Bay and a little
0:21
bit about the real estate market in the
0:25
South Bay of Los Angeles Sam welcome to
0:27
the show oh thank you give the young
0:31
radio podcast yeah very cool
0:35
Sam tell me about first of all you know
0:38
we're here in the South Bay but there's
0:41
people you may be from other parts of
0:44
the country listening today and they may
0:48
think of South Bay as something else can
0:51
you can you tell us about the South Bay
0:53
where is it well the South the South Bay
0:55
it could be known in maybe three or four
0:57
parts of the area continental United
0:59
States
0:59
there's a South Bay in Florida there's a
1:02
South Bay here in Los Angeles there's a
1:05
South Bay in San Diego as well as
1:07
there's a South Bay in the Northern
1:09
California about what I specifically
1:12
focus on is the South Bay Los Angeles
1:15
and that comprises about 13 different
1:18
cities and municipalities and we're
1:21
running along the coast here in Southern
1:23
California in Los Angeles County just
1:25
south of the Los Angeles International
1:27
Airport and it also encompasses the
1:30
Palos Verdes Peninsula as well as San
1:34
Pedro so my understanding is essentially
1:39
it's the South Bay South Santa Monica
1:42
Bay right yes that is correct him and so
1:46
on the far side of the bay is Santa
1:50
Monica and Malibu and in the middle is
1:52
LAX and then all the way to Peavy and
1:55
something that you told that when you
1:57
said Peavy went off in my mind and that
2:00
is one of my favorites of the South Bay
2:03
is is being up on the hill up there at
2:05
night and there's a thing called the
2:08
Queen's necklace right yeah yes they're
2:11
very beautiful ocean land you can
2:14
typically find that view
2:15
pal 32 states as well as parts of the
2:19
Hollywood Riviera which is actually a
2:21
you know neighborhood in South Redondo
2:23
Beach so let's go back a little bit
2:27
before we get into deep into the South
2:30
Bay Area's what uh what got you into
2:35
real estate how how did you get into
2:38
this game
2:38
well I give that question there's a lot
2:41
and it's kind of an interesting journey
2:43
I was in computer IT sales for about 16
2:47
years I started out after college back
2:49
on the East Coast was in Washington DC
2:51
area and I moved to Southern California
2:54
in the summer of 1991 and I was
2:58
primarily working with a lot of
3:00
government aerospace educational
3:03
institutions on their requirement for as
3:06
well as data storage and after the
3:09
Millennium in the year 2000 2001 now
3:13
computers Borland became a commodity and
3:16
my services were gone pretty much no
3:18
longer needed so what we did was we put
3:22
together a plan of starting my own
3:25
business and I bought and sold several
3:28
homes in my lifetime and at that point I
3:31
got my license in the summer of 2004 and
3:35
I started practicing that fall and I've
3:38
been doing it ever since and I have a
3:40
partner on the Xavier and Xavier team
3:42
and they've been doing Savior and she's
3:44
my wife and she was a stay-at-home mom
3:47
and we have heard of a business back in
3:49
2007 and today we are a successful
3:53
husband wife team with Remax estate
3:56
properties and we service the greater
3:58
South Bay area so you know what I I
4:03
think of realtor and I think a lot of
4:05
people do this and there's there's a
4:09
stereotyping that's put out there on
4:12
television and for whatever reason
4:15
either earned or unearned but it is what
4:17
it is what makes you so successful in
4:21
your job in your niche well in our team
4:26
our biggest focus is our customers
4:29
clients that we serve whether it's a
4:31
seller a buyer on landlord a tenant or
4:34
even a property investor we treat each
4:37
individual equally and what we do is we
4:40
sit down and we find out what are the
4:42
four five things that are the most
4:44
important to them when it comes to
4:46
buying or selling real estate and from
4:48
their retailer what the market has to
4:51
offer here in the South Bay of Los
4:52
Angeles to meet their requirements and
4:55
fulfill whether it's a relocation
4:57
whether it's a job transfer what it's
5:01
getting to a better school district you
5:03
know it's a lifestyle so we kind of look
5:05
at ourselves as you know we don't we'll
5:07
just sell how to change people's life
5:09
with helping them get on to the next
5:11
chapter in their particular situation
5:15
yeah you're I remember your wife Bindu
5:19
saying at one point that and I forget
5:24
this sometimes that this is someone's
5:27
biggest financial transaction that's a
5:31
real life
5:32
yeah that's almost like your trademark
5:35
didn't do the primarily attire
5:37
specialist and when when she's
5:40
interviewed she always tells buyers that
5:43
hey you know I'm going to help you with
5:46
the largest transaction that you'll ever
5:48
cross possibly ever make and if I won't
5:50
buy it you sitting by it so we look at
5:53
it as if it's our own money when it
5:55
comes to health and a buyer purchase a
5:58
home or investment property and she
6:01
really seems like she puts her almost
6:04
like a mama bear around around her
6:08
clients is oh yeah feeling I guess just
6:10
like myself we treat everybody like
6:12
family so we you know engage with us
6:14
you're like you know my brother my
6:16
sister my aunt my uncle my parent and we
6:19
only want the best for our client
6:22
incredible so over these many years I'm
6:26
sure you've probably have seen some some
6:29
pretty wild transactions are there any
6:32
favorites or or funny stories that you
6:36
have in your in your history and
6:38
experience that you you mind sharing
6:40
well we've seen it all
6:43
even as they say you know we focus a lot
6:46
with the senior community and a lot of
6:49
it is into life of probate trust sale
6:53
and that we talked a lot of seniors you
6:58
know sell that or liquidate that asset
7:00
for their family estate a lot of them
7:02
move off to assisted living but you know
7:05
end result is at the end of the day you
7:09
know that is a large asset in somebody's
