The Hawaii Team Real Estate Blog
“Flip This House” Being Sued
Richard Davis, broker-owner of Trademark Properties Real Estate Inc., goes to court today in his home city of Charleston, S.C., where he is fighting A&E Television Networks. His suit claims A&E owes him as much as $30 million for creating the popular show,...
Fly-in communities are still popular
Pilots and their planes now call more than 600 fly-in communities across the country home, says Dave Sclair, retired publisher of General Aviation News. "It's a very popular trend," he says. John Travolta keep his Boeing 707 parked at his estate in the air park...
Mortgage Crisis is quickly becoming a tax crisis
Municipalities with high rates of foreclosure are struggling to figure out how to deal with falling tax revenues. For instance, Stockton, Calif., draws 43 percent of its revenues from property and sales taxes. Home prices in the community have been cut in half since...
Renters Get Some Protection
Governments are stepping in to protect renters who find themselves evicted when the property they rent is foreclosed. A new law passed by the California Legislature gives renters a 120-day grace period before they must vacate a foreclosed property. A city ordinance in...
Yes You Can Still Get Mortgages
Lenders emphasize that loans continue to be available for a range of potential home buyers, not just those who are putting down 20 percent and have a credit score higher than 720. Although credit underwriting is tougher and loan terms stricter, borrowers can still put...
Election Year Madness
The nightly news is depressing to watch these days. With any more bad economic news one would feel like jumping a boat to Bora Bora. It’s clear we’ll need some time to recover, but the more important question everyone wants to know is where are we...
Builders Say Smaller Homes Are The Way To Go
Home builders are reducing the size and options available to appeal to buyers with less money to spend and who are facing a harder time getting financing. Los Angeles-based KB Homes had shrunk its homes from 3,400 square feet, selling for $450,000, to 2,400 square...
US Considers Bank-Debt Guarantees
U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson reportedly is fast-tracking a plan to guarantee debt issued by banks after a similar move was made by European policy makers over the weekend. Such a step would be part of a three-pronged strategy to free up credit markets that...
More On The Credit Collapse: You Asked, I’m Answering
Quite a few folks responded to my column entitled “The Credit Collapse Blame Game.†And that’s a good thing. It’s always nice to know someone’s listening, whether you agree with me or not. In response to your comments, I have a couple...
Housing Conference in Chicago To Help People Buy Homes
Rising home prices, increased housing costs, and today’s tightened mortgage market have put homeownership out of reach for many working families. In fact, nearly 40 percent of Americans believe there is a shortage of available affordable housing, according to...
Bank of America Will Help People Stay In Their Homes
Bank of America on Monday said it is launching a "home retention program" on Dec. 1 to modify troubled mortgages for nearly 400,000 customers of Countrywide Financial Corp. Bank of America acquired Countrywide on July 1. The program, which can reduce up to $8.4...
Some Markets Are Still Thriving
Prices are holding up nicely in the ZIP codes of the rich and famous. Forbes magazine examined the top 100 most expensive ZIP codes in the United States and concluded that most saw strong price appreciation in the last 12 months. Here are the top-10 most expensive ZIP...