Hawaii Life Real Estate Brokers » Oahu

Talk Story #36 – Purchasing a Condominium with Construction Defects

Jeanne E. Buboltz, R, CRS, GRI — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:45:18 +0000

Buying any property is a serious consideration not only for the buyer, but also for the seller. It is best to have a good Realtor making sure that all disclosures are available for review and acceptance. Often though, once purchased and enjoyed, it is of no fault to either party when the unexpected shows up in the actual construction of the condominium itself!

Construction Defects Found at Ko’olani Condominium

Recently, there has been news of the luxury high rise Ko’olani Condominium in Kaka’ako (between Waikiki and Honolulu) having more than $12 million in construction defects. Completed in 2006, the 47 floor building had a mainland based developer who used local contractors and sub-contractors.

At this time, there has been an unwillingness to come to an agreement regarding the costs and repairs in the legal battles. Thus, consequences arise in situations such as this. Obviously, this fact has affected the current condo owners.

Kaka'ako condos near Ala Moana Beach Park

Turning a Difficult Situation into a Win-Win

A superb location and other aspects of a condomnium such as the size and floorplan, view and overall appeal, such as the Ko’olani Condominium, may be well worth pursuing.

An owner, whether already with their property on the market for other reasons, or one now deciding to do so, may be more willing to consider reducing their asking price or arrange in escrow to have certain funds set aside – to make a ‘Deal’ with the potential buyer.

Once a condominium has been found to have defects, or is in a legal situation, financial institutions are very hesitant and unwilling to make loans until there is a satisfaction of any litigation being settled. But…this is a great opportunity for an astute cash buyer to move forward quickly on a desirable property.

It is best to utilize an established Realty office, such as Hawaii Life Real Estate Brokers, turning a difficult situation into a win-win for both buyer and seller. I have had buyers also wanting their own private attorney review the various documents and especially the disclosures, thus all are aware and agreed upon with the escrow closing smoothly.

Kaka'ako High Rises near the Ala Moana and Ward Centers

The Oahu Condominium Lifestyle

The condominium lifestyle is a way of relaxing and enjoying all that is here in Hawaii. I chose it and live in the Kak’ako high rise ‘neighborhood’. It is a huge contrast from 22 years of living and being a Realtor on the Kohala Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii.

Desiring the vitality of city life on Oahu, I turned my Waikoloa Village house into a long term rental investment. It is wonderful to be close to Honolulu, or walk to Waikiki or the main shopping areas, so nearby…and…there is always peace and quiet in the beautiful Ko’olau mountains not far away.

I am here, let me help you to decide on “what to do” with your desires and needs, and help you meet your parameters. As for the Ko’olani and others – Location? Yes! Disclosures? Absolutely.

Contact me with an email or Toll Free: 800.667.5028 ext. 8403 Let’s ‘Talk Story’. A condominium may be just the right choice for you.

Warm Aloha,
Jeanne

Note: In Hawaii, there is often a gathering of family and friends, and in a casual way stories are told of present and past happenings. We call it “Talk Story.” My continued series are about different places around Oahu with a bit of their history, and the opportunities for you today. I would love to hear about your personal Hawaii memories to share, perhaps during the territorial days, like I was growing up out ‘Koko Head’ way. Hawaii is a special place and so are the people. Follow me as we discover a Lifestyle best suited for YOU. Whether it is a new military move, a casual beach house, a downsized retirement home, a golf course fronted resort home-away-from-home, a grand residence with superb view, or a high rise condominium…the choices and the Hawaii Life Real Estate Brokers resources are many.

Live Among The Stars at Sunset Beach Colony on Oahu’s North Shore

Benjy Gilholm, RA — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:00:52 +0000

Looking for oceanfront property on the north shore of Oahu?

If you’re a north shore oceanfront buyer, be sure to check out Sunset Beach Colony (MLS# 1107402), offering luxury north shore living! Sunset Beach Colony is the premier gated community on the north shore of Oahu. This home for sale is a 3 bed/3 bath with 2,400 sq.ft. of living area. It is priced at $3,200,000. This home offers amazing ocean views and the ability to live among the stars!

