Katie Minkus

Aloha. In order to give you the most accurate price recommendation, it would be helpful to have the address of your home, or better yet, the TMK number. Is the property on Ka'iminani or on one of the sidestreets? Does it have a good view of the ocean, or partial view? Is there a lot of traffic noise or none? Is there any deferred maintenance or is it new and in pristine condition? Are you offering to sell fully furnished? Is the house in Kona Palisades or Makalei Estates or another neighborhood? How big is the lot? The answers to these questions help us drill down to a more realistic and specific price. However, in a more general sense here are a few of the latest happenings in Kona. 1) A home was listed recently in Kona for $299k and received 16 offers in 2 weeks. Obviously, the sales price was bid above asking, but until it closes, we won't know for exactly how much money it sold. 2) According to our mls system, out of the 18 properties with homes your size in Kona that have sold since July 1, 2008, 3 sold at $400k or under, 6 sold for $400-500k, 3 sold for $500-600k, and the rest were above $600k. As you can see, that's a wide range of prices, and in order to determine a more realistic price point, we really need to know more specifics about your property. What I can tell you for certain is that when pricing your home to sell NOW, in today's Buyer's market, you need an asking price that is LOWER than the last sold comp, and you need to be sure your pricing is lower than your competitors - in order to offer more value to potential buyers and have them choose your house first. I would be happy to give you more details about my company services and what marketing we would put into place to sell your home in 30 days. Please contact me directly and we can speak - or email - about it in greater detail. Remember - It Takes Courage to Live on a Rock! And it certainly takes courage - and a knowledgeable, experienced Realtor - to sell your home in today's market environment! Warm aloha, Katie Minkus, R(B). katie@lavarockrealty.com - Wed Nov 5 2008, 17:51

Aloha, Samantha... Please understand that due to Federal Fair Housing Laws, Realtors are not allowed by law to point you to a certain school district or recommend any one over the other. The best way for you to get the most accurate information about schools in Hawaii is: doe.k12.hi.us for public schools, http://www.hais.org for private schools - and I would always recommend doing an internet search as well - perhaps check out some of the mom's groups online in Oahu and ask their opinions. Best of luck to you! It Takes Courage to Live on a Rock! Katie Minkus, R(B). - Sun Nov 2 2008, 11:54

Aloha, Sheryl. My name is Katie Minkus and I'm the Broker-in-Charge and Co-owner of Lava Rock Realty, LLC, located on the beautiful Big Island of Hawaii. This property is located on Oahu and although my license would allow me to assist you in making an offer on this unit, in reality, you are best served by a local Oahu specialist - a Buyer's Broker who will help you in negotiating the best possible price and terms. If you would like an introduction to an incredible Buyer's Broker on Oahu, I would be happy to assist you. Please contact me directly: katie@lavarockrealty.com or 808-887-2500. It Takes Courage to Live on a Rock! Warm aloha, Katie. - Tue Oct 21 2008, 11:48

Aloha, Alex... My first question to you would be why are you interested in selling right now? This is one of the worst environments for Sellers, with declining prices and too much competition giving downward price pressure - if you can afford to hang onto your property for the next 3-5 years, that would be my recommendation. If you are facing a financial crisis, or need to sell to get out from under a crushing mortgage, your list price will most likely depend on how long you have to wait until you must sell. Based purely on the numbers, this is what I see: There have been 5 sales of comparable sized lots and homes to your house (in TMK 3-1-1) since June, 2008, from $45k to $162k. Right now there are 11 "comparable" houses for sale from $69k to $210k. If the current trend continues, we could expect to sell through these houses in the next six months. Thus, if you need to sell yesterday (immediately) I recommend a list price under $50k. If you can wait three-six months, list from $50-$75k, if you can wait six months or more, list somewhere over $75k but under $162k, and at that point determining the "correct" price will depend on the condition of the house. You say it needs "a lot" of work, so you could expect your highest price point to be somewhere from $75-100k, in order to give buyers an incentive to purchase your home needing work, over those competitors that need less maintenance to bring it up to today's living standards.

