GreatHawaiianHomes.com Blog

Gayle Fujita Ramsey (S) RA SFR

(808) 388-1485

gfujita@hawaii.rr.com

Gordon Au Realty

2011 Aloha Aina Award Nominee

Honolulu Real Estate-Buying In Today's Market

Mon, 13 May 2013 12:16:47 -0700

Oahu Real Estate for the first two quarters of 2013 looks like it’s finally gained the momentum we have all been waiting for since the crash of 2008. It’s been a long 5 years and we are seeing the market balance out. If you are selling and have priced your home where it should be it will be in escrow within 2 weeks. If you have overpriced your home depending by how much you are going to be sitting on the market for a while.

As a seller you may be wondering this isn’t true it’s still a Seller’s Market because inventory is low. Well you are right regarding inventory and at the same time wrong because it is not truly a Seller’s market.

Buyers are savvy now with access to as much information as Realtors. Often times Buyers may know more than most Realtors about the areas they want to move into. If they feel you are overpriced they will more often than not choose to avoid your property completely and won’t even ask to see it. Why? Well because overpriced is a red flag that you, as a Seller, are not serious about selling or if you think you are you are unrealistic about value.

Why does this matter you may ask? Well, because a Buyer understands that they will need the property to appraise and if it does not appraise where the purchase contract needs it to be then they have wasted their time and money. Appraisals can cost anywhere from $450.00 and up, besides the cost of a professional home inspection.

In a nut shell if you are thinking of selling you want to be realistic with your values. You need an experienced agent who knows what properties to use when running the comparable marketing analysis – CMA, in calculating a price range to list your home. The report should show the properties used, any adjustments made, and an explanation of why the adjustments were made.

Watch for tomorrow’s blog and we will continue on with our conversation regarding why pricing in today’s market is imperative.

Warm Regards-

Mike

Mike Ramsey Fujita (S) RA SFR

(808) 630-1828

Gayle Fujita Ramsey (S) RA SFR

(808) 388-1485

gfujita@hawaii.rr.com

Gordon Au Realty

2011 Aloha Aina Award Nominee

Homes For Sale on Oahu

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 16:53:20 -0700

Gayle and I are now working with Gordon Au Realty on Oahu. Gordon has been a long time friend and was our broker when I was first Licensed as a Realtor Associate. He has been our secret source of information over all these years and we are proud to be with him again. Interest rate are close to thier all time lows and we have lots of loan programs to share with you to help you purchase your next home. Call me at (808) 630-1828 or Gayle at (808) 388-1485 today and we will get started!

Warm Regards-

Mike

Mike Ramsey Fujita (S) RA SFR

(808) 630-1828

Gayle Fujita Ramsey (S) RA SFR

(808) 388-1485

gfujita@hawaii.rr.com

Gordon Au Realty

2011 Aloha Aina Award Nominee

Sandwich Station at Sam's Club in Honolulu

Sun, 06 May 2012 23:14:46 -0700

New to Honolulu is the Sandwich Station at Sam's Club on the 3rd floor. (808) 630-1828, @ Sandwich808 & http://www.facebook.com/Sandwich808 are all good way to keep up with this great little eatery. They are open Monday thru Saturday from 11 AM to 6:00 PM and til 5 PM on Sundays.

The serve items that have all been big hits at their other restaurants on Oahu. They are also in an ongoing effort to help Sam's Club raise money for all of the various charties they raise money for, so a portion of every sale goes to these charities. As of this writting, they are helping to raise money for the Children's Miricle Network.

On their menu you will find their Pulled Pork Sandwich with they make from scratch. Pork is slowly roasted and salted, pulled and mixed into their wonderful BBQ Sauce. The Pulled Pork is served on a Bun with more BBQ Sauce and Dill Pickle Chips. The combination of the sweet sauce and sour crunch of the pickles is excellent. You can also add Cheese, their Secret Garlic Sauce, Jalapenos and any of their other toppings at no additional cost. All of their sandwiches are served with Chips and a Soda so it is really a great deal at $5!

To the left is their West Coast Style Hot Pastrami Sandwich. It has Hot Pastrami, Secret Garlic Sauce, Cheese, BBQ Sauce and Jalapenos too. You can change the items on the sandwich so you don't like Jalapenos and want to add Mustard it is never a problem. They sell this wonderful sandwich for $7 and it comes with Chips and a Soda.

