Oahu Home Buyer Tips Archives -

I Need to Sell My House in Hawaii and Move to the States

October 23, 2017 by Maureen Fukumoto Leave a Comment

Back and forth. We see it all the time. People moving here from the states and people moving back again. There are numerous reasons for both and one major one is the fact that we are close to the military base so military families and moving and relocating from Mililani quite frequently.

This can be a stressful time – selling in one state, much less overseas technically, and buying in another or the mainland – but having an agent and a brokerage that knows exactly how to do it makes all the difference in the world.

But how? How can one agent sell and buy in two different states?

This is why we do what we do. We have connections and even licenses in other states close to the coast to provide perfect care for our clients. We want to make sure that if you’re here or there, your transaction is being taken care of.

We help you price, manage, and sell your home here on Oahu while connecting you with the right agent on the other side to find and purchase a home on the mainland. It can be stressful doing this at the same time. Buying and selling simultaneously is stressful enough, but when you either have to leave your home in Hawaii before it sells or selling it here while trying to buy there, it almost the icing on the stress-cake. We want to make that easy for you.

Give us a call. Let’s talk about your need and your situation. Everyone’s deal is different so we want to offer advice and suggestions to make the entire process much easier. We want your move and relocation to be successful and stress-free. We have excellent communication with the agent on the other end and make sure everything falls together perfectly.

Let us make your next move an easy one. Call us or leave us a comment below and we’ll get in touch with you right away. Sometimes, time is of the essence and it’s important to get the ball moving quickly and not drop it. We look forward to speaking with you soon.

How to Know You’re Ready to Buy and Leave the Rental Market

March 6, 2017 by Maureen Fukumoto Leave a Comment

You might be on the fence as to whether you think you are ready to buy a house or if renting makes more sense for you right now. Here are some ways to tell if you’re ready to buy a house versus continuing to rent.

#1. You are ready to stand one place for several years.

If you prefer moving around or you have a job that might take you to a new location in the next year or two, buying may not be the right decision at this time. However, if you’re planning on staying in one place for at least five years, buying might make more sense. This is not the only requirement, but it certainly is something to consider. Buying works out better if you stay in the home for several years, preferably a minimum of five years.

#2. Your credit history and report is over 680.

If you’ve been working on improving your credit history and score make sure you get a copy of your credit history by one of the three major corporations; Experian, Trans Union, and Equifax. You should be able to order a report for free once every year. Go over the report and make sure there are no errors or mistakes, delinquent accounts and that your credit score is at least 630, 650 or over 680. A credit score over 680 will ensure you better rates. Anything lower than 680 and you may qualify for certain discounts or distressed programs.

#3. You saved a little bit of money.

Buying a home can be done with a minimum down payment or even a zero down payment, however, you will need certain funds in the bank for inspection costs, appraisals, earnest money, etc. Having at least $5000 in the bank in savings or easily accessible offers a cushion for any emergencies that come along, and it shows the lender that you are responsible with your money.

#4. You’re ready to take on more responsibility.

If you’ve never owned property before and you’ve only rented, you need to understand the responsibility that comes along with owning a piece of property. You no longer will be able to collect the landlord of something breaks, you have a leak, or something needs to be replaced or repaired. You are the only one that is responsible for replacing and repairing any issues that come along. While many homeowners cherish the idea of owning a piece of property and doing whatever the want on it legally, there is the responsibility of maintaining the home and general upkeep. If something breaks, you will be the one to fix it, or you’ll have to pay for someone else to fix it.

5 Ways to Choose a Good, Cheap Property

February 13, 2017 by Maureen Fukumoto Leave a Comment

Yes, there are cheap properties in good deals even in Hawaii. If you’re looking for a good deal, perhaps a fixer-upper, investment property, or just something you want a great bargain on, there are several ways to choose a decent property that will not only be a good investment but will be the right property for years to come.

