Buy A Home For $300? Not Likely! - 07/31/08 11:38 AM
It seems like every evening they play this show called Houses for $300.
He is claiming that through the tax foreclosure process, you can purchase a home for as low as $100 under the right conditions. Give me a break. If he was able to that consistently he would be buying them up himself instead of telling the whole world. He claimed that more than 2.2 million properties in Canada and the U.S. were tax foreclosed on in the last year.
Ok, so why was I watching this show? I wanted to find out how much he was selling … (26 comments)
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If Your Business is Slow, You Need to Make a Decision - 07/30/08 11:57 PM
I hear many agents complaining how their business is slow. Instead of complaining step up and put your energy into growing your business. This post has no magic bullets just tried and true tactics that work.
Are you tight on resources? There are many free and cheap things you can do:
Put magnets or lettering on your vehicle. Where a name badge always (almost always). Take all the office floor time you can. Volunteer to sit open houses. Create useful handouts to give out to consumers. Develop a newsletter and deliver it door to door on a regular basis. E-mail and … (28 comments)
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Too Harsh or Speaking the Truth? - 07/29/08 02:34 PM
In the past I have written many posts on what I believe the public should expect from a licensed professional REALTOR®.
Here are a few of the items that in the past have gotten me negative comments. Many from those who believe it is OK because of their needs, while considering the needs of the public second.
Being a full time agent. Getting education. Earning designations. Answering your phone. Marketing listings Only selling one service to your client. Networking with other professionals in your area. Working with local funding lenders as much as possible. Improving your services. Attending REALTOR® conferences … (25 comments)
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Is Your Real Estate Agent Making Their Living Selling Real Estate? - 07/27/08 08:45 PM
Is that agent making their living selling real estate or is this something they do on the side?
This should be the first question you should ask an agent who is trying to get your business. I am amazed how many folks will trust the most expensive purchase or sale in their life with someone who is doing this as a hobby.
If that person is not successful or dedicated enough to make a full time living at this, do you really want them handling your transaction? If were a consumer, I would want the absolute best real estate agent … (45 comments)
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Northbrook 3 bed/ 2 bath - $275,000 - 07/26/08 05:18 PM
Rarely Available 3 bedroom Northbrook/ Melemanu Condo. These units do not last long, 3 bedroom units under $300,000 are so hard to come by. This one stands out from the crowd. It is the closest to the pool and recreation area, has 3 lanais and 2 assigned parking stalls.
Convenient to shopping and transportation. Schofield Barracks is just up the road. Available for showing on short notice.
… (7 comments)
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Kaneohe Real Estate Sales Activity for June 2008 - 07/26/08 04:55 PM
The Kaneohe communities (zip code of 96744 and some connecting neighborhoods) have seen changes in the real estate market.
Single Family homes sales have softened. Average sales prices of single family homes year to date are down slightly, mostly as a result of a dip in June. Sales volume continues to drop with more than 12 months worth of inventory. Buyers will find sellers that may be a little more negotiable.
Condo and townhouse sale are a little rosier. Units for sale have climbed to 10 months worth of inventory in the Kaneohe area. Prices although year to date have been … (0 comments)
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Oahu (Honolulu County) - Residential Real Estate Sales for June 2008 - 07/26/08 03:16 PM
The June 2008 resales numbers are in.
Single Family Home Sales volume is down from the period last year, although median prices made a rebound in May they saw a dip in June.
Condominium Sales had a similar drop in volume while the median price which showed a modest increase in May saw a small dip in June.
With interest rates still holding, buyers should see it a good time to take advantage of the market conditions in most areas.
*These numbers were taken from the Honolulu Board of Realtors MLS system and Old Republic Title. They are deemed … (0 comments)
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100,000 Members in Active Rain - 07/25/08 02:09 PM
I know we are all watching to see the membership meter turn over the 100,000 mark. It looks like today is the day! When I saw Active Rain, I said to myself this will be powerful. I never imagined how powerful and how fast.
The folks that created this wonderful forum, made something really special. It took real vision to create this and to keep it improving and growing. To think only a couple of years ago this was just an idea on a napkin.
Since joining I have made many new friends, both in person and online. Several great clients … (18 comments)
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False Advertising Does Not Sell Homes! - 07/24/08 08:06 PM
We have all seen it. The home listed as "Excellent Condition" and the termite holding hands are the only thing holding up the roof. What are they thinking? No buyer who has been brought there under false pretenses will buy that home.