To the right is a photo of the Sandwich Station's New York Style Hot Pastrami Sandwich. It is for the people that love Pastrami and don't like a bunch of sauces on their food. It is served with Yellow Mustard and Sauerkraut on their 7 inch bun. It is also served with a bag of Chips and a Soda.

Below is a shot of the Sandwich Station's Classic Nachos. They are served with Tortilla Chips, Cheese, Secret Garlic Sauce, Their Scratch Made Chili, Jalapenos and a bit of Salsa. Here again, you can leave any toppings you don't like off to make them perfect for you!

They also have a great Cheese & Steak sandwich which is made with tender slices of Steak, Cheese and their Secret Garlic Sauce and you can also add their Scratch Made Chili on top which makes it taste like an unbelievable Chili Burger! I will get photos of these other sandwiches the next time I go down.

Happy Dining Foodies!

Cheers- Mike

Warm Regards-

Mike

Mike Ramsey Fujita (S) RA SFR

(808) 630-1828

Gayle Fujita Ramsey (S) RA SFR

(808) 388-1485

gfujita@hawaii.rr.com

Gordon Au Realty

2011 Aloha Aina Award Nominee

DJ Hammond Wants To Send You A Client

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 14:51:10 -0700

So I check my email one more time before I go to bed and there is an email from DJ Hammond in Montana. It is way past business hours in Montana so I leave him a voice mail and an email letting him know that we would be more than happy to assist his customer in his Honolulu Relocation.

I call good old DJ and he starts right in with the "Territory" stuff. I ask him specifically about his customer Wade he ask me about and he says "Another Lady Took Him". Wade is selling Zip Codes to Realtors for his client lead generation system. I am always bothered by sales people that used this bait and switch tactic. I wish they would just send out truthful emails/information and let those that need their help respond. They are such a waste of time on money.

I have copied his email below for you. If people have to lie about their intentions from the start, how good could their product possibly be?

To: mike@greathawaiianhomes.com
Subject: Possible Relocation
From: dhammond@realestatepipeline.com
Date: Sat, 7 Apr 2012 02:30:04 -0400

Hello Michael,

I need some help for a customer of mine, they are looking to purchase in Waikki. I’m in Montana, so obviously I can’t be of much help there. If you are taking on new customers I’d like to introduce you to Wade, and hopefully you can help them find a good buy. Please give me a call at 406-532-5573, and we can discuss this further. Thanks for your help!

DJ Hammond
REPL
Customer Relocation Specialist
406-532-5573

Warm Regards-

Mike

Mike Ramsey Fujita (S) RA SFR

(808) 630-1828

Gayle Fujita Ramsey (S) RA SFR

(808) 388-1485

gfujita@hawaii.rr.com

Gordon Au Realty

2011 Aloha Aina Award Nominee

The Home Buying Process in Hawaii

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:35:57 -0700

Well, this should be different. Rather than writing out a traditional entry about the home buying process in Hawaii, Gayle and I have created a Radio/Blog to cover the material. It was really fun and is packed with lots of great information.

Please have a listen! Click HERE

Many people learn in very different ways. By being interactive and allowing callers to call into the studio with questions while we are LIVE, Gayle and I hope reach people that we might have missed in the past. Please contact me or Gayle if you would like our On Air Schedule so you can be a past of our next live show.

Make it a Wonderful Day!

Warm Regards-

Mike

Mike Ramsey Fujita (S) RA SFR

(808) 630-1828

Gayle Fujita Ramsey (S) RA SFR

(808) 388-1485

gfujita@hawaii.rr.com

Gordon Au Realty

2011 Aloha Aina Award Nominee

Foreclosure Moratorium in Hawaii

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 11:56:33 -0800

Mike and I have been receiving a lot of inquiries regarding the moratorium on non-judicial foreclosure since the new law was passed recently.

The law was passed when it was discovered that lien holders were foreclosing on property that they didn't even own. How could this happen you ask? Well, the mortgage market packages loans and resells them to investors. This can happen over and over again and when this does sometimes the processing of paperwork doesn't catch up with what is going on.

For example, Bank 1 owns the mortgage and sells it to Lien-Holder 2 who in turn sells it to Lien-Holder 3. While Bank 1 has it, the home owner falls behind on their mortgage and Bank 1 start the process of foreclosure. The bank forecloses on the property but they don't even own the home, Lien-Holder 3 does.

We all want to believe that everyone is organized and systems are updated but the sad truth is that with the fall out of the 2008 economic crisis and the overload of mortgages in distress, many banks are not as organized as we want to think they are.