First of all, you want to choose the right location. There are a lot of great deals on Oahu but many of them are simply not a good option if you’re looking for a great deal in order to flip, rent out, or fix up and live in yourself. You want to make sure that your location is in an area where most of the homes around the property are higher end. If you’re buying the best house in the cheapest neighborhood and it still needs a lot of work, it’s not going to keep its value. It’s best to look for the cheapest house in the best neighborhood.

Secondly, get title insurance. Having a buyer’s title insurance policy is extremely important, especially when buying inexpensive homes from an auction or distressed properties. These properties can have the most title issues so you want to get covered with insurance.

Third, make a smart offer. Have your real estate agent write up a solid offer that protects you and your purchase in the future. Site unseen purchases are not uncommon on Oahu, especially with military families. You want to buy and undervalued property which locks in profit from the beginning.

Fourth, get a great home inspection. If you don’t have a good home inspection you may not know exactly what you’re dealing with once you own the home. If the repairs and upkeep seem overwhelming or are not a good rate of return, you can bail on the property at this point. Get a good home inspection from an inspector that is fully familiar with distressed properties.

Fifth, consider a good property manager. At Hawaii Realty Pro we manage a lot of properties across the island so we are well aware of good investment properties and what will make you the best return on your investment. Using a real estate agent that is also a good property manager is one of the best ways to find the right home for both now and your future income.

For more information on finding the perfect investment, bargain or cheap property across Oahu contact our office today. [article adapted from biggerpockets.com]

3 Devastating Mortgage Mistakes

December 6, 2016 by Maureen Fukumoto Leave a Comment

Whether this is your first time applying for a home loan or you’ve done this before it can be very easy to make a mistake. Here are some of the top mistakes that novice and experienced homebuyers or refinance borrowers have made in the past.

#1. Not checking your credit before showing it to a lender.

Think of it this way: would you go to a job interview without reviewing your own resume or even making sure you look decent in the mirror? Probably not. It’s the same way with your credit history. You should not turn your credit history over to a lender before looking at it yourself. Also, make sure you pull your credit history about six months prior to the home loan process so that you can correct any mistakes, errors, or get things paid off so that the report looks as best as I can.

#2. Not getting pre-approved.

This is basically like going to the mall without bringing your wallet. You have to know how much home you can afford before you can even think about shopping for a property. Yes, shopping for homes is a lot more fun but it also makes more sense once you know how much you can actually afford. There’s nothing more frustrating or discouraging than finding a home you love only to discover it is out of your price range.

#3. Not shopping for a loan.

Like I said before, it’s a lot more fun to shop for a house than a mortgage but not doing so could actually cost you thousands of dollars. Many people don’t even shop at all for a home loan and pay more attention to the rate instead of the fees for the loan itself. You might be getting a good grade but could be paying thousands extra in fees and lender costs. Better yet, let your lender know you are shopping around so that they can give you the best possible rate.

I want you to be a well-informed mortgage or loan borrower and not making these simple mistakes can put you on the road to success. If you’d like to find out how much Oahu home you can afford, give me a call today! I’d love to help you set yourself up for home buying success.

What Happens If You’re Turned Down for a Mortgage?

October 28, 2016 by Maureen Fukumoto Leave a Comment

Nobody likes to admit it but at some point, almost all of us have been declined for a loan at some point. What happens if you’re turned down for a mortgage when you feel leave done everything right, saved a little bit of money and have your credit under control?

Honestly, if you have reserve funds in the bank, you had a stable job for a couple of years, have decent credit and pay all of your bills on time, there’s no reason that you shouldn’t be able to obtain a home loan of some kind. However, you want to do your shopping the right way. A good mortgage broker will help find a solution that will work for you immediately and if not immediately, give you the plan to help you on the road to home ownership within the next 6, 12 or 18 months. Unfortunately, if you are turned down for a loan, most underwriters are not going to tell you exactly why. A mortgage broker or loan officer may be able to give you some hints or tips as to why you might have been turned down and provide you with a good plan of action going forward.

