hawaii: We Are Still Working
- 04/06/20 02:47 PM
The Governor, the Mayor and the Federal Government have listed real estate services as essential. We are still helping people with their housing needs. We are fortunate to be part of Hawaii’s only virtual brokerage. We conduct our day to day operations remotely and have not lost a beat in that regard. Our company’s meetings and training are going online daily. Our agents have all the tools required to work from home and to service their clients. We limit the need to be out physically. In those cases, we will take every precaution to prevent exposing others or our agents to the
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hawaii: Hauoli Makahiki Hou (Happy New Year in Hawaiian)
- 01/01/14 04:38 PM
2013 was a good year for The Prothero Group and our families. We are looking forward to 2014 and wish you a wonderful year.
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hawaii: Mele Kalikimaka (Merry Christmas in Hawaiian)
- 12/24/13 08:11 AM
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hawaii: Hawaii Randy on Local TV Discussing Chess
- 12/09/13 12:34 AM
Local Realtor Randy Prothero is interviewed by Marilyn Lee on Local TV. The discussion is primarily about chess in Hawaii, primarily at the scholastic level. They aslo discuss the visit to Hawaii from World Champions Vishy Anand and Susan Polgar. Randy serves as the president of the Hawaii Chess Federation and also coordinates the "Chess in the Schools" program. Marilyn also mentions Randy being a successful Realtor in the area and his involvement in other community activities, including being a long time member of the Navy League. Randy states he has been diligently helping service members find housing.
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hawaii: Get a Contractor and Get the Permits!
- 08/12/13 01:31 AM
Far too many homes on Oahu are missing building permits. When I inspect properties that are being prepared for sale, I find that the home is missing it's building permits or work has been done by someone not properly licensed to do the work. Here are some of the problems created: The tax department does not know of the improvements and they do not appear in public records. Your insurance company may not cover parts or all of your home if the case of fire or flood. Especially if the cause was illegal wiring or plumbing.
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hawaii: The Prothero Group Merges With Island Style Realty Inc.
- 05/11/13 12:39 AM
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hawaii: It May be a Sellers’ Market, But You Still need to Price it Right!
- 01/02/13 07:58 AM
Now that prices are beginning to climb in our area, some sellers think they can over price their property. This is a really bad mistake for many reasons. See the full article on ProtheroGroup.com
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hawaii: A Great Listing Realtor® is Worth Their Weight in Gold
- 05/21/12 02:57 AM
I regularly hear stories of people who regret their decision when selecting their agent to list their home for sale. Here are two of the most common categories I run into. 1) They picked the agent who offered a discount or flat fee and were told they would get the same full service as other agents in the area, to only find later that was not what they got. 2) They went with the agent who offered to list their home at a higher price. I was speaking to a home seller after they fired their agent who
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hawaii: Mililani, Hawaii - Real Estate Sales Activity for April 2012
- 05/06/12 01:08 AM
This Mililani sales report covers zip code 96789 which covers the planned community of Mililani (Mililani Town and Mililani Mauka) and the Valleys outside the planned community (which includes Launani Valley and Waipio Acres). The Mililani Real Estate Market has shown mixed signs during the first 4 months of 2012. Inventory levels are lower than we have seen in the past. Prices have stabilized and are beginning to climb in the planned community areas. A few dynamics in the area: We are continuing to see troop movements at Schofield Barracks, which is contributing to the movement of inventory
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hawaii: Don’t Talk Stink About Real Estate Professionals
- 04/14/12 06:32 PM
Our Code of Ethics had a few changes for 2012. In the past it was a violation of the Code of Ethics for a Realtor to make false or misleading statements against a competitor. The word competitor was changed to real estate professional in the Code of Ethics. Here are a couple of questions that come to mind. 1) Who are considered real estate professionals? 2) Shouldn’t we use that standard for everyone? The first question is a good one. Are the real estate professionals only those with a license? Home inspectors in Hawaii for examples do not have licenses.
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hawaii: Buying a Home in Hawaii with a VA Loan in 2012
- 01/21/12 07:49 PM
This post has been updated to reflect changes in 2014. See the full article on ProtheroGroup.com: Buying a Home with a VA Loan in Hawaii in 2014.