The new law in, general terms, basically mandates that all NON-Judicial foreclosures have to meet at the table with a mediator, a representative of the bank/lien-holder pursuing the foreclosure, the home owner and they have a maximum of 3 hours to work something out. One of the most important things that bank/lien-holder must first do in this meeting is provide paper work that shows they are the current owner of the mortgage in place.

The intention is to one, prevent homes being foreclosed incorrectly and two, to hopefully work something out with the home owner to keep them in their homes if at all possible.

The question we keep receiving is do we think there will be a deluge of properties hitting the market that will suddenly create so much inventory that prices will go down and it will become another Buyer's Opportunity/Market.

In our opinion we don't think so and here's why...

First off, the moratorium ends in October at which time the State of Hawaii needs to have in place systems to handle these 3 hours meetings and people to run the program. We don't have the numbers of how many non-judicial foreclosures are pending but we know the state will not be able to process more than 2 in a normal business day with one mediator. Even if they have six mediators maybe they will process 12 a day... of those 12 who knows how many will be able to work things out.

Then there is what Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are doing. They are converting ALL non-judicial foreclosures to judicial foreclosures. Currently there is already a 12 to 14 month wait for a hearing date once the foreclosure process requests a hearing. When the non-judicial foreclosures are converted, the court system will be even more overloaded and we suspect the wait period for a hearing date will get even longer.

Will there be a sudden influx of inventory based on this moratorium being lifted? We don't think so. If you are thinking of buying now we highly encourage you to do so. The market is always changing and you don't want to have missed it and our low interest rates and rent for the rest of your life.

Warm Regards-

Mike

Mike Ramsey Fujita (S) RA SFR

(808) 630-1828

Gayle Fujita Ramsey (S) RA SFR

(808) 388-1485

gfujita@hawaii.rr.com

Gordon Au Realty

Click here to search for homes to dance in!

2011 Aloha Aina Award Nominee

Salsa Dancing in Hawaii

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 22:57:33 -0800

I have been a fan of dancing from the age of 19 when I finally worked up enough nerve to ask a girl to dance. She said yes, much to my suprise, and the rest is history. I danced my way through my time in the Navy and then my way through the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I also worked at a wonderful restaurant and nightclub called Bobby McGee's in Waikiki which only fueled my love for dancing.

Well, that was the 80's and well over 100 pounds ago. I just happened to watch a movie called "Can We Dance" with Shayanne and Vanessa Williams. It was really great! It inspired me to look for a place to get off my butt and jump back into Salsa again. I found a dance school run by Greg "The Salsaman" Henry. OK, I've been to one class, but I can see that Greg's students really enjoy his classes. I bought Ten classes for $80.00 and will be attending every Tuesday and Thursday. I am so excited to get dancing again I can't even put it into words.

If you would like to Salsa your way back into shape, love dance or would like to try Salsa, please call Greg at (808) 256-7556. He is very good about returning calls.

I hope to see YOU in class very soon!

Cheers-Mike

Warm Regards-

Mike

Mike Ramsey Fujita (S) RA SFR

(808) 630-1828

Gayle Fujita Ramsey (S) RA SFR

(808) 388-1485

gfujita@hawaii.rr.com

Gordon Au Realty

2011 Aloha Aina Award Nominee

Manoa Home with Kyoto Style

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 22:29:55 -0800

$2,700,000 FS Manoa Valley Area, 4 Beds, 2.5 Baths, 4132 Interior Footage, Kyoto Inspired Home,
Area Price Range $650,000 to $6,900,000

Uniquely designed home melding Japan and Honolulu together into one, Secluded, Private, Elegant with touches of Kyoto. Maximizing Split Level Design offers unlimited possibilities. This home was built and designed by a Contractor who is Artistic and Creative. Views of Mountains, it's Peaceful and Relaxing. Lots of extras: 24 panels of PV, Reflection Pool, Koa Flooring, 600sf Master wood working Workshop, 600sf Gym, Fireplace and much, much more.

