Hawaii Randy's Real Estate Opinions

Toward the end of last year the Honolulu Board of REALTORS® brought in electronic lock boxes.  The Sentrilock® boxes have brought in a much needed improvement over the old mechanical boxes.  We can now monitor who and when they enter our listings.  It also allows us to create dedicated 1-day codes for venders and agents who have not set up their smart card.  I could go on for another paragraph touting the merits of the program.

What is quite disturbing is the number of real estate agents who have not activated their smart cards and those who are not using the boxes on their listings. 

Sunday evening I was out at dinner and received calls from three different agents wanting to show my listings in the morning.  I had nearly identical conversations with all three of them. 

Call From Agent 1:

• Me: No problem it has an electronic lock box on the front door, consider it confirmed.  Please drop a business card on the counter to confirm you were there. 
• Agent 1: I do not have a smart card.  Can I get a 1-day code? 
• Me: You do not have a smart card?  The Board of REALTORS® issued them to all agents.  Are you really a REALTOR®? 
• Agent 1: Yes I am a REALTOR®.  I have decided not to use them.
• Me: How are you doing business without the card?  It also serves as your ID.  I apologize, but I am not near a computer and will not be able to generate a 1-day code at this time.  If you send me an e-mail, I can forward the codes later tonight or first thing in the morning.

The story gets better.  Of the three agents who called, two of them did not have e-mail.  I than suggested they call my office in the morning for help.

Three real estate agents, none using electronic lock boxes.  Two of the three do not have access to e-mail.   Can you imagine being on the other side of a transaction with one of them?

1. No e-mail.  Phone and hard to read faxes. (oops I am assuming they have a fax)
   1. One of the beauties of e-mail is the paper trail it creates.  If I am dealing with a less than professional agent on the other side, I really would prefer hard copies of all communications in my file.
2. With no Sentrilock® card we will need to generate 1-day codes for all accesses of the home.

If these agents do not even have the basics, we would be looking at a messy transaction. 

Buyers and sellers should check out potential agents to find out what level of services they provide.  Not all agents are the same.

Below is the latest information on the $8000 tax credit for 1`st time buyers.  There is much confusion caused by HUDs letter they sent out and pulled back.  Industry expert od top blogger Jeff Belonger has done a great job of keeping us up to date.  Please read his post below.

On Tuesday a letter was issued by HUD letting us know that the $8000 first time home buyer's credit could be used for down payments for FHA loans.  A few news stories broke out immediately following that exciting news.  At least we thought it was exciting news.  Within a couple of days the story reversed.  Never mind, HUD withdrew the letter.  They were only kidding.

After sending out what I thought was exciting news, I had to send out another message a day later to my clients and fellow real estate professionals, letting them know that the HUD letter and information I sent out was not accurate.

THANK YOU, Jeff Belonger!  Jeff the FHA expert who posted a blog article that did a wonderful job of clearing up the confusion created by HUD: 

Using First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credits for the Downpayment - It's GONE !!!! - The story of the $8,000 tax credit  

In our local news there has been a series of stories about a mortgage broker team who were committing mortgage fraud.  They were also trying to trick people out of their homes. 

The wife mortgage broker’s wife set up a fake escrow company and used shill buyers to supposedly help folks refinance their homes.  They told people they were temporarily putting the deeds in the names of the shill buyers to make the refinance work and the cash they got out would be held in escrow to help make the mortgage payments.   They later tried to evict the duped owners.  One of the owners turned them in and the prosecutors shut them down.  Legal action has been taken to keep the one owner in their home, but the deed is still in the name of the shill buyer.

The public needs to have their guards up.  Those of us who are truly professionals need to be extra protective of our clients and be on the lookout for scam artists.  Folks who are in a distressed situation are particularly vulnerable to folks like this.

In the last month or so, I have seen usually reliable lenders getting stacked up and unable to handle the recent surge of business with the same level of customer service as in the past.

Last year things were slow and the banks were cutting back on staff.  Many brokers closed their doors and now things are picking up again.  There are fewer players to compete today for that business.  A couple of lenders in our area who have been steady as the rock of Gibraltar are now stumbling.  They have also tightened up with more than normal conditions on loans before funding.  That was expected with the environment that they are working under.

I am not sure they really want my advice, but here it is anyway.

