The Eyes Have It

[00:00:01] Speaker A: The Michael Hatfield Remax team presents real estate and more. [00:00:06] Speaker B: Bay Area Real Estate is different than all of America. And why? What's up with buyers? What's on sellers'minds? How is the market? And much, much more. [00:00:17] Speaker A: Now here's your host, Michael Hatfield. Well, good morning. We are here. Thank you for tuning in. You can hear the real state and more program every Saturday morning from nine to ten on this radio station, KGO. 08:10 a.m. The show will also be streamed and can be heard on your mobile device by downloading the app 810 the spread and now real estate and more. The name of this segment is the Eyes have it. Speaking of the human Eye, if you have ever have a detached retina, our guest this morning is highly sought after as the eye surgeon who can repair it. He is an amazing father of three great young boys, a partner to a beautiful bride. And I'm happy to say that he now and the family live in our town in the East Bay. Interestingly, Dr. Rangram Chandran spent much of his early academic years attending Yale University for how to perform intricate eye surgery and Stanford University for his graduate work. He is a man with this incredible optimistic outlook, an exercise enthusiast and a satisfied client of the Michael Hatfield Remax team. I have known Dr. Chandran for more than a decade and am pleased to call him a friend. Please extend a warm welcome to Dr. Rangram Chandron. Welcome, Doctor, to real estate and more. [00:01:40] Speaker C: Thank you so much. Michael, it's a pleasure to always see you. [00:01:44] Speaker A: A little bit earlier this morning, we were talking about appreciation in the Bay Area. You have this wonderful thing where your values increase over time and nobody's defining that level of time, but it's usually a few years to several years. There can be some pullbacks, but over time we usually see home values appreciate significantly, unlike other areas in the country as whereas the locales. Now I know that you came to the area seven years ago and you've enjoyed significant appreciation in your home, whereas before you lived out in the Central Valley, you didn't see that appreciation in that locale typical of so much in the United States. Any comment on that? [00:02:33] Speaker C: Absolutely. I'm so grateful that I moved out when I did. I've seen tremendous appreciation. Probably I've doubled the value of my home. And most importantly, I came at a time where my kids could really enjoy being part of the community, being part of the school system and really having a chance to grow up in this wonderful, vibrant San Ramon Valley. [00:02:53] Speaker A: Yeah, interestingly, if the interest rate would have been on your mortgage loan, one or two or even three points higher than maybe, say, six or percent or 7% would. It made a real difference looking back at what has happened to the value of your investment in your home? [00:03:10] Speaker C: Not at all. [00:03:11] Speaker A: Not at all. It's interesting. Today we have a difference between the sellers, the makeup of the sellers. Most of the sellers are people that are of retirement age, and they've been there for a long time. They've either paid off their home or they've refinanced at a very low rate. And there's really no reason for them to move unless it's other reasons. And we have buyers today that are younger, say, 38, 40 years old, maybe a child or two. They're driving Teslas. They're part of the tech industry. And they're looking at those interest rates like, oh, it's the end of the world, because the interest rate is no longer 2.6%. And I keep saying to people that ask me, enjoy your home. Don't try to day trade it. Don't try to, of course, try to get the best interest rate you can at the time, but there's a possibility down the road you can recast that loan while owning the home, enjoying the home and enjoying also the equity appreciation. And you're just kind of confirming it. Well, Dr. Chandrad, I'm going to switch gears a little bit. I've never known a retinal eye surgeon, a guy that goes in with the intricate tools and repairs people's detached retinas and does such wonderful work. I know you've done years and years of training, and you're well sought after in the Bay area. Can you tell me, when a person comes to you, how do you actually determine that their retina has been displaced? [00:04:45] Speaker C: Usually it's quite interesting because the retina being the nerve tissue at the back of the eye, we can call it effectively brain tissue. That's like the wallpaper of the eye. And the most common symptoms for a patient are floaters, dark spots in the vision when the eyes are open, flashes of light, like little sparkles lasting a few seconds, especially noticeable at nighttime. And also that feeling that there may be some diagonal or some aspect of the peripheral vision that's been compromised. [00:05:15] Speaker A: Wow. My wife had an issue like that not too long ago, and I think she even bothered you about a concern about it, but it went away, and it wasn't something that was of that nature. I think you were on vacation, and I think she spoke with you after you came back, but it wasn't of that concern of being detached, it was something else, and so much to know about