When you apply for a home loan lenders and underwriters look at three major issues: your credit, your income and any assets you may have. Any of these factors could hurt your chances of obtaining a home loan and having too much debt are usually the most common roadblocks. Lenders have been more careful in the last few years about verifying income sources. They want to make sure that you are honest in how much income you receive each month, that you have a stable job with regular income, decent assets and of course a good credit score. The credit score is vital in telling lenders that you pay your bills on time and that you don’t have a lot of debt accumulated. Any major issues can usually be fixed or corrected within just a few months.

One of the best ways to get started and to increase your chances of getting a home loan is to get your credit reports and understand everything that’s on them. If there are mistakes, errors or delinquent accounts, correct them as quickly as possible and if they cannot be corrected, write a letter stating why or why not.

If you are self-employed you want to plan even further ahead by having at least two or three years of tax returns. Lenders will take a look at your net income instead of your gross income and you’ll need to provide some type of verification that you are steadily employed.

If you can, pay off as much debt as possible before applying. The fewer debt responsibilities you have to make lenders feel that you can take on more of a home loan payment.

And finally, having a great mortgage broker or loan officer to help you along the way is really crucial in getting the right loan and program for you. Because I deal personally with each one of my clients I can help connect you to a lender that works for you, a low-interest rate, and speak directly with lenders about how to get the best loan for your needs.

We Saved $10,000 on our Home Purchase Because of This

October 18, 2016 by Maureen Fukumoto Leave a Comment

I love working with first-time homebuyers and because this is their first time buying a home, many of them just don’t know the process. I love being able to inform buyers of how they can save money and purchase a home with as little stress as possible but it does take a little bit of know-how, knowledge, and understanding of the transaction. I recently worked with a couple that was buying their first home in Hawaii and I asked them to share their experience.

“This is the first time we’d ever bought real estate, either one of us. We were a little apprehensive and scared but we had been researching the market and had spent the last couple of years saving up for a down payment and getting our credit in order. We knew that to buy a house we would need to have these pieces ready to go but we still didn’t understand the entire process until we spoke to Maureen Fukumoto.

We sat down with Maureen and talked about our goals, what we were looking for in a house and how much we thought we could afford on a monthly basis. She told us that the monthly mortgage payment included more than simply the principal balance of paying back the loan. We would be talking about taxes, insurance and that we could blend those to into our monthly payment. This seems like a better way of going instead of having a $5000 bill once a year for property taxes and insurance.

Maureen also mentioned about working with her as a buyers agent, something we haven’t even thought of before. She said that although we could find a house on our own and use any agent to help with the transaction, using our own agent, which was also free to us, meant that we were taking care of in a different way than through a listing agent.

Maureen was able to help us with our finances and find a lender that assisted with all of our debts, income, and how much money was currently going out each month and give us a better idea of how much of a mortgage payment we could comfortably make each month, which translated into how much home we can afford.

Once we did this, we started hunting for the perfect home and found several homes that we really liked. Maureen made sure that we let the lender know when we found a home that we loved so that they could alter a preapproval letter to be submitted with the offer. We were approved for $420,000. We were looking for homes between $350,000 and $415,000. We end up finding a great house for $395,000 and decided to offer $380,000, since it had been on the market for about a month. The seller counter offered for $390,000. Our lender was able to work up a preapproval letter stating that we were approved for $385,000. It didn’t say that we were approved for more or less but we were able to come back with another counter offer for this amount exactly. Maureen explained that because the seller or the listing agent didn’t know exactly how much we were approved for, they were afraid that we were at our max budget and ended up accepting the offer. Because of this creative way to alter the preapproval letter and because we had such a good connection and communication with Maureen and our lender, we were able to save $10,000 on our new home purchase. We are super excited to be moving in at the end of this month.”

~Tammy & Chuck

Sometimes it’s that close connection and communication with your lender and your agent that can really help you save money and get the home you want. Give me a call and let’s see what I can do for you!

Price of Home	$
Down Payment		%
Mortgage Term		yrs
Interest Rate		%
Monthly Payment	$

Price of Home	$
Down Payment		%
Mortgage Term		yrs
Interest Rate		%
Monthly Payment	$