The Latest on All Things Hawaii Real Estate Archives -

5 Bedroom Home on Lewanuu St in Mililani

March 15, 2018 by Maureen Fukumoto Leave a Comment

Located at 95-702 Lewanuu St. in Mililani is a beautiful 5 bedroom and 3.5 bath home with just over 2,500 square feet. Built in 1982, this unique home would be great for a stay at home worker. There is a huge office potential here with a ground floor master bedroom and bath with separate entrance. There is also a large 2nd master bedroom with bathroom upstairs too. The home offers large separate living areas and a 2nd-floor living room or family room as well.

Outside the home is a 720 SF covered Lanai perfect for entertaining. The home has a 43-panel Vivint provided PPA Solar System for reduced electric costs. This is a big perk in the Hawaiian islands as energy can be very spendy.

Homeowners’ Dues are just $37 per month and cover common area maintenance of the community. The home boasts a 3-car garage plus additional driveway parking.

Schools assigned to this location include the Kipapa elementary, the Mililani middle school, and the Mililani high school. The middle and high school have been recorded as some of the best on the island.

Shops and restaurants are close by and the beach is about 30 minutes. Give me a call to take a closer look at this awesome new listing!

Click on the address above to view more of the listing information and all images or check out the virtual tour here.

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.

Affordable Homes on Oahu

September 26, 2016 by Maureen Fukumoto Leave a Comment

The term “affordable” means different things for different people. Affordable housing in general simply means that no more than 30% of a person’s income should go towards housing. Housing payment would include the mortgage, principal, interest, mortgage insurance, taxes and homeowners insurance. That means that if a person makes $100,000 a year no more than $30,000 of that income should go towards these housing allowances.

However, just because it is affordable doesn’t mean that people stick with that. Many people go over the allotted 30% affordability ratio and many people stay far below it. Staying below it means it will be even more affordable as the homeowners will have more funds for savings, utilities and disposable income.

That being said, the average home price for Oahu is between $600,000 and $700,000. So, on average, for $600,000 home with a zero down deposit (which usually is not the case), including homeowners insurance, property tax and private mortgage insurance on a 30 year loan at 4% interest, the monthly payment would be roughly $3800 a month. This is about $46,000 a year, meaning the homeowner would need to have an income of about $150,000 per year.

Still, $3800 a month in mortgage payments can be quite spending. So let’s drop that in half. There are about 500 properties for sale on the island under $300,000. You can find simple one bedroom, one bath condominiums with 500 ft.² for around $109,000. Of course, options are also available, making an ideal purchase for investors or homebuyers that have cash.

While condominiums are typically less expensive, at least the ones with the smaller square footages, single-family homes tend to run a little bit more. Houses typically start at about $200,000 for two and three bedroom homes of around 1000 ft.². Chances are many of these are going to need some cosmetic updates and maybe some repairs. Bring your elbow grease and trusty tools, but if you can snag a great fixer, you can usually increase your equity with a few home improvement projects. Move-in ready homes usually started about $250,000, but again, they would be small, typically around 700 ft.² to 1100 ft.².

Affordability in Oahu is slightly different than many places around the mainland but can be quite comparable to large metropolitan cities. However, nothing beats living in paradise and if you’re looking to move to the mainland starting with a 700 square-foot condominium might be the perfect starting point for you.

MORE: What can $500K Buy in Oahu

How to Buy a House on Oahu

July 5, 2016 by Maureen Fukumoto Leave a Comment

You’re ready to do it! Maybe you’re just thinking about it? You’ve visited numerous times, bought books about moving to Hawaii and really considered the real possibility of living on the island. So now you’re doing your research about moving and buying a home on Oahu. Here are the easiest and most basic steps of how to buy a house on Oahu.

#1. Find a local agent.

There are a lot of people that moved to Hawaii and get their real estate license because living here is expensive and selling a house or two can be quite lucrative however, by going with an amateur agent or someone that has just moved here, they may not know all of the details about certain neighborhoods, storm areas, commute times, traffic and construction, which are big deals on the island. My suggestion is to go with a real estate agent that is very proficient with the area and has been an agent of Hawaii for years. Before you even look at one home, find an agent that understands why you’re buying, where you’re coming from and your budget. Talk to them first and then get started on your budget, what you’re looking for and what you really want.

#2. Figure out what you want.

There are a lot of options on the island from townhouses to condominiums, high-rise apartments and beautiful oceanfront villas. Of course, there are price ranges all over the board from $300,000 to well over $10 million, so you need to understand how much your budget is going to be and what you’re looking for. Knowing these two items we can narrow it down to a good list of some possible potential properties.

#3. Where are you going to work?

If you are retiring it doesn’t really matter except that you’ll probably want to be out of the major cities in some centrally located areas such as Mililani or one of the coastal communities or villages. If you’re working in town such as in Honolulu or surrounding areas you want to consider traffic, construction and commute. There’s always construction going on somewhere on the island so consider your commute time and if you plan on driving or would like to live closer to your job.