7:11
estate and what we like to do is
7:14
investigate you know who lives there you
7:16
know we might have you know been in a
7:18
property that's been lived in by the
7:20
same family household for maybe 40 or 50
7:23
years to a half a decade and from there
7:25
you know we'll see all kinds of
7:27
memorabilia when it comes to you know
7:29
their albums they're from you aren't
7:32
work on the walls their personal tape
7:35
you know it's kind of like encompass
7:37
somebody's whole life when you go to
7:39
list one of those homes and a lot of
7:42
times we have to be more or less the
7:44
seller because if the owners passed away
7:46
we're going to be the ones that are
7:49
going to hire the estate sale company
7:50
we're the ones are going to hire the
7:52
clean out trash out companies we're the
7:54
ones are going to sell automobiles and
7:56
once the property is on the market you
7:59
know we're going to be actively trying
8:00
to find a new buyer for that home and
8:02
create lasting memories just like the
8:05
previous homeowner did phenomenal I'm
8:10
sure along that same theme there's are
8:13
some favorite areas of the South Bay
8:17
that you've sold homes or maybe you've I
8:19
know that you know you've represented
8:21
many a home seller and a home buyer over
8:24
the years but you've also as part of
8:28
that process have to get a handle on the
8:31
inventory so every week you're out and
8:33
about looking at what's new and and
8:36
making sure that you know what's on the
8:38
market are there any homes that you just
8:40
found really fascinating or or
8:43
intriguing throughout in your
8:45
marketplace here in the in the South Bay
8:47
yeah well what we've seen over the left
8:49
10 years a lot of new development so got
8:53
developers coming in and they're
8:55
transforming the neighbor
8:56
so you might have a beautiful you know
8:59
beach cottage on the avenues and salford
9:01
ando beach and sure enough one by one
9:04
you got the developers that are coming
9:06
in bulldozing those and building these
9:08
beautiful mini mansions
9:11
matter of fact that we're working with a
9:12
family right now they bought the home in
9:15
2004 called Brandon the Builder 3300
9:19
square feet two-story Mediterranean and
9:22
sure enough the husband got transferred
9:25
to Austin Texas and they approached us
9:29
to get their home on the market and
9:31
listed its soul so it's in a great
9:33
school district our kids actually went
9:35
to the same elementary school where this
9:37
home reside we know that particular
9:39
neighborhood and the proximity to
9:42
Riviera Village the Esplanade and South
9:46
Redondo Beach on a cul-de-sac it makes
9:49
the perfect home for a family that's
9:52
looking to raise their kids and be in a
9:55
great school district of matter of fact
9:56
we're Redondo  Beach Unified School
9:59
District was just mentioned in the top
10:02
100 schools in California as one of the
10:05
top high school oh wow cool cool so you
10:12
have a couple things that I find
10:15
interesting one is you lead a referral
10:17
group of local businesses here in the
10:21
South Bay what prompted you to do that
10:25
and what what goes on there well that's
10:29
a good question glad you brought that up
10:30
and you'd be actually even attended a
10:32
few of our meetings so back in 2014
10:35
almost five years ago I was looking at a
10:39
way to give back to my community and
10:41
I've been quite involved with the
10:44
networking and meeting people speaking
10:47
so what I thought was hey you know
10:49
there's a lot of networking you know
10:52
groups are there out there somebody's
10:55
you know charge you know thousands of
10:56
dollars to be a part of application fees
10:58
and I think eight there's got to be a
11:00
better solution out there for the small
11:03
business owner that wants to get
11:05
together me and mingle every week so I
11:08
founded the Redondo Beach
11:10
referral networking group back in August
11:12
of 2014 I was one of the first members
11:15
started out with a group of maybe four
11:17
people that I knew that owned small
11:18
businesses and today after almost four
11:22
and a half years of meeting every week
11:24
we have over 25 members on our roster we
11:28
get referrals on almost a weekly basis
11:31
and our whole motto is to grow our
11:35
business with the fellow small business
11:37
owner here in the South Bay so we've got
11:39
people from bass industries we've got
11:42
automotive repair we've got an interior
11:44
designer we got a financial planner it's
11:47
almost like a little City Hall me and my
11:49
wife are the realtors in the group and
11:51
it's been quite a success we've
11:54
generated several new business
11:56
opportunities as well as we've met local
12:00
businesses that can help us with all the
12:02
different attributes of being a business
12:05
owner such as printing graphic design
12:08
signage you know in town so having a
12:12
resource for elder law with probate and
12:15
trust administration attorneys as well
12:18
as mortgage bankers when it comes to
12:21
getting them our new clients
12:23
pre-approved for financing to buy their
12:25
home and and you also make the space
12:29
available through your office although
12:32
right that's that's a one of the
12:34
advantages a lot of people investigates
12:36
and is so successful why don't you start
12:39
your own company I said well the reality
12:41
is we already are
12:43
Company B franchise one of the biggest
12:44
names in real estate that's Remax and
12:46
the Remax model is you franchise our
12:50
name and you run your business
12:52
accordingly so we have a office base of
12:56
about 15 offices throughout the Greater
12:58
South Bay area and west side of Los
13:00
Angeles as well as Palos Verdes and we
13:03
have a large conference center that's in
13:06
my mind somewhat underutilized but the
13:08
company makes that available to us small
13:11
business owners and they make that a
13:13
part of our franchise fee so we don't
13:15
pay an extra penny and we've got plenty
13:18