Click here for full information

Search all listings in and around Manoa Valley

Some of the active listings appearing on this communication may be listed by other REALTORS®. If you are interested in those active listings, our company may represent you as the buyer's agent. This listing is courtesy of Prudential Locations LLC, Malia Siu. If the active listing you are interested in is our company's active listing, you may speak to one of our agents regarding your options for representation Click to search other options at http://www.BuyorSellinHawaii.com/search

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Talk to me about how you can find the Hawaii home of your dreams

Mike Ramsey Fujita RA SFR (808) 630-1828

Warm Regards-

Mike

Mike Ramsey Fujita (S) RA SFR

(808) 630-1828

Gayle Fujita Ramsey (S) RA SFR

(808) 388-1485

gfujita@hawaii.rr.com

Gordon Au Realty

2011 Aloha Aina Award Nominee

Refinancing Your Department of Hawaiian Homeland Home

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:54:47 -0800

DHHL (Department of Hawaiian Homelands) properties are for Hawaiians with at least 50% Hawaiian in them that is traceable through their genealogy. An applicant to live in a DHHL Home or on DHHL Land must submit an application to the DHHL, along with proof of heritage and then be approved. Once this is done you go on a waiting list. This is a very simple explanation regarding this matter for a process that can take a lifetime to actually get a home. In the past, parents have left their place in line to their children upon their passing.

The website to go to for more information is http://www.hawaiianhomelands.org/applications/commonly-asked-questions-by-new-applicants/ this link will take you to the page FAQ (frequently asked question) page for applicants. If this doesn’t help you go to http://www.hawaiianhomelands.org/applications/applying-for-hawaiian-home-lands/ hopefully this page will help as well.

Why blog about this? Well a client called yesterday with questions regarding refinancing and possibly taking advantage of the low interest rates and consolidating his debt. Unfortunately, he spoke to some person at HomeStreet Bank and they told him that because he owns a DHHL home there was no such thing as equity and he couldn’t. Something didn’t sound right to him so he called and inquired if we knew anything about this.

Of course we didn’t but we spent the day trying to find out the answers for him and took it as an opportunity to learn ourselves about DHHL homes. Here’s what we found out thanks to Tom Carmichael, http://tcarmichael-affinitylendinglo.mortgagewebcenter.com/Default.asp?bhcp=1 , at HomeStreet Bank.

You can refinance “refi” your home if it is a DHHL home. You can take equity out if there is any and you meet the loan to value and income to debt ratios.

First off, if you are just going to refi in order to take advantage of the lower interest rates then you won’t need an appraisal and they can process your request. If you qualify they will complete the refi for you and hopefully your monthly mortgage payment will go down or you can pay if off sooner.

Secondly, if you want to take equity out then the process is a bit more complicated. First an appraisal will need to be ordered and it is not completed using the Market Value assessment but with Cost Approach. This is a little different and really only an appraiser can do this for you. Once completed, some math will need to occur. DHHL requires that 25% equity remains in your home. This means that if the appraisal comes in at $200,000 then $50,000 of equity needs to remain debt free. The difference is $150,000. If your current mortgage balance is $100,000 then you would have about $50,000 to take out to pay off debts, etc… However, if you current mortgage balance is $150,000 then you have no access to equity to take out.

Say you fall into scenario one where you have access to $50,000 then you need to make sure your income to debt ratio allows you to qualify for the refi. Something unique to DHHL properties is that even though your intention is to pay off your debt with the funds taken out they still require the lender to use the monthly debt in the income to debt ratio. So this is a hurdle you will need to overcome.

From what I learned only the big banks do DHHL loans… not sure if this is true since I didn’t call all of them. Central Pacific used to do them and no longer does. Bank of Hawaii, First Hawaiian Bank might. So far only HomeStreet seemed to have the best insight; however, call Tom since whoever my client spoke to earlier didn’t seem to know much and gave out wrong information.

Warm Regards-

Mike

Mike Ramsey Fujita (S) RA SFR

(808) 630-1828

Gayle Fujita Ramsey (S) RA SFR

(808) 388-1485

gfujita@hawaii.rr.com

Gordon Au Realty

2011 Aloha Aina Award Nominee

Hawaii Homes For Sale

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:22:27 -0800

It is well known that the Real Estate fallout of 2008 did not impact Honolulu as hard as most of the United States. There are many reasons for that. Many of the areas of Oahu that did see a fall in value has experienced a recovery of value. We know this because we track home prices. We are not talking about Assessed Value, we are talking about Market Value and this is established by the prices that Sellers and Buyers agree upon in real hard dollars.

Over the years, interest rates have fallen to the lowest rates many of us have ever seen. Home prices are also near their lows, even with the recovery that has taken place. They are still far off their "Real Estate Boom Highs", but when combined with today's low interest rates, many home buyers are really getting their money's worth!

