There are a lot of real estate investors who have a somewhat combative, almost hostile relationship with the concept of realtors. It doesn't make sense to me. Investors and realtors play different yet incredibly complementary roles in local real estate transactions. I understand on the surface where some of the friction comes from -- to a large extent, we market our services to the same people. … [Read more...]
Putting Together a Real Estate Superhero Team
We all have different real estate goals. Some of us just want to buy a house while interest rates are still relatively low. For some, it's a first house for a new family, maybe a condo in Salt Lake, Honolulu or a townhouse in Makakilo or Kihei. For others, a vacation house on the North Shore of Oahu or just off the beach in Poipu, Kauai is just what we want. Others have significantly different … [Read more...]
So Long, Mr. President
Come tomorrow, President Obama and family will head back to their usual residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in our nation's capital. It's been a surprisingly quiet visit for the First Family compared to previous years. While they stayed in Kailua on the windward side as they always do when visiting Oahu (in a legal rental, we hope!), there weren't as many of the typical stories in the paper and … [Read more...]
Preparing for Hawaii Real Estate in 2014
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...]
Keeping Hawaii Off the Map
There's been a fair amount of talk lately about the promotion of Kailua as a tourist destination for the "Honolulu - been there, done that" crowd and the relatively rapid development of legal and illegal vacation rentals to feed this niche. Too many of these rentals, the opposition says, replace actual housing for local residents and drive up the prices, which are some of the highest real estate … [Read more...]
Flipping Houses in Hawaii
When I moved to Honolulu from Washington DC in the summer of 2006, it wasn't because of anything related to real estate. I was actually entering the doctoral program of the geography department at The University of Hawaii. Flipping houses was about the furthest thing from my mind; it wasn't even on the radar. I was moving here to study maps, satellite images and coastal regions. Seven years … [Read more...]
Can You Help a Homeowner Friend in Need?
You know what can be the hardest thing to do? Ask someone for help. It's human nature that we rarely actually ask people for help, no matter how much we may need it. I think we all feel, at some level, that asking for help means admitting weakness. The truth is that we ALL need help at some point. Every single one of us, even here in beautiful sunny Hawaii. And if we all need help, doesn't that … [Read more...]
How the Government Shutdown Affects Real Estate
Unless you've turned a blind eye to the world, you know that the American government entered into shutdown mode Tuesday after the two houses of Congress couldn't get together and pass a new spending bill for the new fiscal year. It's been roughly 18 years since the last time this happened and, if you've kept up with the media outlets, there doesn't seem to be any progress toward a resolution … [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...]
Top 5 Ways to Find a Good General Contractor
If you've taken on any home repairs or remodeling projects lately, then you're aware that knowing how to find a good general contractor can be the most important step. There's certainly no shortage of people in the home repair industry in Hawaii -- handymen, general contractors, roofers, painters, etc. -- looking for work right now. However, in real estate as with any industry, there are both … [Read more...]
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