This rental property has great ocean views and is fully furnished.  It is located in the Kai Lani subdivision of Koolina Resort in Kapolei, Hawaii.  Kai Lani is the first neighborhood on the right hand side of Koolina Resort just before you enter through the security gate.

The unit features 2 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, central air conditioning, 1 car garage and an additional assigned parking stall, granite counter tops, all appliances including dishwasher, flat top range, microwave, washer, dryer and refrigerator.  Water is included in the rent.  Kai Lani also has a private swimming pool and spa as well as a resident manager.

You can walk to the beach, restaurants, golf course, Disney Aulani Resort, JW Marriott Ihilani Resort and a variety of other places in Koolina.

The property is avaialble on Sep 10, 2012 for $3,000 per month.  For more information, contact Hawaii Military Realty, Inc. at (808) 218-9338 or email to david@davidkucic.com

Hawaii Military Realty, Inc. provides real estate services to military members that want to buy a home on Oahu or sell a home on Oahu.  Recently, the Pacific Business News conducted an interview with Hawaii Military Realty about their business model.   The link to the article can be found by clicking here.

The 2012 Hawaii BAH rates, (HONOLULU COUNTY) for Service members stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hickam AFB, Pearl Harbor (Joint Base Pearl Harbor), Tripler Army Medical Center (TAMC), Camp Smith, Barbers Point and Marine Corps Base Kaneohe have been published.

For most ranks, the BAH is decreasing for 2012.

Here are the amounts of increases (+)/decreases (-) for the WITH DEPENDENTS RATES:

E-1 , E-2, E-3 and E-4:  – $156  ($2016 down to $1860)
E-5:  – $141  ($2040 down to $1899)
E-6:  + $102 ($2385 up to $2487)
E-7:  + $57  ($2580 up to $2637)
E-8:  + $9  ($2793 up to $2802)
E-9:  – $36  ($3015 down to $2979)

O-1E:  + $45  ($2625 up to $2670)
O-2E:  – $12  ($2889 down to $2877)
O-3E:  – $48  ($3072 down to $3024)
O-1:  – $114  ($2079 down to $1965)
O-2:  + $96  ($2379 up to $2475)
O-3:  – $18  ($2916 down to $2898)
O-4:  – $78  ($3246 down to $3168)
O-5:  – $120  ($3477 down to $3357)
O-6:  – $123  ($3513 down to $3390)
O-7:  – $126  ($3549 down to $3423)

W1:  + $99  ($2391 up to $2490)
W2:  + $36  ($2667 up to $2703)
W3:  – $21  ($2928 down to $2907)
W4:  – $42  ($3048 down to $3006)
W5:  – $69  ($3192 down to $3123)

For more information on how to use your BAH to purchase a home in Hawaii along with information on VA Loans in Hawaii, contact Hawaii Military Realty, Inc.  We are your number one source of Military taking care of Military on the island of Oahu.  Nobody knows the Military Family the way another Military Family does.

Hawaii Military Realty just sold another home in Waianae, Hawaii Sea Country neighborhood.  This was a short sale and took a total of 90 days from receipt of Purchase Contract until closing date.  The sale closed on Oct 11,  2011.  Need to sell or interested in buying?  Call Hawaii Military Realty, Inc. today!

I compiled the following Ewa Beach home sales statistics for Ewa by Gentry and Ocean Pointe.   These statistics were valid as of Sep 30, 2011.

The homes in Ewa by Gentry neighborhoods are just as desirable as or even more desirable than many other neighborhoods on the island of Oahu.  When a property comes on the market in a Ewa by Gentry community, an interested Buyer will make an offer on the property within a few days of listing.  This information is based on the most recent statistics as found on the Honolulu Board of Realtor’s Multiple Listing Service. 

As long as the property being listed is in decent condition and is priced at or near fair market value, there seem to be Buyer’s waiting in the midst to submit an offer to purchase the homes.  Part of the reason for this is the historically low interest rates that have been hovering anywhere in the 3.75% to 4.25% for a 30 year, fixed rate loan.

Ewa by Gentry neighborhoods have had their fair share of short sales, foreclosures and Homeowners Assistance Program (HAP) sales.  However, regardless of which one of these categories that the homes fall into, there are still many interested Buyer’s waiting on homes to hit the market.

Ewa by Gentry single family home most recent statistics (covering approximately the past 6-8 months)

• There are currently 39 homes available for sale.  This includes new homes in Haleakea that are listed on the MLS.  Of these 39 homes, 9 of them are listed as short sale and 4 of them are listed as foreclosures or lender sales.
• There are currently 58 properties that are under contract but have not closed yet.  Of these 58 homes, 37 of them are listed as short sales and 6 of them are listed as foreclosures or lender sales.
• There have been 93 homes that have sold recently.  Of those 93 homes, 33 of them were short sales and 8 of them were foreclosures or lender sales.

For the sake of comparison, these are the statistics for our neighbors in theOcean Pointe community covering the same 6-8 month time period.

• There are currently 5 homes available for sale.  Of these 5 homes, 3 of them are listed as short sales.
• There are currently 19 homes that are under contract but have not closed yet.  Of these 19 homes, 12 of them are listed as short sales and 1 foreclosure or lender sale.
• There have been 45 homes that have sold recently.  Of these 45 homes, 8 of them were short sales and 6 of them were foreclosures or lender sales.

Given the amount of homes in Ewa by Gentry neighborhoods versus Ocean Pointe neighborhoods, these statistics are very similar.

