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Live Like a King for $150 a Month?!?

With rental rates soaring across the nation, 8 lucky Hawaiian families are receiving the break of a lifetime, courtesy of Genshiro Kawamoto.  The Japanese billionaire announced in October that he he will rent some of his multimillion dollar homes in exclusive Kahala to 8 Native Hawaiian families... for $150 a month!

According to the Associated Press, Kawamoto has selected 8 families from some 3,000 applicants who will have the chance to live like kings at a peasant's price.  Not only will these families be allowed to live in these homes for 10 years, Kawamoto also presented them $1000 to help with moving expense.

One such recipient of his generosity was Dorie-Ann Kahale who, with her five daughters, had been living in a homeless shelter (image on left.)  She, along with 7 other families, received this letter from Kawamoto, informing her that she had been selected:

Kahala Avenue Mission
It is with great joy that I give you and your family this opportunity because you deserve it. 

I chose you and your family amongst many Hawaiian people. 

Please take and use this opportunity as your springboard so that you can reach even higher in the future!

I hope you will strive for the future and raise your children to be honorable, fine men and women.

My hope is that each of your children will become mature who someday will possess strong wings to take off for The World!

Let us work to raise our future generation so that they will contribute greatly to the world, from Kahala Avenue to the State of Hawaii, from the State of Hawaii to the United States of America, and to the World?

Genshiro Kawamoto

Kawamoto, who made his money as a real estate investor, reportedly bought 160 homes on Oahu in the 1980's as well, which he rented out below market value.  More recently, he bought 20 homes on the ultra-exclusive and pricey Kahala Avenue for a reported $115 million.  When asked why he decided to rent out his homes to underprivileged people rather than at market price, Kawamoto responded simply, "because the affluent people can help the least fortunate people." 

Not everyone is happy about his decision, though.  Current residents of Kahala are wary of these poor newcomers allowing their homes to fall into disrepair and thus bringing down the value of their posh neighborhood.

**Check out this slideshow of Kawamoto presenting the families with the keys to their new homes.

**If you were not selected or are interested in renting an apartment or house in Hawaii, HotPads has lots of listings... though I doubt you'll be able to find such a great deal.

High Pressure Home Shopping

Have you ever been released from a secret Chinese torture prison only to be given over to nuclear bomb wielding terrorists...having to escape said terrorists by biting the jugular of one of your captors?  And then learn that both your brother and father were involved in the assisination of the President a few years ago and are currently involved with the nuclear terrorism of your previous captors....and you didn't learn this by word of mouth or the newspaper, but by almost suffocating your brother to death with a plastic bag?

And then, in the middle of all of this, did you try to find an apartment in L.A. that is a bit cheaper and at a safe distance from a nuclear blast zone? 

Yes?  Then you are HotPads' newest celebrity user, Jack Bauer.  The membership email below was bounced back to HotPads on Friday.  I always thought CTU would have a .gov or .mil address.

More action this evening...9/8c on Fox.

Oodle Raises an additional $11 million

Oodle just announced that it raised a tidy sum ($11 million) from JAFCO Ventures, Greylock Partners, and RedPoint Ventures.

I just put this on the Real Estate Technology Timeline.  Remember to email timeline@hotpads.com if you have any updates.  You can find both technology and business developments on the timeline...so be sure to check it out!  (just a reminder...)

Carnival of Real Estate #34

The 34th edition of the Carnival of Real Estate is located on Mike's Corner and this week's winner was Trulia blog's "(Mis)adventures in home selling, part 3: The End."  Though there weren't too many submissions this week (did the fact that it was St. Patrick's day on Saturday have anything to do with that?), there is still a good bit of informative reading, so check it out. 

Next week's host is miOaklandCounty -- make sure to get your submissions in to the Carnival of Real Estate by Sunday at 3pm to be considered! 

& Happy Birthday to Einstein, Too!

It was just brought to my attention that it is also Albert Einstein's birthday. 

Albert was born in 1879, so if he were alive today, he'd be really, really old: 128 (but he isn't, he passed away on April 15, 1955.)