Waihonua – Changing Kakaako’s Skyline

Caron A Ling, R, CRS — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:45:48 +0000

Right now, I am calling everyday to find a one-bedroom available at Waihonua; I keep checking the availability list, to no avail! Because of the popularity of the latest building in Kakaako, Alexander and Baldwin has become the pioneer of development in 2012. More developments have suddenly popped up.

What’s great is what this new project started; there are now rumblings of projects at Symphony Park (above Nordstrom’s) and finally some news, as I mentioned above, of the beginnings of developments in the Kamehameha Schools Art and Industrial district of Kakaako.

Changing Kakaako's skyline seems to be the trend of this ten year period, but I'm excited to see what happens to retail markets and residential with all the new development happening in this part of town

It takes years to build a building, but once someone starts, it just seems to trickle down to more and more buildings being built! You can see that with the development of Koolani, Hokua, Keola Lai, and Capitol Place. Now you see it happening all over again. It is quite an exciting time in Oahu real estate.

It’s also nice to see Alexander and Baldwin starting their next project AFTER Waihonua is built. This gives time for units to sell, the building to be built, and then focus on delivering good, quality projects, not rushing into anything. Check out this link: Kamehameha Schools and Alexander and Balwin Announce…

One more thing to love about Oahu: new projects. It’s a whole new game for buyers who haven’t been able to find anything for the past few years.

If you have any more detailed questions about anything I’ve mentioned in this blog, feel free to email me at caron@hawaiilife.com. I’d be happy to answer your questions.

North Shore Oahu Home For Sale Oceanfront to Sunset Beach

Benjy Gilholm, RA — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 03:15:21 +0000

North shore oceanfront buyers, don’t pass up this super specatuclar oceanfront gem (MLS# 1112626) located in front of the world-famous Sunset Beach. 59-017 Kahauola St. 017 is part of a two unit CPR. The other dwelling, unit 2, is currently in escrow, per listing agent Roberto Lopes agent remarks in the MLS, priced at $2.695M.

This home has panoramic views of the setting sun over surfing’s Gold Coast. Built in 2001, this luxurious home has been hardly used. Located on a sandy beach on one of the north shore’s most desirable neighborhoods, this is the perfect beach house. This property is discounted to sell!

Features

High quality finishes
Over 4,600 sq./ft. of roofed area
3 bedrooms
3.5 bathrooms
A large garage
A ‘bonus area’ with 2 bedrooms + bathroom + exercise + game room

2011 Hawaii Tourism Authority Visitor Statistics Infograph

Justin Britt — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:47:59 +0000

Brought to you by Title Guaranty.

Visiting the Islands? Check out our Hawaii vacation rentals.

Zero Down Home Loans Available

Sharon Gerber, Senior Loan Officer — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:45:00 +0000

USDA/Rural Housing Loans Offer 100% Financing on Hawaii Homes

Many people are unaware that there is still 100% financing available. There are definitely eligibility requirements for the property and the borrower. To find out if you are eligible, this website is an excellent resource: http://www.eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/welcomeAction.do

As an example, the whole island of Kauai is considered rural. This does not mean that every property on Kauai is eligible for this loan, but does broaden the liklihood that a property would be eligible. Condos are also eligible as long as they are already on an approved government list, such as VA or FHA.

Income eligibility is a key piece as well. The income guidelines are generous. I recently closed a USDA/RH loan for a single borrower that makes just under $50,000 per year.

For more information, or if you have any questions, please contact me.

Ossipoff Home For Sale with Expansive Kahala Views

David E. Buck, R, BIC — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 07:50:20 +0000

There’s a new Ossipoff listing that hit the market today on Koloa St. in Kahala. Built in 1959, it is pretty well preserved for those that are mid-century modern fans. Like many Ossipoff homes on Oahu, this one was built on a prime location.

Front entry of Ossipoff home (MLS# 1201140) with expansive views of Kahala out the back yard…

Koloa Street is a sleeper of a street in Kahala. It’s one of the few where you can get views as some of the homes are perched up on a knoll. In addition, it is seldom these days you find an Ossipoff available for sale in Kahala. There are certain neighborhoods such as Waialae Nui Ridge, Diamond Head, and Puu Panini where you can find concentrations of these homes. So much of Kahala, on the other hand, has had places knocked down to rebuild.