I showed a home last week that was owned by the listing real estate agent. The home was listed as a 3 bedroom/ 2 bath in Excellent Condition. It had only one bath. Excellent, well that was a stretch, but not as bad as thinking no one would notice the missing bathroom.
I wrote an article about red flags. … (28 comments)
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REALTORS® Point Out Red Flags, They Don’t Give All The Answers - 07/23/08 11:05 PM
As a REALTOR® my primary job is to protect my client's interest. It is not to practice law, give tax advice our give engineering opinions. I am licensed to sell homes; I am not a Lawyer, a CPA, a Contractor or an Engineer of any type. I can loose my license for practicing law and giving professional advice for something other than what I am licensed to do.
This is the hardest thing for many agents to remember. I constantly hear agents make comments like this home has settling issues or you can knock out that wall and move it there. … (25 comments)
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Not All Condos Are Apartments - 07/23/08 10:29 PM
Condominiums were invented in Hawaii. I bet you didn't know that. The term condominium not only refers to apartments and townhouses, it can also refer to single family homes that the land was divided under the Condominium Property Regime (CPR), formerly known as Horizontal Property Regime (HPR).
There are many properties in Hawaii that had multiple homes on them and they wanted to sell them individually. The problem is the property may not have qualified to subdivide for one of several reasons. Here are a few of them:
One shared driveway. Lot is too small according to zoning to create individual … (8 comments)
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Too Busy to Stay in Shape - 07/19/08 08:46 PM
The last month or two, I got so busy that I stopped going to the gym in the morning and took next to no free time for myself or family. I was beginning to feel a little burned out and it finally hit me. What am I doing?
If I do not take care of myself, I won't be able to keep up this pace. If I am doing this for my family, why am I shorting them of my time?
A couple of weeks ago, I decided to restructure my life a little. A minimum of once a week from … (49 comments)
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Aloha to a Great Guy and a Terrific Home Inspector - 07/17/08 10:18 PM
Roger Wilf is the home instructor I have used and trusted on majority of the transactions that I represented buyers. Roger is extremely good at what he does. A few of us call him inspector gadget. His brief case has meters and probes that can check things most inspectors would miss or not know how to check.
Roger is a retired Army Warrant Officer. After getting out of the Military he had a construction company servicing our area and built a nice business. He built relationships with several area real estate companies. The last few years he re-focused his business to just doing home inspections. … (8 comments)
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Some Real Estate Agents Stopped Working - 07/17/08 06:43 PM
Among the real estate agent in my area who claim to be doing poorly, I have found many have simply stopped working. I try to make appointments to show listings and find a third of the agents not returning phone calls or e-mails in any reasonable period of time. Hard to sell a home if no one can view them.
In our market, prices of home sales have stabilized. Some parts of Oahu have seen price decreases; some have had increases, while many have stayed flat for the last couple of years. The big change is in sales volume. Sales volume … (26 comments)
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To Start an Argument – Just Talk About Higher Standards - 07/15/08 02:00 PM
Have you ever noticed that all you have to do to get less than ethical folks to show their ugly side is to talk about ethics or professional standards?
Over the last few months when one of us writes about ethics and professional standards we get a few off the wall people who will argue against them. It is so insane. A real estate agent or a loan officer being offended by the mere suggestion that we need higher standards or that a professional is someone who strives to conduct themselves at a much higher level than the basic minimum.
Reading … (10 comments)
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Do We Need a Class on Class? - 07/11/08 11:15 PM
We speak about ethics and legal issues when do business. As REALTORS® we have the Code of Ethics. It is required to take a class on NAR ethics periodically. Can you really teach ethics? I believe you either have them or you don't. The classes are great for reminding agents of the details, but they will never make someone ethical.
In the same spirit I am thinking that possibly we need a class on class. The classes may not give someone class, but will at least let them know what it is when they see it.
Here is a few examples … (67 comments)
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Mililani, Hawaii - Real Estate Sales Activity for June 2008 - 07/05/08 06:44 PM
This Mililani sales report covers zip code 96789 which covers both Mililani Mauka and Mililani Area (which includes Mililani Town, Launani Valley and Waipio Acres).
Mililani real estate is still moving strong. We are still seeing good real estate activity in the Mililani area. Mililani has remained a balanced market giving buyer good selection, and seller's the ability to move appropriately priced homes.
A few dynamics in the area:
Castle and Cooke have almost finished selling the new homes in Mililani Mauka. We are continuing to see troop movements at Schofield Barracks, which is contributing to the movement of inventory … (8 comments)
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Hawaii – State Wide Resale Home Sales for June 2008 - 07/05/08 04:45 PM
June 2008 numbers are in.