There are easily a couple of thousand properties for sale on Oahu, as of this writting. They range in price from a couple of hundred thousand dollars to we over $32,000,000. There are also well over 200 homes priced over $1,500,000. These are real homes. Many of them can be considered Estates complete with the electric gates and uncompromising quality and some are more of a simple Island Style with a View that will make you melt and think "I could live here".

My partner and I would love to share these homes with you. If you would like to see them, please call Gayle to set up a showing appointment at (808) 388-1485. Let her know the areas and price range you are interested in. You may also call me (Mike) directly at (808) 630-1828 anytime.

Happy House Hunting!

Warm Regards-

Mike

Mike Ramsey Fujita (S) RA SFR

(808) 630-1828

Gayle Fujita Ramsey (S) RA SFR

(808) 388-1485

gfujita@hawaii.rr.com

Gordon Au Realty

2011 Aloha Aina Award Nominee

The Sony Open In Hawaii

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:17:24 -0800

The PGA’s Sony Open in Hawaii is played at the Waialae Country Club on Oahu’s South Shore in the Kahala Area. This year the event actually began on January 9^th but play started today under partly cloudy skies and cool Hawaiian breeze. The Sony Open brings nearly $25,000,000 in revenue to the State and tons of television coverage, much of which is like a Postcard Video. No doubt, people will want to come to Honolulu to golf after watching some of the play.

The Kahala Area of Oahu is one of the most prestigious areas to live in the State of Hawaii. Homes range from pre 1960 Hawaiian Style Houses to Modern Classic Villas. You can find everything in between as well. Prices range from just under $1,200,000 for a well maintained contemporary home to $16,950,000 Contemporary Beach Front on Kahala Avenue with panoramic ocean views from East to West, designed for entertaining with a covered oceanfront lanai.

If you would like to call Kahala home,

we invite you to view all of the homes available today HERE.

We are Mike Ramsey Fujita RA SFR and Gayle Fujita Ramsey RA SFR with Hawaii Real Estate Online. Please call upon us if you would like a personal tour of these wonderful homes.

Warm Regards-

Mike

Mike Ramsey Fujita (S) RA SFR

(808) 630-1828

Gayle Fujita Ramsey (S) RA SFR

(808) 388-1485

gfujita@hawaii.rr.com

Gordon Au Realty

2011 Aloha Aina Award Nominee

The Honolulu Board of Realtors Stats Are Out For Real Estate in Hawaii

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:59:49 -0800

It looks like the year saw a 10% decrease in closed transactions for all properties; 14.1% for Single Family and 6.5% for condos.

What does this mean? Well it could mean that there was less inventory for 2011, less Buyers in the market, Buyers sitting on the fence waiting to see what happens next, or that well things were just a little slow.

The good news is that single family median prices increased from November 2011 and December 2010. Condos on the other hand decreased in November 2011 and December 2010.

Days on Market "DOM"for December 2011 increased for Condos to 42 days vs. 43 in 2010 and for Single Family Homes it decreased by 3 days, in 2010 it was 38 days and in 2011 it was 35 days.

For the yearly DOM though for Single Family Homes increased by a day and Condos from 34 days to 41.

It appears that homes sold for 93.2 % to 94.6% of the list price for the year of 2011.

If you would like a copy of the report email Gayle and she will send it to you in its entirety. You can Reach Gayle at gfujita@hawaii.rr.com.

Warm Regards-

Mike

Mike Ramsey Fujita (S) RA SFR

(808) 630-1828

Gayle Fujita Ramsey (S) RA SFR

(808) 388-1485

gfujita@hawaii.rr.com

Gordon Au Realty

2011 Aloha Aina Award Nominee

With Interest Rate Going Down and Home Prices Going Down WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:50:46 -0800

This is the perfect market for Buyers. Why are you still sitting on the fence watching opportunities pass you by? Are you waiting for someone to push? Are you waiting for interest rates to increase? Are you waiting for home values to increase? If you are, the market is going to eventually price you out of the market.

Is the unknown scary? Not sure which direction to turn and what steps to take? Guess what… we know the answers to these questions and we can get you moving in the right direction.

Afraid to ask questions in fear of sounding stupid?...Don’t be. Mike and I enjoy educating buyers and helping them find their way into home ownership. It is extremely rewarding to assist in the process of owning a home versus renting a home.

Not sure where you stand in the process? Well we can help you figure this out. You may be in a position to make the move soon or maybe you’re not. Either way we can set you up with professionals who will guide you throughout the process.

