Archive for June, 2008
One of Kailua’s Best Condominium Projects
June 30th, 2008 categories: Honolulu Condominiums
As you come over the Pali to Kailua, there seems to be just one high rise condominium and that is Windward Passage. Most brokers agree that it is one of the (if not the) most desirable condominiums in the area. The ongoing redevelopment of Kailua Town makes the future of this project very bright. You may have heard that DR Horton has purchased all of the older 2 story apartments on Kailua Road across from the school. If you have not been to this area recently, I am happy to report that they have all been torn down and construction of a new condo project seems to be underway. When this construction is finished the entire area will be upgraded and this improvement should have a very positive impact local real estate values.
Over the years this unit has been a rental and could be moved into right now or someone might do a total remodel. It has the convenience of a stack washer and dryer, large storage closet in the unit and a second bedroom that can be opened to the living room. Here are more specifics.
2 bedrooms
2 baths
964 square feet interior
92 square feet of lanai
1056 square feet of total area
2 covered parking
$367 monthly maintenance fees (includes basic cable, hot water, water & sewer)
$149 a month current taxes
The building offers the luxury of being able to walk to dining, shopping and entertainment. The grounds are large and well maintained and offer the following amenities.
Dog run
Heated pool
Tennis courts
Sauna
Exercise room
Secured access entry (via fob)
Plenty of guest parking
For more details or to schedule a showing, please call me at 808-737-2093.
Related Posts To Read
King Manor-$250,000
Village Maluhia-$300,000
Makakilo Gardens-$249,000
Terrace Towers-$350,000
Palm Court
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Honolulu View Studio $225,000!
June 30th, 2008 categories: Honolulu Condominiums
So you want to be central to everything in Honolulu. How about being walking distance to Straub Medical Center, Queens Medical Center, the Municipal Building (Honolulu Hale), Blaisdale Concert Hall, Safeway, the Ward Area and much, much more. The King Manor condominium offers all of this!
This is a studio unit that has a knock your socks off view of the ocean and city of Honolulu. It has a great ground floor, full size, covered parking stall. Appointments also include washer and dryer, very usable lanai and true dining area. It is hard to believe that this is a studio.
Related Posts
Village Maluhia-$300,000
Makakilo Gardens-$249,000
Terrace Towers-$350,000
Palm Court
Ridge Home-$850,000
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Honolulu’s Building Code and Lanai Railings!
June 30th, 2008 categories: Reasons To Sell
I love what you could do before the tightening of the building codes. More than likely, the rail above would not be allowed under current building codes. The gaps between the leaves are too wide and a child could fall through. If this home were for sale and you purchased it, be ready for your professional inspector to note the irregularity.
If you have kids, a simple and safe solution, that could keep the view open, would be the installation of 1 inch by 1 inch wire mesh on the inward side of the railing. Another issue that cannot be determined from afar is the height of the rail. To me it looks too low. When buying an older Honolulu home, be sure to check the lanai rails.
Related Articles
What Price Should You Offer On A Honolulu Home?
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Watch Your Honolulu Property Rights
June 27th, 2008 categories: Honolulu Real Estate 101, Rants & Riffs
I am a Honolulu Realtor because I have seen how home ownership changes the lives of those who own them. Certainly, the financial aspect of potential long-term appreciation is enticing, but property rights are fundamental to the freedoms we enjoy as Americans. One of our great founders, James Madison, writes about our property rights.
“In a word, as a man is said to have a right to his property, he may be equally said to have a property in his rights. Where an excess of power prevails, property of no sort is duly respected. No man is safe in his opinions, his person, his faculties, or his possessions. . . . Government is instituted to protect property of every sort; as well that which lies in the various rights of individuals, as that which the term particularly expresses. This being the end of government, that alone is a just government, which impartially secures to every man, whatever is his own.”
June 23 is the 3-year anniversary of a Supreme Court decision that should raise a cry from all of us. Traditionally, government can “take” your property if there is a “public use” for which your property is needed (i.e. roads, sewers, parks, etc.). However, in 2005, a decision known as KELO, the Supreme Court allowed the City of New London to take a property for development by a private developer for private use. The logic behind the decision was that the area was blighted and that the “public” would benefit from the renewal of the area. Since I am not a lawyer, let alone a constitutional scholar visit a post by Hugh Hewitt. He does a great job explaining how our constitutional rights have been trampled.