Single Family Home Sales have continued to show decreased sales volume across all counties. June saw drops in Median Sales Prices in all counties except Kauai compared to the 2007 levels. During June I saw an increase of activity in my business and am hoping that pattern is repeating among other agents and areas. The July numbers will be important as to determine possible trends.
Condominium Median Sales Prices saw a big bump on Maui, a slight increase on Oahu and a leveling on Kauai. The Hawaii was the only county to see any … (7 comments)
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Waipio Gentry - Real Estate Sales Activity For June 2008 - 07/05/08 04:16 PM
Waipio Gentry Area also includes Crestview and Seaview.
Single Family homes sales have softened. Year to date average sales prices of single family homes have gone down from the same period of time last year. Sales volume year to date has also gone down increasing the averages day on the market. Buyers will find Waipio Gentry a good environment for finding the home of their dreams.
Condo and townhouse sales have seen average sale price climb. Sales volume has remained consistent with the same period in 2007, while average sales prices have shown a similar decrease as the single family homes … (0 comments)
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Wahiawa & Whitmore Village – June 2008 Real Estate Sales Activity - 07/05/08 03:29 PM
Single Family homes sales in Wahiawa/ Whitmore have shown increases. Average sales prices of single family homes have held consistent with the same period last year. Sales volume has dropped considerably. The number of month's worth of inventory has increased in recent months giving buyers more selection. Buyers will be able to find the home of their dreams, while seller's will find that pricing and the condition of their home will be more important now than in recent months.
Condo and townhouse sales in Wahiawa/ Whitmore are another story. Average sales prices have shown a slight drop of a little over … (0 comments)
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Westloch - Real Estate Sales Activity for June 2008 - 07/05/08 02:44 PM
This Westloch sales report covers both Westloch Estates and Westloch Fairway (part of zip code of 96706) have seen a flattening of the market when comparing with 2006 numbers. Sales volume has stayed steady with last year, while average sale prices have slipped slightly.
Sales volume in Westloch has slowed from the same period last year. Average sales prices have also seen a softening. Buyers will find some really good values in Westloch.
Currently Active for Sale (7/5/08):
29 Single Family Homes Currently in Escrow (7/5/08):
6 Single Family Homes *These numbers were taken from the Honolulu Board of … (0 comments)
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A Day in Paradise - 07/04/08 11:59 PM
My schedule has been so busy the last couple of years, that I never seem to enjoy quality time in Hawaii.
The other day I made a commitment to change that. I bought a couple of sets of snorkels, masks and fins.
Today my oldest son Daniel and I hit the North Shore of Oahu. After about 15 minutes or so in the water, 3 large sea turtles decided to join us. They and a school of various tropical fish seemed to want to hang out with us. My son Daniel who is born and raised here never had an experience … (36 comments)
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Do You Speak Your Mind or Bite Your Lip? - 07/03/08 06:30 PM
What do you say when an agent asks what do you think of their listing and you have something not so nice to say?
What if they are severely overpriced? Do you tell them that? A licensed agent should know the market value of the home. Isn't that one of the reasons we are hired?
What if it shows badly? Do you tell them it is a pig? I am sure they must realize that the dirty dishes and all of the clutter make it hard to show. The four junk cars in the front yard are not increasing the value.
… (49 comments)
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Honolulu is Close to Getting Electronic Lock Boxes - 07/03/08 02:29 AM
I placed my order yesterday for my first shipment of electronic lock boxes. They will be coming in sometime in August. I have been looking forward to this for some time. Our Honolulu Board of REALTORS® made the decision to go with SentriLock, REALTOR® Electronic Lockbox. Several years back the board implemented electronic boxes and the system was a disaster. This time they underwent serious planning; to ensure they selected the best system and will have a smooth introduction and a program that would be embraced by the members and their clients.
In the last month I have had 3 different … (24 comments)
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Are You Offended by The Golden Rule? - 07/01/08 10:54 PM
I wrote a blog post this week: Real Estate Ethics in Nutshell
I spoke about not only following the COE, but operating to a higher standard; the Golden Rule.
To my surprise it drew the anger of a real estate agent from another state, who felt I was practicing religion. Huh?
After posting a few long winded comments, that real estate agent must have realized how bad they sounded to the public. The worst one that attacked religion among other things was removed. That was not enough; I then received a few long winded e-mails, designed to bait me in an argument.
Let … (38 comments)
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