Hawaii Real Estate Bizness News

Tis the Season for Buying and Selling!

admin — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 20:45:25 +0000

‘Tis the Season to Buy & Sell!

'Tis the season to Buy and Sell!

Who’s bringing eggnog?
Biz

Another Sales Meeting?

admin — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:08:44 +0000

Happy, happy, joy,joy…!

Who’s bringing coffee?
Biz

Open House? BWAHAHA

admin — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 23:00:21 +0000

So you want me to sit Open House for your property?

No. I will hold “Brokers Open” which is for Realtors to preview your property. But I will not sit an Open House where the general public has access to you home. Why? Let me ask you this: Do you want people you don’t know going through your house checking out your possessions? Sure, you’ve been told to hide your valuables or even remove them during the time your home is on the market. But what about that prescription medication in your bathroom? Hey, those credit card and bank account statements sitting in your desk look good to an identity thief! And that big TV sitting in the living room of your vacation home that is vacant most of the year?

The Cat Burglar does not want your cat...

Thieves do go to Open Houses to check out the opportunities to relieve you of your possessions. And if the home is your full time residence, don’t you just LOVE the inconvenience of hauling the family out the door, containing your pets, and vacating your house for hours at a time every Sunday afternoon? Again and again and again…

Show me the Money!

So on one hand, I don’t sit Open House to protect YOU, Mr. & Mrs. Seller. I only allow access to qualified buyers who are ready, willing and able to buy your home and are accompanied by a licensed Real Estate professional. You DO want to maximize the potential for the sale of your home rather than letting anybody off the street in, don’t you? Even if they are not “casing the joint”, Open Houses are used by many buyers to walk through homes in which they have no interest other than to learn the market or to validate a decision to purchase another home.

On the other hand, I don’t sit Open Houses to protect myself as well. Let’s just advertise the fact that I will be in a house in the middle of the day when no one else is around and there are even signs leading right up to the front door! Realtors have been raped and killed at Open Houses, I have no interest in becoming a statistic. Sit with another agent you say? Well, the State of Hawaii prevents law abiding citizens from carrying a firearm for personal protection. Guess who carries firearms? The not so law abiding citizens with intent to commit a crime. Even if there are several agents with me, a can of pepper spray is not going to do anything to deter an armed intruder.

How long until the end of Open House?

Most experienced agents pass off (yes, I said “pass off”) the duty of sitting open house to newer agents because they tell them “If you sit Open House at my listing maybe you will get a potential buyer coming in that does not have an agent!” Or I’ve heard agents say, “I’m sitting Open House this weekend and hope to get a buyer!” Or “Maybe I’ll get a lead on a potential listing!”

Sitting Open House is a very passive form of marketing your home. They are used by real estate agents to convince sellers that they’ll be doing everything they can to sell their home, and they disrupt the lives of sellers with little or no value added to their goal of selling their home.

Whoopty-Doo. “Maybe” and “Hope to”are not key points in my Real Estate business plan… I know that Real Estate is local in its nature, and I’m sure there are areas of the national market where Open Houses do work to some extent to sell homes. And I know I’m going to get blasted as a heretic by those agents. So be it. Would you rather have a passive agent who sits around your house on a Sunday afternoon “Hoping” or an agent that is “Doing” by actively and aggressively marketing your home? I know which one I’d rather have if I were selling my home…

Aloha from Hawaii,

Biz

Behind the Scenes: Zootabulous!

admin — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 21:03:01 +0000

A Special Tour of the Honolulu Zoo!

A while back I had the treat of a behind the scenes tour of the Honolulu Zoo with the Bytemarks gang. Bytemarks is a group of local nerds led by Bert Lum who meet for lunch once a month and take on adventures that most normal peeps don’t get to see. And we are definitely not “normal” …Bytemarks members range from IT people, engineers, a librarian, me the token Realtor, photographers and mad scientists. The common ground is that we all share a love of technology.

Welcome to the Honolulu Zoo!

Our Zoo tour was led by Tommy Higashino, a 37-year veteran zoo assistant director. We started off with a yummy lunch hosted by the Zoo at the “Snack Bar”, which surprisingly had really great food. We then moved on to the Tiger Zone where we learned about the care and feeding of the Big Kitties and that some cubs had successfully made it to Zoos in Japan. The cubs were scheduled to go earlier, but then the Tsunami hit.

Hot fence helps prevent jail breaks...

Now we head to the new Elephant Enclosure, and got the chance to get in the area before the new tenants were moved in.
A much nicer home than the old digs, the new hacienda features several swimming pools as well as expanded grounds.

Can you spot the elephant?

The new Elephant home features state of the art technology to control the big kids if they get into an Elephant Hissy Fit and become potentially dangerous. Essentially it is like the trash compactor from Star Wars that has panels to enclose and hold the elephant securely. The elephant is then turned over onto it’s side which calms it down enough so that attendants can administer whatever needs to be done to control the situation!