Well preserved mid century modern kitchen

I think this is a great opportunity. However, if this doesn’t fit your budget or location, here’s a gallery of mid-century modern homes I’ve put together you may find interesting.

Foster Tower Fee Now Available in Waikiki

Mark Buck, R — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 06:20:57 +0000

Foster Tower in Waikiki, the only condominium in Waikiki directly across the street from Kuhio Beach, has been a leasehold building with diminishing values until Saturday. That is when Queen Liliuokalani Trust had a meeting to announce the fee would be offered to the condominium owners. Fortunately, I was able to attend the event. The Trust has business reasons to offer the fee at this time.

View from Foster Tower #2101 (MLS# 1200467) where the fee interest is now available

By having the fee available, owners or future investors will now be able to own and finance very desirable units. Currently, there are 5 units for sale in the building with the most expensive listed at $749,000 leasehold with the fee available.

There are 4 other units listed for sale at $220,000 and below. The current owners have until May 29th to purchase with a closing date of August 30th to close. Because of some units having been combined over the years, there are many different prices in this offering. However, the typical original unit prices would vary from a low of $159,000 for a studio to $539,000 for a 2 bedroom. With the interest shown at the meeting, this promises to become a valuable resort condominium to own.

If you currently own a unit at Foster Tower and wish to purchase the fee interest, or are now considering a leasehold unit now that the fee is available, feel free to contact me for more information.

What’s Causing Oahu’s North Shore Traffic Problem in Laniakea?

Benjy Gilholm, RA — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:45:57 +0000

Over the last 5 years traffic has come to a halt on the North Shore of Oahu. Who’s to blame?? If you ask a local resident, they may say Hollywood is to blame…The movie Blue Crush was the beginning, or MTV’s Boarding House, or Saving Sarah Marshall, or the one where Owen Wilson lives on the North Shore and rips off houses. Or maybe it’s Surfline’s fault for all the web cams, or the Internet’s fault for real time surf reports. Maybe you could blame Capitol One for the barbarian commercial in Waialua?

The vacation rentals don’t help. Maybe it’s the surf industries fault for buying multiple oceanfront houses and letting their spoiled team riders post up all winter for free. I know, let’s blame social media! All those hot 20-something girls that discover the North Shore one winter and tell all 3,456 of their friends how many hot dudes are on the beach through Facebook. I know, maybe when Lindsey Lohan was here partying this winter she tweeted to all her followers how raging the parties were? Oh yeah, and I almost forgot, we could all blame the turtles!

Anyways, it’s too late to blame anyone or anything. I will let all of you in on a little secret, you have about ten more years for the city and county of Honolulu to really do anything about the traffic (it took them 10 years to actually have their first meeting about the issue). If you were smart, you would beg, borrow, earn, or do whatever you had to do to purchase any property adjacent to Kam Hwy., sit back, and wait for the government to enforce eminent domain for another bypass road and reap the benefits, and every time you were stuck in North Shore traffic you would see dollar signs.

Sales at Ocean Villas at Turtle Bay Resort Are on Fire!

David Hite — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:00:41 +0000

There have been seven sales in the past 6 months. Currently, there is only one active listing priced at $1,295,000 – a 3 bed/2 bath suite with a 1,411 sq. ft. interior with a 135 sq. ft. lanai. The average sales price on these 3 bed/2 bath units for this period is $1,100,000.

Of the seven closed sales, one was a short sale and one was a lender sale. The rest were all normal sales, though they sold for much lower prices than the original prices paid at the peak of the market 2005-2007.

The 3 bed/2 bath pictured above originally sold in 2005 for $1,660,000 and is now a short sale currently in escrow listed at $995,000.

Owners can self-manage, or let the on-site management company take care of the vacation rentals with 3 bedroom suites averaging $1,000 per night.

The development consists of 52 units:

Ten 4 bedroom/3 bathroom
Thirty-four 3 bedroom/2 bathroom
Three 1 bedroom/1 bathroom
5 studios

The one bedrooms and studio suites are the same size – 673 sq. ft. with a 134 sq. ft. lanai. Studio suite #202 sold in 2007 for $1.1 million and recently resold in September 2011 for $418,500.

Looks like a great opportunity to own some of the best oceanfront property on the planet for bargain prices if you keep your eye on the ball.