The invention of the microwave pretty much changed America's kitchens. Although, microwaves were invented in the 1940s, they didn't really become affordable or widely used in the country until the early 1970s. By 1975, however, more microwaves were sold than gas ranges, if you can believe that.
When I moved into my first apartment in 1969, I didn't own a microwave. I didn't even know what a microwave was, but I did know how to use a stove. Not that I did. Many of my meals consisted of consuming the contents of a jar of tomato-based shrimp or a jar of marinated mushrooms. In fact, years later when I remodeled my first kitchen, I considered disposing of the stove altogether and not replacing it. But then I realized that it would be difficult to sell that home down the road without a stove.
Coincidentally, when the seller of my new listing in Fair Oaks bought her home and moved in, she discovered the kitchen did not have a built-in microwave. She came home hungry with a frozen dinner and stood slack-jawed in the kitchen when the realization hit her. No microwave. She called her dad to say she could not eat because there was no microwave.
After presenting his daughter with the usual parental alternatives such as, hey, buy a can of soup and heat it up on the stove, the father bought a microwave and installed it for his daughter. As a result, this kitchen now has a built-in microwave. It also has a newer gas range, built-in dishwasher and a refrigerator.
If you're looking for a 3-bedroom, 2-bath home in Fair Oaks as your first home, you might want to schedule a showing appointment to see this short sale. Apart from the gigantic lot -- it's more than a quarter acre -- the home features some really nice improvements. The baths are updated, every room except for one has expertly installed crown molding, and there is even a security door in the master suite with leaded stained glass.
This home was built in 1960 -- the year John F. Kennedy was the youngest man (at age 43) elected President of the United States, rocker Joan Jett was born and actor Clark Gable died. It has almost 1,000 square feet, but the layout makes it appear much larger.
I need to go back and shoot photographs of the back yard after the lawn is mowed. The front yard features a little courtyard area behind a wall. But I would imagine the back yard could be transformed into a wonderful entertaining area as well.
4821 Kitty Hawk Street, Fair Oaks, CA 95628 is exclusively offered by Lyon Real Estate as a short sale at $149,000. For more information, call your Sacramento short sale agent, Elizabeth Weintraub, at 916 233 6759.
Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub
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Certified HAFA Specialist
My Sacramento Real Estate Listings
Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout the four-county Sacramento area. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate. DRE License # 00697006.
The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available at Amazon.com.
Lyon Real Estate is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.
Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.
The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of Lyon Real Estate.
Disclaimer: If this post contains a listing, information is deemed reliable as of the date it was written. After that date, the listing may be sold, listed by another brokerage, canceled, pending or taken temporarily off the market, and the price could change without notice. It could blow up, explode or vanish. To find out the present status of any listing, please go to elizabethweintraub.com.
I love my microwave. I use it more than the cooktop or wall oven. I got my first microwave in about 1977. I was hooked the first time I "baked" a potato in it.
Microwaves became popular in the early 60's and a new hotel, built in my home town Austin, MN decided to install only microwaves for cooking meals in their restaurant. Ha. They had to remedy that within the first year. There were a lot of complaints, and one famous death attributed to heat failure, but many thought to be food poisoning from those damn microwaves. See Cedric Adams for details. Technology has changed by now of course.
Ahhh, where would we be without microwave ovens? Remember how big those first ones for home use were? Took up have the counter. But I agree, built in, over the range microwaves are a big selling feature, almost a must have!
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Hi Lenn: I am so happy today that most microwaves come with a "potato" button. For years I lived on baked microwave potatoes. Fast and easy. Not to mention, cheap.
Hi Glenn: I don't remember the first year I got a microwave, but it certainly was not in the 1960s. I do remember restaurants putting up signs that said if you're wearing a pacemaker, it could be dangerous to sit near a microwave. I didn't know what a pacemaker was. But I certainly wasn't gonna wear one around a microwave.
My four year old is always trying to cook his Chef Boyardee without me (LOL). That kid makes me sleep with one eye open. If the floor creaks I sometimes pop up like a jack-in-the-box. ;-)
I don't use my microwave very often. I did heat up some squash yesterday. Mostly I use it to reheat my coffee when it gets cold. I still do a lot of stovetop cooking.
