When you purchase a single family home in a gated community such as Kohala Ranch or even in an ordinary subdivision such as Waikoloa Village, or a condominium/townhouse on the Kohala Coast, you are obligated to join that community’s homeowners’ association (HOA) and pay monthly or annual HOA fees for the upkeep of common areas [...]
Aloha Pumehana! I was showing a Los Angeles family coffee farms on the Big Island last week and learned that their background in financing was stimulating them to move their cash assets into real estate because it was a “tangible commodity.” Since cash seems to be losing its value at this time, a safe option [...]
Condo living is very popular as you have many amenities, but no responsibilities for exterior maintenance. 3. Unlike Canada, where a seller must bring a home up to code when selling, a seller does not have to repair a property before selling it. Hawaii law does require the seller to complete a seller’s disclosure on [...]
Short sale is a term that we have heard all over the country in regards to real estate. It is a term we will be hearing for a while, so we might as well get to know them better. Short sales can be tricky to navigate; they are not are handled the way a traditional [...]
Looking for a luxury home in Kona at a great price? You need to dig a little deeper these days as the Kona real estate market continues to improve. With home inventories dropping, there is a pressure on prices to rise – and prices have – at both the low and high end. For now, [...]
Aloha! I serve on the Public Relations Committee for West Hawaii Association of Realtors, and we discussed 3 reasons why sellers have a great opportunity to sell now. 3 Reasons Why Sellers Have a Great Opportunity to Sell Now 1. Low Inventory – In Kailua-Kona on the Big Island, there is currently only one 3-bedroom house [...]
There hasn’t been a lot of new project sales worth mentioning in the past year, but I have to say, this Realtor believes this is the project to buy. The last project in the prestigious “Nauru” development area of Kakaako, Waihonua (which literally means “waters of the earth”) has all the makings and potential to become [...]
I came across an excellent article from Forbes filled with advice on vacation homes; it covers property management fees, property tax rates, and tax tips, too. Second-home buyers are taking advantage of good deals available, purchasing now and renting out until retirement time. Buy now, retire later—smart strategy! Forbes recommends buying properties on the beach [...]
The first property auction sponsored by Hawaii Life is less than a week away. In between showing my auction listing and answering questions about it and other auctions properties for prospective buyers, I seem to find myself spending a lot of time explaining how the auction works. An auction is not the most familiar purchase [...]
Shortly after writing that both REO (foreclosure) homes at beachfront Kolea were in escrow, I had a conversation with an agent looking for an oceanfront foreclosure situation at Hali’i Kai, the other luxury condo complex at Waikoloa Beach Resort. Her buyers were hungry for oceanfront and she was insisting she had on good authority that [...]
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