your profession. So when you go to fix something like that, how do you do it? [00:05:45] Speaker C: The most important aspect is having a nice dilated view of the retina. So using dilating drops, letting them work for about ten minutes, letting the pupil open up and getting a great view of the inside of the eye, and really exploring with the instruments, looking for any small rips or tears in the peripheral retina. Wow. [00:06:06] Speaker A: Just seems like a whole lot to learn. How many years does it take before you can actually start trying your hand at doing something as intricate and as professional and as specialized as that? [00:06:18] Speaker C: So I am a medical doctor, so I did four years of college, four years of medical school, four years of eye surgery training in ophthalmology, and then two years of fellowship training in retina eye surgery. Wow. [00:06:32] Speaker A: That's a lot. That's a lot. And then, of course, when you do the residency, you work with others to learn what they know and to associate as build your skill. Is that how that works? [00:06:45] Speaker C: Absolutely. After med school, the process of medical training is called residency. And so my residency was in ophthalmology, eye surgery, and I was very grateful to have excellent peers and most importantly, very compassionate, outstanding surgeons in the field as my instructors. [00:07:03] Speaker A: And you still communicate with those same guys, I suppose, those same doctors. Part of an alumni type of situation, I would imagine. [00:07:12] Speaker C: Absolutely. We have the rare privilege of being part of a community of ophthalmologists who generally go to either specialty specific meetings that are nationwide and held annually, or actually the entire worldwide meetings held annually. [00:07:28] Speaker A: Wow. [00:07:29] Speaker C: So I love being part of that community. Very well organized meetings. A great chance to see what's coming up with current research, drugs that are being released, and new techniques in surgery. [00:07:41] Speaker A: Wow. Now, one time I asked you, how do you perform? Do you actually do your surgery by your hand itself, or do you use the robotics? [00:07:52] Speaker C: Unbelievably, I use my own hand, make very small movements. The instruments would remind somebody of tools the size of toothpicks. And of course, there's a very simple principle. The eye is a small organ. We're making very, very small wounds to facilitate rapid healing. And as a result, under a microscope, with the eye immobilized, we are effectively doing eye surgery in the span of sometimes half an hour or less and getting tremendously great results. [00:08:22] Speaker A: Wow. There's not that many retinal eye surgeons around that are really specialist and sought after like you. There's just not. I happened to look at it because I was curious one day, and I think there was, like, three in the entire Bay Area, maybe four. But most of them are in other cities in the nation and so forth. And that's why everybody knows your name, if I happen to ask them. Not only in your field, but in other fields of medicine, too, and you're such a social guy, they may know you from some other direction, too. One of the things that I've noticed after talking to one guest just yesterday is every time the man greeted someone, either myself, my wife, or someone off of the street, he made everyone feel as if they were the only person in the world. And we also took a look at a couple of young people at a table across from us and found that each one of them were really not talking to each other. They were on their phones, and they were not communicating. But this man's traits has made him extremely successful, because he knows how to greet and talk with people. And that's translated to success in so many ways. I see that same trait in you, Dr. Chandran, and that's not an embellishment at all. I see that when you meet someone, you always have a smile on your face, you pay attention. And I just think that's a wonderful trait. [00:09:57] Speaker C: Thank you so much. Michael, it's obvious that you love people, and you get so much energy from talking to people. And I feel the same way. I love talking to my friends, my family, and I get so much out of talking to my patients as well. [00:10:09] Speaker A: It's part of your DNA, I think. And if you either have it or you don't, or you learn it or you don't, but I don't know. But it's just a wonderful thing to be around you or to be around you because you're so nice to people. [00:10:26] Speaker C: No, thank you. I think we all try, and I definitely try my best to be a nice person and make sure everybody has a good experience. And I think it's very evident in what you and Nancy do in real estate. [00:10:39] Speaker A: Going to be very interested in your segment of what you do and how you do it, and especially from the real estate angle. Why would you move from the Central Valley to the little township that we inhabit in Danville, Alamo area? Why would you do that? [00:10:56] Speaker C: Oh, I actually, unbelievably, kind of stumbled upon it many, many years ago. I used to drive from the Central Valley to San Francisco Airport. And if I had some extra time to kill on the weekends, I would simply drive by, just literally driving by. And I