of parking and we have a speaker every
13:20
week and I'm just so glad that this
13:23
group
13:23
is well-known in the small business
13:26
community at the South Bay now let me
13:30
let me get into the the real estate
13:34
buying and selling for a second
13:37
when a person comes to you to buy I was
13:42
looking at your website and you have a
13:46
down payment assistant program correct
13:49
yes that's right we work with the
13:52
company called landed and what they do
13:54
is they provide matching downpayment
13:57
assistance to any local school teachers
14:00
kiss trainer or pullies they're looking
14:04
to get into home ownership we've
14:06
recently helped several people in the
14:09
Redondo Beach Unified School District
14:11
the Hawthorne uh School District get
14:14
into a home ownership and stop paying
14:16
the landlord mortgage very cool before
14:22
we wrap this up uh tell me the last
14:26
property that you sold tell me about
14:30
last property sold was a duplex it was
14:33
over here at the city of Gardena and
14:35
that is an interesting the case so the
14:38
owner lived down in South Orange County
14:40
her dad built it back in 1941 it was
14:44
just a little two-bedroom one-bath house
14:46
and then 1947 Edyta
14:49
identical 2-bedroom 1-bath in the back
14:51
and he passed away maybe 15-20 years ago
14:56
and my client inherited it and I
14:59
couldn't believe it she had two tenants
15:02
that were there for maybe ten plus years
15:04
and each one more or less took over so
15:08
one of them had a large camper in the
15:10
back I think he was subletting out the
15:13
other one was a hoarder he had like 20
15:15
TVs and his little two bedroom unit and
15:17
that we brought in our crew and you know
15:21
unfortunately she had to do an eviction
15:22
to get those two tenants out but once we
15:25
did the sheriff lockout we got our
15:26
handyman over there and we refinished
15:29
the polling
15:31
we got our landscaper to take the
15:35
trailer off our hand we rebuilt the
15:37
fence we rely on placate both the front
15:41
and back yard and sure enough we put it
15:43
on the market and got it sold in less
15:46
than a week to a well-qualified investor
15:49
all cash and filled it as is very cool
15:53
now tell me about your most recently
15:57
listed property okay well we're working
16:01
on a seller right now we're in the
16:03
spring selling season and the most
16:05
recent is a four bedroom four and a half
16:09
bath 3300 square foot a luxury home and
16:12
it's in the 2.3 million dollar range so
16:16
that is a property that not most buyers
16:20
here in the South Bay can necessarily
16:21
afford but one thing I wanted to mention
16:24
is the South baby and proximity to Los
16:27
Angeles the Hollywood movie industry
16:32
we've got several sports professional
16:36
sporting teams now with the Los Angeles
16:38
Rams as well as the Los Angeles chargers
16:40
moving to the area so there's a lot of
16:44
high net worth individuals that may be
16:46
looking for a home of that stature so
16:49
we're going to be staging it fully
16:51
staged with the modern furniture
16:54
decorating it we've done some minor
16:57
cosmetics to make it appear as if it was
17:00
a brand new home and it's going to be
17:02
going on the market next week and we're
17:05
going to have a broker's open on
17:06
Thursday and public open houses every
17:09
weekend till we get it under contract so
17:11
if you looking for a beautiful two-story
17:13
Mediterranean and the Greater Southie
17:15
really city of Redondo Beach we would
17:19
love to hear from you and have you come
17:21
check it out you just reminded me of the
17:26
Redondo and Hermosa along the coast
17:30
they're pretty big for the the kings and
17:33
Laker Lakers and a lot of Lakers the
17:39
king Dodgers matter of fact
17:44
another notable client that we recently
17:46
worked with was Kenley Jansen the
17:50
pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers
17:52
helped him buy a home here in South
17:55
Torrance about two years ago and we
17:58
worked through his agent and sure enough
17:59
he was in the process of renewing his
18:01
contract with the LA Dodgers and he was
18:05
even so anxious to get into the home we
18:07
leased it out to him while he was in
18:08
escrow
18:09
very neat that's me that's a great story
18:12
well Sam I appreciate your time I would
18:15
love if you would give your website as
18:18
well as how to get a hold of you through
18:20
the old-fashioned means called the phone
18:23
sure okay well our website known as w w
18:28
amazing South Bay home dot-com and you
18:32
can reach me directly on my cell and
18:35
that's three one oh eight six six seven
18:38
five nine eight we're also all over
18:42
social media we have a social media
18:44
business page on Facebook it's called
18:46
Xavier and Xavier Realtors you can go
18:49
there as well as we have a kind of a
18:52
love branded Facebook page which matches
18:55
our data identity on the internet that's
18:57
called amazing South Bay home very neat
19:01
Sam I appreciate your time and i really
19:05
suggest people get in touch with you
19:07
when they they have any real estate
19:08
questions or needs yeah yeah we welcome
19:12
you to come to one of our many offices
19:14
we were based here in Revere village on
19:17
Lane Avenue and Sal for John Doe beach
19:19
we also have a Torrance office here on
19:22
Hawthorne Boulevard and South torrent
19:24
but wherever you'd like to meet we're
19:26
always open to coming to your place it's
19:29
a little bit more convenient for you
19:32
very good champ I appreciate your time
19:35
thank you very much you're welcome Tim
19:39
it's be
from https://www.amazingsouthbayhomes.com/blog/south-bay-homes-sam-xavier-interview/
0 notes
mrcoreymonroe · 5 years
Text
Flying In Formation Led To Romance For Two Pilots
Flying in formation led to romance for two pilots. Illustration by Gabriel Campanario
I recently heard a friend say that she wasn’t ready to get another dog because she was still very sad about the loss of her previous dog about a year earlier.
