Hawaii Real Estate | Hawaii Relocations | Hawaii Home Buying & Selling

After working on a couple of transactions through Relocation Companies who refer clients to me, I have no qualms regarding the ‘fees’ they charge.  WHY?  Our commission is always negotiable.  For another, I’ve gotten referrals from other brokerages that desire the same % for their referral fees anyway.

And bottom line….something is better than nothing.

Many of you will not agree although if you’re in a market where the agent to household ratio is one agent to every ten households (okay, a little exaggerated but it sure seems that way sometimes lol) you're happy when a referral comes in.  In any case, what’s the difference between a relocation company fees and a brokerage referral fee?

In this market, the seller is most likely upside down (regardless if on loan or losing money they put into the property) if they bought during the years of the boom. 

It was a BOOM indeed, as that boom created a crash unlike any other in the real estate market in my lifetime. 

And now…there are government workers who need to relocate back to the mainland (Continental U.S.) and use the services of a relocation company in selling their home so they can ‘save’ on much of the closing costs in hopes they may ‘break even’. 

If it can save the seller some heartache for the loss they will be taking and by all means to avoid a short sale…. I am there for them.  If they put thousands of dollars into the home and can ‘save’ a few bucks going through a relocation company…by all means, I most likely would do the same thing if put in that position.

Helping, servicing and sometimes giving back…..

Carol Grub, Cyndee Haydon and friends started a project and I was contacted by Cyndee regarding “THE JAMIE & LILIAN CAULK MEMORIAL PROJECT” for our friend and fellow member Missy Caulk and her family .  There was no hesitation from me  to ‘get the word out’!!! 

Missy Caulk, mother of Jamie and grandmother of Lilian, experienced a grief that is unimaginable to me as I have not experienced the loss of a child or grandchild.  This loss and tragedy happened to Missy’s family within a few weeks time of each other with first the loss of her son Jamie in late October, and then her lovely granddaughter Lilian, who passed away suddenly in early November.   

The Caulk family has a family unity and strength I have only seen in a few families and I was amazed at how they pulled together and supported each other through this time. It gave me a renewed outlook at how families pull together during times of grief and tragedy.

You can read more here:

1. Family, friends remember Saline native who died after crash in Tennessee
2. Family mourns loss of 11-week old Lilian Caulk, niece of recent crash victim Jamie Caulk
3. We remember Jamie Caulk

 I have known Missy since I started blogging on ActiveRain in March of 2007, and she was one of the first members to comment on my blog. I felt welcomed and though I did not know at the time, she would eventually become mother in law to one of my good friends, Bob Stewart (whose son, Kelan I ‘adopted’ as a grandson and am Gramma Sally in Hawaii), who married Missy’s daughter, Christa Caulk-Stewart. 

CYNDEE's VIDEO......

ActiveRain will continue to be a driving force for all of us to not just do business with,  but to connect with on a personal level and become that ‘family unity’ when times as this arise for one of our members.  It is with this knowledge at how our ActiveRain Community comes together not only in business but in times of need that we all are passing the word on  “THE JAMIE & LILIAN CAULK MEMORIAL PROJECT” that started with Carol Grubb who told Cyndee about their local plan to dedicate a park bench in a special place in Jamie and Lillie Bear’s honor.

So how can you help?

3 Ways...

1.  Continue to pray for the Caulk family

2.Help get the word out by sharing this post on Facebook, Active Rain, Twitter to those that know Missy, Christa, Jamie, Bob and all the Caulks or consider doing your own blog post

3.Make a donation

How to Make a Donation (no gift is too small):

Make checks payable to "The Jamie & Lillian Caulk Memorial Fund"
Mail those checks to:

Carol Grubb
3647 W. Greenook Dr.
Ann Arbor, MI 48103

Or send a Paypal (as a gift so all funds go to them) to: cyndeehaydon@gmail.com and put "The Jamie & Lillian Caulk Memorial Fund" in the memo.

Along with your donation, Carol has requested each person's name or names & email addresses because she will be giving the Caulk's a card from everyone and she also wants to keep you informed of the details of the upcoming picnic / dedication that is being planned for early to mid-May when the bench is ready.

Thank you all in advance, and a very Happy Holiday to all of you…

… and your families too!

Active Duty or Veterans of the Armed Forces have their VA Home Loan benefits for a little or no money down loan program to purchase a Hawaii home . (provided they are within lender guidelines).

The Veteran’s Administration is not a loan company and you will still have to get preapproved for a loan from a local lender. VA guarantees the Local Lender that they will reimburse the lender a percentage should the veteran default on their loan. (not that you will right?)

The following steps are what this Real Estate Professional helps you with in order to make your Relocation to Hawaii, Real Estate Home Buying Experience and VA Loan Process a smooth process.

