Hawaii Housing News

News, Tips and Opinions About Hawaii Real Estate and Housing

The Importance Of Curb Appeal When Selling Your House

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Great Curb Appeal - Very Inviting Exterior

Many people shopping for a house, in Hawaii or elsewhere, appraise it from the outside first. Their decision about whether or not to look inside is largely based on its exterior. First impressions are important, so don’t forget the importance of curb appeal when selling your piece of Hawaii real estate.

It is hard to see your own home the way that others do because you feel comfortable and have memories there. However, you must view it as just a house. It is Hawaii real estate for sale. It is property that you want to make as much money on as possible.

You can do a lot to make potential buyers want to see the inside of your home by doing some simple work on the outside. The first thing is to step back -literally – and take a look at this property in much the same way a stranger would. Stand across the street and pretend you are a potential buyer seeing the place for the first time. What is your overall impression? Is the lawn well kept and attractive? Does the house look bright and fresh? If not, you have some work to do.

Walk around the house taking notes about how to enhance the exterior. Treat any mold or mildew. If the patio has become cluttered, return it to the inviting outdoor space it was when you first moved in. Above all, don’t forget to clean, clean, clean. Even a modest house will look attractive if it is sparkling clean. Don’t forget to clean out the gutters and downspouts and wash the windows. If there are any cracked or loose fitting panes, now is the time to fix them.

Paint the house if you have the time and budget for it. Nothing freshens up a house like new paint. If that is out of your budget, power wash it and touch up any cracked or peeling places. Along with a fresh coat of paint, consider installing a new front door. A door is the transition point from the exterior to the interior. It is the first part of the house that the potential buyer will walk up to and face from only a few inches away. The door should appear elegant and inviting.

Bad Curb Appeal - Too Much Jungle and Parking On Curb

If you cannot afford a new door, at least make sure that the entire entryway to your house is clean and clutter free. Add some nice flowers or other items so potential buyers will have something to admire as they go inside. A plant in a new pot sitting on a new stand in a freshly washed or painted entryway should be appealing.

Now take a look at your landscaping. Is a bamboo jungle taking over your backyard? Your potential buyers will see glimpses of your side and backyards from the driveway. These areas must look welcoming. This is Hawaii, beautiful islands of flowers. Make sure your beds are full of flowers and empty of weeds.

Always remember the importance of curb appeal when you are getting your Hawaii house ready to sell. Look at the outside of the house like you were seeing it for the first time and then get busy killing mold and mildew, painting, and washing. Don’t forget to keep up your landscaping, add new features like windows and doors and get rid of any junk that might detract from the value of your home. Now you are ready to sell your Hawaii real estate for top dollar. Good luck!

** What other tips do YOU have? Share them here! **

Building a Buyers List — How to Get Started (Part 2)

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Ready for Part 2 of building your Hawaii real estate buyers list? Ok, so if you read the last post, you know that it’s important as a Hawaii real estate investor to build your real estate buyers list. Makes sense, right? If you’re planning to sell the properties, you want to have buyers lined up ready to go instead of worrying how long your house is going to sit on the Hawaii MLS (multiple listings service).

The first thing you need to realize in building your buyers list is that there are different kinds of buyers out there. Each type of real estate buyer is looking for something different and each will make different types of offers for your Hawaii real estate sale:

1. Owner/Occupier — These are the people that obviously are going to buy your property as their Hawaii home. Because they are likely more concerned about having a nice home than near-term profit, they will generally pay the most for the properties that you sell.

2. Landlords / Cash Flow Investors — The Hawaii landlord or passive income investor is naturally looking for a profit. However, this profit is envisioned to be realized over a long timeframe. They are more concerned about the potential for cash flow over time and less about upfront equity. Therefore, they will likely settle for less than a homeowner but may not seek the deep discounts that a rehabber will seek.

3. Rehab Investors — The last type of Hawaii real estate buyer is the rehab investor. This person is looking for enough upfront equity to rehab the property and flip it on the open market or to their own list of buyers. Remember, they are looking for a nice profit even after paying your wholesaling price, so you better come with well-discounted properties. Naturally, this buyer will pay the lowest of the three buyer types since upfront equity is the key factor.

Rehabs Only...

This becomes very important because the type of buyer you attract or build a relationship with is directly tied to your exit strategy. Are you looking to wholesale for quick profits? If so, then having Hawaii cash buyer investors who can close quickly may be your best type of buyer, even if they pay the least amount for your deals. If you’re a rehabber instead, then you may want to concentrate more on seeking landlord investors or owner/occupiers who will pay you more, justifying your rehab cost. Know what kind of investor you are first so you focus on the right type of buyer for your Hawaii buyer list and overall investment business.

So now that we have that out of the way, what are the best tips of actually building the buyers list?

Great question! Here are some useful methods for getting started:

1. Google/Craigslist/Facebook. It’s almost cliche today to direct someone to Google to find something, but there’s no getting around the fact that just about everyone worth doing business with today is online. Search Google, Craigslist and Facebook for “I/We Buy Houses” in your area. These are investors actively looking to buy more property and will generally pay you fair compensation as long as you’re presenting an investor-friendly real estate deal.

2. Visit Your Local Real Estate Investor Groups. Every city has a few different local REAs (real estate association). Go and network. See who’s buying and who’s selling. Find out who the big players are. See who’s actually taking action and who’s just kicking the tires. Get business cards and call them the next day.