Today’s picture was taken from the lanai of a Tahitienne Cooperative unit for sale on the Gold Coast.
More Posts to Read
Determining An Offering Price For Honolulu Property
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Great View Home In Aiea (Newtown) $850,000
June 26th, 2008 categories: Buying Honolulu Real Estate
This 3 bedroom 2 bathroom 1,744 square foot home is located at the end of a cul-de-sac on a 6,561 square foot rim lot. This location offers fabulous views and a level of privacy that is hard to find. It is priced at $850,000 and can be moved into right away. The kitchen is very usable with a large dining area located just beyond the pass through. The two-car garage is big with high ceilings and it has access right into to the kitchen for easy unloading of groceries. Vaulted ceilings throughout the home make it feel much larger than one might expect for its square footage. Please call me at 808-737-2093 to schedule a showing.
COMPARABLE SALES FOR THE AREA.
Other Properties Available For Sale
Fairway Villa-$300,000
Sun Rise-$225,000
Village Maluhia-$300,000
Makakilo Gardens-$249,000
Terrace Towers-$350,000
Palm Court
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In Hawaii, You May Want To Buy Existing Rather Than Build!
June 26th, 2008 categories: Buying Honolulu Real Estate, Rants & Riffs
I have great respect for anyone who attempts to build a home or develop real estate in Hawaii. The list of projects that have been approved and then strung out endlessly via the courts is very, very long. Yesterday’s Honolulu newspapers had separate articles concerning a project on Kauai and one here in Nuuanu. Both had received approval to move forward and then a fight ensued.
“Perry halted the work on the home, on an oceanfront parcel once owned by movie star Sylvester Stallone, saying that any work done on the property would violate state laws of grave desecration.
However, the owner of the property, Joseph Brescia, had clearance from nearly a half-dozen state and county agencies, including the Burial Council of Kauai and Niihau, the state Historic Preservation Division, the Kauai Planning Department and others.”
READ THE HONOLULU STAR BULLETIN STORY HERE
“The idea to build on the hillside was first proposed in 2004, by the property’s previous owner.
Shin received tentative approval for his subdivision application in May 2006, and last month the city approved his construction plan and issued him a grading permit, giving him clearance to move forward with clearing the land and putting in infrastructure improvements, such as roads, drainage systems and sewer, water and other utility lines.”
READ THE HONOLULU ADVERTISER STORY HERE
In the case of Kauai, I am not for building on burial grounds, but the owner of the property had met the necessary guidelines to build and the County approved his project. Given the fact that he cleared the necessary hurdles, he should be allowed to build.
When developers are put through extended battles we all pay. First, should the developer ultimately finish the project, the additional costs associated with being drawn out will be added to the cost, thus we pay for it. Second, if those fighting the development win, our supply of existing homes does not grow and this limits the supply of available homes. If supply is limited, you and I pay more for the homes that are available for sale.
With all of the risk associated with developing, I think you are better off buying existing homes. If you don’t like an aspect of the house you buy, then remodel it. In the long run you may have less stress and save money and time.
OTHER POSTS TO READ
How To Determine Your Honolulu Offering Price
Today’s picture is looking down Waimanalo Beach toward Bellow’s and Lanikai.
| Discussion: 3 Comments »
The Chinese Are Here!
June 25th, 2008 categories: Rants & Riffs, Views of Honolulu
For the last few months I have been writing that the Chinese are on their way to Honolulu! Here is an article confirming the first group is here. Hopefully, it is the beginning of many more visitors from China. If so, it could bode well for local real estate values.
“One of the first groups of Chinese leisure travelers and tourism officials to arrive in Hawaii will receive a welcoming reception Wednesday.”
READ THE ENTIRE PACIFIC BUSINESS NEWS ARTICLE
Have you ever wondered what Rabbit Island looks like from the water? This picture was taken from the starting line of this past Sunday’s canoe regatta.
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Honolulu! Stop The Whining & Start Living!
