Posted by Ron Margolis, RA, ABR on March 16th, 2010 |
Tags: Condos, For Sale, Foreclosures, Hawaii, Homes, Kapaa, Kauai, Kilauea, Lihue, REO, Short Sales
The last two weeks have seen a lot of auctions for Kauai foreclosures postponed on the courthouse steps.
View all Kauai Foreclosures →
Here are the latest list of Kauai Short Sales and Kauai foreclosures for the last two weeks.
Sub $100K Kauai condo without kitchen.
1) Listed at $75,000, Unit 126 (MLS# 232544) at the Kauai Beach Resort is in building 1 with an ocean view. Many people are attracted to a Kauai condo at the sub $100,000 price. It’s crucial to know that this unit is a hotel room and does not have cooking facilities. It DOES however have consistent revenue as the Kauai Beach Resort is a wonderful place to stay and vacation.
This is one of the lesser priced homes on Kauai’s eastern shores.
2) This small home on Puka St. (MLS# 232705) on the northern end of Kapaa is not quite a short sale but for an offer under $220,000 it will most likely become one. Read entire post →
Posted by Ron Margolis, RA, ABR on March 16th, 2010 |
Tags: First Time Buyers, Foreclosures, Hanalei, Hawaii, Kapaa, Kauai, Koloa, Lihue, Poipu, Princeville, REO, Short Sales, Wailua
Time is running out for the extended first-time homebuyer’s tax credit.
Join the experts from Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Title Guaranty Escrow, Hawaii Life Real Estate, and 101 Financial who are co-sponsoring four free first-time homebuyer seminars on March 22, 24th and 26th and the following week on April 1st. Register online →
Sometimes when buying a first home, home buyers can get overwhelmed by the paperwork and the process. By attending this seminar, you ‘ll get a great head start on understanding this process of home ownership and acquire the knowledge that will help you be more confident when purchasing. Attendees are suggested to bring a notepad to take notes, and there will be plenty of handouts for each of the seminar participants sponsoring the event.
Learn
Our group of presenters will tell you what you need to know and help you avoid an potential scam that may come your way. Read entire post →
Posted by Lori Owens, RS on March 15th, 2010 |
Tags: Big Island, First Time Buyers, Foreclosures, Hawaii, Honolulu, Kauai, Lanai, Loans, Maui, Molokai, Oahu, Short Sales
You might be wondering, “have we hit ‘bottom’”?
I am sure this question has been on the minds of many prospective buyers. Pardon the expression but it is a “scary” market out there if you are not informed. I hope this article will relieve some of your concerns and answer some of your questions about Hawaii’s current real estate market.
Between the changes in the lending guidelines, the negative media blast about how the U.S. housing market is at its all time worst with no way to recuperate and a short supply of housing inventory, no wonder prospective buyers could easily be scared off. The good thing is that it doesn’t have to be this way. A little knowledge can go a long way…
Qualifying for conventional loans is more stringent.
- Lenders are looking more closely at appraisals, and who chooses the appraiser has changed.
- The debt to income ratio has decreased from 60% to 45%.
- Larger down payments are required.
Fortunately, you have alternatives, one being private mortgages. If you have any family members, distant relatives, friends or acquaintances that have money in a savings type account they are most likely making no more than 3% interest in this market. They could be making 5-7% interest as a private mortgagee.
Another alternative is FHA financing, if you qualify you may only have to pay as low as a 3.5% down payment with lower closing costs and possible easier credit qualifying. Go to www.hud.com or www.fha.com for more information.
Beautiful 2 bedroom/2 bath oceanfront condo located at 75-6106 Alii Drive (MLS# 231993)
Read entire post →
Posted by Ron Margolis, RA, ABR on March 15th, 2010 |
Tags: Big Island, Hawaii, Honolulu, Kauai, Maui, News, Oahu, Short Sales
Whether a property owner is seeking a loan modification, pursuing a short sale, or the property has already been foreclosed on, the determination of value is key to the success of each of those transactions.
Now a storm is brewing between appraisers and Broker Price Opinion (BPO) professionals vying for valuation work for short sales conducted through the Making Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program.
Hawaii is a State where real estate agents are prohibited from receiving payment for BPO’s (so I am not sure why BPO’s are used). However, it is true that a BPO is less expensive than a professional appraisal and that may have something to do with the banks policies.
This short sale rim home (MLS# 227307) listed above had a compelling offer of $585,000 submitted. But, the banks BPO came in at 640,000 and the buyer walked away.