Alex, we work as a team at Lava Rock Realty, LLC, representing buyers and sellers all over the Big Island. We do not allow Dual Agency (which most of our sellers appreciate as they're typically paying the commissions) and we have an incredible marketing program that sells our listings. So far this year we've sold 65% listings,
(representing 35% buyers) which means we know how to sell our listings in this market environment. I would be happy to share all of these things with you in further detail and answer any other questions you may have - please contact me directly at: katie@lavarockrealty.com, or 808-887-2500. Best of luck to you and warmest aloha. It Takes Courage to Live on a Rock! Katie Minkus, R(B). - Tue Oct 21 2008, 09:58

Aloha, Amy. My name is Katie Minkus and I'm the Broker-in-Charge for Lava Rock Realty, LLC. Of all the transactions we've closed this year in our office, we represented the Sellers 65% of the time, and Buyers 35% of the time. In this Buyer's market that translates into the fact that we know what it takes, and what we need to do, to sell our listings (our client's homes) in this market. Regarding your question about what "brokers are charging" these days, know that we are not allowed by law to discuss what other Brokers seem to be charging, we are only allowed to tell you what WE would charge you in commissions to sell your Pualani Estates home. To discuss other Broker's fees is a violation of the federal anti-trust laws and could send us to Federal Prison! I would be happy to discuss our fees with you privately.

With regard to your home in Pualani Estates... There have been 22 sales of homes in Pualani Estates this year, the last three sales were 1. a 2,000 sf 4bed/2.5bath brand new home sold on Sept. 9th for $570k, 2. a 1680sf 4bed/3bath brand new home sold on June 24th for $530k, and 3. an 1146sf 3bed/2bath resale for $489k on June 30th. It is not good news for sellers that there was only one sale in the 3rd quarter of this year, when usually our summer season is the second best selling season of the year behind Xmas-New Year's/Winter. Out of the 22 homes that have sold this year, only 3 of those sales were resales, the rest were developer sales. There are currently 4 homes in escrow - two are developer homes, 2 are resales. Of the two resales, BOTH sellers are asking about $100k LESS than what they paid for the homes originally in 2005/2006.

When looking at pricing a home to sell, you also have to pay close attention to the "competition" - one big problem you will have reselling a home in this project right now is that the developer has not yet sold all of their homes! I happen to know that DR Horton right has quietly told our office (and perhaps other Brokers in town) that they will take up to $50k off their asking price for any of their remaining homes and they offer a bunch of incentives that quite frankly, are nearly impossible for a resale to compete with. Thus, what it's really going to come down to for you is a. how quickly do you need to sell and b. how low can you go price-wise? Right now the lowest priced home is $379k for an 1146sf 3 bed/3bath home the Seller bought in 2005 for $540k, and the lowest priced 4 bedroom/3 bath 1680 sf home is listed at $455k - the seller bought in 2007 for $542k. Can you offer pricing to equal that - or better yet, be lower than that? In a declining market the worst thing you can do is "chase the market down" - statistically proven by the National Assn. of Realtors that when chasing a market down 95% of the time the seller will sell for lower than had they priced their property appropriately from the start. If you can't beat those prices and you can afford to hang onto your property, don't sell! If you can beat those prices and are motivated to sell in this market, please do contact me, we can help.

We work as a team at Lava Rock Realty and we don't take listings that we cannot sell. Check out our website and if you'd like a more thorough analysis specifically regarding your property, please do contact us. 808-887-2500, or katie@lavarockrealty.com. Best of luck to you, Amy! Warm aloha, Katie Minkus, R(B)
Broker-In-Charge
MA, GRI, ABR, TRC
Member of the Council of Residential Specialists
2007-2008 Kona Board of Realtors Director
Lava Rock Realty, LLC
65-1290 Kawaihae Road, Suite 4
Kamuela, HI 96743
808-887-2500
808-895-4327 (cell) http://www.LavaRockRealty.com
It Takes Courage to Live on a Rock! - Wed Oct 8 2008, 10:49