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hawaii: 2012 Hawaii VA Mortgage Limit for 100% Financing
- 12/05/11 12:11 PM
Beginning January 1st, 2012 the VA Mortgage limits for 100% financing for Hawaii will be going down a little. For Oahu County is will be: $695,750 For all other Hawaii Counties it will be: $625,500 VA Jumbo loans will be handled the same way. Most of the Hawaii lenders require 25% down payment for anything over the limit. For example a purchase of $795,750 on Oahu would require $25,000 down. If you are looking to purchase a home in Hawaii and you are considering using your VA benefit, please contact me and I can walk you through the process. Good luck
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hawaii: 2011 Hawaii State Chess Championships
- 09/03/11 05:45 AM
This Labor Day Weekend I will be wearing one of my other hats, that of Hawaii Chess Federation president. The Hawaii State Open Chess Championships will be held at the Ohana East Hotel in Waikiki. The time control will be Game/ 120. (Each player will have 2 hours on their clocks to complete of their moves. Giving a total of 4 hours for each game.) Pawns will be down range at 9:00am this morning. Sat. 9/3/11 8:00am Registration & Check-in 9:00am Round 1 1:00pm Round 2 Sun. 9/4/11 9:00am Round 2 12:55pm Election of HCF Board Members 1:00pm Round 4 Mon. 9/5/11
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hawaii: A Home Inspection and a Boat Sinking
- 07/04/11 12:27 AM
In the real estate business you never know what to expect. Every transaction has unique challenges and twists. The other day, I added another new experience to the list. My buyers' home inspection included the fire department coming out to assist the tenant whose boat sunk at the dock. B - Bring O - Out A - Another T - Thousand I arrived at the home to see a boat coming down the canal that was listing really bad to one side. The occupants were leaning out trying to balance the boat. They came up to the boat dock at the
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hawaii: Purchasing a Home in Hawaii
- 05/22/11 08:31 AM
I will make purchasing your home a pleasant experience. Here are a few facts about using me as your Realtor® My services for normally free to buyers. My most important job is to protect your interests. You are getting the top agent in our company for the last several years and the regional chairman for the Board of Realtors®. I am a full time Realtor®. Real estate is all I do. I will guide you through the process, remove most of the stress and keep you informed at all times. I will help you find the home of your dreams. I
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hawaii: Buying or Just Fishing?
- 05/04/11 07:25 AM
In the last week, I have been received the following comments on a home I have listed for sale. How motivated is your seller? Is that price firm? Is there room on the price? Isn't that price kind of high? Is your seller flexible on the price? Am I wasting my time if I offer ______? This listing has attracted a lot interest. We had a great turnout at the first open house on Sunday and had several agent showings during the week. Here is the rub. The comments above came from real estate agents who had not seen or shown
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hawaii: Mililani, Hawaii - Real Estate Sales Activity for 2010
- 01/01/11 02:08 PM
This Mililani sales report covers zip code 96789 which covers the planned community of Mililani (Mililani Town and Mililani Mauka) and the Valleys outside the planned community (which includes Launani Valley and Waipio Acres). Mililani real estate has shown continuing signs of improvement in 2010. Inventory levels are lower than we have seen in the past. Prices have stabilized and are begging to climb. The first part of 2010 got a boost from the federal buyer's tax credits. As the year wound down, things slowed during the holidays. I am expecting to see increased sales activity in Q1 of 2011. A
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hawaii: 2011 VA County Loan Limits for Hawaii
- 12/20/10 04:20 AM
Below are the VA Mortgage Guaranty amounts for Hawaii. These limits apply to loans closed January 1, 2011 through September 30, 2011. The VA will guarantee 25% of the loan amount up to the limits listed below. For amounts above the limit, speak to your loan officer for down payment requirements. I specialize in working with VA buyers in Honolulu County. If you are looking to purchase a home on Oahu (Honolulu County), please contact me. I would be honored to guide you through the process.
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hawaii: Honolulu County (Oahu) Residential Real Estate Sales Activity - August 2010
- 09/07/10 07:04 PM
Below are sales activity for the month of August 2010 compared to the previous month and the same month last year. This covers resale home for Honolulu County (Oahu). Single Family home median prices are up while sales volume is slightly down from the same time last year. Condos and townhouses are seeing a similar pattern, with a smaller median price increase. *Median price means half the prices were above and half below the given price. Data was taken from the Honolulu Board of REALTORS®. It is deemed to be accurate, but not guaranteed.
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hawaii: Teaching is a Great Way to Learn the Real Estate Business.
- 08/21/10 08:03 PM
This year I began teaching continuing education classes for real estate agents. It has been a positive experience for the first month of classes. I got positive feedback, but saw things I could improve. One broker who attended two of my earliest classes had some teaching and speaking experience and graciously sat down with me after class and helped my identify areas I could fine tune. Some of the instructors in our area are really good and have been it for years. That puts pressure on me to be at the top of my game. A great benefits of teaching is
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