Everyone should get a professional home inspection when buying a home in Hawaii. But the inspector won't catch everything. Here are a few things that I've found can be missed.

1 - Sprinkler system. I don't know about other states, but in Hawaii the inspectors don't want to touch the sprinkler systems. They say they don't want to mess up the timing and kill the landscaping. But if they don't check it, who will?

2 - Slow plumbing leaks. This is really hard because they are slow by definition. Just last month a client of mine bought a condo at the Colony in the Peninsula at Hawaii Kai, and after she moved in she found that the leak the seller had repaired in the kitchen plumbing was still there, it was just slower. The only way to really check this is the run a lot of water for a long time, like 20 minutes, and put a paper towel under the sink. I realize this wastes water. Bummer.

3 - Non working outlets. I have seen an inspector check every single outlet in a house. Some of the bigger houses, like in Portlock, have hundreds of outlets. How can you check them all? You can get a little tester and stick it in the holes, but I doubt you'll do it.

4 - Old dying breakers. In older houses, the breakers tend to wear out and get to the point of needing replacement. I bought a home in Aina Haina and after we moved in we found that some of the breakers kept tripping once a day or so. As soon as we replaced them, it was no problem, but they cost about $50 each.

5 - Roof leaks, cracks, etc. Unless you are looking at your house in heavy rain, there isn't a way to be 100% sure about leaks. One thing you should do is look carefully at the ceilng everywhere. Do you see stains? Oahu gets a lot of rain, so if there is a leak you should see some stains. You can get a moisture meter to check and see if there is current activity. Sometimes there will be old stains from a leak that has already been repaired.

6 - Pool problems. The pool is always a mystery. Is it cleaning adequately? Is there a leak anywhere? Does the pump work ok? Is the heater functioning? I think the only thing you can do is talk to the owner and the pool guy. Ask the owner for their pool man's number and find our how the system is doing, what it's costing for maintenance, and if there are any upcoming repairs needed.

7 - Rain Gutter flow. If it's not raining, you can stick a hose in the gutters and see how they work. I had a buyer do this once. It was kind of annoying, but once he started doing it, I could see the point. The gutters were backed up in the places you couldn't see into.

8 - Problem neighbors (especially in a condo). You should meet the neighbors where you want to live. No matter how nice your new home in Mauna Lani heights is, if you have bad neighbors, you're going to hate it there. Even in a nice neighborhood like Kahala, you could have neighbors that turn out to be a problem for you. What if you have a problem with a dog or a fence on your boundary? Before you move in, meet the neighbors and ask them how they like it.

9 - AC unit condition. Even if the AC blows cold, you don't know how the system is. Are there any leaks? Is it low on freon? Maybe it's working well now but not in a month. Try running it full blast for an hour or more while you check the other things on this list. If it drips water into the house, you're in trouble.

10 - Insulation. Recently a buyer of mine purchased a home in Mililani Mauka and we found the insulation had been installed upside down. So it wasn't doing anything! No wonder the house was feeling so warm! You should ask the seller which walls are insulated and how hot the house gets. Feel the ceiling, is it hot to the touch? It should be cool. If not, it's not insulated!

What if there are multiple offers and I want to make sure I get the property? Sometimes you're not as concerned with getting a good price as you are about just getting the property. Sometimes you want to make sure you're the highest bidder.

When there are multiple offers on a property, I want to be the last offer in. I'll ask the seller how many offers they're getting, and when they will present the offers to the seller. A lot of times the sellers of Hawaii real estaste are off island which makes it difficult for the agent to meet with the seller. So it's important ask very clearly, "What is the latest I can get you the offer?"

Then before I send my offer in, I'll bluntly explain to the what our offer is, and ask "Is this offer going to be the best offer?"

If they say no, I may have to revise the offer in some way, depending on what information the listing agent gives me, and what the buyer is willing to do.

In each circumstance, you have to be aware of what the seller's mindset is, and make sure that you know all the facts. Getting information from the seller will help you to get the best deal you can get.

Sometimes if the buyer really wants the house, I'll include an escalation clause that outbids the other offers by around $1000 up to a certain limit. It works.

The Hawaii real estate purchase contract asks sellers to clean their home after they move out, have it cleaned professionally, or pay for a cleaning credit. Let me state my case for NEVER cleaning the house yourself.