immediately felt a tremendous love for the San Ramon Valley area. And I already knew that I was going to move here one day, and so it was just a matter of showing my family why I like this area, and they could see immediately what I loved about it and how family friendly, how safe the access to the city and all the cultural delights of the city, and at the same time, having access to very, very nice local community, cultural centers, restaurants, just very, very vibrant. Vibrant, but at the same time, family friendly. [00:11:44] Speaker A: Yeah. And the connection for the boys was really good when I first met them. They were very young, all of them, and now they've grown into some very nice young men. They've done activities, speech and debate, and were heavily awarded for performance and those activities. And then also in the athletic side of things, I believe tennis was another one. Just a wonderful group of young men. You've raised a really nice little army there, or I should say the wife has. [00:12:14] Speaker C: Absolutely. My wife takes full credit. [00:12:18] Speaker A: Back to your profession for a minute. What is your favorite activity that you perform in your clinic? [00:12:24] Speaker C: In the clinic, I would say some of it has definitely been the great satisfaction I get out of education. I think a lot of patients just don't realize how much their general health has to play when it comes towards their eye health. And so many, many patients somewhat lax about their diabetic status, their high blood pressure status. And these things ultimately are the big pillars for why many, many eyes have tremendous eye disease that progresses quickly. And if patients were simply more cognizant of their diagnosis of blood pressure and diabetes and were very careful about keeping up with their doctors, with medications and getting their labs checked and making sure the blood pressure is under control, so much eye disease can be averted. [00:13:12] Speaker A: That's really fabulous. One question is, would you recommend this specialty to other up and coming physicians? [00:13:21] Speaker C: Absolutely. I definitely felt drawn towards this field, probably from my second year of med school. And I think it's wonderful for anybody who chooses to be a physician to go through the process, shadow people, and ultimately, the med school experience with the Clinical rotations forces most young training doctors to see what's out there. But sometimes you actually have to make an effort to go find a local ophthalmologist to see what they do and then see if that's an actual field that you could be satisfied with. But I am very, very pleased with my choice. [00:13:57] Speaker A: Yeah, I would imagine so. When I first met you, you were again living out in the valley, and you decided that you were coming to the little hamlet of Alamo, and you'd already decided you're very direct on it. And at the same time, my son and wife and I had built this home in Alamo, and that's where I met you. We had just completed it during the recession, and you had came and you'd taken a look at it and actually looked at it twice, but wasn't quite for you. So then we started our relationship and then started on the quest to bring you to Alamo. And now you're here. You've been here seven years and you've really enjoyed it. What have you thought since you've moved here, as opposed to living out in the valley? What are the good things about here? [00:14:48] Speaker C: I think, number one, I mean, the valley is a wonderful place, wonderful people, wonderful opportunities for many families. It was a great place for me, and I'm so grateful to the valley and everything that it's done for me. I have specifically liked the very secluded, scenic beauty of Alamo and the lovely scenic vistas of Mount Diablo and access to all the wonderful hiking, biking paths. And I would say just the relatively easy driving distance towards San Francisco City. [00:15:25] Speaker A: What about the recreational things, such as the trail, the iron horse trail that goes up all the way to the bridge in Venetia and then goes all the way down to Dublin and even probably farther. Now, it's supposed to be 53 miles or so. You can get out there and hike and you can bike and you can walk, and you can do anything that you want, skate, rollerboard, rollerblade, or whatever you would like. That's one of the really great benefits of this particular area. You got to work hard, though, to live here. It's not an inexpensive cost of living, and you have to really want to. So by that, it kind of tells me that you're not quite at retirement age for a while. You're still out there earning to pay for what's required to live here. So that's always something. The other day we were talking with retirement specialist, and we were talking about where could you go if you were not living here and you're interested in retiring? What are the factors that would be involved? One, of course, would be sense of community. Number two is availability of health care. Number three is cost of living. And then the other attributes that would be, too. And why would people want to live there? So we were talking about all of those. This area tends to have pretty much anything that you would want. I mean, why would you want to live in an area that