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Elizabeth Weintraub
Would You Like to Buy a Second Home in Hawaii?
If you would like to buy a second home in Hawaii, this remodeled home is extremely affordable and situated in a wonderful Kona location with an 180-degree panoramic ocean view. The flowers you see on this lanai grew from one small Allamanda plant — that rich volcanic soil produces garden miracles. This is only one corner of the lanai, it stretches across the entire backside of the house and then some. Further, that view is from south of the Kona Royal Resort to the whitecaps breaking on Kailua Pier and beyond toward Honokohau Harbor.
It is a truly unique situation. This is a free-standing house that falls under condominium class. It is the highly popular Model 3, which IMHO is the best floor plan in this community.
It’s conveniently located about one mile from town and the beaches in The Pines II community. One intersection away from Kona Safeway, Wal-Mart and Poi Dog Deli. The Pines II is a grouping of 90-some homes governed by an HOA. Now, before you think, oh, ick, an HOA is nothing but trouble, let me assure you that is not the case in this community. The HOA maintains the exteriors, so you will never paint again. Further, the roof is also covered under the HOA, along with water, trash, front landscaping, fences, gates and insurance for the exterior.
I’m gonna miss the HOA actually as we just bought another house without garbage pickup. Most people take stuff to the dump. It’s nice to have your trash picked up and your water included. Plus, with solar hot water, we really do not pay anything to wash dishes, use hot or warm water for laundry and I can take all the hot baths I want without affecting our utility rates. Our electric runs about $100 a month. Did I mention how quiet the neighbors are?
We began our Hawaii remodel in Kona last summer, finishing this year. Gutted the kitchen and baths. Replaced cabinets, fixtures, appliances, plumbing, flooring, and I personally put a lot of forethought and consideration into the design, anguishing over the smallest details. From the Kohler medicine cabinets, featuring extra tall shelving and interior mirrors, to the stainless kitchen sink, which is extra deep, 60 / 40 split with a low rise inside and farmhouse style, you won’t find this style duplicated anywhere. Truly custom. No expense sparred.
Everything is at your disposal, whether you buy this as a second home in Hawaii or move in to make this your own personal residence. You’ve got 2 bedrooms and a den, which could be a third bedroom. A small enclosed lanai is off the den, which I use for our cats, and there is a cat door so they can’t escape outside. Not to be confused with the full-length Futura stone covered lanai on the back of the house. Two full baths, both of which were gutted, along with the kitchen. New chair height Toto one flush toilets. Bamboo glass in the shower. A sliding shower head is utilized in the bath so you don’t have to stand to wash your hair.
Comes with a two-car attached garage with pull-down access to plenty of overhead storage. Washer and dryer are located in the garage. Open house on Saturday, September 14th, from 1:00 to 4:00 P.M.
75-217 Nani Kailua Drive, #160, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740 is listed exclusively by RE/MAX broker associate Linda Johnson in Kona at $574,999. Doesn’t matter if you plan to buy a second home in Hawaii or age in place in this house, all the work has been done for you. For more information or a private showing, please call her at 808.989.6155.
Selling When Divorcing
Selling when divorcing was written by Elizabeth for another publication years ago. This topic is very relevant today. In fact, we just sold a property for a divorcing couple. Enjoy … JaCi
There is no reason to let buyers know you are getting divorced when you are selling. If buyers can figure that out, they will offer you less. They will think you are desperate. And let’s face it, some divorcing couples are desperate. They want nothing to do with each other, and the faster their home sells, the better.
But some aren’t antagonistic toward each other, and some divorcing couples aren’t in a rush to sell. Should these sellers be penalized because buyers know their situation? The fact is it’s nobody’s business if you’re getting divorced. You have a commodity to sell. That commodity should be marketed in its best light, utilizing an optimum marketing campaign, just like any other listing.
If buyers know your circumstances, they will circle like vultures after roadkill. Divorcing brings out uncertainty among the parties involved, but it shouldn’t result in sellers shining search lights in the night sky to find buyers. There is no need to advertise the reason to sell. Yet, some divorcing couples inadvertently tell buyers intimate details in ways you can’t begin to imagine.
We work with many divorcing couples. Please call Weintraub & Wallace Realtors with RE/MAX Gold Sierra Oaks today to sell your home @ 916-233-6759.
Read more about Selling When Divorcing.
— Elizabeth Weintraub
Dealing with Seller’s Remorse
Dealing with seller’s remorse is an interesing piece written by Elizabeth for another publication. It is true that seller’s remorse happens and they cancel listings. Without motivation a seller may put a toe in the water but will not dive in. Enjoy…
— JaCi Wallace
Real estate agents are used to working with buyers who sometimes freak out when they realize they have actually purchased a home. Sure, looking at homes, writing offers, negotiating, it’s all fun and games until the time comes when a seller says, “Heck, I’ll take your offer.” That’s when the panic sets in — which, by the way, is a normal reaction for a buyer.