When I was in high school, I took a class called "Bachelor Arts". It was only for the boys, and it was a class where we basically learned how to bake. We also learned how to cook potatoes in the microwave. The teacher's instructions were to first bake the potato in the microwave, till done, then cut it in half, scoop out the insides, mix with cheddar cheese, then nuke it till the cheese melts within the potato. I didn't realize that she meant to cut the potato length-wise. It turned out good tasting anyway.
Elizabeth - That subject line made me spit tea while laughing:-) I almost only use my microwave for heating water in the morning for my first cup!
I'm one of those silly cooks, who thinks microwaves changes the consistency and texture of things to the point they are unrecognizable. You should see me on holidays, when I'm cooking for the galloping herd. I use my conventional oven, the range, and a total of 5 crockpots! Anything to keep from using the microwave. But, I fully understand that 95% of folks are slaves to their microwaves - or the other way around:-)
Elizabeth: What a cute home! Is that wallpaper or paint in the Master Bedroom? As for the microwave, I have a freakish family that doesn't use it much either. Of course, we don't eat TV dinners either. Now if the blender broke down, there would be a riot. We enjoy fruit and yogurt smoothies and a variety of soups from that wonder appliance.
I might also add that the microwave oven did for kitchens, what the pill did for women's liberation! And don't ask me why the heck I made that particular connection on a Sunday morning. All I know, is the world hasn't been the same since:-)
Hey Mike: Yeah, those old microwaves were HUGE. I now use a Spacemaker GE Profile. I love the instant buttons. I can throw in an entree, push 3 and forget about it.
Hi C: With your kids, you're lucky they don't microwave your cellphone. Oh, wait, I bet they've already tried that. Well, it beats putting in an egg to watch it explode.
Bob: I'm surprised they didn't teach you to cut up bits of green onion, chop bacon and mix both with the cheese and sour cream.
Hi Myrl: You've got to try steaming artichokes. What takes 45 minutes on the stove is reduced to about 12 minutes in the microwave.
Hi Chris: That's paint in the bedroom. That room is the only room in the home that doesn't have crown molding yet. If you look closely, you can see that the stripes don't go all the way to the ceiling for that very reason. Because crown molding would cover the unfinished portion. Not to mention there are no paint stripes slopped on the ceiling. As for blenders, those things are too much work because you've got to wash them when you're finished and put them away. The microwave just sits there.
I had a listing where the buyer didn't realize it didn't have a dishwasher. Oh, she was not a happy camper. Goes to show she didn't read my agent visual very thoroughly. I use my microwave to warm stuff up, but not to cook.
Hi Elizabeth, I would be lost without my microwave and my Nu-Wave oven. Both have become indispensible in our house, and we hardly ever use our regular oven any more.
The first time I ever saw a microwave, I was a kid and saw a 1949 Ma and Pa Kettle movie on TV in which they won a contest and got a modern home with futuristic gadgets, including a gadget that worked like today's microwave ovens. (Sort of the precursor to the Beverly Hillbillies). That oven sounded like science fiction to me at the time.
Elizabeth - I grew up in a two-income house and I remember in the 70's when we got our first micowave. My mother tried to use that thing as much as she could. After that, she cooked less and less. Although I do like to cook, I too can't imagine life without my microwave.
Hi Cynthia: Well, years ago I had a client buy a home that didn't have a dining room and she didn't realize it. How do you miss an entire room?? Thanks goodness we now do agent visual inspection reports, so I can point out those types of deficiences in writing. I go so far as to note whether the rooms have a smoke detector. It's easy for buyers to overlook these kinds of things.
Hi Susan: Hey, I'm old enough to remember Ma and Pa Kettle. Sorry to admit.
Hi Donne: My mother never owned a microwave until I moved out of the house. Then she almost burned down the house by leaving a hot pad on top of an electric stove with the burner on low.
Food tastes crappy microwaved. I like to cook and its great stress relief to get your mind off work.
I love my microwave!
Opinions on cooking in a microwave are split, Elizabeth. And, that's OK. We are all very different.
Both my wife and I grew up without Microwaves and we decided not to buy one for our home. We seem to get along just fine without the appliance and no one goes to bed hungry...
I hate to say that we use our microwave too much. Food does taste so much better when you actually cook it, but the convenience far outweighs taste. My parents have one of those fancy microwaves (the name is escaping me) where you can actually broil in it, they use it all the time to cook things like meat even, and make garlic toast.
We make a lot of tv dinners. And I have at least started taking the food out of the plastic containers before microwaving though, as a precaution for bpa leaking into the food. Probably doesn't make a difference, but you never know.