LAGUNA BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 13, 2025--
Real Estate Veteran Jill Witte of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties recently launched “Real Talk with Jill Witte,” a live radio show on Voice of Laguna that is also reposted as a podcast. Witte created the show as a platform for sharing the insights she has gathered from working in real estate and sales for over 20 years.
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Voice of Laguna is a streaming radio station with a global audience that includes more than 300,000 listeners. Available online, it features a diverse array of music, news, information and commentary.
“Aside from giving me a fun way to connect with the community, the show lets me address some of the misinformation out there about real estate,” said Witte. “There is a dearth of information on sites like Zillow and Redfin, but there’s so much more to real estate than that, from contracts and contingencies to marketing and negotiating strategies.”
Witte has ranked in the top two percent of the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices global network. She explained she started the show in March of 2024 to provide real-world, actionable guidance for local real estate buyers and sellers.
“Representation is the key to attaining the maximum possible value. For sellers, that means creating a staging concept that highlights their home’s best features, whether we use virtual staging or one of the trusted local vendors I’ve worked with for years,” noted Witte.
She added staged properties net approximately five to 15 percent more than homes that were not staged: “This is according to statistics from the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA), which also shows that staging costs typically amount to a lower price than the first price reduction.”
As a former auditor, Witte is known for her attention to detail and commitment to the priorities of her clients: “Pricing is an important component of a marketing campaign. I constantly research current days on market and adapt my strategy accordingly. I recognize that some clients want the quickest possible sale with the minimum amount of inconvenience, while others may be okay with waiting a little longer.”
For buyers, Witte leverages the extensive community knowledge she has gained as a resident of Laguna Beach for many years. Recognizing there is a significant emotional investment involved with purchasing, she focuses on making herself available, provides rapid, information-rich responses and connects her buyers with reputable mortgage brokers who have the experience to help them find the best available loan option.
“I was on the phone until about 8:30 last night and texting with a client at about 5:40 this morning. It doesn’t stop on the weekends, but this is one of the biggest purchases my clients will ever make, so that keeps me motivated,” Witte said in a recent show, in which she hosted Kerry Klayman of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties.
During the show, Klayman described a financing option for sellers. “Elevate is a unique offering from our company. It’s amazing because sellers can apply for a loan up to $50,000 and then only pay interest on the amount they use…they can choose the contractor they want for updates…they can use it for temporary housing or moving costs. It is very flexible, and it is ‘soft pull’ so it doesn’t affect your credit,” said Klayman, Regional Marketing Manager for Orange County.
“This is one of many reasons why I’ve worked with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties for so many years,” added Witte. “The partners and the level of support they provide are second to none, and Kerry is just one example. She is a true marketing maven, and we often work hand in hand, which is a great value to the homeowner.”
Witte’s informative real estate segments are posted on www.VoiceofLaguna.com. She may be reached at 949-439-4040, through email at JillWitte@bhhscal.com or her website, at www.coastalrealestate.io.
About Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties proudly supports 2,500 sales associates in over 40 offices spanning Santa Barbara to San Diego. In 2023, our expert agents assisted in more than 6,000 client transactions for over $10.3 billion in sales volume.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties is a wholly owned subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc., and a member of HSF Affiliates, LLC. BHHS and the BHHS symbol are registered service marks of Columbia Insurance Company, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate. For more information, visit www.bhhscalifornia.com. To learn about career opportunities, visit www.bhhscalifornia.com/careers.
Jill Witte of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties’ Laguna Beach office recently launched “Real Talk with Jill Witte,” a live radio show on Voice of Laguna that is also reposted as a podcast. (Photo: Business Wire)
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces have boarded an oil tanker previously sanctioned for smuggling Iranian crude oil in Asia, the Pentagon said Tuesday, as it puts into place a global warning to track down vessels tied to Tehran.
U.S. forces “conducted a right-of-visit maritime interdiction” and boarded the M/T Tifani “without incident,” the Pentagon said on social media.