• Remember who brought you to the dance.  Real estate agents like me bring you steady business, without compensation.  My only vested interest is to get my clients good service.
• Make me look good.
• Communicate with me and my clients.
• Give us realistic timelines that you can meet.
• Take Care of my Clients!

I depend on repeat and referrals.  Clients that are dissatisfied or merely satisfied will not refer their friends to me.  They need to be wowed by the experience of buying their home that includes your part of the process.  When I recommend a vender to my client they grade me on your performance also.

I keep a list of venders that I and my clients have had good experiences with.  It takes a lot to get on that list.  I know many loan officers and lenders and only a small select group makes my list.  That is the same with the other types of venders.  You can however be knocked off my list in an instant.  That is true of the rest of the real estate agents in our area.

Banks may be busy today with refinancing, but that will not always be the case.  When the surge of refis flush through the system, will you still be getting the home buyers through us?  If you drop the ball today, you will be back on the street trying to replace that lost future business.

That is Hawaii Randy's tip for the day.

For Immediate Release

April 6, 2009

Hawaii Chess Federation

P.O. Box 893636 • Mililani, HI  96789

• Contact:  Randy L. Prothero
• President
• (808) 384-5645
• gambit7@hawaii.rr.com
• www.HawaiiChess.org

Hawaii Chess Kids Do Well at SuperNationals Tournament

A small group of youngsters representing Hawaii performed extraordinarily well.  Over 5,000 youngsters gathered this weekend, representing 47 states, for the Super Nationals, grades K-12 (all Nationals combined) in Nashville.  Even though there are lower rated divisions, all Hawaii players competed in their respective Championship Division, the highest available for their respective age/grade group.

Here are the results and awards.

Championship (Open) Divisions (Game/2 hours):

• K-5, Ford Nakagawa, NATIONAL CO-CHAMPION! (State Elementary K-6 Champ, The Children's House and Mililani Chess Club):  http://www.alchess.com/chess/09/super/?page=STANDINGS&xsection=K5
• K-12, Robert Lau, 3^rd Place (High School State Champion, 2-time National Champion, Mililani High School & Mililani Chess Club) http://www.alchess.com/chess/09/super/?page=STANDINGS&xsection=K12
• K-8, Eldon Nakagawa, 5^th Place (State K-8 Co-Champ, Our Savior Lutheran, Mililani Chess Club) http://www.alchess.com/chess/09/super/?page=STANDINGS&xsection=K12
• Team, K-9, Kamehameha Schools, 5^th  Place http://www.alchess.com/chess/09/super/?page=TEAM&xsection=K9
• K-9 Unrated:  Lucas Beddow, 1^{st Place}  (Kamehameha Schools),
• K-1:  Patrick Perry, (Aikahi Elementary), 5-2 Score:  http://www.alchess.com/chess/09/super/?page=STANDINGS&xsection=K1
• K-9 Tristan Kaonohi, Kamehameha Schools & Mililani Chess Club) 4.5-2.5 score: http://www.alchess.com/chess/09/super/?page=STANDINGS&xsection=K9
• K-9 Likeke Aipa, Kamehameha Schools 4-3 score http://www.alchess.com/chess/09/super/?page=STANDINGS&xsection=K9

Blitz (Game/5 mins):

• K-12:  Robert Lau, (High School State Champion), Mililani High, 9-3 score: http://www.alchess.com/chess/09/super/?page=STANDINGS&xsection=BLITZ12
• K-9:  Tristan Kaonohi, (Kamehameha Schools), 9-3 score:  http://www.alchess.com/chess/09/super/?page=STANDINGS&xsection=BLITZ9
• K-9:  Likeke Aipa, (Kamehameha Schools), 8.5-3.5 score
• K-9, Eldon Nakagawa, (Our Savior Lutheran) 8-4 score
• K-6:  Ford Nakagawa, (Elementary State Champion), The Children's House, 10-2 score:  ^{http://www.alchess.com/chess/09/super/?page=STANDINGS&xsection=BLITZ6}  
• Team, K-9, Kamehameha, (State Middle School Team Champions; Tristan Kaonohi, Likeke Aipa, Jakob White, Nathaniel Brown, Lucas Beddow), tied for 3^rd & 4^th:  http://www.alchess.com/chess/09/super/?page=TEAM&xsection=BLITZ9
• K-9:  Lucas Beddow, Kamehameha, Unrated, 2^nd

A special "Thank You" to Guy Ontai our state scholastic director for traveling with the team and reporting back on their progress.