A few months back, a different friend told me that he was reluctant to try online dating because he didn’t want to get hurt. Entering the dating arena placed him and his vulnerability front and center.
Subscribe today to Plane & Pilot magazine for industry news, reviews and much more delivered straight to you!
We sometimes say that timing is everything, and in a way, that’s true. With many of life’s events, we don’t get the luxury of picking the when.
But what about being ready for when surprises do pop up? Like a plane off your wingtip?
About five years ago, I was not dating. I had taken myself off the market, or whatever you’d like to call it. I was resigned to just being single.
A few weeks before Christmas in 2015, my good friend was hosting a holiday party in Orlando. If you know me, you know that I loathe driving, and even on its best day, Florida’s Interstate 4 is hellacious. The trip would’ve been approximately three hours each way, which really isn’t a big deal. But I have a valid airmen certificate and an airplane ready to fly—and it’s a 35-minute flight. It was an easy call. I’d just fly. I woke that morning to sparkling sunshine, clear skies and light winds. A perfect day for flying.
When I fly, I always patch in my iPhone so I can listen to music. With good music playing, I lifted off from runway 5 around 10:30 a.m. Once airborne, I executed a gentle turn to the east. My route of flight would take me directly over a small airport called Pilot Country, but other than that, it was an easy, direct path to Orlando Executive Airport. I leveled off in the smooth air and settled in, enjoying the sights and sounds of the flight. As I approached Pilot Country Airport from the west, I keyed in its frequency and made an announcement that I would be over-flying the field from west to east at a thousand feet. It was a Friday morning, and I didn’t observe any other traffic, so I expected to continue my route of flight, uninterrupted. In that moment, how was I to know that my whole life was on the brink of changing forever?
A gentleman’s voice replied on the frequency, announcing that he was also in the vicinity, flying a Pitts. In short order, we figured out where we were in relation to each other, and then he asked if he could form up on my wing? A Pitts is an aerobatic biplane and has always been one of my favorites. As for forming up on my wing? “Um, sure?” I thought. It wasn’t normal, but it happened so quickly—and I’m always one for some impromptu fun, so I said, yes.
A black biplane popped up next to me, just as quickly and unexpected as could be. I snapped some pics with my iPhone, and the cheeky aviator asked if I’d kindly text those to him. He proceeded to give his phone number over the frequency, and I sent them along, realizing I had just given my number to a stranger, possibly the stalker-type. We flew along in a loose formation for a few moments before he peeled off, zooming off into the blue sky from which he’d emerged only seconds earlier. I continued to Orlando, the rest of the flight uneventful. I met my friend and recounted the strange encounter I’d just had.
The mysterious Pitts flyer and I began exchanging text messages. I had no idea who he was, just a fellow flyer on a sunny day. Intrigued, I agreed to meet him at a small area airport a week later.
On the day we planned to meet, it was another lovely day, warm for December but good for flying. I arrived at Zephyrhills Municipal Airport before him and parked Daisy, the Champ, near the main runway. I always keep a blanket aboard for such occasions and spread it below the wing to sit and wait. A few moments later, I heard the authoritative sound of a powerful engine, and the black Pitts roared down the runway, abruptly pulling up into a steep climb and making a turn to re-enter the pattern. The Pitts landed and taxied up, parking next to me. I was suddenly kind of nervous! The moment of truth had arrived: Who was this mysterious charmer? The canopy opened, and a dark-haired man pulled himself from the narrow cockpit. I froze, staying seated right where I was, totally losing my cool. Seconds later, he finally stood before me: a handsome, clean-cut guy around my age named Mike. I observed no wedding ring, another good sign. We were both nervous to meet one another, I could tell! He sat upon the blanket beside me, and we got to talking, sharing a beautiful afternoon in each other’s company.
