15 years

As I mentioned a few days ago, there's just been too much mortality in my life and on my mind. Today is the fifteenth anniversary of my Dad's death. It's just mind boggling how fast the years have gone by, but there it is. May 14, 2011. Fifteen years.

 

 

Eight years. I'm boggled by this.

Lost in all the drama with the Kona house yesterday was the eighth anniversary of my Mom's passing. In May it will be fifteen years for my Dad. I still can't get over how fast the years go by. It doesn't seem that long at all for either of them. I also don't think they'd like the changes made to the Kona house. I know I still don't understand the tan walls. It's just so blah.

 

It really is a beautiful, peaceful place.

So I just found out my Dad's Hawaii house is back on the market AGAIN

I don't know what's going on here, but after my Dad's old house in Kailua-Kona sold for $1.3 million in August of 2024 (after being listed for nearly $1.6 million), last night I discovered that it went back on the market in December for just under $1.5 million. 

 

2024's drama:

 

 Surprise! It's baaaaack!

 

A couple weeks ago they reduced the price to $1.45 million, which means even if they get that, they make $150k profit? Is it worth flipping a house like this for that amount of money? It doesn't seem like it. And that doesn't take into consideration what they spent on it since August of 2024.

 

I had no idea it was purchased as a flip, but that's what it looks like. From the pictures, they made two major changes: they removed the carpet and replaced it with wood floors, and painted the interior a very blah shade of tan. I don't know who thought that was a good idea - if I bought the house, the first thing I'd do is paint the walls white again. This does the exact opposite of brightening the place up. I think the place looked a lot better when my Dad had it.

 

 

Bleah. Now to see what they manage to get for it. Kona House Watch 2026, baby!

 

Update 3/21/26: It's under contract (as opposed to sold). I wonder what the offer is. I also bet the neighbors are getting sick of the constant turnover. And I still can't get over how crappy the beigey floors and ceiling are. Someone actually thought that was a good idea. Ick.

 

Updated 5/6/26: Sold. $1,400,000. They made $100,000 after all the "upgrades" and a year and nine months of paying for it. Hope it was worth it. Hope it finally has owners who want to live in it, love it, and not flip it in another year and a half. Aloha.

 

Memorieeeeesss...

Pictures from Kona, when I was there in 2011 when my Dad died. Gorgeous place. Doesn't seem that long ago. The years have really flown by.

 

 

So, my Dad's Hawaii house is on the market

Yup, it's for sale again.

So here's the deal:

My Dad died in May 2011. We were warned that the housing market in Hawaii at that time was rough. More than one person had a story about someone they knew who had been trying to sell their house for 2-3 years. After the first realtor was unable to even get an offer, we got a new awesome realtor who listed it at $649,000, eventually dropping the price to $625,000, which is what it sold for in 2013. The buyers were from Northern California - a veteran turned college professor who had just retired from teaching, and his wife, a nurse who had secured a job at the hospital in Kona.

They sold the house in early 2018 for $845,000. Those are the buyers who listed it in April for $1,590,000. A little over six years after they bought it, they nearly doubled the price. 

There was a measly reduction to $1,491,000 in early June and there it has sat ever since. As nice of a house as it is, I think it's overpriced. I have no idea if they're desperate to move it - based on the price, I don't think so - or why they're selling. But I do check it every few days to see what's happening. Not much lately.

There were some changes made to the interior and it's weird seeing how hard it is to recognize certain parts of the house. But what really got me was this photo of the view from the lanai/backyard:

The house has absolutely spectacular sunset views and this picture reminded me so much of some of the pictures I took while I was there in 2011.

I hope whoever ends up with this house loves it as much as we did.

Updated 7/30/24: Yesterday the house's status changed from "For Sale" to "Accepting Backups", which means they're considering an offer, but are also accepting lower, backup offers. I wonder what the highest offer is, if it's anywhere near the asking price. I still think it's overpriced, but real estate is a crazy world and I guess we'll see what it eventually goes for. I also hope whoever buys it stays there for a long time. This will be the third time it's been sold since my Dad died. While it's not as big, grandiose, or resort-like as many of the other houses in the area, it's a nice house in a nice location. Someone should love it as much as we did.

Updated 8/30/24: The house just sold for $1.3 million. I still think whoever bought it overpaid, but on the other hand for that area, it's one of the less expensive homes. I wonder if the sellers were disappointed that they got almost $300,000 less than what they were asking. At least it didn't take long - the house was only on the market for four months. My Dad originally bought it (around 1997) for $475,000. I wonder what he'd think of what it just went for.

Happy Father's Day

My Dad would be 83 if he was around for this Father's Day.

Crazy how time marches on. 

Happy Day to all you Dads out there!

My Dad would be 83 today

October 8, forever and always Dad's birthday. Here he is, in his favorite place.

September Words of Wisdom

Slow month...

 

There is no exquisite beauty without some strangeness. --Edgar Allan Poe

 

Everybody has these grandiose dreams and these daydreams about success and fame and power, and I always say winning never visits you in your daydreams. It sees you in your nightmares. --Unknown

 

And finally...

Personally, I dig this shit...Noir is the most scrutinized offshoot of the hard-boiled school of fiction. It's the long drop off the short pier, and the wrong man and the wrong woman in perfect misalliance. It's the nightmare of flawed souls with big dreams, and the precise how and why of the all-time sure thing that goes bad. Noir is opportunity, it's fatality, social justice as a sanctified shuck, and sexual love as a one-way ticket to hell. --James Ellroy Note: I'm currently taking a film noir class, and check out this (which is where this quote came from): LA Film Noir: The Capital of Hollywood's Most Pessimistic Era.

Prayers for Maui

The beautiful island of Maui has been hammered by wildfires. Three, to be exact:

The West Maui wildfire tore through the historic town of Lahaina last week. Historic Front Street was decimated. The pictures I've seen online make the place look like a war zone. The body count is up to 100 as of today, making it the most lethal fire in the U.S. in a century. Many people were caught with little to no warning to evacuate, and many in Lahaina have lost both their homes and places of employment.

My Mom and Dad lived in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island for years, and would take trips to other parts of Hawaii. Their favorite destination was Hilo, on the other side of the island, but they also went to Kauai, Pearl Harbor, and in October 2009 they visited Maui. Here are some pictures from that trip:

Lahaina:

Mom in Lahaina Town.

One of three boats they saw on their trip that were sunk or run aground.

Haleakala Volcano:

Elevation 10,000' per my Dad's note on the back.

Makawao:

 

"Great shops!" according to Mom.

My Mom never met a fake cow she didn't like.

Note the cowboy boots.

 

Kahului Harbor:

 

Beautiful boat run aground in Kahului Harbor. Dad's note: "OOOPS again!"

Maui Ocean Center:

No note about where in Maui this was taken, but my Mom did note that it was the "Third ship we saw in trouble."

 

 Mom at what is described only as "a viewpoint":

There are not words to describe the devastation to this paradise. To make things worse, being an island, they're cut off from communications and assistance that people on the mainland could count on. I believe they did fly tourists off the island within the past couple of days. Right now we can donate and pray, and hope for the best for so many people who have lost everything through no fault of their own. And even if that's all you can do, it shows more care than some people have for this tragedy.