Hawaii has always been known as a tropical island paradise, a dream vacation, with it’s perfect weather, white, sandy beaches and warm, loving people. But what about our real estate market? As those of us who live here know, the late 80’s were an interesting time. Suitcases of money, hand-delivered by Japanese business men, smelling deals.

When 2005 dawned upon us the average Hawaii resident was suddenly cast into the frenzy of home ownership, with promises of 100% financing of homes. It really was too good to be true. But, that didn’t stop the great majority of residents from getting into the action. Homes were purchased at a record clip. Cash-out refinances were popping all over the board and home owners were simply pocketing the money, buying cars, traveling to Las Vegas, living the life.

Now, the nation, let alone Hawaii, is feeling the pain from it’s actions. Those that are trying to sell their properties are finding that they owe more on their mortgage than the property is currently worth in this market. If the property does sell, it is taking a minimum of 6 months on the market before cautious buyers finally pull the trigger. Not to mention, even if there were plenty of buyers lining up to buy a property, with the state of the financial crisis at hand, only about 15% of Hawaii residents can actually get approved for traditional financing. It appears the parade has ended and the fat lady is singing.

The real question is, what is the best way to sell our Hawaii house in the current market, with a Realtor right? The answer is usually NO. 99% of Hawaii Realtors lack the creativity to get the job done right. Most are one dimensional thinkers and are not interested in the home owners best interest. Most just list a property and continue to tell the home owner to keep dropping the price hoping it sells.

Is the property over leveraged, meaning do they owe more than the property is worth? If so, the home owner my wish to take back a second mortgage with a new buyer, or come to the closing table with the balance of what is owed and what the new lender is willing to loan.

In many situations, a short sale may be the best option. This is where a new buyer offers less on the property that what is currently owed and the lender actually agrees to this discounted price.

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.

Hands down the best strategy in this market for most of Hawaii residents is to offer owner financing for new buyers. Here is how this works, say, for numbers sake that John is asking $100,000 for his house. He owes $90,000 to his current lender, and unfortunately an offer comes in for his property at $80,000 since that is what the property is actually worth in this market. The new buyer may not be able to get a new loan or if they can, it will be for a maximum of 80% of the value of the property.

A professional like the IBuyHousesHawaii.com company can help to assist the home owner in making the best choices with their particular situations. In some cases, they can qualify for a mortgage take over program where a new buyer will simply begin making their monthly mortgage payments, depending on how much is owed on the mortgage.

We have all been feeling the crunch of the national and local economy. Don’t let a Realtor fool you into thinking that your house will sell the conventional way. It simply won’t. Know your options and run your individual situation by a professional investment company and Not a Realtor to get the best options for you. It’s a war out there. Will you continue doing what you have done to get the same result or will you do something different to get the result that you actually want? The choice is yours grasshopper, chose wisely, the clock is ticking.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 5th, 2010 at 8:51 am and is filed under Mortgage. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.