The Appraisal Institute—a trade group that represents appraisers—released a public letter it wrote to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Tuesday, calling for an end of the practice of using BPOs for Making Home Affordable modifications and refinances, as well as amending the rules for the upcoming HAFA program to require appraisals to determine value for government-incentivized short sales. Seasoned short sale agents like myself are looking forward to the HAFA program to bring a new efficiency and streamlining to what has been a long drawn-out process of a short sale. Read entire post →
Posted by Katie Minkus, R(BIC) on March 14th, 2010 |
Tags: Big Island, Hawaii, Honolulu, Kauai, Lanai, Life, Maui, Molokai, Oahu
Hawaii had the highest well-being index in the nation in 2009, with a record-breaking score of 70.2.
Hawaii is Good for your Health!
The Gallup Well-Being Index is calculated on a scale of 0 to 100, where a score of 100 would represent ideal well-being, across six sub-indexes:
- Life evaluation,
- Emotional health,
- Work environment,
- Physical health,
- Healthy behaviors,
- Access to basic necessities.
The 2009 Well-Being Index score for the country (65.9) is unchanged from 2008.
For detailed information on this poll, Well-Being: Hawaii Tops Utah for Nation’s Best →
The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index measures the daily pulse of U.S. well-being and provides best-in-class solutions for a healthier world. To learn more, please visit well-beingindex.com.
CFL’s use approximately 1/4 the amount of energy needed to power an equivalent incandescent lamp.
CFL’s (compact fluorescent light) produce light differently than a normal light bulb (incandescent). If you had a lightbulb that was 100 watts, your replacement CFL would be approx. 25 watts.
That is where you will save money on your electric bill. The CFL lamp is more expensive than an incandescent to purchase, but is less expensive to use and maintain. It does have some heat as output but nothing near as much as an incandescent. CFL’s have become more popular with the availability of bulbs for different tasks; dimmable, 3 way, flood, spot and chandelier style. They are also more “easy on the eyes” with the availability of incandescent style light; cool white, brite white, daylight, etc.
There are even more energy efficient fluorescent tubes to replace the standard T12 (common ordinary tube lights). Those replacements are called T8 which emit 35% more light and are more energy efficient. (The T12 & T8 denote the diameter of the lamp T12 = 12/8 of an inch and T8 = 8/8 of an inch. Lamps are measured in terms of its diameter and I will leave it at that.) Read entire post →
Posted by Tracy Stice, R, Broker In Charge, ABR, CRB, CRS, GRI, GREEN on March 10th, 2010 |
Tags: Agents, Big Island, Hawaii, Honolulu, Kauai, Maui, News, Oahu
Senate Bill SB2602, HD1 (PDF), has passed through final committee review in the Hawaii State legislature and will go to Governor Lingle for her signature. In a previous conversation between Governor Lingle and the Hawaii Association of REALTORS (HAR), Governor Lingle indicated that she would support the bill. This is a proactive bill supported and lobbied for by HAR Government Affairs Committee with the support of the Hawaii Real Estate Commission. Read entire post →
Posted by Tracy Stice, R, Broker In Charge, ABR, CRB, CRS, GRI, GREEN on March 8th, 2010 |
Tags: Big Island, Hawaii, Honolulu, Kauai, Lanai, Maui, Molokai, News, Oahu
From your farmer, the president.
My fish pond is suffering, the taro is wilting and tangerines are not getting picked. It has been a busy, but very fast first two months. My term officially started Jan. 1 and I actually got 4 days off before we had our first executive board meeting. Since then, I have traveled to Hilo, Lihue, Palm Springs, Washington DC, and to Honolulu 8 times. Additional, I opened a new real estate office on Maui as BIC. In my spare time, my son Jeremy and I closed 6 escrows and took 8 new listings. Now you know why my chickens don’t get fed unless my wife Laura or my daughters Chloe and Brianna do it. Read entire post →
On a clear day, you can see forever…or is that Niihau?
From this totally remodeled home (MLS# 219726), you can see all of Poipu, Port Allen and west to Niihau. Perched above Kalaheo, this 3,000+ sf home has been completely redone.
This Kalaheo short sale has been approved by the lender which means you can avoid the delays typically associated with short sales (close in two weeks if you so wish).
PRICE: $829,000 ($-666,000)
ASSESSED VALUE: $949,800
Agents Notes: It would be hard to replace this view and quality for under $1M anywhere on this island. Read entire post →
Posted by Ron Margolis, RA, ABR on March 4th, 2010 |
Tags: Condos, For Sale, Foreclosures, Hawaii, Homes, Kapaa, Kauai, Land, Lihue, Princeville, REO, Short Sales
The latest two weeks of new listings on Kauai feature something old and something new.
View all Kauai Foreclosures →
My new listing of 10.8 acres on Kuamoo Rd. offer a superb opportunity for a developer.
Zoned R-2, 2 homes to an acre, this is an opportunity for a smaller subdivision or CPR. Let me know if you need a preliminary map or topo of this property. Read entire post →