I always tell my sellers that it's best to just pay a credit in escrow for whatever amount it will cost to get the house cleaned. For your average 1800sqft 3bedroom home in Oahu, that might be around $400. In my experience, the level of "clean" of a home is far too subjective to leave it to chance.

I have had sellers who spent all day cleaning their windows, doing their floors, etc, only to hear on the day of closing that the buyer is not satisfied with the cleanliness of the house. This is very discouraging to say the least, because then the seller has to pay for a cleaning after he has already spent hours cleaning it himself. Some buyers will just have a much higher standard than you will. I recently sold a Colony in the Hawaii Kai Peninsula and the seller did his best to clean it thoroughly, only to have the buyer complain that it wasn't clean enough. I personally ended up paying an additional $300 on behalf of the seller.

On the other hand, I once hired a cleaning lady for a house in Mililani, who charged me $400 to clean the house and then did the worst job cleaning I have ever seen. After she spent about 4 hours on the house, she left without mopping the floors, scrubbing the sinks, or dusting anything. I threatened to tell everyone what a terrible job she did, and she gave me a partial refund. The buyer was very unhappy, even though I gave her a $200 credit for cleaning.

The only way to be absolutely certain that a house is cleaned the way the buyer will want it to be is to actually have the buyer hire someone to do so. So the way to do that is through a cleaning credit. At closing you give the buyer about $400 and they get the house cleaned whenever they want. That way you move out at your schedule and leave the house empty but not cleaned. The buyer cannot complain no matter how dirty the house is because you have given him $400!

Also, it makes your moving day that much easier. You don't have to worry about anything except getting out of the house. This will save you a lot of headache, time, and worry.

Wind in Oahu is more important than any other weather factor. Too little of it and your nice new home in Kailua will feel like a steam beath. Too much of it and your hilltop home on Hawaii Lao Ridge could feel like a constant tornado.

The temperature in Hawaii only fluctuates about 25 degrees all year. In the summer it might get 90 degrees on the hottest day, and in the winter it might be 65 on the coldest day. Also, it doesn't fluctuate much between day and night either. On an average summer day it might be 75 at night and 85 in the day.

But the problem is not the temperature so much as the wind. Even on a real hot day of 90 degrees in Oahu, if the wind is blowing about 20mph, you won't feel hot at all. But if the wind is not blowing, it feels hot even if it's only 80 degrees. I can't really explain the science of it, but we all know it's true.

There are some great houses in the back of Hawaii Kai up along the hills, that get no wind. None. Especially back in Kamiloiki against the hillside, there just isn't any wind in there. By looking that geography you would never guess it, but it's true. There are even some houses in very windy Hahaione valley that don't get much breeze. The worst is probably the leeward side of Oahu, like Ewa and Kapolei. There are parts of those towns that are trapped behind something blocking our precious trade winds.

On the other hand...
I once visited a beautiful house on Mariner's Ridge in Hawaii Kai that had expansive ocean views. At about $1.1million, it seemed like a good deal. Then we opened the windows and the wind started howling at about 900mph. I had to hold on to my clothes to make sure they didn't get ripped off. I felt like we were reenacting the movie movie Twister! Wow, you could barely open anything up there without getting blown away.

About 90% of the year, the trade winds blow at least 10mph, cooling off our warm tropical island. But on those other 10% days, the wind either stops or becomes what we call, "Kona winds." A word of advice, if you have to shop for homes on a Kona winds day, make sure you go back and check the house on a tradewind day to see if it gets the trades.

A Kona wind day will deceive you, because they are not the prevailing wind and they are hot. Very hot. Sometimes, Kona winds just feel like no wind, but if you could measure you would see there is a little movement from the south. O yeah, trade winds come from the North East.

If you get nice trade winds in your home, it will make your home a much more pleasant place to live. It really doesn't matter where you buy your home you need to check for the wind. Whether you live in Mililani, Aiea, Diamond Head, or Kaneohe, you may find that a house right accross the street from yours gets a great breeze while yours gets none.

A lot of it based on the direction your home faces. Most homes have one or more sides with more windows than the other sides. You want most of your windows facing the trade winds, so they can get it. They only need a little window to get out.