Mike, the bold Pitts flyer, and I were married on February 22, 2018—and if you put those digits down, they make up the radio frequency on which we met (122.8). I might not believe that story if it were not my own—but you just never know what life has up its sleeve. Was I ready to meet Mike? I would’ve probably said that I wasn’t, but we were obviously meant to meet. I have often wondered at the timing—two minutes in either direction, and we could’ve missed one another.
There’s no such thing as being ready, but it serves us well to anticipate the good that can come when we least expect it. The universe listens. Things can and sometimes will go wrong, but more often than not, they go right. Try being ready to receive good things, believe in it, and keep your eyes on the sky.
Have you had a close call or a cool aviation experience that left a lasting impression? We’d love to share your story in the magazine! We’re looking for stories that are between 1,100 and 1,500 words long that tell a great story. If you’re interested, you can always write us a note outlining your experience and we’ll get back to you right away. The pay is small potatoes, $101, but if your story is chosen, you’ll get to work with our great illustrator Gabriel Campanario and have him bring your memory to life.
Email us (sorry, no phone calls or snail mail) at [email protected] and put Lessons Learned Submission in the subject line.
Did you miss our last installment of Lessons Learned? Check out the archive now!
The post Flying In Formation Led To Romance For Two Pilots appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.
from Plane & Pilot Magazine http://bit.ly/2RUIgtN
0 notes
columbusnj · 6 years
Text
Idaho has built homes faster than any state but Utah, Census says. But is it enough? | Idaho Statesman
Even as it struggles to shelter its rapidly growing population, Idaho built new housing units at a faster pace than all but one other state, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday.
Between July 1, 2016, and July 1, 2017, Idaho was the second fastest-growing state in the nation in terms of housing construction, with an increase of 1.7 percent in the number of single family houses, condominiums, apartments and other units.
Only neighboring Utah — where the number of housing units increased by 2.1 percent in the same period — grew faster. And in the seven years since the last census, Idaho was No. 4 in terms of housing unit growth, as the nation built itself out of the Great Recession. The state’s housing stock grew by 8.1 percent between April 1, 2010, and July 1, 2017, according to the new federal data, lagging behind only North Dakota, Utah and Texas.
Such a rapid rate of home construction might come as a surprise to some residents of the Treasure Valley, the Gem State’s most populous region.
Help us deliver journalism that makes a difference in our community.
Our journalism takes a lot of time, effort, and hard work to produce. If you read and enjoy our journalism, please consider subscribing today.
SUBSCRIBE TODAY
This is where a lack of supply pushed the median price of a single family home to record heights this spring before cooling slightly in April. Where a house that sells for less than $200,000 is increasingly a pipe dream. Where rents are high and vacancy rates low. Where it’s hard to have a conversation that doesn’t turn – quickly – to real estate and the relative merits of sprawl versus density.
IndieDwell is a local company constructing modular homes out of shipping containers to help solve the affordable housing crisis. We took a tour through one of these modular homes to see exactly how a shipping container is turned into a suitable dw Kelsey [email protected]
Where just two days before the Census Bureau released its numbers, Mayor Dave Bieter and the Boise City Council convened a special strategy session to discuss affordable housing and the scant tools that exist in Idaho to help cities spur an increase in this most necessary of commodities. It was the second in a series of council strategy sessions that focus on how to address the need for housing. More housing. Lots more housing.
Underscoring Boise’s clashing needs, city government also is planning a series of workshops to focus on the contentious issue of growth in the City of Trees. In announcing that effort earlier this spring, Bieter said “we hope to create a constructive dialogue around dense, compact development and the effects of sprawl.”
Idaho is the fastest growing state in the nation, and in recent months a loud chorus has emerged, lamenting the loss of local landmarks and fighting proposed subdivisions that they say imperil agricultural land and the precious open space that makes this region special.
At an April town hall meeting convened by Bieter and the City Council to allow residents to talk about whatever was on their minds, only three of the 21 who addressed the officials brought up issues unrelated to growth. More than half were troubled by the pace of growth in the city. Two were unabashedly pro-growth. One wanted more open space, another, more affordable housing.
For those, including Bieter, who are proponents of the region’s growth, the census numbers offered a cautious sliver of hope.
Between 2011 and 2015, developers built more new houses, condos and apartments than were needed to shelter the people pouring into the state. The Census Bureau pegs the average household size in Idaho at 2.69 people. (Insert fractional person joke here). Between 2011 and 2012, for example, the state added 11,493 more people. It needed 4,272 houses to shelter them. Developers built 5,948.
However, during the recession, home construction slowed dramatically, even as the population continued to grow. Which means that there is pent-up need that must be met. And in the most recent two years for which statistics are available, population growth outstripped housing growth.
Related stories from Idaho Statesman
You can still buy newly built Valley houses for under $200K. For now. But forget Boise.
Idaho’s biggest home builder says ‘we’re pushing’ to build more amid house shortage
And while “the nation’s housing stock grew by more than 1 million last year, reaching over 137 million units,” the Census Bureau said in a written statement, “…housing unit growth last year remained below 2007 levels in nearly all states.” Only five states managed to climb back to their 2007 housing growth rates, according to the bureau. Idaho was not one of them.