Here's the Wikipedia article on Einstein:  Albert Einstein

Oh, and here's a link to "The Wisdom of Einstein" poster everyone's been secretly coveting: Einstein poster

Happy Pi Day!

Ever since I memorized the first 100 numbers of Pi, it has held a special place in my heart. 

So I'd like to wish a Happy Pi Day to all my fellow Mathletes and Math Olympians!  (Remember... MATHCOUNTS!)

Just for a refresher,

Here is the value of Pi to the millionth place (I put the entire URL because I think it's really funny): http://3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592.com

Trekkie Turns Apartment into the Voyager

An article listed under "Cool Homes" on Electronic House caught my attention: "Apartment Transformed into Star Trek Shrine: Trekkies in search of the final frontier should stop by Tony Alleyne’s Voyager-themed apartment."  This, you have to see.

According to this article, Tony Alleyne of Hinckley, Leicestershire, UK (map) transformed his 500 sq ft. studio apartment into the "Star Trek: Voyager," reportedly as a way to get over his wife's leaving.  Alleyne opted to model his home after the Voyager instead of the other ships (I don't know their names... I've never seen an episode of Star Trek) because he has "always considered that of all the Starfleet ships, Voyager is, in terms of interior, the luxury liner of the galaxy." 

So how did he complete this transformation?  It might surprise you that there is not a huge market for Star Trek-inspired interior design, so Alleyne was forced to create most of the props and features himself.  Some of the modifications and details he included were LCARS (Library Computer Access and Retrieval System), "AEI Security Systems, Vos System voice-activated lighting, running light modules, AgiLight z-LED lighting, and a DeLonghi air conditioning system."  He even went so far as to install cooling systems that, when activated, make authentic-spaceship sounds. 

Unfortunately, Alleyne's dedication to creating the "ultimate Trekkie bachelor pad" (I don't think that even with his British accent he could get a girl inside this place) had its downside... he was forced to declare bankruptcy.  Nonetheless, he was not deterred and now has even started his own sci-fi design business, 24th Century Design.

If you do nothing else today, check out the slide show of this apartment (which is now up for sale.)  You don't have to be a Star Trek fan to appreciate the obsession dedication and time Alleyne spent in thoroughly transforming his apartment into the Star Trek Voyager. slideshow

ps. If you're wondering where his bed is in all the pictures... he got rid of it to create a more authentic scene.  Now he sleeps on the floor. 

*All images property of Electronic House

"I'm blogging right now, take a message."

Oh when did I start to identify with humor like this?  Between InmanNews reporting that I was the "chief bloggernaut" here at HotPads, ending every conversation with "I'm definitely gonna blog this," and laughing hysterically at this video, I'm beginning to worry about myself.  Anyway, watch this video from Sellsius.

I wasn't always like this, I swear

WTF RU Talking About? Decoding Online Lingo

Do you remember when ppl actually used entire words when communicating?  I do, but apparently those days are over.   I frequently read posts and receive emails in which seemingly random letters and numbers are used to convey meaning.  Well, I got sick of having to run to Google for translations every time I wanted to respond to an email, so I decided that it was time that I (gulp) learned "net lingo."  To save you from the self-loathing associated with having to Google "Internet abbreviations +meanings," I'm going to give you the  411 on some of the most essential "web lingo." 

Conversation Starters
WU: What's up?
HRU: How are you?

Giving New Information
BOTOH: But On The Other Hand
BTW: By The Way
FWIW: For What It's Worth
IAC(IAE): In Any Case (Event)
IM(H)O: In My (Humble) Opinion
IOW: In Other Words

Responses/Reactions
“I find that humorous”
LOL: Laugh(ing) Out Loud   
    ALOL: Actually Laughing Out Loud
        As opposed to LOLI: Laughing Out Loud Inside (I know it doesn’t make sense)
LMAO: Laugh(ing) My A-- Off
ROFL: Rolling On Floor Laughing

“I find that surprising”
OMG: Oh My Gosh!
RUFKM: aRe yoU Flipping Kidding Me?
     (YHTBFKM): You Have To Be Flipping Kidding Me!
WTF: What The %#@#(see below)?

