Owning Real Estate through your IRA

This is a topic that comes up every now and then, but is worthy to note. With the great buys that currently exist in our Maui marketplace now may be just the time to purchase real estate with your IRA.

With a self-directed IRA or real estate IRA you can invest your retirement funds in real estate. Diversifying your income can be good if you are planning long term. (Consult your tax advisor or CPA for their opinion). With a real estate IRA you can invest in many types of Real Estate including:

Single family or multi unit homes
Apartment buildings
Co-ops
Condominiums
Commercial property
Improved or unimproved land

If your IRA doesn't have enough funds to outright purchase the property you can finance the remainder or leverage any income producing property for collateral for the loan.

For further information call Entrust Hawaii and they will send you a Free Brochure via email.
888-694-7244 (MY-IRA-HI) or visit: http://www.entrusthawaii.com/
7 Waterfront Plaza: 500 Ala Moana Blvd #400 Honolulu, HI 96813

Entrust Hawaii is just one of the companies that can assist you in regard to real estate IRA and Clients are recommended to do their own due diligence.

Foreclosure Filings for Hawaii

When we speak to buyers many are looking for Foreclosures so I thought I would give you an update on the filings for Foreclosures in the State of Hawaii. Filings are different from actual foreclosed homes which are listed as REO. Many homes that are foreclosed on are sold prior to being listed as REO at Auction so buyers can obtain property at auction too. Fine Island Properties Team can assist our mainland buyers by being your representative at the auction. Buyers just be prepared to place usual minimum of 10% down.

In November state wide their were 872 filings up from last years 393 number. (figures from Realty Trac). This is slightly skewed as it counts filings which can reoccur on a property. Lender repossessions (future REO) accounted for 196 of the filings. The Fine Island Properties Team has listed 3 REO's in the last month. Default notices were at 96 as compared to 76 from a year ago.

Per the Honolulu Advertiser local attorneys feel this number is low as many defaults are not handled through the courts and sometimes aren't publicly available. Realty Trac also includes numbers that are for commercial property, condotels, and time shares which can paint a much broader picture. At Fine Island Properties we see more Investor buyers in trouble than Maui residents who live in their homes although due to the tough economic times we are seeing signs that direction too. Demand for Real Estate is up but we feel due to more layoffs, furloughs, and tax reductions the sellers on Maui are still up for a challenge.

Hawaii is ranked 15th worst in the nation with one filing for every 581 homes, but better than the national rate at 1 per 417 homes and much better than the worst: Nevada at 1 in every 119 homes. Oahu has 1 in 905 homes , followed by Kauai at 1 in 379 homes, then the Big Island at 1 in 341 homes with Maui being the worst at 1 in 330 homes.

New Maui MLS rules don't protect the seller :(

New Maui MLS rules are not designed to help sellers in short sale...

Our board recently decided to have all offers submitted on short sales trigger the active status to pending on the listing in the Maui MLS system even though escrow isn't opened and the seller may still be allowed to accept other offers till their lender approves one per the listing and sales contracts.

This doesn't protect the seller as many times multiple offers are needed to get the lender to approve the short sale, buyers of short sales are often fickle and drop out prior to lender approval and a host of other reasons.

So if you are a buyer looking for Maui short sales, you had better hope your agent knows of this and diligently cks and calls on the pending sale short sales too.

Foreclosures & Short Sales What does a Homeowner Do?

In our business the Fine Island Properties Team handles short sale listings as well as assisting buyers who wish to purchase REO (Foreclosures).

We receive calls from Sellers that are having financial trouble and wonder what to do. I always advise to first seek your tax advisor and a foreclosure/bankruptcy attorney's advice.

We also advise NOT TO WAIT.

Waiting and doing nothing severely hinders your options when it is time to decide which direction you would like to proceed.

Don't even wait till you have missed payments. Consult us regarding short sales, and keeping your home by contacting your lender. Their are many FREE options for homeowners.

We also advise to not pay anyone for services to save your home unless you consult your attorney first. Most homeowners can communicate directly with their lender FREE.