Looking forward, Derick O’Neill, the city’s director of planning and development services, told Bieter and the Council at the Tuesday housing strategy session that they will only see more people and the need for more housing in years to come.
“In 20 years, we will grow, and these numbers are conservative but it’s a good starting point, 50,000 new residents, 20,000 new households, and 1,000 living units per year,” O’Neill said. “We have really transitioned from a single family dominant housing world to a variety of choices and a lot of different products.”
Still, the planning staff told Beiter and the council on Tuesday that developers have been building below available density levels. Building codes were eased in January to allow for houses with smaller rooms and lower ceilings and to encourage so-called tiny houses in an effort to spur denser construction of more affordable housing.
Such construction is much needed, said city building official Jason Blais, because, “in the last decade, decade and a half, we’ve seen larger homes, not just in Boise, but throughout the country. There’s just not many small and medium single-family dwellings in that 1,100-1,500 square foot range that we used to see.”
Blais said he recently did an analysis of all new single family dwellings built in the city from March, 2017, to March, 2018. Of the 913 homes built, he said, the average was just shy of 2,200 square feet. His figures included townhouses and so-called accessory dwelling units, which are smaller structures built on the same lots as existing homes.
“If you took those out, I think the square-footage average would be even a little bit higher,” Blais said. “We have a lot of homes that, if you take 600 square feet off that 2,200 square feet, that could reduce the cost by $90,000, $96,000. … For a 1,600 square foot home, with that reduction, more people would qualify for a loan and afford to buy a home.”
The Census Bureau’s housing data only included information on the state and county level, rather than cities. Between July 1, 2016, and July 1, 2017, Ada County added 4,598 new housing units, for a growth rate of 2.6 percent. Canyon County added 1,857 units, growing 2.5 percent.
The new census data also included updated population numbers for cities of all sizes. The only Idaho municipality to make the list of 15 fastest-growing enclaves of 50,000 or more was Meridian, Boise’s rival in all things growth-related. Between July 1, 2016 and July 1, 2017, Meridian was the 10th fastest growing city in America. Its population grew 4.7 percent, adding 4,490 people.
Scot Oliver, executive director of Idaho Smart Growth, rues the fact that developers have largely stopped building smaller, affordable homes, instead focusing on “these giant homes on big lots with infrastructure that can handle four to five people in a house.” He worries about the pace of home building evidenced in the new census data – and the location of the state’s newest subdivisions.
“When you think about the land impacts and transportation impacts of that kind of growth in the long term,” Oliver said, “we’ll run out of farmland and any kind of open space. That’s where it really gets tricky.
“We’re building these houses further and further out,” he continued. “People will sit in their car to get back and forth to work. They’ll say, just add another lane of traffic. That doesn’t work.”
Maria L. La Ganga: 208 377 6431, @mlaganga
Source Article
The post Idaho has built homes faster than any state but Utah, Census says. But is it enough? | Idaho Statesman appeared first on COLUMBUS-NJ.
More Info At: http://www.columbus-nj.com/idaho-has-built-homes-faster-than-any-state-but-utah-census-says-but-is-it-enough-idaho-statesman/
0 notes
newstfionline · 7 years
Text
Unease in Colombia, as Old Enemies Become New Neighbors
By Nicholas Casey, NY Times, Feb. 4, 2017
LA PAZ, Colombia--The town’s name is Spanish for “peace.” The days to come will test how accurate that is.
After a half-century of war, Colombia’s rebels are disarming, preparing to enter civilian life under the peace accord signed last year. In this mountain town, a new settlement of former fighters, 80 strong and growing, is taking shape, one of many scattered across the country.
Gone are most of the uniforms, replaced with the kind of clothes worn by the townspeople who live nearby and watch warily. The tents and their wooden poles will be swept aside too, replaced with a small library, a community center, a store--a town in miniature, a steppingstone out of the jungle.
“We’ve spent 52 years in hammocks,” said the fighters’ commander, who still uses his nom de guerre, Aldemar Altamiranda. “It’s time we moved into tiny houses.”
Across the country, an estimated 7,000 rebels with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, will hand their guns to United Nations monitors this year. The weapons will be melted down and shaped into war monuments. The FARC, too, hopes to transform, becoming a political group representing the left, like those that emerged after the guerrilla wars of Nicaragua and El Salvador.
The settlement in La Paz, called Tierra Grata, is the vanguard of the effort to carry out Colombia’s disputed peace accord. The deal was struck down by a popular vote late last year, only to be forced through Congress by President Juan Manuel Santos, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for pursuing an end to decades of conflict.
But the president’s decision to put the deal in front of voters--and then simply sidestep them when he did not like the outcome--is a bitter pill for many Colombians, leaving the future of the accord uncertain should Mr. Santos’s opponents take power when he leaves office next year.
La Paz is clear evidence of the country’s lingering divisions: While the referendum was supported here, four in 10 residents voted to strike down the peace deal. Some still harbor bitter memories of the war--and of an enemy who once preyed upon them but has suddenly become a neighbor.
“Many have the ability to forgive, but we can’t forget the violence we all lived in that time,” said Julio Fuentes, 42, a physician who said he voted against the accord. Mr. Fuentes, whose brother was killed in the late 1990s, said he had made his peace with the guerrillas.