doesn't have health care, that you would have to drive for miles and miles and miles? Why would you want to do that when you could live here? [00:16:55] Speaker C: Absolutely. I feel very much that this is a community that has easy access for health care and has wonderful weather, where one can really take part in outdoor activities, as simple as going for a nice long walk or a hike. And if you have a dog or family members who love to play sports, it is the best place. [00:17:16] Speaker A: Absolutely. Now, during the pandemic, we saw a change of people that worked in the tech industry. They didn't no longer have to go into and work in their offices, in their headquarters. So what they did was they looked for places with schools, academic locations for their children. They looked for a place where they could spread out. They looked for a swimming pool that would have a slide for their kids, and they wanted to spread out. So we received a lot of influx of tech workers into the San Ramon Valley, which is really a decent place to live. Now that they're requiring them to go back to work a little bit and not work so much remotely. I don't know if it's been much of an issue with some of the tech workers, but with you, you work your five days in your clinic, and then you come home and you enjoy it. It's a good place to live. And even though, if you have to commute just a little bit, don't you think? [00:18:21] Speaker C: Absolutely. I think, like with most things, we can all structure our lives, maybe give ourselves a little bit more time for lunch, a little bit more time for commuting, whatever is necessary to make sure that we stay healthy and really enjoy the place we call home and how much time we have for our family members in the evenings and on the weekends. [00:18:41] Speaker A: Well, you're really a great pop. I know that you come home from your long day of surgery or working in the clinic, and I know you're with those boys as much as absolute possible. And I have to admire you and your beautiful wife to work so hard in raising those boys. You have done just a magnificent job. I like to call it Papa Bear and Mama Bear. You two are the best. So when you and your family decided to purchase a home in the East Bay, what were the main priorities that you had? But you already kind of had your sight set on the town of Alamo already. But what were the priorities in the actual home itself that you were looking for? [00:19:25] Speaker C: Definitely with three boys, I was looking for a place where we could call home, where all the kids could enjoy some space and have access to good parks and schools nearby. And so I think as we toured the areas, there were so many good opportunities in Alamo. There is no such thing as a bad view in this area, and I'm very pleased with where chose. [00:19:47] Speaker A: Yeah. Would you recommend it to? Huh? [00:19:50] Speaker C: I would choose any part of this community or the Sandramone Valley to anybody. [00:19:56] Speaker A: So, continuing on, I'm thinking a little bit about what you do. My mother in law has injections in her eye, both eyes, actually, for macular degeneration. This is a new technique that's come out where, I guess, I don't know. I have to ask you, what is that all about, and does it work? [00:20:21] Speaker C: So, macular degeneration is an aging phenomenon present in many, many elderly people, where the center part of the retina in the Macula has either dry or wet changes. For patients with wet changes, new vessels are growing and leaking and bleeding. That process leaves behind scar tissue, which can affect their central vision and be very, very frustrating and compromising when it comes to reading and driving. Since 2004, there have been injections and medications approved by the FDA to slow down the growth of these vessels and prevent this process from accelerating quickly. I have been so pleased by the results of these drugs, and I cannot believe it's almost been 20 years that we've been using these medications with absolutely phenomenal results for most patients. But again, in the context that this is an aging phenomena, and the average patient is not going to regain perfect 2020 vision, but really slow down the progression drastically. [00:21:27] Speaker A: I see. So if I ask my mother in law, who's now 96, does it work for her? She seems to think that it does like her vision is better, but that's probably just her perception, not in reality. It's maintaining where this process is in the degeneration of the eye itself. Correct? [00:21:48] Speaker C: That would be a very accurate statement. 