So check your wind. It could be all the difference.

Since I love the marina at Hawaii Kai so much, I'm sometimes amazed at how much cheaper it
is to get a marina front home in Hawaii Kai than an ocean front home almost anywhere in Oahu.

In order to figure out how much the cost of living on the marina is, I take an average
marina front home and comp it to something similar in a neighborhood that isn't on the
marina. In this case, I can comp homes in Anchorage on the water to homes in Anchorage that
are not on the water.

What I find is that it costs about an extra $500,000 to live on the marina. But what about
ocean front? You're going to be shocked. If you take a home in Portlock that is accross the street from the ocean and comp it to a house on the ocean, you find that it costs somewhere around $2-$3million more to live on the ocean. And the nicer the house, the bigger the difference.

Why? I'm not too sure.

Living on the marina gives you the nice water view, the boat dock, the peaceful feeling
that the ocean gives you, but costs a fraction of the oceanfront homes. It's silly. The
highest oceanfront home sale is somewhere around $18 million, but the highest marina front
home sale is about $3million.

There is a huge difference, and I have no idea why. Sure I love the ocean, but I love the marina too. But it doesn't matter what I think, because there are buyers out there who think it's worth it, and that's who determines the price. Whoever is willing to pay for the difference are the ones that are making it so expensive to live on the ocean.

The Hawaii real estate purchase contract allows for buyers to review the survey of any single family home or land for a number of days agreed upon by the buyer and seller. If you wait until you find a buyer for your home, the buyer can take a look at something on the survey and decide to cancel the transaction, especially if he is already looking for a way to cancel. I instruct sellers to get the survey done at the beginning of a listing to avoid problems.

Here is what the Hawaii contract actual says:

    No later than days prior to the Scheduled Closing Date, Seller shall, at
    Seller's sole cost and expense, have a registered land surveyor (a) stake the
    Property even if the stakes are visible and, (b) if improvements exist along the
    Property line, provide Buyer with a map (with surveyor's stamp) and accompanying
    report to show the perimeters of the Property and the location of any improvements in the vicinity of the perimeter Property lines. This survey and map may not address whether improvements on the Property are in compliance with State and/or County requirements, and/or subdivision covenants, conditions, and restrictions. Boundary Encroachment. If an encroachment onto an adjoining
    property or onto the Property by an adjoining owner is revealed or discovered,
    such encroachment either shall be removed or Seller shall obtain encroachment
    agreement with the affected adjoining owner(s) which is acceptable to Buyer. If neither occurs within ______ days of discovery or by the Scheduled Closing Date, whichever occurs earlier, Buyer may accept the encroachment(s) or elect to terminate this Purchase Contract and the termination provisions of Paragraph C-30 shall apply. Under Chapter 669Hawaii Revised Statutes (deminimis), certain tolerances for discrepancies involving improvements built along the boundary line of the Property for specific zonings are established, and such improvements shall not be considered encroachments.

Whenever you get a loan a house, you're going to get an appraisal (usually.) The exception is when you do a loan with a very loan loan-to-value ratio, in which case some lenders allow an automated valuation model (AVM).

When you get the appraisal from your lender, file it away and keep it forever, because it has a lot of useful information that you might need later. Here are a few examples:

