Archive for March, 2009
Military May Help Personnel Move From Honolulu
March 17th, 2009 categories: Military
Margaret Woda, of Long and Foster in Maryland, had an excellent post concerning the military Home Owner Assistance Program (HAP). According to Margaret, “The Department of Defense will reimburse these individuals up to 95 percent of the loss if their home was purchased before July 1, 2006”. Read the rest of this entry »
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Honolulu’s Great Architecture
March 17th, 2009 categories: Rants & Riffs
Pacific Business News wrote an article on some of Honolulu’s most interestingly designed commercial buildings.
CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE PBN POST.
CLICK HERE TO SEARCH FOR YOUR NEW HOME.
If you would like to discuss your real estate needs, feel free to call me at 808-737-2093 or toll free at 877-737-2093. You can email me at keahi@lava.net.
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Diamond Head Vintage Home
March 16th, 2009 categories: Rants & Riffs
This home is 200 feet from the water and is located at the foot of Diamond Head. I am 99% sure that the home will be completely remodeled because the house behind it is going through a major remodeling. So what makes this vintage?
1. Note the shingled siding.
2. The rock-work going to the second story.
3. The steep pitch of the roof.
CLICK HERE TO SEARCH FOR YOUR NEW HOME.
If you would like to discuss your real estate needs, feel free to call me at 808-737-2093 or toll free at 877-737-2093. You can email me at keahi@lava.net.
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Military Moving To Honolulu? Here Are A Few Helpful Web Links
March 13th, 2009 categories: Military
If you are moving to any of Honolulu’s military bases, these links could be helpful with getting organized and planning.
Information on Oahu’s schools (public and private)
State Web-site for bringing pets to Hawaii
Hale Koa Military Hotel
Military Newcomers Guide-Honolulu Advertiser
My blog on “Things To Know” about moving to Honolulu
Pearl Harbor Naval Exchange
Retail Services at Schofield Barracks
Marine Corp Exchange-Kaneohe Bay
Marine Corp Officers Club-Kaneohe Bay
Hickam AFB Tradewinds Enlisted Club
CLICK HERE TO SEARCH FOR YOUR NEW HOME.
If you would like to discuss your real estate needs, feel free to call me at 808-737-2093 or toll free at 877-737-2093. You can email me at keahi@lava.net.
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Perspective On Hawaii’s Foreclosure Rate
March 12th, 2009 categories: The Market
I am trying to keep my cool! The Honolulu Advertiser led an article today with this headline, “Foreclosure filings statewide soar 276%”! If you are like me, at first blush my reaction was shock and dismay, but as I read the sneaky report I found that their headline was designed to sell papers. Read the rest of this entry »
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Signs That It May Be Time For a New Agent
March 11th, 2009 categories: For Sellers
I talk to people interested in selling their Honolulu home or condominium almost everyday. Some of those sellers were formerly listed with another real estate firm and it is amazing to hear how poorly they were treated. From these conversations, I have determined that there are a number of signs that you might have the wrong agent. If any of these apply to you, then you may want to interview a new company. Read the rest of this entry »
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Curvy Kaimuki Beauty!
March 10th, 2009 categories: Rants & Riffs
Kaimuki is full of classic vintage houses. The porch and roof line of this house made me stop to take a picture. Note how the architect tied the porch arches with the curve in the roof and radius cantilever supports. Not many porches have with much detail.
CLICK HERE TO SEARCH FOR YOUR NEW HOME.
If you would like to discuss your real estate needs, feel free to call me at 808-737-2093 or toll free at 877-737-2093. You can email me at keahi@lava.net.
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Alexander & Baldwin Betting On Honolulu Real Estate!
March 10th, 2009 categories: The Market
Biz Bites Blog is reporting that Alexander and Baldwin (A & B) is working on “Project X”. For obvious reasons A & B did not give up all of the details, but I think they see opportunity in Honolulu’s low commercial real estate values.
“Given the gloom and doom about the local and national economy, A&B’s willingness to set aside cash is a bullish sign for their future.
They’re probably mindful of the lessons of mid-1990s economic downturn where opportunistic investors like Leon Black’s Apollo Group, California-based Oaktree Capital Management L.P., Bill Mills, Everett Dowling and Trinity Investments Trust L.L.C. made a fortune by investing in distressed local real estate.”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE BIZ BITES BLOG.
A & B may be allocating as much as $100,000,000 to buy Hawaii real estate. This tells me that they see this as a very good time to buy. With fewer dollars in our pocket, we may want to take note that the “Big Boys” start buying, it may indicate a good time for long term buyers to get off the fence and put money to work in our own home or condominium.
CLICK HERE TO SEARCH FOR YOUR NEW HOME.
If you would like to discuss your real estate needs, feel free to call me at 808-737-2093 or toll free at 877-737-2093. You can email me at keahi@lava.net.
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Re-sale Should Be Part Of Purchase Plan
March 9th, 2009 categories: For Buyers, Military
For any buyers, especially military buyer’s PCS’ing to an Oahu military base, it is very important to consider how salable a property will be when it is time to sell. Since most military transferees come to Honolulu on orders that last for 3 years, their experience of the Honolulu real estate market is an expedited microcosm of that which is experienced by regular buyers over the long term. Here are the nine things that will make it easier for you to sell when you leave our sunny shores.
1.) Location. Notice I did not write location 3 times. The location I am speaking of has to do with the actual physical attributes concerning the positioning of a property. The following may make the sale of a home more difficult.
-Backing up to a busy road.
-A lot located on a busy corner.
-Lot’s of freeway noise.
2.) Historic desirability of a location. There is always part of a town that is known to be a more desirable neighborhood. So when considering your purchase, ask you agent which neighborhoods are considered in this way. In Honolulu, Kahala is an example of one of these communities. Ever since the days of “Hawaii 5-0”, Kahala has been considered one of those neighborhoods that people want and, therefore, its property values and demand have been high. Read the rest of this entry »
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Loan Modification Update
March 6th, 2009 categories: The Market
It was reported on a Honolulu radio station that 6% of Hawaii’s homeowners were having difficulties with making payments on their mortgages. If you are like me, you have been wondering how the proposed Federal loan modification program is going to work to help these people. To this end, the Wall Street Journal had a recent article that outlined some of the proposed rules.
“First, the government will offer financial incentives and subsidies to persuade mortgage-servicing companies to ease up on borrowers who are in financial straits so severe that they risk losing their homes. Borrowers will have to sign affidavits attesting to their financial hardships. In return, they will see their interest rates drop to as low as 2%, their payment periods lengthened, and other modifications aimed at bringing their monthly payments to 31% of their income — commonly considered a reasonable ratio. This program will be limited to first-lien mortgages with outstanding principal balances that don’t exceed $729,750, in the case of single-family homes.”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE WSJ ARTICLE
If you would like to discuss your real estate needs, feel free to call me at 808-737-2093 or toll free at 877-737-2093. You can email me at keahi@lava.net.
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