Honolulu residents know that a house in "town" is worth its weight in gold - even in this down market!  Finding a house for sale in town for less than $500,000 means one of three things:

1) It's a miracle!

2) The house is a tear-down.

3) The house is on the smaller side.

This house in Palolo falls into category #3.  It's a two-bedroom cottage with approximately 601 square feet of interior area on a 2,930 square foot lot.  It has a carport attached, suitable for one vehicle and there's additional parking in front of the home.

The house has been fully remodeled and looks great!  There's a small yard with some privacy in back.  The property is CPR (condo property regime).  That means it shares a common area.  There are approximately 10 cottages…

A dinner cruise on the Star of Honolulu

We were invited on a dinner cruise with several real estate customers recently.  This was our first time on the Star of Honolulu and we were ready to enjoy the sights, sounds and good food.

The cruise starts and ends at Aloha Tower.  The ship departs at 5:30 p.m. and returns around 8:00 p.m.  Guests check in around 4:30 p.m. and either shop at the Aloha Tower Marketplace or go right on board the ship to have a drink and relax.

We chose the Polynesian Sunset dinner, featuring a Mai Tai starter drink, salad and a great Mahimahi dinner.  I normally do not care for Mahimahi because it tastes a little too "fishy" for me.  This dinner was well prepared and tasted great.  It's probably the first time I ever finished…

How's your electric bill?

I got a call from a customer last night and he was asking me what he should do about his electric bill.  He had just moved into a two-bedroom townhome in Pearl City, Hawaii in June of this year.  The first electric bill was not bad because they didn't have many appliances connected during the first couple of weeks (about $80 for half a month).  The second bill climbed to $200 and the third was $300!  He asked me about my monthly bill. 

We moved into my house in Palolo (a neighborhood in Honolulu) a year ago.  At that time, our monthly electricity bills were about $100.  As energy prices climbed, so did the bills.  We currently pay about $150 per month and use about the same amount of energy as we did a year ago.

The townhome…

August 8th was a big day for weddings

We had been together for three years and finally tied the knot on 8/8/08!  My then-girlfriend got the idea for this date in 2007, when we heard on the news that there were a lot of weddings on 7/7/07.

We're not the types to do everything based on lucky hunches.  On the other hand many asians believe "8" is a lucky number and we have a lot of asians living in Hawaii.  The date was determined.  Like every couple, we had our usual daily lives to take care of and financial obligations.  As the middle of the year grew closer, we said to each other that we'd better decide if we're going to do this!

In early July, we went out to dinner, talked over our concerns and agreed to go for it.  We started making calls and…

Hawaii triathlon shop celebrates its first year in business

Momentum celebrated its first year in business during the month of August, 2008.  Despite slow economic times, Momentum has succeeded in bringing quality triathlon products to Hawaii at affordable prices.  Knowledgeable sales staff and bike mechanics make this a great store to shop.

The shop recently had a barbecue as part of its anniversary celebration.  Shop employees, customers and athletes stopped by for some good food, talking story and watching the Olympics on the big screen tv.  Buddy, the shop's black-lab mix mascot was available for petting too.

Michael Bisig "Biz", first person to the left in the staff photo above, recently departed from Momentum with his girlfriend Maribel.  They…

In Hawaii we encourage our buyers to use local lending institutions.  Buyers wonder why and sometimes think we're trying to help a relative or somebody else make some money.  Here's a great example of things going wrong with a mainland lender doing loans in Hawaii. 

A customer decided to make an offer on a townhome at Makaha Valley Plantation listed for $150,000.  We had previously made an offer on another listing in the same complex and obtained a loan prequalification letter.  The offer on that first property was not accepted and we moved onto another.  Since Quicken Loans had the buyer's information available, they issued a loan approval letter on the same day that we made our new offer.  We were feeling good about things and proceeded through the…

The Fat Greek

The Fat Greek has been at 3040 Waialae Avenue since December 2007.  We'd heard good things about their food.  One customer who lives nearby in St. Louis Heights told me he eats lunch at the Fat Greek nearly every day!  There must be something to this place.

We visited the Fat Greek and checked it out.  At this restaurant, customers order and pay for their food at the cash register.  They're given a small fob and take a seat.   When the fob lights up customers pickup their food.  The Fat Greek is BYOB, too.  Parking is the biggest challenge here.  There are approximately six restaurants packed into a small area with perhaps 15 parking spaces total.  If we can't find a space, we park a block or two away in a residential area and walk.  City…

Cute old house near downtown and UH Campus

This house was built in 1935 and has seen some renovations along the way.  I really like houses such as this one, with its older doors, single wall construction and classic architecture.

Located on Bingham Street in Moiliili, the home is situated on a 4,652 square foot lot and has 1,056 square feet of interior area.  Three bedrooms, one bath, a large living room and 10 foot ceilings.  There's lots of parking.  The driveway curves around the back of the house.  A carport is adjacent to the house and another carport is behind the house.

In June 2008, a similar, smaller house sold on Francis Street in Kapahulu for $665,000.   This home was originally priced at…