    * the legal description - This is not all that useful, but once in a while you might need it for an insurer or for the tax office or something.
    * TMK# - In Hawaii we don't use Assessor's Parcel numbers like the rest of the country, mainly because the government in Hawaii likes to make everything as confusing as possible for people not in Hawaii. The TMK (Tax Map Key) is used to identify your property for tax reasons, for Realtors, for various things.
    * the MLS# of the listing - If you ever want to go back and find your old MLS listing, having the number will help. That also has a bunch of good information in it too.
    * Tells the market condition at the time - might be interesting if you're trying to determine the market value of your home when you bought it. It might not be what you paid.
    * Dimensions and size of the lot - Knowing the dimensions of your lot can be helpful when you're doing landscaping or planning a pool. Most people have no idea what their lot's dimensions are, including me. In Oahu, since lots are not square usually, the dimensions might be more than 2 numbers.
    * Zoning information - there are so many different types of zoning in Oahu that will drive you completely crazy trying to remember them. The only thin you should definitely try and remember is the zoning of your home and what it means. If a dwelling is R5, it means you can have one dwelling per 5k sqft.
    * FEMA Flood zone code - Since a lot of houses are in real bad flood zones in Hawaii, this is important too. Your home owner's insurance company will want to know what zone you're in before they give you flood insurance. Also if you live in a zone that is real bad, you should be more cautious about planning and preparing for a flood.
    * Type of foundation - do you have a slab? is it post and pier? Sometimes this comes in handy.
    * Year of your home's construction - Most people only know approximately what year their home was built, but there are certain things that depend on this, like the code at the time the house was built. If your home was built before 1976, you may have lead paint. If your home was built before 1980, you might have the wrong width on your studs.
    * Actual square footage of your home - If you want to paint or carpet, you better know this number. The size of your home is going to determine the price of a lot of things, so commit this number to memory, or at least remember where you put your appraisal. The appraiser's measurement of your home is going to be more accurate than just about any other source you might have. Since our tax office in Honolulu moves at the speed of turtles on pavement, they may not have the correct square footage for several years after you do some remodeling or additions.
    * Pictures of your home - The appraisal always has some pictures of your home, which can be useful if you want to see what the house looked like in the past.
    * Sketch of the layout with dimensions - I like this one a lot. The appraiser will sketch the outside shape of your house and then give you the measurements of each outside wall. It's not a full layout like a floorplan would be, but it does give you an idea of your home's shape and size. Very useful for doing home improvement.
    * Plat Map - The plat map shows the properties in your area, including any easements, roads, and other information that only a plat map can show.

So keep your appraisal handy in case you need any information about your home. After all, you paid about $500 for it!

When I first walk into a home I'm going to sell, I can usually tell in a few seconds what needs to be changed in order to stage it. However, many sellers don't have the budget to stage it the way I recommend, and some just don't want to change anything, because they think their personal taste in decor is just fine (they're usually wrong.)

Once in a while I walk into a home and wish I had brought some kerosine, but often I can suggest a few simple and cheap methods to stage a home for showings. Here are my top 10 cheapest staging methods:

   1. Move and rearrange furniture. Most people make all the their furniture point at the TV, which is often not the best way to show a room. Moving furniture around in a house is a simple way to make things feel more open and usuable to a buyer.

   2. Clean. You'll get more for a cheap house, and you'll sell faster. Scrub the inside, power wash the outside. Especially if you have Hawaii's infamous red dirt on your house, you have to power wash that off. Clean the bathrooms really well. Hire a professionaly cleaner if you're not going to do a great job.

   3. Freshen the air. A lot of homes stink, literally. Especially in Hawaii, where people use a lot of Kim Chee and weird Asian spices (like my mom does.) Like the post below, you should use candles or Fabreeze. If it's REALLY BAD, you can get an ozone machine to take the must out of the air. It makes the house smell sort of like bleach, which is better than smelling like pets or Kim Chee.

   4. Paint. This should be on the top of your list, even though it's #4 on mine. Paint is cheap and it can make any room or house look better. Read my post about painting non-neutral colors and freshen up your house. In Hawaii the colors that won't get easily dirty are best, because there is so much red dirt (see above!)

   5. Flowers/plants. Go to the grocery store, not a florist, because flowers are way cheaper at Safeway than some little grocery store. They don't have to be perfect, just look lively. Get a lot of nice green plants. If you want, you can buy fake ones at Costco for about $100 each, and even take those with you to your new home. It doesn't matter if your home is in Mililani, Kailua, Town, Aiea, or Hawaii Kai, plants will completely change the way your home feels. You should definitely get some plants and flowers in your home. Water. Get your grass looking nice and green. Get your trees blooming with flowers. Mow the grass and get your landscaping looking good.

   6. Turn on the AC.  Don't make us sweat while we look so that we want to leave as fast as we can.

   7. Bake cookies, serve food. My wife and I visited a house a while ago where the owner was baking some cookies. It's been about 3 months, but she still remembers that house. Cookies won't sell your house, they will help the buyer remember. The smell of something is great for reinforcing the other senses.