But for many, he warned, “It will be their individual choice if they do, too.”
The settlement for fighters here is among the most developed, a ranch-size expanse where bulldozers have cleared off brush and tangleweed. On the red earth sits a soccer field, a concrete dining hall and a reception area where the government hopes rebels will begin to meet family members abandoned years ago.
The only armed people here are the rebels. The perimeter is guarded by the Colombian military, which is adjusting to a new role: protecting the guerrillas rather than fighting them.
A United Nations contingent is also stationed here, charged with collecting the weapons of the rebels before they leave for good.
The settlement has become a place of reflection. Now without a war, the rebels spend the days contemplating what life they will choose next. Will they return to the villages they left and work the land? Will they enter the new political party that rebel leaders have pledged to create?
“Many look at how politics is done here, with a tie and a nice car and all the money and they say: ‘We can’t do that, we don’t want to,’” said Yimmy Ríos, 47, a rebel intelligence agent at the settlement. He said it will be a challenge for the guerrillas to inch into a political landscape where they are unschooled in running a campaign.
Their first constituency to win over is the skeptical community of La Paz.
The town, which sits at the foothills of the Sierra de Perijá, a steep mountain range that long served as a rebel redoubt, spent years ravaged both by the FARC and its paramilitary enemies. In 1997, the mayor was shot dead by armed men in his office, one of countless killings that residents attribute to the guerrillas.
That troubled history was in mind for Alcides Daza Quintero, the 27-year-old deputy mayor, when he turned on the television last August and saw Mr. Santos announcing the peace deal from the presidential palace. With the announcement came a surprise: The government said it and the FARC had chosen La Paz as one of the zones they would settle to disarm.
“It was like a blow,” Mr. Quintero said, explaining that the town had not been consulted in the decision by either side. “To receive a group from the margins of the law like this. We were hit so hard by them.”
The rest of the town was deeply ambivalent. Some came to protest at the mayor’s office. Others, like Juan Martinez, a community leader in the nearby village of San José del Oriente, argued that the presence of the rebels would be a good thing, bringing the state’s attention to his village, which receives water for only two hours a day.
“We’ve gotten promises out of these accords,” he said. “There is, you could say, the start of reconciliation.”
The FARC pushed ahead, descending from the mountains and onto a plot of land not far from La Paz this fall. But there they received a cold welcome: Members of the Yukpa, a seminomadic indigenous group who controlled the plot, told the rebels that they were not welcome and would soon need to go elsewhere.
Then came the October referendum, a surprise rejection for the rebels.
The FARC’s top commanders quickly reassured the public that, despite the failure of the deal, they were open to renegotiations and would not return to war. And Mr. Altamiranda, the commander in La Paz, decided it was time to meet his skeptics in public.
On a night in late October, hundreds gathered in a municipal park, as church leaders, politicians and rebel leaders discussed the deal. Victims took the microphone and told of their loved ones who were killed during the war. Mr. Altamiranda gave a public apology for the rebels’ crimes.
The events managed to move leaders like Sol Marina Torres, 39, a member of the Democratic Center, the right-wing party that led the campaign against the deal and is continuing efforts to scuttle it. Ms. Torres decided to side against her party’s leaders and support the guerrilla presence in her town, saying there was no choice but to make peace.
“I can’t agree with everything of that party,” Ms. Torres said. “I can’t turn my back on my community’s well-being.”
Not all public events have gone as well.
An uproar occurred during a visit by the news media early this year when videos emerged of rebels dancing with United Nations officials who were meant to oversee the disarmament process. Opponents of the deal seized on the tape, and four members of the mission were soon fired.
The government sees more than disarmament at work in these settlements, eyeing a chance to develop vast tracts of countryside that spent decades out of its reach during the conflict. One of the settlements lies in a distant coastal jungle; another sits at the end of a road mainly reached by mule.
None have seen a stable government presence in decades, if ever at all.
“We are talking about places where the FARC have been: There was no water, no electricity,” said Carlos Córdoba, the government director of the so-called Rural Zones.
In the camp outside La Paz, some aspects of guerrilla life remain. The fighters still wake at 4:30 a.m., though to take classes on the peace deal, rather than to march. One guerrilla patrolled the camp warily with a gun slung over his shoulder.
Others scenes have changed. At the entrance of the camp, a young guerrilla was embracing her relatives. The family was in tears.
Most of the fighters interviewed said they planned to remain with the FARC, which they saw as their family now, following it into whatever political incarnation it takes in the coming years.
“There was no way out where I was from,” said Yackeline, 32, a fighter who ran away to a rebel camp when she was 13 because she says it was the only place that she could receive an education.
She had not contacted her family, but she said she would. She was taking little steps, one at a time, each adjustment to a life after the conflict coming with surprises.
“We wake up on mattresses tired, like we haven’t slept,” she said. “We are just not used to them.”
0 notes
mrcoreymonroe · 5 years
Text
Flying In Formation Led To Romance For Two Pilots
Flying in formation led to romance for two pilots. Illustration by Gabriel Campanario
I recently heard a friend say that she wasn’t ready to get another dog because she was still very sad about the loss of her previous dog about a year earlier.