##

This last year has been an amazing one.  I knew that the market and the rules would be changing.  Changes would be coming and they would be dramatic.  Those expecting them are not disappointed.  Those doing business the same way they did in years past are probably not doing so well or may have already left the business.

In my market, sales activity has cooled over the record sales volume of a couple years ago.  Sellers are seeing homes sit on the market for months instead of days.  They are looking for the best agent they can find and no longer just looking for the cheapest.  Buyers are on the internet and loaded with data.  They have a better knowledge of the market and the numbers.  They are also prescreening agents online before contacting them.  Real estate agents without a strong internet presence can't are not doing so well these days.

We went from having a website to have a blog like on Active Rain to now being on social networks and having multiple websites with IDX engines and multiple blogs.  Our listings a few years ago were posted on the MLS.  Today we post them on dozens of websites, have virtual tours and create a website for each and every listing with its own domain name.

Listing presentations went from tax records and comparable sales to now adding satellite photos, demographics, maps, charts, detailed marketing plans and computer demonstrations.  In this information age what we did a couple of years ago is no longer even the bare minimum.  You need to take it to a much higher level and you need to incorporate technology.

You also need to take your personal marketing to a much higher level.  Clients are looking at your personal marketing.  If you are not doing a good job of that, what message are you sending about the kind of job you will do for them?  Many of the new clients I picked up the last two years specifically mentioned my personal marketing as a reason.

Clients are looking at your bio.  Have you invested in your career?  Do you have professional development and designations?  I hear the argument that those are just alphabets and the public has no idea what they are.  WRONG!  They are on the internet and they are reading.  Even if they do not know what they mean, they know they need them.  While taking a class a couple of years ago the instructor made that very point.  When he had to have oral surgery, he had no idea what the designations after his surgeons name were; he just knew he needed them.  He did not want the surgeon without them.  I am sure in today's world he will Google^TM them.

So if you do not feel the need to utilize technology in your real estate business, not to worry.  The world need ditch diggers.  If you are looking to buy or sell residential real estate in Hawaii, please check me out.  You will receive the VIP treatment.

I have to run.  I am meeting today with a new client who met me through my website:  www.HawaiiRandy.com

If you are looking to buy or sell a home you may want to ask a question of you real estate agent before making a decision on whether to work with them.

• Do you do this full time?  In other words is this their primary source of income?

In my county and I am sure the numbers may be similar across the country.  About 2/3 of the members of our Board had one transaction or less last year. I know you are stunned, but this is the number.  That does not include all the people who have active real estate licenses who are not member of the Board of REALTORS®.

I am in a class of some kind monthly and sometimes even more often.  As a full time licensed broker/ agent I write and review contracts continuously.  I allocate a large budget every month for marketing both y client's properties and myself.  I attend briefings and meetings constantly.  This is a complicated business and it requires that we stay on the top of our game.

• Someone who had zero or one transaction in a year cannot possibly be up on the contract and law changes. 
• There is no way that they will be able to market your home properly when they are not successful marketing themselves. 
• Will they even have the resources to pay for the marketing?
• Are they tight for money and will they be pressured to close this sale at all costs?  Will they be willing to protect your interests even if that puts the sale at risk?

Of the other 1/3 of the agents who had 2 sales or more, how many of them are actually in the business of real estate?  How many have a full time job and do this weekends and evenings while balancing their family time?

In this changing market the need to find a professional real estate agent is stronger than ever.  To have success in this market look for an agent who is having success.  They are out there.  They are however in the minority.  Like the old saying if you want to get something done find the busiest person to do it.

Real estate is my full time occupation.  In 2008 when many agents left our industry, I increased my marketing budget and increased my sales.  If you are looking to buy or sell a home in Honolulu County (Oahu),  I would be honored to assist you.  My services are normally free to buyers and I have aggressive marketing programs for sellers.

The below numbers were taken from the HUD and VA websites.

To find out your qualifying loan amount or details on VA or FHA borrowing, please seek a out qualified loan officer.  If you are looking to buy in Hawaii, my services are normally free to buyers.  I can help you with the purchase of the property and can give you the names of top professional loan officers in the area that I and my clients have had good experiences with.

*The above information is believed to be accurate, but not guaranteed.

Below is a great post from Kathleen explaining the change in the capital gains.  This effects those who are taking investment property and converting it to owner occupant or the other way around.