Katie Minkus

Aloha. Yes. The tax foreclosure auction sales are held several times per year here on the Big Island, but typically over here they are bare parcels of land - don't see too many homes that wind up in tax foreclosure. Contrary to what Kallen says below, there are not hundreds of tax foreclosure sales in the state of Hawaii!! And the biggest misconception is that you're going to get a "great deal" at a tax foreclosure! The last one I attended myself was about six months ago in Hilo, and about 30-40 properties were "sold" but none of them were at any significant discount over what you could buy for sale on the open market, and some were even more expensive than properties we have listed, because of the "auction factor" where for the bidders it becomes more of an "I want to win" scenario than "I want to buy a good deal." Clearly, there are a lot of uniformed people at these sales too. When you buy a property at a tax sale in Hawaii, the owner has ONE YEAR to come back and pay off you, all the fines and pay you 12% interest on your money, so it's trickier than it seems. My advice? If you're looking for a "deal" work with a Professional Realtor or Broker such as myself to assist you in finding the best value at the best price in today's market. There are too many variables buying property in Hawaii to leave to chance. For example, do you know about Lava Zones and catchment tanks? No? Better hire a professional! If you need assistance, we're happy to help - Katie Minkus, Broker-in-Charge, Lava Rock Realty, LLC. 808-887-2500. Katie@lavarockrealty.com. Contact me anytime and I'll be happy to match you with one of my knowledgeable, professional Buyer's agents. Aloha! - Tue Jul 1 2008, 09:06

Aloha, Tupulua. Check with Wells Fargo. My understanding is that they have the sort of renovation loan you're looking for and good luck! - Sun Jun 15 2008, 15:14

Aloha, Scotty. I own a small boutique company myself and we haven't had one agent leave for a larger company, in fact, we're finding the exact opposite. In these troubled economic times, producing agents want to retain MORE of their commission check, even if that means more out of pocket advertising expenses because the net result of joining a smaller company is bigger commission splits. We offer from 75-85% splits with our agents plus NO franchise fees, which can be as high as 7% per transaction! Yikes!

It's a back to basics market. Agents who don't know how to work or sell or motivate themselves are going to have a problem - no longer can they just wait for business, but they actually have to prospect - what a concept! Realtors now must WORK for their money! At the end of the day, we are all independent contractors and the company we work for doesn't really matter - because we work for ourselves!

Good luck to you and if you have any clients who want to buy or sell property on the Big Island, please keep Lava Rock Realty in mind - we offer GREAT referral commission fees!!

Warm aloha,
Katie - Thu May 29 2008, 11:27

Aloha, Elaine. HARPTA and FIRPTA are taxes that sellers who are not residents of the State of Hawaii must pay when selling their homes. HARPTA are State of Hawaii taxes, FIRPTA applies to all NON-U.S. citizens and is a tax paid to the Federal Government. The only time these taxes might be "waived" is in the case of a short sale or foreclosure where the Seller is losing money on the transaction - you can apply for an exemption to the tax. Elaine - I believe I have a brochure on this subject if you want more info - please email me: Katie Minkus, katie@lavarockrealty.com. www.lavarockrealty.com. - Thu May 22 2008, 12:34

Aloha, Marla. My husband Dave was an IT professional in the Silicon Valley for over 25 years before we moved to the Big Island five years ago. He now runs several businesses and is currently looking to expand his IT business. I would be happy to introduce your husband to mine so they can discuss "tech" on the BI. Please feel free to call me: 808-895-4327 or email: katie@lavarockrealty.com directly. Warm aloha, Katie - Wed May 14 2008, 19:32