But what happens when it’s the seller who pulls a 180 and gets cold feet about selling? Sellers are prone to feeling remorseful as well. Especially sellers who have lived in the home for a long time and have trouble picturing themselves living elsewhere. Often, before the ink is dry on the contract, a seller will begin to wonder, “Oh, my goodness, what did I just DO?” They feel like they can’t part with the home. Do sellers have to sell if they change their minds?
Read more about Dealing With Seller’s Remorse
If you are considering selling your home call Weintraub & Wallace. As a top Sacramento Realtor team with RE/MAX GOLD we will help you through any seller’s remorse. We can be reached at 916-233-6759.
— Elizabeth Weintraub
How To Increase Buyer Traffic
How to increase buyer traffic, was an article published on another website by Elizabeth several years ago. This sage information many Realtors miss the mark on. To sell a house, you have to show it first. Enjoy the read.
— JaCi Wallace
Home marketing and advertising should have one common goal. Contrary to popular belief, that goal is NOT to sell your home. The goal is to get a buyer interested enough to LOOK at your home.
The premise is simple. If you can’t get buyers in the door, you aren’t going to get an offer. So, everything you do should focus on getting buyers to call you for an appointment or call your agent for a showing.
Of course, you want to sell your home. But don’t spend time concentrating on the end result until you can entice buyers to look at your home. Buyers fall in love with what they can see. If they can’t see your home, they won’t fall in love. It’s really quite simple. So how do you get them to call or visit?
Read more about 10 Ways to Increase Traffic.
If you are interested in how to increase buyer traffic, call Weintraub & Wallace Realtors with RE/MAX Gold, to list your home. We can be reached at 916-233-6759
Elizabeth Weintraub
Why Buying a Home on Hawaii Island is Hard
The process for buying our first home on Hawaii Island was a bit convoluted because we used conventional financing, with our mortgage people located on another island. And let’s just say they were not Dan Tharp quality from Sacramento. If I recall correctly, they also became inebriated on Christmas Eve and threatened to cancel my loan for no good reason. Then, they apologized profusely after sobering up the following day.
Buying a home on Hawaii Island is hard.
Some of the problems with buying a home on Hawaii Island are contained in the way agents do business on Hawaii Island and also in the purchase contract itself. For example, California used to be referred to as strictly a Caveat Emptor state for buyers, but the state fixed that attitude and its inherent problems. The California Residential Purchase Agreement definitely favors buyers now.
Not so in the wonderful state of Hawaii. Which suggests to me that builders and developers are running the state of Hawaii. Not a lot of protection for buyers in the purchase contract.
Now, we used a broker from another island when we bought our first home, so we did not much encounter the (odd to me) practice of agent limitations. Many brokers in Hawaii do not allow their agents to obtain signatures on a purchase contract until the agent’s broker approves the document. This applies to all paperwork, including attachments, addendums and counter offers. Some brokers take more than a day to review the paperwork. Do you see the dilemma? Nothing is signed by the buyers until the broker reviews. And he is surfing. Whatever.
The dilemma is some lucky buyer who has hired a real estate broker for representation (instead of an agent) could swoop in, present and snatch the house one desires before one has a chance to even sign the offer. Other dilemmas are contract verbiage itself.
Take the AS IS addendum, for example. Among other seller-centric things, this document states the buyer relinquishes all rights to sue the seller or sellers’ brokerage for just about anything except for failure to disclose material facts. That is insane. We’re not talking about arbitration. This is a release of legal rights to sue.
On top of this, there is no contingency of purchase form, according to our Realtor. There are so many variables to a contingency, I cannot believe they leave it up to the parties and agents to practice law, but they do.
In one counter offer, our agent inserted a paragraph stating the buyers (which are us) could lose our deposit if we defaulted, and then it pointed to the language which is reiterated in the contract. Why did she include that verbiage? Your guess is as good as mine.
It can easily take up to a week to write an offer to buy a home on Hawaii Island and negotiate it. You will also hear agents say things like, “I am just a messenger.” And maybe that is the main problem. They operate like messengers . . . so if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, I guess it is a duck. I would slap an agent in Sacramento who said she is just a messenger. NO, you are not a messenger. You are a professional Realtor with scores of experience and knowledge, and respectable negotiating skills.
A listing agent we encountered a few days ago took the icing on the cake when he asked us, “What would it take for you to write an offer today?” He has been in the business for 41 years, perhaps one year 41 times. What was that? Selling a house 101? Maybe he should sell cars?
His seller wasn’t much better. The seller followed us around saying things like, if you don’t like the fact that it sometimes rains inside the house, you could buy sliding glass doors from Lowes for $300 each. Yes, in 1968. Not today. After I asked pointed questions like why was the floor sloping toward the center of the house, he anxiously blurted: “Perhaps this is not the house for you!” Then he informed us the house needs a new roof, the pool resurfaced, and joists are breaking, and ended that disclosure with the fact maybe he should buy out his partner and keep the house.
Yeah, both the seller and listing agent talked us out of buying a home on Hawaii Island.
By the end of the showing, all desire to buy that house in North Kona had dissipated. It was probably a nice house, too, but the experience of viewing it was simply too exhaustive. Stay tuned . . .
— Elizabeth Weintraub
Weintraub & Wallace Realtors