30% of patients can state that they've improved vision, and that's measurable and demonstrable when they go in for an eye test on a chart. And probably 90% of patients maintain their vision at a very comfortable level. [00:22:03] Speaker A: That's just wonderful. Are there any other strides that you can assert that are working well in eye health, so to speak? [00:22:14] Speaker C: Absolutely. There's new drugs, basically recently approved for dry degeneration, and I think we'll have more and more data about the real world results of these drugs in the next few years. [00:22:25] Speaker A: Isn't that wonderful? Now, one question I have, and I'm going to have to leave the room for. The answer is, but were you happy with your real estate crew that came in and helped you to make the purchase in Alamo? [00:22:36] Speaker C: Oh, my gosh. I'm so grateful to you and your wife and the entire team for making this a very seamless transition. I felt so well educated. I felt every question I had about the cOmmunity, the access to different options for the kids, schools, parts of town, how close I wanted to be to downtown, whether I wanted to be up more in the hills. You have showed me so many beautiful neighborhoods, and I've seen so very many houses. And so it's been a pleasure. And I cannot tell you how grateful I am to you as a professional real estate agent. And, of course, because of your kindness and compassion from all of your clients. It's so obvious to me and how attentive you are to everybody. I value you tremendously as a professional, and I'm so grateful to have you and your wife as friends. [00:23:27] Speaker A: Oh, how nice a kind word is that? I guess I was fishing for that type of response, but I really appreciate it. We've actually had a chance to go up and enjoy some of the areas around our locale here, such as the wine country. We've went up and done some tasting and just had a wonderful time up there. That's one of the big benefits about the San Francisco Bay Area. Whether or not it's in the East Bay, or whether or not it's in the San Ramon Valley, or whether or not it's in the city or Marin, there's a lot to enjoy. If you find that you're working a little bit too hard and you have to take off and reacquaint with the wife. It's always good to go down to Carmel or Monterey and hang out for a couple days and enjoy all that that place has to offer. It's just a great location. [00:24:15] Speaker C: Absolutely. I think this is a key aspect of living in San Rowan Valley, that the access to everything is incredibly close. And sure, there's always some traffic involved, but I think it's very, very manageable. And I think that aspect has made every weekend and my local vacations in the area so very enjoyable for myself, my wife and the kids. [00:24:38] Speaker A: Yeah, quite candidly, and not because he complimented us there a few moments ago, but you're one of the smartest people I know, and it seems that you have a reason for everything you do. So you consider very carefully, and the two of you, you and your bride, they're always taking a look at what you're going to do and thinking it through very clearly. If you were to start today with a home purchase, even with the price of real estate being what it is, real estate is a huge percentage of your financial portfolio. You like it or not, if you have it, your portfolio is going to be a lot nicer. If you don't have it, then it's not. But if you were to take a look at it today, and you needed to buy a home to live in for you and your boys, would you do it again at the current interest rates? [00:25:25] Speaker C: Absolutely. Without any question. I have no hesitation about that. Because, of course, in the big picture, we all have to have a nice home or a place we call home, and I can't see any reason to delay. [00:25:36] Speaker A: Yeah, you would definitely look for some area that would have this appreciation, though, wouldn't you? [00:25:42] Speaker C: Oh, yes, absolutely. Because I think, like anything in life, if you're happy with the area, you can start off with what we call the family starter home. And then when the time is right and things are good, you can always trade up, but your own current home is also appreciated. So the equity is there. It's just much, much easier as a lateral move rather than sitting on the fence and kind of looking in from far away. [00:26:04] Speaker A: Yes, and it is hard today for first time home buyers. But when I was a first time home buyer, it really was pretty hard back then, too. And one thing is about the interest rates. If interest rates go down, you can always do a recast or what they used to call a streamline, and you can get a lower rate without the full refinancing. Now, that's a real popular practice with lenders today. So that's always something to think about too. But in my view, and it's an opinion, people, if they can get in, should get in today and they should do the 20% down if they can find it. Or get a gift from mom and dad, get a great lender and avoid. Because if you have less than 20% down, you've got the PMI, or property mortgage insurance payment that's in there until the house will allow you in value to appraise at a higher value and thus get you out of it. But 20% down avoids all that, and it's a really good thing. Well, Dr. Chandran, it's just been a real pleasure today seeing you here. I appreciate you taking the time out and coming to see us and what a great time we've had talking about your surgery and things that you do in your profession. A good friend, a good father. A great father. I am pleased to say his family is a satisfied client of us and we're really happy about that. Should you ever have a need for eye surgery, he may be reached at his clinic at 209-5722 we're going to take a short break. You've been listening to real estate and more, although the more is probably more of what the show is all about. More is all else that has to do with life. Now we'll be back in a moment or so with our next special.