As many of us living in Hawaii will say, we have it good……Great beaches, perfect weather, amazing people. We truly are blessed. Yet, there is little mention of our real estate market in any of the fanfare that is commonly heard on the streets of Waikiki.
All of a sudden, all that glitters was gold in Hawaii…..Homes were purchased as regularly as sipping water. Loans were made to anyone who could fog a mirror. Home owners were stripping the equity out of their homes just for the heck of it and spending it on fruitless items and activities.
Much like the waves that coming crashing on our shore, so did our real estate market. Now the tide is sucking back out to sea. Home owners are baffled on how to sell their property in this economy. People that actually want to buy Hawaii property can barely qualify to get a standard loan, if at all. Most Hawaii home owners owe more on their mortgage than their property is worth, or at least, have no equity left in their property in this market.
Ok, enough fluff…..How do Hawaii home owners that really need to sell their property, sell? The answer, it depends. Several factors play into this answer.
Sometimes home owners actually owe more on their property than it is currently worth. In order to sell the property, the home owner will have to pay the difference at the close. Who wants to do that?
In this economy, even the banks, as we have seen in the news, are feeling the effects of the recession. Since several Hawaii home owners are in difficult situations, they are asking the banks to accept a short sale. This is where the bank will take a payoff of less than what is currently owed on the mortgage.
Other possible solutions exist for these situations, like a deed in lieu of foreclosure, however, there can only be one loan in place. Obviously, each of these methods will adversely affect their personal credit score. Before moving forward with any decision, please consult a professional investment company and Not a Realtor in this situation as their only concern is getting a commission for selling your house.
So what is the best way to sell your Hawaii house? The answer is to structure owner financing. You need to make it easy for someone to buy your property. Since a very small percentage can actually qualify for a new loan, would you rather fish in the vast ocean with one pole or fish in a barrel full of fish with a shotgun? Bad analogy, I know, yet it works.
John’s best strategy is to be the bank and have the new buyer “take over” their mortgage so to speak. At least until the new buyer can get new financing to cash John out. John will want to consult a professional that knows all about creative financing and creative real estate dealings. Unfortunately, 99% of Hawaii Realtors are NOT the correct choice in most situations.
Hawaii has been hit hard with price drops in our valuable real estate market. Sometimes home owners can afford to wait the 6 months or more to sell their property, and sometimes it is best to seek alternative methods other than local Realtors insisting that they simply continue to drop the asking price of their home. Be smart, before you get locked in with a Hawaii Realtor, explore other options like a IBuyHousesHawaii.com that knows exactly what it takes to get your property sold, sometimes in less than just seven days. Do what I did, and look into it while there are options.