Please call us today if you think you may be heading into trouble. We will arrange a CONFIDENTIAL meeting to discuss how the Fine Island Properties Team might assist you with kind and compassionate service.

Aloha, Gina Duncan, R (S) Team Leader FIP

Fineislandproperties@gmail.com

Pukalani Upcountry Golf Course Custom Home

FORE!


Calling all Golfers, Custom Home Seekers, and folks who want Ocean Views. You can have all of that and and more at this very charming Residences at Kulamalu Golf Course Home.

Listed Below Recent Appraisal $757k

4 bdr/4baths home w/ohana for relatives or the teen hangout. This home features bamboo flooring, granite counters in kitchen and upstairs baths, wood flooring in the ohana, and spacious secondary bedrooms. This home has all the amenities buyers are looking for including central A/C, Large Corner Lot on Golf Course, Stainless Appliances, Ocean and City Light Views +++

A full upper lanai and lower patio run the entire length of the home. The yard has beautiful tropicals and lush green lawn that is large enough for a pool.

For further information visit featured properties at www.FineIslandProperties.com or contact Gina Duncan at 808-250-9858 or by email at Mauigina@gmail.com

Koi Ponds & Botanical 2 Acre Haiku Home

Koi Ponds, lush tropicals and a lovely home all on a level hilltop setting in Upper Haiku Maui.

Beautiful setting and you can call it home. A 2 acre level parcel with a charming home perfect for extended family or use the lower level as an ohana (one bedroom or studio).

Kitchen remodeled with granite, wood cabinets and upstairs floors are tiled. Upstairs features large covered lanai, open plan living, dining and kitchen. A master suite, 2 addtional bedrooms and main bath finish off the upstairs. Downstairs is just as charming with family room, kitchenette, 2 baths and a bedroom. A screen lanai overlooking the koi pond out front is very cozy and the view is fantastic.

The backyard of the home has an open grassy area and also a wooded area with a winding path lined with Ti Leaf varieties. This is a short sale that is worth the wait and a great buy at 875K.

For further information visit http://www.fineislandproperties.com/ and click on the featured listings on the home page or call:
Gina Duncan 808-250-9858 or email at Mauigina@gmail.com

How Long Does a Short Sale Take?

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS:

How long does a short sale take? Does the Fine Island Properties Team have experience in short sales?

This is not a one size fits all answer but in looking at the process for short sale the minimum time period for an approval prior to start of escrow is one month. Average time is 4 months and then a 45 day escrow unless you are paying cash. In our over 50 Short Sales in Maui over the last couple years, our quickest short sale was completed in approx 60 days total and the longest wait is still running at one year. Each bank has different criteria they use to review and then send on to the investor on the loan for approval. Different investors/groups of investors may also have criteria they are willing to accept. That is why there are no hard or fast answers. We do see certain trends with various lenders and share these with our buyers/sellers.

When an offer is accepted the Title/Escrow company must first draft a HUD statement estimating net proceeds to the lender. This statement sometimes takes time due to needing amounts from condo assoc., etc. After paperwork is submitted it takes approx one week to upload into the lender's system. After this hopefully you are assigned a negotiator that reviews the package for completeness. Then an appraisal is issued and this generally takes 3 weeks to be done/uploaded into the system. At this point a escalation of file to a new negotiator in phase 2 is done. They review and submit to investor. If approved a new negotiator is sometimes assigned/not always. This seems like a simple process but if file is missing something you generally start all over again. Financials from the seller must also be resent each month and this causes more delay.

You can be confident that by using Fine Island Properties team to represent you in your short sale transaction that we are educated, and have over experience with over 50 short sales so you can be confident you are getting the best service possible. If thinking of selling short sale on Maui please call for a confidential analysis (we always recommend to first call your lender to see if you can save the home). If buying we will make sure the process although not "short" is done properly.

As with all our short sales we can't stress to our clients enough to consult an attorney for any legal questions you may have and a tax advisor/CPA for any financial concerns.

**If you would like to see an answer to your question please write to FineIslandProperties@gmail.com and we will include it in our next newsletter or
answer privately if you wish.