   8. Remove or change the window coverings. I see a lot of weird old curtains here in Oahu. Homes with big dark curtains, homes with little cheap plastic blinds, homes with ugly 70's style curtains. I see it all. It's better to have nothing than something ugly. Get rid of the old ugly stuff.

   9. Play music. Put one a nice Hawaiian CD and it will leave your buyers with a pleasant mood. If they hear music they're less likely to hear any other outside noise, like traffic and airplanes.

  10. Garage Sale. Get rid of all your junk. The more you get rid of, probably the better. I'm not sure why but Japanese people (like my family) tend to keep way too much stuff. There are a lot of these types of people in Hawaii (the type that keep stuff, not Japananese, though there are many of us too) so please have a garage sale before you list your home for sale. It will make my job easier.

Most of my blog posts are prompted by questions that people ask me by email or phone. This week someone emailed me and said they are planning to move in about 8 months, wondering if they are looking at houses too soon.

You should be looking online as soon as possible, and in person about 2-4 months before you move.

As soon as you even the thought of moving to Hawaii, even if your plans are not definite, you should start looking at homes online on a regular basis, keeping track of what the market is doing in the area you like. The more time you have to look at homes, the more you'll understand our little micro markets. You'll see that homes in nice condition tend to sell quickly in most areas, and you'll be able to see the sales prices very close the list price in certain areas.  Each little neighborhood can have its own market in Hawaii, so knowledge is key to making a good purchase.

The longer you have to look at the market, the more you'll be able to get a feel for what type of homes come up for sale in certain areas. For instance, in Hawaii Kai there are only a few homes on the marina for sale at any given time. If something comes up that you really like, you might have to move on it before your time to move comes, because only a few are listed each year. Maybe 20 homes a year, which is not a lot.

In Mililani, you'll find that some homes have an ocean view, but not many, because it's about 15 miles inland. In Kailua, only a few homes a year are listed for sale that are lake front, on Enchanted lake. Or if you want Lanikai, you better start looking really early, like a year, because half the listings in Lanikai are completely junk, and the other half tend to be about $5million.

If you study the market in Oahu for a while, you'll find that in many areas, homes are each unique, because a) there were not big home developers planning this island and b) depending on type of person lived in the house, there could be a lot of strange improvements made over the years.

You just can't be overprepared when looking for a house in Oahu. The more you know, and the longer you have to learn, the better your buying experience will be. Then if you come to Oahu and spot something that you know hasn't been on the market for a long time, you'll be aware that you should act on it fast. I've had several clients who didn't act fast enough or write an offer high enough, who ended up really disappointed later.

I had one client who kept wanting to offer about $20k under the asking price, even though I kept telling him he would never get the offer accepted. Each of 3 times, his offer was flat out rejected and sold to someone else within days. Why? Because he didn't understand that the market in Oahu is not like the mainland. Our supply is limited and the sellers are very confident (in most areas, not Ewa Beach.)

So if you even have an inkling that you may be coming to Oahu in the next year or two, it's time to start watching the market. Email me all your parameters and I'll setup an automatic Hawaii MLS search for homes for you so you can keep track of what's going on.

Last week I was showing property to a family that has been planning to move to Oahu for some time. They are relocating with their company, and bringing 2 kids with them. For the showings, they brought their kids.

Sometimes people ask me if it's ok to bring kids on showings, and I always say yes. If you're moving from out of state, Hawaii is a new fun place that kids should learn about along with you. If you make them part of the home buying process, they're more likely to enjoy the house, and less likely to resent you for choosing a house they don't like.

Of course, kids don't have the best taste in houses, but if you let them see what you're looking at, even if you buy the house they don't choose, at least they have seen it and they're familiar with it. Moving to Hawaii is a huge life change, so anything you can do to make it easier on your kids is going to make the move easier for everyone, not just them. Unhappy kids make for an unhappy family.

You should take your kids inside the houses, and ask them questions about the house. "Do you like this one?" Maybe if you're afraid they won't like it, you can ask them something more fun, like "Do you think this yard would be big enough for a dog?" Getting your kids a pet when you move to Hawaii will make their transition easier. Think about letting them choose a pet and name it so they have a new friend they can play with and show to other kids.

Make the house buying process coincide with the pet buying process, and you may help your kids have an easier time in their new home.