Bodden Real Estate BLOG

There are some amazing deals right now on condos in Honolulu....

Right now there are over 200 Honolulu condos for sale with 2 or more bedrooms and bathrooms, 1000+ square feet and the best part is that they are under $750k.  This is a great opportunity to purchase in an amazing location in the heart of Honolulu.

Please feel free to call (808.780.8857) or email  with any questions that you may have.

Mahalo

Chris MT Bodden (RA)

Keller Williams Realty

www.BoddenRealEstate.com / www.HawaiiProp.com

....The Leader in Hawaii Real Estate....

The inventory for beachfront homes on Oahu is amazing right now.....Imagine being just steps away from your own private beach.  There are over 100 beachfront properties currently for sale at amazing prices and just waiting for the right person to make it their own.

   Hawaii Beachfront properties

Please feel free to call (808.780.8857) or email with any questions that you may have. 

Mahalo

Chris MT Bodden (RA)

Keller Williams Realty

www.BoddenRealEstate.com / www.HawaiiProp.com

.....The Leader in Hawaii Real Estate.....

So I got a call earlier this week from a homeowner who is ready to list his property for sale as a short sale....great news!  This is of course the normal transaction in todays market. 

But what to do, the seller is ready to sell, just told me to send over a listing agreement for him to sign and never once asked about any explanation of the listing, addendum's or anything...What to do?  Myself I like to explain myself to every single buyer and seller no matter what bottom line period.  I go over the entire listing, purchase contract, etc.  Others might see this as over kill, but hey I'm old school I guess I am the type that sits with their clients and makes sure they know what they are signing before they sign anything.  This is of course their home and most likely the biggest investment of their lives...I am the type of agent who sits with their client at the signing table.... 

Would you expect your agent to do anyting less?

Mahalo,

Homeowners who have been waiting for the time to sell or have been hoping to postpone a pending foreclosure but just haven't taken the step yet to list your property.  This post is especially for you....

As the end of 2010 rapidly approaches the new year is going to be here before you know it.  You may be in a situation where you want to sell your home or need to sell your home, well now is the time to get that home ready to be sold.  Don't fall behind to start the new year, get your home ready now so that when you contact your Realtor you are ahead of the game and are ready to start 2011 with a bang.

If you or someone you know would like further information please feel free to contact me.

Mahalo

Chris

I met with a homeowner today who is going through the foreclosure process and is in the beginning stages of trying to figure out what to do....Now at this point the homeowner has no idea what to do and all she knows is that she is going to lose her home.  This story is told over and over across the country.

So what happened?  I met with her and she is apparently working with an investor who gave her an offer to purchase her home and is in discussions with her lender.  The offer is substantially lower then market value and will most likely not get approved with the lender.  That being said I gave her the facts and told her the value of going with a Realtor instead of an investor, one HUGE benefit is being on the MLS and giving the public the opportunity to purchase her property instead of only one investor who is looking out for his bottom line.

Help is available for homeowners who are in need of help....

Contact me today if you or someone you know is in need of help.

I was going through the inventory in Ocean Pointe, Ewa Beach and came across a few Hot Buys that I thought I would share with all of you.  Their are 8 properties that really cought my eye, ranging from $379k for a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom (the only single family home under $400k in Ocean Pointe) home to $580k for a 4 bedroom 3 bathroom home.  These properties really cought my eye because they are either new to the market, or have been on the market but still available. 

The interest rates are still at historic (50 year) lows which increases the buying power and allows buyers to "get more house for your money".  If you would like further information on these homes or any others please contact me today.

Mahalo

Chris

So......I have been playing the waiting game with a certain lender (who I will not mention their name but they are the giant of the banks) on one of my short sales for months now.  It is unbelievable how illogical the negotiators, closing agents, and customer service can be.

I had this property listed for sale for over 6 months as a short sale, got the bank an offer that is $65k above the asking price (yes $65,000 above the asking price that is not a typo, how many other agents can say that in this market) back in the beginning of June.  So what do they do with this offer?  They schedule a foreclosure date...why?  Just to add fuel to the fire I guess...Like clock work they set a foreclosure date and then postpone it a few days prior to the actual date.  This goes on for 3 scheduled dates in June, July and August. 

Then in mid August they finally give us the short sale approval and OH BY THE WAY you have less then 3 weeks to close and NO we are not extending the foreclosure date again.   Wait a second here...so I have been in contact with them for well over 6 months, sent them every single thing they asked for and have been patient the entire time.  Now that they finally had some movement on their end they expect everyone else in the transaction to run around like a rat in a maze to please them and meet their deadlines...sure why not who would want a smooth closing so all parties are happy right!!!

In todays (Hawaii) market a 30 day closing is no longer the norm so anything less then that is even more difficult to do.  The normal time frame is 45 days if you are getting a mortgage to finance your purchase and if you have cash well then you can close as fast as you like.  Luckily for me this one has a mortgage and needs more then 30 days.  We will see in the coming days what happens and if this certain lender decides to work with us or not.

Moral of the story is that 1)  You (homeowner) need to make sure you have an experienced professional who is familiar with short sales to represent you.  You don't want your home to be the guinea pig for an inexperienced agent.  2)  Expect the unexpected with banks because alot (most) of the time somewhere along the line they will do something that makes no sense at all.  ie. Giving us 3 weeks to close when they themselves are a bank and know that they could not close the loan in the time frame they are asking us to do so.  3)  Worry about what you can control, don't dwell on what you can not.

If you or someone you know is looking to buy, sell or invest in real estate I would be happy to help.

www.BoddenRealEstate.com

So I have been working a few short sales representing sellers and buyers in different transactions.  Well the short sales are finally coming together after quite some time sitting idle waiting for the bank. 

I speak to potential short sale sellers regularly and I am astounded by the amount of miss information and miss conceptions that homeowners are given.  With so much information out there it is hard to tell the good from the bad sometimes.  When in doubt a homeowner should always consult a professional, especially when it is your house that is in question. 

A home evaluation if FREE of charge and their is no obligation to do anything.  This will allow you to get some much needed information to help you as a homeowner make an informed decision. 

If you are behind on your mortgage, owe more on your mortage then your home is worth or just want some additional information on anything having to do with real estate, I am happy to help you.

WHY CHOOSE ME?

I just came back from Maui last night and saw a few beautiful homes in Olinda.  The weather there is amazing and if doesn't even feel like you are in Hawaii.

Both of the homes sit on a 2+ acre lot and the homes are 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.  Their are a number of homes that range from just under $800k to upwards of $2mil.  If you are looking to get away from the city or looking to retire, there is no better place to do so them Olinda.

www.BoddenRealEstate.com now has an agent full time on Maui to better serve my clients when I am not able to make it back to Maui. 

Got the Home Search MLS working!! 

I am excited and happy to announce that the home seach on www.BoddenRealEstate.com is up and running.  The actual URL is: http://www.boddenrealestate.com/HomeSearchMLS or you can go to www.SearchHawaiiProperties.com

With this great new added feature you will be able to search all of the active listing on Oahu and be able to get real time updates of any changes to the market.  I hope that you as my customer find this great new added feature useful.  As always if you or anyone that you know if interested in buying, selling or investing in real estate contact me today.

Mahalo