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BEN LEE’S BLOG
Saturday Night Fever
Being a supporter of a local elementary school means more than just haphazardly signing a check and mailing it in. Although, that is certainly a generous gesture and gratefully accepted by every school around town… but to truly support a local school, one must don a shiny purple blouse and gold medallion should the occasion call for it. Castle Heights Elementary had its annual spring auction this past weekend and it was a disco theme. Because I sponsor the raffle, I get the honor of pulling the first and second place winning raffle tickets out of a bucket of roughly 14,000. Selling raffle tickets and holding auctions are just two ways schools try to earn extra money. And the phenomenon isn’t limited to just public schools. Private schools do it, too. The resources are so limited that the schools need a variety of fundraisers to give students as much as possible. Of course, at most private schools, those resources may be the newest in technology like an extra 3D printer or state-of-the-art laptops for every student. The needs at most public schools, especially those in the greater Los Angeles area, are a bit more humble. The librarians, teachers’ aides, computer labs, even most physical education programs are paid for from fundraising efforts such as raffle tickets and auctions. This idea seems to directly correlate to what is considered a ‘great neighborhood school.’ Yes, the teachers are important and so is a strong principal. But, what really makes the difference between a great school and one that is just OK is how active the parents are in raising money. The parents who really roll their sleeves up and commit not only to fundraising but to involving other families in working together for the greater good- these are the men and women who can help take a school that’s struggling to one that is really strong. And, we in real estate know that a strong neighborhood school benefits every homeowner, not just the ones whose kids may or may not attend the local elementary school. One of the first questions I get when showing a property is: ‘How is the school?’ The better the school, the more valuable a home is.
So, yes- proudly, I will put on the tackiest disco shirt I can find and boogie on down to help raise money for our beloved local elementary school. It’s one donation I can honestly say I see the direct benefit from and I’m always happy to do it year after year.
Twenty Questions
When people find out I’m a realtor, they usually ask me a handful of friendly questions I find interesting. If they’re neighbors, they typically ask about new construction in the area and if I know the builder or what type of a house it will be. Neighbors always are understandably curious about recent home sales and how much money the homes went for. Sometimes they ask me if I knew why certain homes seemed to be on the market for an extended period of time. Many people are real estate enthusiasts and want to compare research they’ve done on Zillow to what actually exists and transpires in the marketplace. In a smallish community like either Cheviot Hills or Beverlywood, where there are a very small handful of local real estate experts, many people will ask if the realtors all get along or if there’s dramatic in fighting among us. (My lips are sealed on that front, by the way)!
The number one question I get, though, outside of the confines of what’s specific to one neighborhood or another is this: what should I do to improve my home’s value? It’s not an easy question to answer thoughtfully because a lot depends on the home itself, however, the quickest response is: bathrooms and kitchen. These are the showiest rooms of a home and are the most obvious examples of where money has been spent. Now, that only becomes the case when the infrastructure of a home has been handled first. In other words, a beautiful kitchen doesn’t matter too much if the roof is caving in. Fixing the inner network of a home has to be handled before anything else should be attempted, especially if money is an issue (and when is money not an issue?!).
The other caveat to the bathrooms/kitchen question is: don’t remodel a bathroom if you only have one bathroom. The money is better spent building a second one before prettying up the one that already exists. Similarly, if your home’s value is such that it will likely be sold as a tear-down anyway, it’s not worth your money to build yourself a new gorgeous kitchen that is just going to be destroyed when the new owner takes ownership. You should just be aware of your home’s ultimate worth before making a major decision when it comes to serious renovations. Oftentimes owners don’t have strong clarity when it comes to their own home and that’s when a realtor can come in and assess your property’s value without emotion playing a role in the decision.
So, when I get asked what a property owner should do to improve his home, the real answer is: whatever it is that makes him/her happy. If you have no immediate plans to sell your home, then go ahead and make the improvements you want that will actually improve your daily existence while living there. Sure, resale should be a factor in your long-term decision, but for immediate gratification, you should do whatever it is that makes you happy, not some phantom buyer who isn’t part of the equation. You want to paint all the walls purple and replace your granite countertops with Formica? More power to you! Just fix the leaks in the roof and clean out the sewer line first.
Opening Ceremonies
There is something about a neighborhood’s Little League baseball opening ceremonies that really makes you proud to be part of such a small town community. Most outsiders don’t think of Los Angeles or it’s regions as a small town but those of us who are either natives or have lived here most of our lives know the truth. No matter where you live within the confines of our vast city or how many commuters venture in or out on a daily basis, your neighborhood becomes your very own Small Town USA.
Nothing exemplified that idea more than witnessing the opening ceremonies this weekend for Cheviot Hills’ baseball Pony League. Moms and dads up early to flip pancakes and fry bacon for the annual big breakfast on the field. Local businesses (Ben Lee included!) sponsoring the festivities, shaking hands and meeting new families. Baseball games being played for the first time this season after weeks of practicing and bonding with teammates. And when it was time to start the opening ceremonies themselves, all the kids in the league, hundreds of smiling faces, taking the field at once, trying to contain their excitement, proud to be wearing their new uniforms for the first time, patiently enduring the remarks from league’s officials.