Don’t sit on the fence any longer; find out where you stand in the process. The only wrong move is to put it off and later wish you had checked out buy a home now. Learn more at http://greathawaiianhomes.com/ or take a peek at real estate in Hawaii that is currently for sale http://www.buyorsellinhawaii.com/ . Or better yet call us, Mike Fujita Ramsey RA SFR 808.630.1828 or Gayle Ramsey Fujita RA SFR 808.388.1485. We are a 2011 Aloha Aina Award Nominee

Warm Regards-

Mike

Mike Ramsey Fujita (S) RA SFR

(808) 630-1828

Gayle Fujita Ramsey (S) RA SFR

(808) 388-1485

gfujita@hawaii.rr.com

Gordon Au Realty

2011 Aloha Aina Award Nominee

Bank Owned House

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:19:14 -0800

Bank Owned Properties and Bank Owned Homes on Oahu seem to be dropping in numbers. There was a period that one Short Sale in a neighborhood would drastically reduce the value of the nearby homes because of it's reduced sale amount. For a period, many homes that came on the market used the sale price of the last Short Sale property that closed to help set their List Price. What this meant to buyers was, for the most part, Short Sales were not representing the big value they once did.

As the Island's Real Estate Market has settled down, we are seeing values on the rise again. With the lower amount of Bank Owned Properties or "REOs" on the market, we are seeing more of a gap between the sold price of near by Short Sale and REO homes and homes that were a conventional sale. This can be good news to buyers of Bank Owned Properties and Bank Owned Homes.

It is still a little like the Wild Wild West for buyers of Bank Owned Homes because there is very little negotiating with the banks. They approve their price that they will sell it for and it pretty much takes an act of the All Mighty to get them to lower it for a buyer that had written the approved offer.

The really great news for buyers of these Bank Owned Homes is that there are still some, not all, very good deals to be had by buying one and dealing with all of the..."Stuff"...the bank throws at you.

Gayle and I are Short Sale and REO experts. We know what the banks will expect and will give up in one of these transactions. That means we can get YOU into one of these homes with as little stress to you as possible. You will know what to expect as we move through the transaction.

Here is a list of REO and Short Sale Links for all around Oahu. They will take you to our Real Time Property Search that has been preset for you. Happy House Hunting!

Windward to The North Shore and Central Oahu (Waimanalo, Kailua, Kaneohe to Waialua)

Warm Regards-

Mike

Mike Ramsey Fujita (S) RA SFR

(808) 630-1828

Gayle Fujita Ramsey (S) RA SFR

(808) 388-1485

gfujita@hawaii.rr.com

Gordon Au Realty

2011 Aloha Aina Award Nominee

Bank Owned Home

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:13:25 -0800

Here is a list of REO and Short Sale Links for all around Oahu. They will take you to our Real Time Property Search that has been preset for you. Happy House Hunting!

Windward to The North Shore and Central Oahu (Waimanalo, Kailua, Kaneohe to Waialua)

Warm Regards-

Mike

Mike Ramsey Fujita (S) RA SFR

(808) 630-1828

Gayle Fujita Ramsey (S) RA SFR

(808) 388-1485

gfujita@hawaii.rr.com

Gordon Au Realty

2011 Aloha Aina Award Nominee

Bank Owned Houses For Sale

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:10:53 -0800

Here is a list of REO and Short Sale Links for all around Oahu. They will take you to our Real Time Property Search that has been preset for you. Happy House Hunting!

Windward to The North Shore and Central Oahu (Waimanalo, Kailua, Kaneohe to Waialua)

Warm Regards-

Mike

Mike Ramsey Fujita (S) RA SFR

(808) 630-1828

Gayle Fujita Ramsey (S) RA SFR

(808) 388-1485

gfujita@hawaii.rr.com

Gordon Au Realty

2011 Aloha Aina Award Nominee

Bank Owned Houses

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:08:00 -0800

Here is a list of REO and Short Sale Links for all around Oahu. They will take you to our Real Time Property Search that has been preset for you. Happy House Hunting!

Windward to The North Shore and Central Oahu (Waimanalo, Kailua, Kaneohe to Waialua)

Warm Regards-

Mike

Mike Ramsey Fujita (S) RA SFR

(808) 630-1828

Gayle Fujita Ramsey (S) RA SFR

(808) 388-1485

gfujita@hawaii.rr.com

Gordon Au Realty

2011 Aloha Aina Award Nominee

Bank Owned Homes

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:02:13 -0800

Here is a list of REO and Short Sale Links for all around Oahu. They will take you to our Real Time Property Search that has been preset for you. Happy House Hunting!