Dr. Ben has Mr. Fox in Quarantine before he can meet his new girlfriend... The Fox's girlfriend, not Docs

From there we moseyed over to the veterinarian clinic to meet up with Dr. Ben Okimoto. The new 7,000-square-foot clinic was dedicated in 2005 and is an up-to-date facility, complete with rooms for exams, X-rays, surgery and recovery. It allows medical staff to keep sick animals away from those in for routine examinations. It also serves as a morgue for autopsies as well as a quarantine area for new animals joining the Zoo from outside Hawaii.

In the Zoo Kitchen, everybody gets special food every day!

We finished up our tour at the Kitchen. Not the Snack Bar Kitchen, this one is dedicated to preparing meals for all the animals every day. Special diets for everybody can include “Fuzzies”, which are depicted here with their own special walk in cooler. A tasty meal of Adult Mice, anyone?

Fuzzies are Fuzzalicious!

We all had a really great time and learned a lot of information from Tommy and Doctor Ben. We appreciate the Zootabulous Tour!

Aloha from Hawaii,
Biz

A Short Sale is not a transaction done by an agent under 5 feet tall…

admin — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 20:33:01 +0000

What is a Short Sale?

This short video explains a brief overview of a Short Sale. It’s really, really short!

Aloha,

Biz

Insecurity: It’s not just in your head…

admin — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 21:03:34 +0000

Not Home for the Holidays? Follow these security tips!

Do you know what to do to protect your home from the bad guys? Even if you are not traveling this Holiday Season, here are some tips to make you home less attractive to thieves.

Keep the baddies away fom your stuff!

Infographic courtesy of ProtectYourHome.com

Check their great site out for more valuable info, and have a safe home!

Aloha,

Biz

APEC Traffic Schmaffic… It’s a MESSPAC!

admin — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:18:09 +0000

Asian Pacific Economic Conference snarls Honolulu Roadways

Road closures, rerouted traffic and restricted parking are going to plague Oahu until the Dog and Pony Show disbands on November 13th. And parks and beaches will also be closed, find out where and when here! Oh, and here too…I’ll keep y’all updated as to any thing else around town you might need to know. All of Oahu will be under lock down when Michell takes the First Wives Club on a tour of the Island…

APEC Hawaii Travel Lanes affected

And try to figure this mess out:

APEC Hawaii Recommended Travel Routes

Parking? What parking?

APEC Hawaii Parking Restricitions

Wake me up when it’s over…

Halloween Hawaiian Style!

admin — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 22:57:34 +0000

Spooktacular stuff to do on Oahu!

Yikes! It’s the end of October already. I have been experiencing serious writer’s block and remiss in keeping up on posting here… Or maybe I’ve just been lazy?

But since it’s nearing Halloween in Honolulu, I’m going to fill you in on some scary treats that are happening around the Island this time of year. Back in the ‘90’s I went on a “Honolulu Ghost Walk” hosted by Glen Grant, a local master of the Hawaiian myths and legends surrounding Oahu’s spookiest places. My personal experience was very creepy; Chinatown under a full moon is scary enough without hearing tales of murder and mayhem as you stroll through the streets.

Vampire Bagel is watching you...

Glen passed away in 2003 and a new group, Oahu Ghost Tours, has continued the tradition. I have not personally been on any of their tours, but have heard some positive comments from friends that have. And they go all over Oahu in a van to haunted hangouts, not just tour in town. They do state that some of the content is not appropriate for younger children, so parents should contact them before booking a tour.

Pumpkin Pics Courtesy of Aloun Farms

More keiki friendly is the Aloun Farms Pumpkin Patch in Kapolei where kids of all ages can tour the pumpkin patch and pick out their own Great Pumpkin to take home and carve into a jack ‘o lantern!

BLEH! I don't want to leave the farm!

If you want to take the kids trick or treating, all the major malls on Oahu are hosting events on Halloween. Check out Kahala Mall, Ala Moana Center, Pearlridge, and Windward Mall for spooktacular trick or treating!

Raising the Scary O’ Meter up a notch requires visiting the Dole Plantation Haunted Maze which helps raise money for some of the local schools, as well as raising goosebumps…

Redlining the Scary O’ Meter in my book is the Haunted Lagoon at the Polynesian Cultural Center. Hop on a frightening canoe ride and see the Laie Lady. The first time I did it was scarier than me looking in the mirror first thing in the morning… and that is truly terrifying!

And speaking of looking terrifying the morning after the night before, there are plenty of adult parties going on around town as well. Pretty much every bar in Waikiki has some sort of costume contest, and the people watching is as much fun as it gets! Check it out here for more info.