 "I find that (something else)"
IDC: I Don't Care
IDK: I Don't Know
^URS: (Ahem) Up yours

Conversation Enders
BRB: Be Right Back
CUL (CUL8r): See you later
G2G/GTG: Got to Go
HAND: Have A Nice Day
TTYL: Talk To You Later

Bonus: Symbols & Numbers
<3= heart
:)= Smiley face
:(= Frowny face
;)= Winking face
:p= 'I'm sticking my tongue out at you' face
$@#% = curse word
411: Information
911: Emergency
187: Murder

NEW, IDK if this was of NE help 2 u, but, IMNSHO, the less of these u use IRL, the better. K, I G2G 2 a AAAAA mtg, ttyl.  MTFBWU!

Helpful Resources
*Check out AOL's Acronym Dictionary for a more complete list of AIM/WWW/Chat lingo translations.
* If you are really concerned that you might fall behind on your internet slang, you can sign up for NetLingo's Newsletter of Internet Terms that updates you on any new additions to their library.

Top 5 Signs of a "Bad" Alley

Alleys are just harmless backstreets that don’t matter, right? Sometimes. However, anyone who has ever had problems living in a place because of the alley behind their house knows that alleys can make a tremendous difference. Here are some warning signs of a “bad" alley:

1. There is an office building

If you share an alley with corporate offices, you can expect a lot of noise and activity that you wouldn’t usually expect.

There is a constant flow of delivery trucks, food suppliers, UPS men, and garbage collectors that may come with these businesses. They fill the air with beeps and bangs so, if you plan on being at home during the standard delivery times, you should consider the distance of a place from these loading docks. These trucks also make parking in the alley difficult at times by blocking the entrance to the alleyway and/or your parking spot.  Some days, I have to wait hours for the opportunity to move my car into the parking space behind my building... and have racked up quite a few parking tickets in the process. 

2.  There is a restaurant/bar/nightclub

There are side-effects of sharing an alley with a restaurant that should be taken into account. For example, most restaurants prefer their staff to smoke cigarettes or socialize outback, rather than in front of the restaurant. Therefore, you can expect to have groups hanging out in the alley during the night as well. Another great contribution of restaurants is an infestation of rats. Now, you can find a healthy supply of rats in any urban setting, but when you add dumpsters filled with left-over food, I have noticed that the rat population increases as well.

3.  There is a homeless person sleeping in an alcove

I’m not against homeless people and recognize that everyone needs to sleep somewhere. However, it can be intimidating to walk past people sleeping, especially at night or when you are alone. In general, it is probably best to avoid walking into an alley during those times, but if you park behind your house, often times you find yourself in that situation.

4.  There is a main street nearby

If there is a high-traffic, high-activity street nearby, people tend to use the alley as a thoroughfare. In this situation, the more NOT the merrier, especially if the main street has a thriving night life. The more accessible the alley, the more problems I have noticed occurring, especially when alcohol is added to the equation. The occurrence of drunken arguments, fights, or simply loud conversations lasts long into the night, as people stumble home from the local watering hole.

5.  There are beer cans/trash/graffiti

Any signs that people hang out in the alley can signal that an alley may be undesirable. At the very least, it can be annoying or intimidating to have people hanging out behind your house. Furthermore, this situation tends to create problems for the residents, as the increased activity may be associated with higher occurrences of vandalism or break-ins that affect the overall safety of yourself and property. 

    The alley should be included in your assessment of a house, as it may have a negative effect on your overall standard of living. While some people may not be bothered by things like noise, everyone should consider how an alley may affect their safety and security. Check the local police department’s crime reports to see whether there have been incidents of criminal activity reported in the area. If you see some of these warning signs of a “bad alley,” consider talking to neighbors or residents and asking them if they have any complaints.

Bottom line: Acquire as much information as you can before moving in to a new place and never sign a lease without thoroughly checking out the surrounding area.

**image property of DEIRF