Windward to The North Shore and Central Oahu (Waimanalo, Kailua, Kaneohe to Waialua)

Warm Regards-

Mike

Mike Ramsey Fujita (S) RA SFR

(808) 630-1828

Gayle Fujita Ramsey (S) RA SFR

(808) 388-1485

gfujita@hawaii.rr.com

Gordon Au Realty

2011 Aloha Aina Award Nominee

Bank Owned Properties

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:56:43 -0800

Here is a list of REO and Short Sale Links for all around Oahu. They will take you to our Real Time Property Search that has been preset for you. Happy House Hunting!

Windward to The North Shore and Central Oahu (Waimanalo, Kailua, Kaneohe to Waialua)

Warm Regards-

Mike

Mike Ramsey Fujita (S) RA SFR

(808) 630-1828

Gayle Fujita Ramsey (S) RA SFR

(808) 388-1485

gfujita@hawaii.rr.com

Gordon Au Realty

2011 Aloha Aina Award Nominee

Happy New Year

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:17:11 -0800

Life is good. Three days into the new year and I'm excited about what this new year will mean to us.

Goals have been set and we so far have met them. The other day I heard on the radio that if four people set resolutions one of us will have abandoned these goals by the end of the first week of January. If you make it through the first week, two of of the three remaining will have given up by July 1st. I want to be the one left standing of the four. What about you?

Maybe if we declare our goal we may be more inclined to stick it out. Feel free to declare your resolution or goal here and we will check back with you on the 7th of January to see if you are still hanging in there. If you are, then we will definitely check back with you on July 1st.

Here's to making it to the end... hope to see you there.

Warm Regards-

Mike

Mike Ramsey Fujita (S) RA SFR

(808) 630-1828

Gayle Fujita Ramsey (S) RA SFR

(808) 388-1485

gfujita@hawaii.rr.com

Gordon Au Realty

2011 Aloha Aina Award Nominee

Hawaii Real Estate 2012

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:10:56 -0800

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that this year is going to be a really great year to buy or sell Real Estate in Hawaii.

Why, you ask? Well, with sales prices remaining low in most areas of Hawaii and interest rates ridicoulsy low how it could it be bad? Some want the market to drop even more and well that will be scary. For the market to drop even lower something bad is going to have to happen. I'm for no bad things happening.

Although the market on the mainland is still sliding in many areas there are some just like Oahu that are actually recovering nicely. This means that some areas like Manoa, Kailua, and Hawaii Kai have been slowly recovering value or holding their own. Other areas such as Ewa Beach, Kapolei, and West Side are still seeing prices drop due to the large inventory of homes still available either by short sale or lender sales.

The areas where prices are still dropping are perfect opportunites for first time home owners. Of course we all want to buy when the market is at the bottom but you don't know when the bottom has been hit until it is actually on the up swing which means you missed the boat. If you are planning on buying and living in the home for five to ten years then you don't need to worry too much about finding the bottom. If you are planning on selling sooner than this then... yes, be very careful.

I bet when you read "selling" in the first paragraph you may have laughed or snickered. Prior to understanding the market I might have too. However, I have to say it is a good time to sell and possbily move into a bigger home or a home closer to work... well that is if you bought in the early 2000's and didn't refinance your home to the hilt when interest rates dropped.

Yes, you will get less than you could have prior to 2008 BUT you are also going to be BUYING a home that has been devalued a bit as well. Interest rates being what they are you will most likely qualify for more as well.

This market is ripe for those who planned carefully, lived frugally, and are ready to take advantage of it.

Lets rock and roll...

Warm Regards-

Mike

Mike Ramsey Fujita (S) RA SFR

(808) 630-1828

Gayle Fujita Ramsey (S) RA SFR

(808) 388-1485

gfujita@hawaii.rr.com

Gordon Au Realty

2011 Aloha Aina Award Nominee

What Are Interest Rates

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:52:58 -0800

According to Wikipedia "An interest rate is the rate at which interest is paid by a borrower for the use of money that they borrow from a lender. "

Basically, if I lend you money and I want to make money lending you money then I will charge you a fee which is otherwise known as Interest. Based on the time period we allow you to pay for the use of the money I lent you and how much I charge you the Interest Rate is calculated.

Bottom line all you truly need to understand is the lower the interest rate the less money you are being charged to use the money. The higher the interest rate the more money you are paying to use the money.

