We're only 2 days away from ringing in 2014. Can you believe an entire year has once again passed us by? Tempest fugit, indeed. How did the year shape up for you? As we get ready to watch the fireworks light up the Hawaiian skies in just over 48 hours, let's take a look back over the past 12 months and where we may be going from here. Improving Your Home Value Many residents in Hawaii have taken … [Read more...]
The 3 Types of Real Estate Buyers
What does it mean when someone says they buy or invest in real estate? Or even when they simply say that they want to buy a house? It's not always Ken and Barbie looking for a 3-bed single family home in Honolulu with a white picket fence and room for Fido in the back. Today's real estate scene is savvier and more sophisticated than ever. Non-real estate professionals know more about the real … [Read more...]
Creating Wealth with Hawaii Real Estate – Part 2
In the previous post, we talked about why people may not get started yet investing in real estate even with all the amazing opportunities in today's market, especially the Hawaii real estate market. After all, real estate has one heck of a track record, especially when compared to other investment options like risky stocks and bonds. But many people think that jumping into real estate is beyond … [Read more...]
Bidding Above Asking Price When Buying a House
If you've been keeping up with the Hawaii real estate market these past couple months, you've noticed that inventory is super low. There just aren't that many available homes on the market. That means, all things being equal, that home sellers are in a position of relative power. It's no secret that it's a seller's market right now. So if you're looking to buy a house in Hawaii, you need to … [Read more...]
Hoarding – A Problem and Solution for Hawaii’s Troubled Homeowners
There's been a recent interest in "hoarding", the name given for amassing enough possessions in one's home to the extent that it becomes a challenge just to walk from the kitchen to the front door. A&E has a TV show now called, appropriately, "Hoarders". Just a couple days ago I read an article in which "hoarding disorder" was actually recognized as a separate diagnosis of psychological … [Read more...]
Reading the Tea Leaves
Aloha, friends. It sure is an interesting time for the economy and real estate, both in Hawaii and across the nation. If you're a news junkie, then you no doubt are aware of the see-saw performance of the stock market. Today it's up, tomorrow it's down. It's basically dependent on two key items: HOUSING and JOBS, the two of which are themselves intrinsically linked together. But how reliable … [Read more...]
Asset Liquidation of Real Property
Asset Liquidation. The phrase sounds like the end of a store, like a "Going Out of Business" sale at the local hardware store where you can buy not just some toilets and tool sets on sale but the cash registers as well. The truth is, asset liquidation happens on the home front as well. Everyday in Hawaii and elsewhere there are people who find themselves in a jam and need to either walk away … [Read more...]
Helping Troubled Homeowners
Aloha, friends. I want to tell you about two homeowners that I've helped this month alone, explaining exactly how Big Rock Investments HELPS HOMEOWNERS FIND SOLUTIONS (some details have been changed for privacy issues). Homeowner #1. Let's call him Peter. Peter lives in a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom in Pearl City and runs his own business. But Peter also owns a home in Kapolei which he currently … [Read more...]
Tapping Into Foreign Markets For Buyers
It's no secret that many of today's properties are considered 'distressed'. The percentage of homes that are vacant, in preforeclosure, headed to an auction or repossessed by banks as REO properties is not news -- but it's still staggering. Obviously some states have weathered the storm more than others. Hawaii has dropped out of the top ten states in America for foreclosure rates, but we're still … [Read more...]
Divorce and Real Estate
The current economy and housing market in Hawaii and the mainland U.S. have placed unusual stress on families of late. This stress is proving to be the straw that broke the camel’s back for some, resulting in divorce when the pressure gets too be too much. Divorces can go either way. While some splits are amicable, there are always a percentage of divorces that prove to be…difficult. Splitting … [Read more...]