June 24th, 2008 categories: Rants & Riffs
We are our own worst enemy! Believe it or not we drive the economy! If we want it to change, then we need to move our attitude away from pessimism and toward optimism. Maybe I am showing my age, but I lived through recessions in the early 80’s and middle 1990’s and what we are now experiencing is nothing worth crying over. Let’s stop the whining and start being Americans! Change your attitude, take your life by the throat and make it go the way you want it to go!
The Wall Street Journal and other new outlets are reporting that many real estate markets in the U.S. have seen price drops back to those seen in 2005 and 2004.
“Home prices in 20 major U.S. cities have dropped a record 15.3% in the past year and are now back to where they were in 2004, according to the Case-Shiller home price index released Tuesday by Standard & Poor’s. In a separate report, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight said U.S. home prices fell to December 2005 levels during April as the housing downturn continued to affect states at the heart of the real estate boom.”
Last time I checked, 2004 and 2005 were record years in Honolulu! Let’s decide not to participate in the bad news. Go for it!
Today’s picture was taken this past Sunday from Waimanalo Beach, that’s Rabbit Island in the background.
Another Post Of Interest-Building A Honolulu Real Estate Empire
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Palm Court! 2 Master Bedrooms & Very Private!
June 24th, 2008 categories: Honolulu Condominiums
Palm Court is a gated community in Ewa Gentry. This unit is located away from the street and feels very private and quiet. It offers gas cooking, full size washer & dryer, large lanai and storage closet. One of its best features is that it has two bedrooms with each bedroom having its own bathroom. This makes it perfect for guests, roommates or partners to have their own privacy. It is leased through September 30, but will be available thereafter. A check of craigslist.com shows similar units asking $1,400 per month in rent. The following is a brief analysis of a possible investment scenario based on a rental rate of $1,400 per month.
Monthly Expenses
Maintenance fee $308
Ewa Gentry $34
Property Taxes $87
General Excise Tax $66
Total $495
Monthly Rent $1,400
Less Expenses $495
Net Income Before Mortgage Payments $905
An investor mortgage payment of $905 at 6.5%, amortized over 30 years will carry a mortgage of $143,100.
Based on a new loan of $143,100, a buyer of this property would need a down payment of $106,900 to be near a before tax break even cash flow.
PALM COURTS COMPARABLE SALES
Call me at 808-737-2093 or toll free at 877-737-2093 to see if this might meet your investment needs.
Note-please don’t rely on this information to make your investment decision. Make sure that you confirm the validity of the numbers contained in this analysis.
Other Investment Opportunities
Fairway Villa-$300,000
Sun Rise-$225,000
Village Maluhia-$300,000
Makakilo Gardens-$249,000
Terrace Towers-$350,000
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Great Waikiki 1 Bedroom 1 Bathroom with 1 Covered Parking!
June 24th, 2008 categories: Honolulu Condominiums
Fairway Villa is centrally located in Waikiki. It is a building that is in the process of upgrading its common areas, is well managed and has a very bright future. This 1 bedroom 1 bathroom unit is priced at $300,000 and is being sold furnished (including a flat screen television). Enjoy washing your clothes in the stacked Bosch washer/dryer. Including the large open and very usable lanai the unit has a total are of 706 square feet. A tenant has just moved out, so it is ready for you to move in now! The unit was last rented for $1695 and, given the shifting market, we are projecting a rent of $1,595. The following is a brief analysis of a possible investment scenario based on a rental rate of $1,595 per month.
Monthly Expenses
Maintenance fee $466.35
Property Taxes $100 (estimated)
General Excise Tax $75.28
Total $641.63
Monthly Rent $1,595
Less Expenses $641.63
Net Income Before Mortgage Payments $953.37
COPY FAIRWAY VILLA COMPARABLE SALES.
An investor mortgage payment of $953.37 at 6.5%, amortized over 30 years will carry a mortgage of $150,800.
Based on a down payment of $149,200, this apartment is very close to a break-even cash flow.
Call me at 808-737-2093 or toll free at 877-737-2093 to see if this might meet your investment needs.
Note-please don’t rely on this information to make your investment decision. Make sure that you confirm the validity of the numbers contained in this analysis.
Other Available Investment Properties
2 Bedroom 2 Bathroom 2 Parking $225,000
3 Bedroom near University of Hawaii!
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