#4. What are you willing to tolerate.

If you’re moving from the mainland, Hawaii is quite different. You may be giving up certain items that are a given on the mainland such as garbage and trash pickup, running water, electricity or certain fruits and vegetables available at all times. There are literally places on the island that have minimal electricity, low water pressure and limited resources so you need to talk to your agent about what you expect and your realistic expectations for simplifying your life.

Hawaii Realty Pro Made the Top 100 Best Realtors

June 21, 2016 by Maureen Fukumoto Leave a Comment

Congrats to Hawaii Realty Pro for winning top 100 Realtors most transactions award for the 2nd year in a row!

“This year, Hawaii Business magazine celebrates 10 years of publishing the Top 100 Realtors list, the gold standard in identifying the highest producers in Hawaii’s real estate industry.” HawaiiBusiness.com

2015 Photo – pictured with husband Ken & daughter Beth Fukumoto Chang

Realty Pro has an amazing team that consist of their Office Manager, Susan Strong & Listing Manager/Realtor-Associate, Grace G. Bacnis. (please Tag on FB) Link: http://www.hawaiibusiness.com/top-100-realtors-2016/

2016 Photo – pictured with Susan Strong – Office Manager, Daughter Beth Fukumoto Chang, Daughter Sarah Chang, Grace Bacnis – Realtor-Associate & Listing Manager

Tiny House in Oahu – The Perfect Retirement

April 25, 2016 by Maureen Fukumoto Leave a Comment

The tiny house movement is all the big rage now; people selling 3000 square-foot homes and moving into less than 400 ft.². But can it really help you retire early, save money and free up your life.

Tiny House in Oahu - The Perfect Retirement — Image by Pinterest, TinyHouseTalk, AwesomeSpaces.com

We recently helped a retirement couple with a tiny house on Oahu. They didn’t want all of the “stuff” that a larger house needs to feel cozy. It’s time to downsize and where better to do that than on the islands?

Tiny houses are becoming a popular housing option for many Americans over the country. They want to escape that suburban life, be able to travel more and more frugally. These homes are typically between 100 and 400 ft.² and are actually a good viable dwelling for retirees according to a recent article in AARP.

For retirees who have already downsized, 64% of them so they did so for greater financial freedom. 44% said they wanted less home maintenance and a total of 40% some retirement as a chance to live in a different part of the country. This is why a tiny house in Oahu makes a great option. People can retire early and have a big cost savings. The US standard size house cost about $272,000 a tiny house cost an average of about $23,000 if it’s built by the homeowner. If you’re considering a tiny house there are some factors to keep in mind.

There are seven factors to consider if you’re looking into a tiny house or home on Oahu.

#1. Be on the same page as your partner.

The last thing you want is to be stuck in a small space with someone that really doesn’t want to be there. You have to make sure that you and your partner or whomever is living in this small space is just as much on board as you are. If not, trust me, don’t do it.

#2. Understand how much you can really afford.

The goal of a tiny house is to save money so don’t think that you can just throw thousands of dollars into different designs when the goal is really to save the money. Figure how much money you need to save to retire early if that’s the plan and look for a tiny home that fits into your budget, not just for the initial purchase but for ongoing expenses as well. You may have land costs, rental fees or other monthly charges such as utilities, even though they won’t be nearly as much as a larger or standard size house.

#3. Start saving now.

If you plan on retiring early you want to start saving for a tiny house and be ready to purchase the property when you get here. If the goal is to retire early savings are paramount. You want to set a budget and start saving now so that you can enjoy your home sooner. As Dave Ramsey says, “live like no other so that you can live like no other”. Meaning it might take living below your means now to live comfortably at a later time.

#4. Make a list of all the items and necessities that you will need.

Simply start out by making a list of all the things that you will need ahead of time. Then, start trimming that down into things that really are not as important. You might be surprised as to what you can actually live without. Several on a few things that are paramount to living in a tiny house and then talk to your contractor about implementing them in a creative and space-saving way.

#5. Begin to downsize now.

Downsizing from a 2000 square-foot house to a 300 ft.² house is going to take a lot of purging. Start now by getting rid of things that you just won’t need in the new house. Start selling them and using those funds as a savings account for the house. A lot of these tiny houses will have built-in furnishings so you may not even need a table, chairs or couches.

#6. Consider the location.

My buying a small lot on Oahu you have a greater choice of where you want to be located. Lots right next to the beach might be ideal and because you’re not buying a half acre, you can really save money on the lots, land and by exactly where you want to be.

#7. Consider what you’re doing with your old house.

Are you going to sell it or rent it? Are their home improvement projects to tackle prior to turning it over? Do you need to upgrade certain rooms so that it sells at top value? By putting a little bit of your funds into the upkeep and upgrading of your existing house, you can have more funds at the end of the sale to put into your new tiny house adding to your retirement.

If you’d like more information on a tiny house on Oahu or starting to plan and prepare for the build of a tiny house please contact our office today. [Adapted From Source]

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