Aloha,

Biz

Sometimes the weather just blows!

admin — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 02:06:21 +0000

You don’t have to be a Boy Scout to Be Prepared…

It’s that time of year in Hawaii; time to make sure you have a Hurricane Survival Kit. Of course this is assuming you are in an area where you won’t have to evacuate and can stay put. We’ll talk about putting together a “Bug Out Bag” in another post.

This batch of goodies is a great way to not only be prepared for a major catastrophe, but also helps during those longer than expected power outages.

Why do they name us after women? Does this wind make my butt look big?

Water
A couple of cases of bottled water are great, but you also need a 5-gallon water keg. Fill it full before the storm and use it first. You can never have too much potable water. If you have a bathtub, fill it with water at the first storm watch notification. Remember, you not only need to drink the stuff, but you also have to flush that toilet!

Canned Food
Spam. It’s what’s for breakfast. And lunch and dinner, too. Well, here in Hawaii we eat a lot of the stuff. Add canned soups and other easy to heat or eat cold foods. I actually ordered supplies from Wise Foods and the meals are really very good. They also come in containers you can take with you to a shelter if you have to Bug Out.

Grill
Grab a small camping grill and a few small cylinders of propane. Unless you already have a backyard Man Cave BBQ set up, these are a must. Oh, and don’t fire up anything, charcoal or propane indoors. The idea is to live through the hurricane, not die of stupidity.

Fuel
Not only do you need full tanks in all your vehicles, but also for the grill and generator, if you have one. Get this stuff ahead of time; don’t wait to sit in line with other procrastinators at the pump at 3 AM once the storm is inevitable. I work at filling it up as soon as I’m down to a half tank. Not only for storm preparedness, but also because we have the worst drivers here on Oahu and either roads get closed due to accidents all the time, or the commute time turns H1 into a parking lot.

Lighting
Flashlights, camping lanterns and other lighting to keep the scary monsters away from you in the dark.

Batteries
Buy the old fashioned disposable kind. Yea, the granola eaters will gripe, but what good are rechargeable batteries when you don’t have power?

Generator
Can you survive without one? Yes, but it makes things way easier. Pick up a small 2000watt portable generator. They run around $1,000 or so and it’ll power what you need, run quiet and has a very small footprint. Don’t forget to run it outdoors not in the living room. And don’t forget the fuel…

I don't know what it is, but it's got Bacon. So all is well!

AC-DC Converter
These plug into your car’s cigarette lighter or power port as the politically correct call them now, and covert alternating current into direct current. With the right size converter you can run just about anything short term. Just keep the car running. Remember that Fuel thing?

Portable Television and Radio
A small, portable, battery powered TV is a must for keeping your eye on the storm. Of course, if the TV stations are down, make sure you have a radio.

Corded Phone
This is one of those things you really need. And I do pay for a landline, even though I use my cell 99.999% of the time. But cells go down in big storms, and I want my family to know I’m ok.

Cash
No power, no phone, no way to process credit cards, no service. Everyone takes cash; so make sure you have a stash while the ATM is still working. Because what do ATMs run on? Electricity!

Rechargeable Fan
You can get these up to 10 inches, and move a lot of air for a long period of time. It’s enough to keep you cool over night.

Coffee Maker
Get a stovetop percolator you can use on the grill.

Portable DVD Player
Bored? Pop in a movie to pass the time. These things are designed to run a couple of movies on a single charge. You’ll thank me later.

No DVD Player?
Stock up on some good old-fashioned paperbacks. I loves me my Kindle, but without a way to charge it up it’s not the first round draft choice…

Aloha,

Biz

So, you want to be a Landlord?

admin — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 22:07:52 +0000

Landlords need to read this. Tenants need to read this.

Hawaii has very specific guidelines for Residential Landlords and Tenants. Read it before you enter in a Residential lease, no matter which side of the deal you are on!

Hawaii Landlord Tenant Code Handbook

Hawaii Real Estate Bizness News

Tis the Season for Buying and Selling!

‘Tis the Season to Buy & Sell!

Another Sales Meeting?

Happy, happy, joy,joy…!

Open House? *BWAHAHA*

So you want me to sit Open House for your property?

Behind the Scenes: Zootabulous!

A Special Tour of the Honolulu Zoo!

A Short Sale is not a transaction done by an agent under 5 feet tall…

What is a Short Sale?

Insecurity: It’s not just in your head…

Not Home for the Holidays? Follow these security tips!

APEC Traffic Schmaffic… It’s a MESSPAC!

Asian Pacific Economic Conference snarls Honolulu Roadways

Halloween Hawaiian Style!

Spooktacular stuff to do on Oahu!

Sometimes the weather just blows!

You don’t have to be a Boy Scout to Be Prepared…

So, you want to be a Landlord?

Landlords need to read this. Tenants need to read this.

Open House? BWAHAHA