(Information here-in is deemed reliable but not guaranteed)

If Congress confirms the new bill when they return from recess in September 2011, the VA Funding Fee reduction will make Hawaii homes more affordable for Active Duty Military, Veterans and Retirees.  If the bill does get confirmed, it will only apply to VA Loans that close after October 1, 2011.

This is great news for military families relocating to Hawaii who want to purchase a home on Oahu.  While the reduction’s don’t look like much on paper, they actually do provide a savings of up to several thousand dollars due to the high price of real estate on Oahu.

Under the current VA Loan Funding Fee structure, the rates are as follows:

• Active Duty is 2.15% but would go down to 1.4% under the new plan
• National Guard and Reservists are 2.4% but would go down to 1.65% under the new plan
• If using a down payment of 5% or more, the rate will also go down
• If using the VA Loan for a subsequent time, the rate will go from 3.3% to 2.8% for year 2011-2012, 2.15% for year 2012-2013 and 1.25% for loans closing Oct 2013 and later.

For more information on VA Loans in Hawaii and Purchasing Real Estate in Hawaii, contact Hawaii Military Realty, Inc. and ask for David Kucic at (808) 218-9338 or email david@davidkucic.com

Interested in a short sale in Hawaii?  We are your Ewa Beach, Kapolei, Mililani, Makakilo, Koolina Resort, Waipahu, Waianae, Aiea, Pearl City, Pearlridge and Waikele short sale experts!

The residential property tax rates for Oahu, Hawaii will be increasing this new fiscal year (July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012).  The current tax rate is $3.29 per $1,000 of the net taxable value for land and for the building.   This is only for the Residential Property Tax Rate on Oahu, Hawaii and does not include commercial, industrial, hotels, resorts and several other categories.

The new tax rate will be $3.50 per $1,000 of net taxable value.   This increase of .21 cents is nothing major.

An example of the change in tax rate for an owner occupied property on the island of Oahu, Hawaii for a home with a combined land and building value of $600,000:

Old Tax Rate of $3.29 would be $1,974 yearly property tax with zero exemptions.

New Tax Rate of $3.50 would be $2,100 yearly property tax with zero exemptions.

For more information about Hawaii Real Esatate, Hawaii Property Tax Rates and how you can save money by filiing a property tax exemption form, contact David Kucic at Hawaii Military Realty, Inc.

This is something that you should know about a VA Loan in Hawaii.

Assuming you are  eligible for a VA Loan in Hawaii and have enough active duty service to qualify for the lowest “VA Funding Fee”, you will pay an additional 2.15% of the loan amount (3.3% if you are using the VA Loan for a second or third time) when you purchase a home in Hawaii.  Conventional loans have “Mortgage Insurance” when the down payment is less than 20%.  VA Loans in Hawaii have a “VA Funding Fee“.

The difference between the Hawaii VA Loan and the Conventional Loan in Hawaii is that the Mortgage Insurance is an additional monthly charge that you pay on top of your principal, interest, taxes and insurance.

With the VA Funding Fee, the 2.15% gets “rolled into the loan”.  For example, if you buy a piece of real estate on Oahu for $400,000, your actual total loan amount will be 400,000 + 2.15% = $408,600.

The purpose of the VA Funding Fee on Hawaii VA Loans is the same as Mortgage Insurance on Hawaii Conventional Loans:  They insure the lender in case the Buyer defaults on the loan.

For more information on purchasing real estate in Hawaii or to view properties on the Hawaii MLS, visit my homepage and click on the Quick Search Tab.

Aloha and Happy House Hunting!

VA Loans in Hawaii are still the most common way for service members to purchase real estate in Hawaii.

The reason is simple:  Service members can get 100% financing at a competitive interest rate with ZERO money down.

Why is it beneficial for a service member to use their VA Loan Eligibility on a piece of real estate in Hawaii?

That answer is also simple.  The use of a VA Loan in Hawaii with ZERO money down is the main attraction.  If the Service member was to opt for a Conventional Loan, the Service member would be looking at a 20% down payment.   Since single family home prices on Oahu are around $500,000, that means the down payment would be around $100,000.  Not many service members have that kind of money laying around.

If the service member was to opt for an FHA loan, that is still a 3.5% down payment or $17,500.  Once again, not many of my service member brothers and sisters have that kind of money to spend on a down payment.

So if the Service member uses their VA loan elibility in Hawaii and subesequently PCS’s to the mainland and wants to buy another house, since home prices are much lower in MANY parts of the mainland, the down payment of 20% or 3.5% is much less.  For example, with a 20% down payment for a brand new home in the Ft Hood, Texas area at around 150k, the down payment amount would be $30,000 rather than the $100,000 in Hawaii.

If the Service member opted for an FHA loan in Texas, the down payment of 3.5% on a $150,000 house would be $5,250.

For more questions about your VA Loan Eligibility in Hawaii, contact First Sergeant, Retired and real estate broker in Hawaii, David Kucic at (808) 218-9338 or email me at david@davidkucic.com.  You are in good hands with one of your fellow veterans taking care of you.

New Upcoming Homes For Sale on Oahu:

1.  3 br, 2.5 bathroom, single family home in great condition.  Over 1,700 sf of interior living space, a 2 car garage and located on the 3rd hole of the Coral Creek Golf Course in Ewa Beach, Hawaii.  Built in 2003.   Priced at $529,900.  This is NOT a short sale and is available immediately.  Approved for VA Loan usage.

2.  1 br, 1 bathroom condo on the 19th floor of Honolulu   Tower in the heart of downtown.  One parking stall, great city and mountain views.  Walk to shopping, restaraunts, work or use the great Oahu public transportion.  Priced at $330,000 fee simple.  This is a short sale.  This building is approved for VA Loan usage and is also pet friendly.