Greetings Fellow Life Travelers:

At last we are blessed with snow….not a lot of it – yet, but after Tuesday night’s greeting, we had a storm on Saturday and then prediction for more during the week.  Amazing number of people here despite marginal snow.  Great for the restaurants and retail.  Now that the holidays are over with most kids heading back in school, it’s time to focus on the biz and get 2024 moving and shaking!  I’m always open to new business – “big or small, we sell them all” – so, please don’t assume I deal only in the high end.  

    Friday, I got a call from a lakefront owner of a gorgeous property asking about insurance.  I called my broker to find out that he does have access to high profile property insurers, so we’ll see how that plays out.  Another resource is Chubb, handled by HUB insurance, and I’m in the process of finding out if they will look at Tahoe.  Big issue for all up here, regardless of size.  After 30+ years, I got cancelled and had to go with the Cal Fair Plan for fire, but their ceiling is $3 Million so not helpful for more expensive replacements.  Premiums are up overall.  I could probably get better coverage for more money, but decided to stick with this for now.  We just created a Firewise area where I live for 92 homes, so that helped a bit.  To get a better discount, I need to install 5’ of metal between the house and fence on both sides of Dancer’s yard, so that’s on for summer revision.  Sorry to drone on, but home insurance for current and new residents is on everyone’s mind.  Now that’s the first item on the ‘to do’ list once we put a buyer into escrow.   So, let’s see what escrows took place this last week.

Residential Real Estate – week 12/29 – 1/5 

• Tahoe Sierra MLS – North/West Shores & Truckee.  New Listings – 14; Escrows – 13; Solds – 21
• Incline Village/Crystal Bay MLS.  New Listings – 2; Escrows – 4; Solds – 5
• East Shore, NV MLS.  New Listings – 2; Escrows – 4; Solds – 4
• Reno/Sparks MLS.  New Listings – 58; Escrows – 89; Solds – 76

Not surprising – a quiet week in general.  

Local/Real Estate/Luxe

• Tangerine Bistro.  I know I mentioned this new restaurant in Truckee, but must jump up and clap hands (remember the little man in the pink section of the Chronicle that jumped up for good movies?) for the lovely dinner I had this week.  We had their fabulous baguette, escargot and cassoulet…and a beautiful wine.  Ambiance lovely too!  More appealing choices to try next time.
• “World’s Oldest Cowboy” is still competing in Rodeos at 92!  He’s in Australia and has a most impressive record.  No more bucking horses and bulls, he’s into team steer roping.  http://tinyurl.com/5yvvvyks
• Soundproof windows.  Just saw an ad for www.soundproofwindows.com that can install a third panel over a double pane for additional benefits.  My interest isn’t sound proofing but could be an insulation addition. (I need to offer this to my neighbors to deaden Dancer’s announcements of dogs on the street.)  Check it out.  
• Highest U.S. residential sale for 2023:  Malibu home for $190 Million that Beyoncé and JayZ bought.
• Highest sale for Tahoe Basin in 2023:  $26 Million Crystal Bay lakefront sold by Chase International.
• Highest sale for Truckee in 2023:  $13 Million in Martis Camp.
• Highest sale for Reno/Sparks in 2023:  $10.325 Million sold by Chase International.
• Homewood Resort’s upper mountain will open Monday, January 8! 

Entertainment

• Bocelli and Grogan:  http://tinyurl.com/466ux8zn
• Condor release:  http://tinyurl.com/ye289dpy

TidBits

• You raze the old to raise the new!  Justina Chen
• Don’t wait until conditions are perfect to begin.  Beginning makes conditions perfect.  Alan Cohen
• Haiku:  Just tidying up/Before the cleaning lady/Who is also me.  Peyton Price
• Haiku:  When life shuts a door/Just open it.  It’s a door./That is how doors work.
• Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.  Richard Branson
• Crossing things off my to-do list.  I didn’t do them.  I just don’t want them on my list anymore.
• I like an escalator.  Because an escalator cannot break.  It just becomes stairs.  Mitch Hedberg
• I used to play sports. Then I realized you can buy trophies.  Now I’m good at everything.  Demetri Martin
• Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do.  Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children.  Alex Haley
• I’d much rather be a woman than a man.  Women can cry, they can wear cute clothes, and they’re the first to be rescued off sinking ships.  Gilda Radner
• To say I’m an overrated troll, when you have never even seen me guard a bridge, is patently unfair. Tina Fey
• It wasn’t a dark and stormy night.  It should have been, but that’s the weather for you.  Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, “Good Omens”
• In the beginning, the Universe was created.  This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move. Douglas Adams, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”
• She was a curious woman, whose dresses always looked as if they had been designed in a rage and put on in a tempest.  Oscar Wilde, “the Picture of Dorian Gray”
• You never realize what you have until it’s gone.  Toilet paper is a good example.
• I’m not arguing.  I’m just explaining why I’m right. 
• What did our parents do to kill boredom before the internet?  I asked my 26 brothers and sisters and they didn’t know either. 
• If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.  Dalai Lama
• A smile is a facelift that’s in everyone’s price range!  Tom Wilson

Now that we have snow, we’re smiling at Tahoe!  Truly beautiful, and today the roads are clear so all is good!   Have a great week and see you next time!  

Best wishes,

Trinkie