To get things started, everyone was asked to stand and remove his/her caps for the National Anthem, sung this year (much to the delight of the entire crowd) by one of the umpires, a usually gruff sort of gentleman who has been around so long he has literally watched generations of kids grown up on the fields from which he makes his calls. Tasked with this important job, he took the microphone and projected his voice with gusto, letting it soar across the diamond and into the stands. Once the thunderous applause died down, it was time to introduce each team and its coaches, dads who give so much of their time over to these young athletes, but do it out of such a palpable love of the game and the players, it’s infectious watching the pride they take in their job at hand and the benefit the kids gain from their efforts.
After each team ceremoniously tossed (and tried to catch) their brand new baseball caps in the air upon hearing the introduction of their team’s name, the league saved the best for last. They welcomed the youngest players into league by letting them run around the bases, receiving high fives and excited hand slaps by all the big kids, tapping their baseball caps and patting them on the backs. Their way of ushering the littlest guys into the fold, letting them know that they will always have lots of big brothers and a few proud sisters on the field looking out for them.
The day wouldn’t have been complete without the entire league, coaches and parents joining together to sing an extremely loud and slightly off-key version of Take Me Out to the Ballgame before splitting off to watch their teams play their first official games.
So, if you ever feel like you live in a huge soulless city, I encourage you to find your local little league and, even if you don’t have a child playing the game, just watch one anyway. It’s an easy way to make new friends and it will restore your faith that smaller neighborhoods and all the wholesome fun that goes along with it still very much exist.
Play Ball!
March Raffle: Enter to Win!
Back by popular demand, Ben Lee presents your chance to win a $50 dollar gift certificate to a local business!
This month, in honor of neighborhood baseball starting up again, we are raffling off a $50 gift certificate to everyone’s favorite post-game wrap up burger joint: Islands! Enjoy fifty dollars worth of all that fine food served with a festive Hawaiian flair.
To enter, simply email me: ben@benleeproperties.com and write ‘ISLANDS’ in the subject line. In the body of the email, let us know the best way to reach you. That’s it! We’ll pick a winner at random at the end of the month. And here’s a hint if you really want that competitive edge: You can double your chances to win by liking Ben Lee on Facebook.
Mahalo and good luck!
TV Time
Once my wife and I put our children to sleep we have very little alone time before we fall asleep, too. Like most people, our lives are such that we are extremely busy all day long and by the time the house is quiet and our boys have been fed, bathed and are finally in bed, we barely have enough energy to do much more than watch a few shows on TV before crashing out ourselves.
It’s a good thing there is such a plethora of television shows to watch- often times one of us wakes up in the middle of the night because the room is dark yet, in our exhausted state, the TV was left on.
We started binge watching The Walking Dead a few months ago and are almost caught up to present day. I think we’re in season 5, not sure. Truth be told- every episode is fairly the same yet we’re compelled to keep watching anyway. It’s like the comic book has sprung to life in 3D and we know that with each hour we watch we’ll probably scream in horror, have to shield our eyes from the blood and guts, there’ll be a zombie attack, beloved characters will be in peril and there’ll probably be an unexpected (is anything still really unexpected??) death of a character we’ve grown attached to. Producers of this show seem particularly relentless in this regard. The Walking Dead is one of those shows that is so hard to be behind the times with because every time you pass a newsstand or wait in line at the grocery store, those headlines from entertainment magazine covers shout spoilers that you’re desperately trying to shield yourself from.
Downton Abbey and The Good Wife are two other shows that we’ve spent many an evening with and we’ll be sad when both go off the air this year. The writing, acting and attention to detail in Downton are second to none. When you watch that show, you truly feel immersed in its world. There is never a note that is out of place and who (other than maybe the Queen of England) doesn’t dream of experiencing that level of grandeur with such impeccable service at least one time? It’s like flying first class every moment of the day. For us normal folk, it’s a fantasy come true.
The Good Wife, I must admit, started because my (very) good wife suggested we watch it based on a friend’s recommendation. I thought it would compromise every masculine bone in my body but now will confess that it’s actually a very engaging show. What began as a loose interpretation of witnessing so many government wives basically (and seemingly stoically) ‘standing by their man,’ has evolved more into a courtroom drama mixed with pretty compelling backroom political stories, most of which seen through the eyes of a complicated main character.
So, not the most intellectual way to spend my downtime, I’ll grant you that. Sure there are some books I could be reading, possibly some real estate journals, too. I could be pouring over the MLS to see all the intricate details in what sold and what’s new on the market. But, truth be told, by the time my day comes to a close, my mind needs a break and nothing lets an overworked brain mellow out more than watching a handful of zombies duke it out or rich English people being witty over a hot cup of tea.