The Tifani was captured in the Bay of Bengal — between India and Southeast Asia — and was carrying Iranian oil, according to a U.S. defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing military operation. The U.S. military will decide in the next four days what to do with the vessel, such as tow it back to the U.S. or turn it over to another country, the official said.
It's the latest move in the U.S. war on Iran to stop any ship tied to Tehran or those suspected of carrying supplies that could help its government, from weapons and oil to metals and electronics. The announcement comes ahead of the expiration of an already tenuous ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, and as Pakistan attempts to broker talks between Washington and Tehran.
It is the second vessel linked to Iran that has been interdicted by the U.S. military. The U.S. Navy attacked and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship Sunday that it said had tried to evade its blockade of Iranian ports, with President Donald Trump saying an American destroyer blew a hole in the ship’s engine room.
The Pentagon on social media described the Tifani as “stateless” despite it being a Botswana-flagged vessel.
“As we have made clear, we will pursue global maritime enforcement efforts to disrupt illicit networks and interdict sanctioned vessels providing material support to Iran — anywhere they operate,” the Pentagon announcement said, echoing previous statements from Trump administration officials. “International waters are not a refuge for sanctioned vessels.”
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said last week that the enforcement actions would extend beyond Iranian waters and the area under control of U.S. Central Command.
U.S. forces in other areas of responsibility, he told reporters at the Pentagon, “will actively pursue any Iranian-flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran.” He specifically pointed to operations in the Pacific and said the U.S. would target vessels that left before the blockade began outside the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for energy and other shipments.
The military also detailed an expansive list of goods that it considers contraband, declaring that it will board, search and seize them from merchant vessels “regardless of location.” A notice published Thursday says any “goods that are destined for an enemy and that may be susceptible to use in armed conflict” are “subject to capture at any place beyond neutral territory.”
The U.S. military’s actions against Iranian-linked vessels, namely the attack over the weekend on the cargo ship named the Touska, have raised questions about the two-week ceasefire.
The U.S. and Iran are operating in “an awkward space where the law doesn’t give you a clean yes-or-no answer” on whether the ceasefire was violated, said Jason Chuah, a law professor at the City University of London and the Maritime Institute of Malaysia.
“The United States seems to take the line that the conflict never fully switched off — that is there is still a state of armed conflict,” Chuah said. “By saying that, it can keep doing things like enforcing a blockade and even using limited force at sea.”
But Iran is treating the ceasefire as a pause on all hostile acts, Chuah said. Iran’s joint military command has called the armed boarding an act of piracy and a violation of the ceasefire.
The U.S. earlier had instituted a blockade against sanctioned oil tankers linked to Venezuela but had never fired on those vessels.
Blockades and even limited attacks on vessels can be lawful in wartime, with merchant vessels becoming legitimate targets if they contribute to military actions, carry contraband or are incorporated into enemy logistics, Chuah said.
It's harder to prove that a ship such as the Touska is realistically contributing to military action against the U.S., Chuah said.
“The whole dispute really turns on a deceptively simple question: Did the ceasefire actually suspend the right to use force?” Chuah said. “If it did, then firing on vessels or seizing them is very hard to square with the United Nations Charter.”
Mark Cancian, a retired Marine colonel and a senior defense adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said a violation is up for interpretation because there were no defined terms.
“Trump announced it. The Iranians agreed. But there’s no formal agreement,” Cancian said. “So whether it broke the ceasefire or not depends on your perspective. ... Nothing was written down.”
Michael O’Hanlon, a defense and foreign policy analyst at the Brookings Institution, said the U.S. did not violate the ceasefire because it was limited to bombing Iran, not the blockade.
“We agreed to stop dropping bombs on them, and that’s the basic thing they wanted,” O’Hanlon said, adding that the U.S. still had to enforce the blockade “if you’re going to make it mean anything.”
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine speaks to members of the media during a press briefing at the Pentagon, Thursday, April 16, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
The Pentagon is seen from an airplane, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
