Hawaii Foreclosures rising

This morning's newspaper has an article titled "Isle foreclosures slowly building."  The article intrigued me as a Palolo Valley resident and realtor in Hawaii.

House for sale in Palolo Valley

I live just around the corner from the house pictured in the newspaper article (and pictured above).  This house is located in Palolo Valley, a Honolulu neighborhood.   Several months ago the house had a garage sale and we stopped by to check it out.  The owner told us his story about moving and claimed that he had sold the house.

Later the house came on the market at a high price with a low commission.  That's a deadly combination for a home seller.   I imagine the realtor recommended a lower price with a higher commission but he or…

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Varsity Theatre destroyed

When Honolulu's Varsity Theatre closed in June, 2007 the owners had planned to renovate the building and use it for another business. Subsequently they found that there were structural problems - cracks going up the walls all the way to the ceiling.  Thus the owners decided to destroy the landmark building.

I wish they had given us some advance notice.  The first time I learned about the demolition was the day after it started.  On the second day of demolition (March 26, 2008) I was there with my camera.  I returned on March 27th and got a few more pictures.

Varsity Theatre March 26, 2008 View  from across the street Look at… Read Full Post

W&M Bar-B-Que Burgers

This drive-in is tucked in at 3104 Waialae Avenue in Kaimuki.  What, you haven't seen it before?  W&M is pretty well hidden.  You can find W&M by driving to the intersection of Waialae Avenue and Saint Louis Drive (you'll see City Mill on the corner).  Continue Kokohead-bound (east) just past City Mill and there's W&M, right next door.

What kind of food do they serve?

It's pretty much American style with Hawaii style added in.  Hamburgers, friench fries and teriaki burgers.  As you can see from the lunchtime crowd, this place gets busy!  They are open Tuesday through Sunday for lunch.

Remember how McDonalds was in the old days (before the Big Mac)?  Hamburgers, fries and a coke.  That's what W&M is like, but add in some teri…

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Assessed value and appraised value

Today I was corresponding with a customer about a condo he's planning to purchase.  We've looked at a few condos in this particular building and the unit in question has an assessed value that's lower than the others.  His thinking is that the property is worth less than the others because of the assessed value.

That's a common belief and sometimes it's true.  Other times it's definitely not true.  Assessed value and appraised value are determined by different parties for different purposes.

Assessed value is determined by the Real Property Tax assessor

County tax assessors determine a property's value based on its size, location, view, age and amenities, among other things.  In the case of this condo, the assessed…

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Maui Gas prices are the highest

 

Hawaii generally has the highest gas prices in the United States.  Maui, Kauai and the Big Island gas prices are normally higher than prices on Oahu.  In past weeks Maui's price went up to $3.95 per gallon for regular and $4+ for the premium fuels.    People on the outer islands (the islands other than Oahu) sometimes feel that they're getting ripped off.  The truth is, nearly everything shipped to Hawaii arrives on Oahu first.  From Oahu, freight is reloaded onto ships and sent to other islands.  The same is true with fuels.  Crude oil arriving from Alaska and Indonesia is refined on Oahu and then shipped to the Kauai, Maui and the Big Island.  And to be fair, let's not forget Molokai and Lanai.  The extra shipping… Read Full Post

Be careful about MLS violations

Last week I received an e-mail from the local Board of Realtors, informing me that I had committed an MLS violation.  That caught me completely by surprise.

The infraction: Posting a link in Tempo to my video of a listing.  That in itself wasn't an infraction, but including my contact information in the video made it a violation.

Wow!  Were you aware of this? I remember our Board having informed members about putting contact information in the remarks section of a listing.  That info was distributed about two years ago.  From that point on, we were subject to penalties if we included our name, phone and/or e-mail address in the information viewable by the public.

The purpose was to even the playing field, so that…

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P90X and how to get a great body

Have you seen the P90X commercials?  They're the type that come on late at night or on obscure cable channels.  The commercial shows people with Before and After pictures.  What a difference!  The Before photos show flabby or average guys and girls.  Some of them have a bit of muscle.  The After pictures show these people lean and mean with six pack abs.  You can easily tell that the same person is used in the Before and After photos.  The commercials also show live video of the people.

We see commercials that seem to good to be true all the time.  This one looked like the real deal to me.

I ordered P90X

I've been fairly active in my adult life, having competed in numerous races including 11 Ironman Triathlons.  Never…

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Dee Thai Restaurant in Kapahulu

This restaurant is located at 829 Kapahulu Avenue.  Dee Thai has been around about a year or so. A food court was in its place prior to Dee Thai.  The decoration of the restaurant's interior is... interesting.  The walls are pink. Paintings appear to be traditional Thai mixed with some felt portraits that remind me of the paintings seen in Tijuana.

Parking for Dee Thai

Dee Thai does not have a parking lot.  Vistors park on the street or at Bank of Hawaii's parking lot, about a block Diamond Head of the restaurant.  Dee Thai has an agreement with Bank of Hawaii, so that their customers can park here in the evenings after the bank is closed.  It only takes a couple of minutes to walk to Dee Thai from the bank parking… Read Full Post