Hawaii VA Loans

What Happened?

Greece is in financial trouble and that is affecting economies the world over.  The problem is that Greece’s National Debt simply grew too large.  Due to government’s spending, the debt expanded 15% annually, but the economy itself was shrinking about 5% each year.  As a result, the total government debt grew to 115% of the GDP and it is expected to grow to 150% by 2013.  What that means is that the government owes more money than the whole country produces in a year.  Believe it or not, the 115% number isn’t that much higher than many other industrialized countries.  However, Greece has deep systemic problems. It was forced to cut back it’s spending and because it is a consumer based economy that produces almost no exports, there is little for the economy to do but shrink and make it’s debt burden greater.

Why Now?

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The end of an era is fast approaching.  Real Estate professionals and potential homebuyers across the country are scurrying to submit purchase contracts before the swiftly looming April 30^th deadline of the $8,000 First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit.  This tax credit has been wildly successful; the IRS states that over 1.4 million first time homebuyers took advantage of this program as of September 2009.  While those numbers are a bit dated, it does show how successful this piece of legislation was.

So, what does this mean for a good majority of us?  Well, it’s just back to business-as-usual.  Rates are low, housing prices have settled, and the economy is starting to turn around - even without the credit, it’s still a great time to buy.

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In our last post we defined what a short sale is and what it isn’t.  Here we will go through the process in more detail.  I’d like to thank Attilio Leonardi of Team Lally & RE/MAX Kapolei for his insights into the process. He and his team have sold over 80 short sale properties and gladly shared their knowledge.

Of course, nothing is too good to be true, so let’s take a quick look at the potential challenges one could face when attempting to purchase a short sale property.

Potential Challenges

Short sales can be challenging for a number of reasons: [Read More]

We’ve all heard the sad news that foreclosures are increasing here in the Aloha State. Of course that also correlates to a lot of short sales as well. The reality is that this does present a buying opportunity for people who dreamt of owning a home over the past few years but couldn’t afford it. Not only are values lower than they have been in years, but the large number of foreclosures and short sales have banks ready to sell the properties at less than market value. Is this too good to be true? Let’s take a closer look.

What a Short Sale is…

First of all, what is a Short Sale? Is it different than a foreclosure? Or different than a ‘bank sale’, bank owned property or ‘REO’? They are all related, but there are critical differences between each. A short sale is an event where the owner of a property wants to sell his/her house, but owes more on the house than it is currently worth. So, in order to sell the property, the owner must obtain permission from the bank that services the loan on the property (because the sale amount isn’t enough to pay off the loan). [Read More]

We’re excited to announce our new 2010 edition of our VA Homebuyers’ Guide. This updated guide is an expanded version of our original guide that includes information regarding the new VA loan loan limits for all four Hawaii Counties for 2010. In addition, we’ve included a list of the “Top 5 Mistakes a Veteran Should Avoid When Doing a VA Loan”. This write-up is a compiliation of our experiences closing VA Loan transactions in the past & critical information to help Veterans avoid some possible pitfalls when doing a VA Loan.

Here’s the table of contents:

• Introduction
• Understanding VA Loans
• Benefits of Homeownership
• VA Loan Benefits
• Entitlement
• Eligibility
• Certificate of Eligibility
• Occupancy Requirements
• The Funding Fee
• Condo Eligibility
• 5 Mistakes a Veteran Should Avoid
• The Home Buying Process
• Conclusion
• About the Authors

We’re a little bias, but we think that this guide is a must read for anyone interested in utilizing their VA loan benefits to purchase a home in the future. Feel free to download your free copy here.

I am sure you all are aware of Hurricane Katrina, yes, that’s right, the awful mess we all saw unfold on national TV. I was astounded that a disaster so atrocious could be happening in our great country. Well, believe it or not, we are going to feel its effect all the way out here in the Pacific…and years later. What do I mean? Well, ever since those levees in New Orleans broke, the government is determined not to let that happen again. To ensure that cities, counties and towns take action, every levee in the country must be accredited or re-accredited by February 1, 2010. If a levee is not accredited, then flood maps will be redrawn and affected areas re-zoned. We have ten such levees here in Hawaii, but none will have a greater affect on its surrounding residents than the Kawainui Marsh Levee in Kailua. Here’s the bottom line, if this Levee is not certified in time, the whole Coconut Grove area of Kailua will be re-zoned to the highest risk flood zone and flood insurance will be required by lenders on any financed house in that area.

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