3. Advertise. Post ads yourself on Craigslist asking for people who want to be on your buyers list for early notification of the deals you find. You can also set up a Squeeze/Lead Capture Page to bring in traffic and leads to a back-end database. You can order lead capture templates for a low price per month from a company like Aweber or choose a more robust lead management software package. Additionally, you can post a small ad in the local newspaper, print or online, titled “Fixer Uppers” or “Handyman’s Special”.

4. Network. In addition to the REAs, so much of business is about networking. In this case, you probably already know people who buy investment property and rent it out to others. All you want to do is ask them if they’re looking to add to their portfolio of Hawaii real estate property. If so, you can put them on your list. If they’re not, then they can likely refer you to others.

Show your Ewa condo deal to landlords? Yes. To your Kailua rehab investor? Nope.

Remember when you speak to someone, no matter what type of Hawaii real estate buyer they are or how you found them, you need to get some critical information:

1. Phone number and email address. If you have everyone’s email address, then you can blast out your deals to everyone on your buyers list at once. It also becomes an efficient way to stay in touch with everyone, even if you don’t have deals to sell. Let them know you’re still out there hunting down deals for them.

2. Areas they are interested in. Not everyone is looking to buy another Waikiki condo. Likewise, some people will not buy on the North Shore because of the smaller buyers pool between Haleiwa and Kaneohe. Don’t waste time talking to someone only interested in Honolulu condos about your great Ewa Beach fixer-upper.

3. Price range. It doesn’t do much good to find a great deal on a million-dollar house in Kahala or Hawaii Kai if your buyers don’t quite have that amount of money at their disposal. At the same time, some people may have those funds but instead prefer the deal structure of a Waikiki condo and will buy 10 of those before the year is out.

4. Exit strategy. Find out what their business model is. Will they rehab or do they want all the repairs done before closing? If you know they want to buy Hawaii property for cash flow, then you better analyze local rents so you can relay that information to them to help seal your deal. Contact a nearby property manager or realtor if you can’t find this information on your own.
I think that’s enough to get going. Remember, persistence is key. Every market is different. What works in Hawaii may not work in some mainland markets, but the general ideas are the same. If you have more tips, share them in the comments section below!

Virtual Assistants for Hawaii Real Estate – Do You Outsource?

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Virtual assistants are extremely valuable to real estate investors today (and you, too, homebuyers — keep reading). Do you really have time to do everything yourself that’s required to find, negotiate, close and market all your deals? If you’ve been doing it all solo then you know the answer! There’s just too much work to do, even if you’ve managed to create a smooth, efficient business model.

You can only work so many hours a day, and as an investor / business owner you need to spend the majority of those hours wearing the entrepreneur hat, not being burdened by all the tedious work. Enter the Virtual Assistant.

“Sounds great, Mike, but what actually is a virtual assistant?”

Great question! A “VA” is anyone who you outsource work to that doesn’t work out of your office. They are ‘virtually’ there, but in all likelihood are somewhere in India, Pakistan or the Philippines. Google “virtual assistant” and you’ll quickly come across dozens of sites that offer these services.

How does it work? You create a job description for what you need done and submit it to the VA site. Once posted, VAs from around the world will bid on the right to fulfill your job description. You review your candidates (past ratings, reviews, portfolios), award the job, fund an escrow, monitor their work, collaborate and release escrow when the job is done. It’s that simple! The primary advantage is that you’re leveraging competition in your favor — hundreds of people from around the world are competing for YOUR contract and many of these designers live in areas where the dollar goes quite far.

What types of tasks can a real estate investor outsource to a VA?

  • Calling back potential clients to gather more information
  • Emailing agents about an upcoming showing
  • Managing direct mail and taking phone calls
  • Web design

Look at my Facebook business page banner and my Twitter background as examples. I don’t have the skill or time to design these myself!

VAs: Your Rainbow to Efficiency

“Hey Mike, what about using VAs for homebuyers?”

You got it – VAs aren’t just for investors or other business folks. They’re for you, too! Here are a few ideas how you the house hunter can use a VA to help your housing search:

  • Search the internet for homes in your target area
  • Narrow that list down to homes that fit your buying wants and needs (price, bedrooms, sqft, nearby schools)
  • Find the listing agent’s contact information for each house
  • Calculate the value of the house and your offer based on your own criteria
  • Put all of this information into an Excel spreadsheet and email it right to your inbox

Think about how much time it would save you to have all that information delivered to your inbox once a week instead of doing it yourself!

Some Final Tips

  • Don’t go crazy! Some tasks are better done by YOU. Remember no matter how well-trained your VAs are, only you can be you to your customers!
  • Thoroughly review all your VA candidates. Look at portfolios, past reviews and ratings. Ask follow-up questions.
  • Don’t be afraid to fire a non-performing VA. This is a contract and they have a job to do. Bad VAs are easily replaceable.
  • Keep in constant communication. Most VAs are ready to do a fantastic job for you if your expectations are clearly communicated!

Do you have your own VA success tips? Leave some feedback below and share with everyone your VA experiences!

Interesting Article – American Housing Preferences

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I just read this article from MSNBC this morning. I found it a very interesting read, discussing how the housing preferences in America have changed over the past ten years. I think it says a lot about who we are as a society and what we value. What are your thoughts? Do you find all the changes to be positive trends? Has Hawaii followed suit or do we stand out from the crowd?

What do you think the report ten years from now will say??