·         Contact a Local Hawaii Lender (if you do not have one I can refer you to a few who are well qualified in the State of Hawaii) to submit your information and documents to get preapproved for your VA Home Loan. Let the  Loan Officer know what you are comfortable with for monthly mortgage payments as this helps determine what price range for properties you should be looking for. The loan officer will let you and your REALTOR®  know what you are preapproved for and in what price range to search for properties.

·         Let your agent know what other criteria you are looking for. For example,  # bedrooms, # of baths, sq. ft. interior or land, parking, single family or condo/townhouse that you desire.  With your price range determined and your criteria in place your REALTOR® will have enough information to send you listings to start your Hawaii Home Search

·         Get all your financial paperwork together so you are prepared when you arrive.  Pack your important documents in your carry on bag including last two months bank statements, last two years W-2’s, complete month of LES’s (pay stubs) and important documents you will need to submit for your loan!  (Get a list of documents you’ll need from your loan officer that you already have in place)

·         Start your loan process before you get here so you will have everything in place when you submit an offer for a loan. The loan process is the lengthy and of course an important part of the transaction so it is better to be proactive in your process. You will also NEED a preapproval letter to submit with the Purchase Contract as well.

·         Appointments are made by this Realtor® and off we go in search of your new home!  When you decide that you would like to put in an offer we will go through the whole 12 page (plus addendums) Purchase Contract and submit it to the seller’s agent to present to the seller.

·         Offer is accepted and your VA Loan Process begins!  You will meet with your Loan Officer to submit any other documentation needed for your VA Loan process packet. Then it goes to Underwriting to process the initial packet and order the appraisal with a VA approved appraiser.

·         The Condominium and/or Subdivision Association Documents will be ordered immediately after acceptance of the offer and in the buyer’s hands within 10-14 days after acceptance. This agent will make copies of the Budget, last three Association minutes and the Property Information form (RR105C) and submit it to the lender. They need these documents per VA Loan Guidelines and process for your loan.  (these documents will show how the Association budgets their money in reserve. % of owner occupants, any pending concerns or litigation going on and so forth)

·         VA Appraiser submits the appraisal report to VA and VA will issue their NOV (Notice of Value) There may or many not be conditions to fulfill (i.e. any repairs needed) and will have a value on the property as determined by the appraiser5.

·         Provided your loan process goes smoothly you should have a Conditional Loan Commitment Letter within 3-4 weeks in contract. This is an approval of your loan with Conditions. Maybe you need to submit a couple of more documents or the appraisal is not in yet or the survey and termite inspection are not done yet. These are the types of conditions that will be listed on this letter.

·         Within two weeks after the Conditional  Loan Commitment letter is issued all the conditions should be complete for signing documents with escrow and the loan officer. Not to worry! I attend all signings with you.

In Hawaii, we do not sign at the same time as the Seller due to conflict of interest and we sign approximately four – five days before recording. After the signing, the loan officer takes the notarized and signed documents to go through processing and within 2.5 days the Lender should have funded the money for your loan to the escrow company.

When escrow receives all monies funded by the lender , then they will take the documents to the Bureau of Conveyances in Honolulu to record. The Bureau of Conveyances needs two days for recording  and we usually get word between 8-10am.

At that time of recording clearance, the home is legally yours and I will have already retrieved all keys, garage door openers and documents pertaining to the house in hand.

Congratulations!

You are a new homeowner!

Remember…our relationship does not stop here. I am always here to answer any questions or concerns you may have and help you with all your real estate needs.

There are Laws we learn in Real Estate School and that we PRACTICE every day as licensees.  I admit it…I AM ANAL about abiding by our Real Estate Laws and following our COE. There are no cutting corners in real estate for me and it irritates me when there are others that do….blatantly.

Common ‘Mistakes’ or Blatant Disregard?

Breaking the Law:  When one gets arrested, charged and convicted for drunk driving, doing drugs, not paying taxes on commission (In Hawaii we have to pay not only State and Federal Taxes but General Excise Taxes too!) stealing etc. you are not only risking your license…but will ruin your reputation. Being a law abiding citizen should not be a problem anyway.

Cutting Corners:   Initialing and/or dating documents ‘for your clients’ because you are too lazy or embarrassed that you made a mistake or missed something is a ”shame on you”.  Get off your behind and do it right.  In my book, it’s the same as forging and if it comes back to bite you in the butt…you can only blame yourself.

Unlicensed Activity: There are many friends, relatives and acquaintances who believe they can do a better job than we do. Ha!  Well, instead of ‘talking’ they need to take the proper steps to becomes licensed and give the correct information. Same goes for those claiming to be contractors or any other professional that requires licensing and they are not.

REALTORS® follow a Strict Code of Ethics:  I’m sure the majority do and bottom line is that if each individual lives by good daily morals and values then there will be no problem following the COE. Following our laws, rules in communities and our place of employment is just something that comes naturally. If it doesn’t then you have a problem.

Support our Real Estate Industry….

…..and just ‘DO THE RIGHT THING’.