Hawaii Superferry gains popularity

The Hawaii Superferry sails past Diamond Head at 6:30 a.m.

The Hawaii Superferry was introduced to our state in 2007.  Oahu residents were generally excited about the new mode of transportation for the islands.  Residents of the outer islands (Kauai, Maui and the Big Island) were not all so enthusiastic.  It's not that every outer island resident disliked the Superferry, but when a new cause came around and gave residents an opportunity to band together, they went for it.

History of the Hawaii Superferry

The Superferry idea was conceived around the year 2001 by a group of investors with Hawaii roots.  The plan was to offer affordable interisland transit that allowed residents to take their personal vehicles between…

Panya Bistro

This restaurant is on the second floor at Ala Moana Shopping Center.  Panya Bistro is a trendy restaurant with fancy, modern decor and great food.

Walk into Panya and the first thing you'll see is their bakery.  Many Ala Moana customers and employees stop by Panya for a pastry, bread or cake.  Just beyond the bakery is the restaurant seating area and the bar.  A waiter will seat you, then take a look at their interesting menu.

On ths particular evening we started off with a spinach salad, caesar salads with salmon, gyoza and spaghetti.  The salads are delicious and I loved the dressing on the spinach salad.

Panya's spaghetti is not the standard italian style meal.  The meat sauce is a little meatier and less saucy.  It's very good, just…

Buying a vacation rental in Hawaii

Vacation rentals are a popular topic for mainland investors buying in Hawaii.  Buyers often think about owning a property here, renting it out like a hotel room for a tidy sum and living in it when they vacation in the islands.  It's a great idea!  There are some considerations that buyers should be aware of.
 

The difference between a vacation rental and a normal rental

In Hawaii, a transient rental is defined as being for a  period up to 180 days.  Residential (non-transient) rentals can be for periods of 30 days and more (yes, it's a bit confusing).   In general we consider 30 days and longer as non-transient rentals for residential properties.

Applicable taxes for Hawaii rentals

Hawaii has two taxes that may…

Nico's Restaurant

Nico's is a casual style restaurant near Honolulu Harbor at Pier 38.

I ate at Nico's today for the first time.  My friends (who are also buying a house) invited me to meet them for lunch and sign their purchase agreement.  I asked what they were having.  The husband was ordering a barbecue chicken plate and the wife was having Garlic Opah (Opah is a mild tasting fish, good stuff!).  I decided to try the Garlic Opah. 

The Garlic Opah plate was great!  I'll be going back to Nico's in the near future.  This restaurant is close to the ocean and gets fresh fish for its plates daily.  They also have regular local style foods (Loco Moco, Chicken Katsu, etc).

Nico's was packed with people at 1 p.m.  The food tastes great and the prices…

Oahu housing market - June 2008

Statistics for June 2008 are published and Oahu home prices continue with their resilience.  While the number of units sold is down 31% from a year ago, median home prices have decreased just 8.8% compared with June 2007, a relatively small amount compared to markets in other places, such as California, Nevada and Florida.  Oahu's condo and townhome unit sales are down 35% with just a 1.9% decrease in sales prices versus a year earlier.

Why is our market so resilient?  For one thing, lots of people want to live in Hawaii.  We have a high demand for homes from current residents, plus a steady influx of people from Asia, Canada, California (yes, even at times like this) etc.  I can't blame them for wanting to live here, I've…

Honolulu Police Department gets tough on speeding

Some Hawaii Police use personal cars with small lights on top.  Speeders often don't realize it's a cop until he turns on the sirens and lights to pull them over!

Hawaii has relatively low speed limits, the highest limit in the State is 65 mph.  Most of Oahu's highways are subject to heavy traffic and have limits of 50-55 mph.

When the road opens up, it's hard to obey the speed limit.  If you stick with 55 mph, everybody will be passing you.  The main thing is to "go with the flow" and not be whizzing past all the other vehicles, an easy way to be spotted by the police.

A couple of weeks ago a 19-year old man was driving his car at the H-1 / H-2 merge and changing lanes quickly.  He clipped another…

Rainbow Drive In

This restaurant has been around since 1961 and it's a favorite in Honolulu. Rainbow Drive In serves "local kine" food, such as boneless chicken with gravy, beef stew, chili hot dog, hamburgers and french fries. 

My favorite meal at Rainbow Drive In is breakfast.  After a morning of running, swimming or surfing, this is a great place to stop by and get some pancakes and eggs, french toast, corned beef hash or fried rice.  This restaurant also has reasonable prices.  Expect to pay about $5 for breakfast, maybe more if you order coffee or a soda.

Note: this is not health food!  Order pancakes or french toast and you will be amazed at the slab of butter they put on your plate.  But oh, it does taste good to melt that butter and eat your…

For Sale By Owner Scam in Hawaii real estate

A customer contacted me today and asked if I could represent him in a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) purchase.  I said that would be fine.  He forwarded an e-mail with a link to a website listing. See the photo below.  I did not intentionally blur it, apparently that's what happens when a webpage is copied and pasted into another webpage.

Message from a person claiming to be the owner

The customer also included correspondence between himself and the "owner."  Here's what the "owner" said:
 

Hello,

This is not a leasehold, we recently moved in Europe/ Spain and we have no use of the condo so if you are interested we will need to settle an appointment, also if you could arrange a sales contract that we will sign…