A few months back, a different friend told me that he was reluctant to try online dating because he didn’t want to get hurt. Entering the dating arena placed him and his vulnerability front and center.
Subscribe today to Plane & Pilot magazine for industry news, reviews and much more delivered straight to you!
We sometimes say that timing is everything, and in a way, that’s true. With many of life’s events, we don’t get the luxury of picking the when.
But what about being ready for when surprises do pop up? Like a plane off your wingtip?
About five years ago, I was not dating. I had taken myself off the market, or whatever you’d like to call it. I was resigned to just being single.
A few weeks before Christmas in 2015, my good friend was hosting a holiday party in Orlando. If you know me, you know that I loathe driving, and even on its best day, Florida’s Interstate 4 is hellacious. The trip would’ve been approximately three hours each way, which really isn’t a big deal. But I have a valid airmen certificate and an airplane ready to fly—and it’s a 35-minute flight. It was an easy call. I’d just fly. I woke that morning to sparkling sunshine, clear skies and light winds. A perfect day for flying.
When I fly, I always patch in my iPhone so I can listen to music. With good music playing, I lifted off from runway 5 around 10:30 a.m. Once airborne, I executed a gentle turn to the east. My route of flight would take me directly over a small airport called Pilot Country, but other than that, it was an easy, direct path to Orlando Executive Airport. I leveled off in the smooth air and settled in, enjoying the sights and sounds of the flight. As I approached Pilot Country Airport from the west, I keyed in its frequency and made an announcement that I would be over-flying the field from west to east at a thousand feet. It was a Friday morning, and I didn’t observe any other traffic, so I expected to continue my route of flight, uninterrupted. In that moment, how was I to know that my whole life was on the brink of changing forever?
A gentleman’s voice replied on the frequency, announcing that he was also in the vicinity, flying a Pitts. In short order, we figured out where we were in relation to each other, and then he asked if he could form up on my wing? A Pitts is an aerobatic biplane and has always been one of my favorites. As for forming up on my wing? “Um, sure?” I thought. It wasn’t normal, but it happened so quickly—and I’m always one for some impromptu fun, so I said, yes.
A black biplane popped up next to me, just as quickly and unexpected as could be. I snapped some pics with my iPhone, and the cheeky aviator asked if I’d kindly text those to him. He proceeded to give his phone number over the frequency, and I sent them along, realizing I had just given my number to a stranger, possibly the stalker-type. We flew along in a loose formation for a few moments before he peeled off, zooming off into the blue sky from which he’d emerged only seconds earlier. I continued to Orlando, the rest of the flight uneventful. I met my friend and recounted the strange encounter I’d just had.
The mysterious Pitts flyer and I began exchanging text messages. I had no idea who he was, just a fellow flyer on a sunny day. Intrigued, I agreed to meet him at a small area airport a week later.
On the day we planned to meet, it was another lovely day, warm for December but good for flying. I arrived at Zephyrhills Municipal Airport before him and parked Daisy, the Champ, near the main runway. I always keep a blanket aboard for such occasions and spread it below the wing to sit and wait. A few moments later, I heard the authoritative sound of a powerful engine, and the black Pitts roared down the runway, abruptly pulling up into a steep climb and making a turn to re-enter the pattern. The Pitts landed and taxied up, parking next to me. I was suddenly kind of nervous! The moment of truth had arrived: Who was this mysterious charmer? The canopy opened, and a dark-haired man pulled himself from the narrow cockpit. I froze, staying seated right where I was, totally losing my cool. Seconds later, he finally stood before me: a handsome, clean-cut guy around my age named Mike. I observed no wedding ring, another good sign. We were both nervous to meet one another, I could tell! He sat upon the blanket beside me, and we got to talking, sharing a beautiful afternoon in each other’s company.
Mike, the bold Pitts flyer, and I were married on February 22, 2018—and if you put those digits down, they make up the radio frequency on which we met (122.8). I might not believe that story if it were not my own—but you just never know what life has up its sleeve. Was I ready to meet Mike? I would’ve probably said that I wasn’t, but we were obviously meant to meet. I have often wondered at the timing—two minutes in either direction, and we could’ve missed one another.
There’s no such thing as being ready, but it serves us well to anticipate the good that can come when we least expect it. The universe listens. Things can and sometimes will go wrong, but more often than not, they go right. Try being ready to receive good things, believe in it, and keep your eyes on the sky.
Have you had a close call or a cool aviation experience that left a lasting impression? We’d love to share your story in the magazine! We’re looking for stories that are between 1,100 and 1,500 words long that tell a great story. If you’re interested, you can always write us a note outlining your experience and we’ll get back to you right away. The pay is small potatoes, $101, but if your story is chosen, you’ll get to work with our great illustrator Gabriel Campanario and have him bring your memory to life.
Email us (sorry, no phone calls or snail mail) at [email protected] and put Lessons Learned Submission in the subject line.
Did you miss our last installment of Lessons Learned? Check out the archive now!
The post Flying In Formation Led To Romance For Two Pilots appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.
from Plane & Pilot Magazine http://bit.ly/2RUIgtN
0 notes