Which leads to the lower the interest rate the more money you can borrow. That is why this market is so wonderful for those with decent credit and some money saved for closing costs and or a small down payment.

To go further, for one point of interest increase you loose approximately $50,000 in buying power. HUH? I know it is a little confusing let me give you an example. For example, if you can qualify for a $350,000 home at 4% interest and then the rate increases to 5% you would only be able to qualify for a $300,000 home.

This is why we say while interest rates are low Buy if you can. Once they start to increase you loose buying power.

In today's real estate market Buyers are experiencing not only low interest rates but low list prices. This is the time to Buy. Contact a loan officer today to find out what you can qualify for it only takes 20 minutes over the phone to find out. Here are a few people who know what they are doing and can answer any questions you may have in regards to financing:

Alan Fentriss, SVP Loan Manager
or
Crystal Acohido, SVP Loan Manager

Warm Regards-

Mike

Mike Ramsey Fujita (S) RA SFR

(808) 630-1828

Gayle Fujita Ramsey (S) RA SFR

(808) 388-1485

gfujita@hawaii.rr.com

Gordon Au Realty

Aiea has long been known for their upscale homes, city and ocean views and very nice neighborhoods. Homes in Aiea range from the low $500,000s to well over $1,000,000. Back to SWAM.

2011 Aloha Aina Award Nominee

SWAM Hawaii is a Wonderful Shop

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 16:52:59 -0800

I had a wonderful experience in one of our local stores this afternoon. The store is called SWAM. Their website is located at http://www.SWAM.com and the shop is located in Aiea on Oahu in the Waimalu Plaza Shopping Center at 98-1277 Kaahumanu Street, (808) 487-7926.

Swam is an upscale liquor and wine store with everyday prices. More than, the young lady who owns it possesses a wealth of knowledge on everything she carries in her store. Have a favorite Red Wine? Share with her what you like about it and she will present you with several options of other wines that will knock your socks off! I know this because has done this for Gayle and myself on several occasions.

Today I was looking for an excellent bottle of Single Malt Scotch to give as a Christmas gift. She started to pull down bottles that were amazing to me…and I don’t even drink Scotch! I had given her a price range and she pulled 10 different bottles and types of Single Malts down for me. Some were meant for “Everyday Drinking” and some were meant for Collectors because they are very rare and or about to be. I ended up choosing a bottle that was meant to be drunk and enjoyed and that I knew the person I bought it for would NEVER buy it for himself.

She also shared stories with me about questions she gets asked on her selection of Vodkas and other Spirits. Do yourself a favor and get into SWAM and buy yourself or someone you like something special.

Cheers-

Mike

Mike Ramsey Fujita RA SFR

(808) 630-1828

www.GreatHawaiianHomes.com

Warm Regards-

Mike

Mike Ramsey Fujita (S) RA SFR

(808) 630-1828

Gayle Fujita Ramsey (S) RA SFR

(808) 388-1485

gfujita@hawaii.rr.com

Gordon Au Realty

2011 Aloha Aina Award Nominee

APEC Hawaii

Sat, 12 Nov 2011 15:53:07 -0800

APEC is here and it is going to be a mess out there on the roads. We heard that on Friday by 10:00 PM if you are planning on being in Waikiki there will be ONLY ONE WAY in. Can you imagine? I can’t.

There are lots of rumors flying and I’m sure many are high possibilities as far as what the security, police force, and federal agents will be doing to protect the world leaders arriving here for APEC.

We are all going to have to keep our cool, try to stay off the roads as much as possible or deal with chaos and delays, and remember that this is the island of Oahu and this is good for the State. We need the income that this event will generate and it is going to help us.

There will be lots of Televised Stories about Hawaii during these next two weeks and we must remember no matter how frustrated we are, that if people think we are full of ALOHA they will want to come and spend their Holidays with us. We need this so let’s all remember that this is just a temporary, chaotic and frustrating time and we will ALL benefit if we ALL do our part.

Here’s a link to some traffic restrictions while APEC is occurring. http://www.khon2.com/news/local/story/New-details-unveiled-for-H-1-freeway-closure/VchWB-PE2EGjvnuz2cj7Bg.cspx

Warm Regards-

Mike

Mike Ramsey Fujita (S) RA SFR

(808) 630-1828

Gayle Fujita Ramsey (S) RA SFR

(808) 388-1485

gfujita@hawaii.rr.com

Gordon Au Realty