Denise Nakanishi's (teamnakanishi) Blog

Slogging through twelve pages of contractual language and another couple of pages of additional terms is enough to put the most alert buyer sound asleep. Try as I might to insure buyers leave my office with complete recall regarding the terms of their purchase, it’s no surprise that, someplace ar...

There’s no denying that the housing market is still hugely competitive.  When there are more homes than buyers in a neighborhood, it is referred to as a “buyer’s market”.  This swings the bargaining pendulum squarely on the side of the buyer.  The challenge for sellers is to balance the pendulum....

It’s hard to imagine that it’s been over 8 years since Lilo and Stitch taught the world that “Ohana means family”.  That now famous line raises a different set of questions where real estate is involved.   If you are purchasing or intend to develop a property with multiple living units, understan...

Even though  Hawaii Information Service is reporting a dip for Hawaii Island in the number of homes sold during the 1st quarter this year over last (2011=385/2012=370), RISMedia, the go-to source for many REALTORS®,  is reporting an uptick in both sales numbers and pricing nationwide (www.rismed...

Foreclosure auctions can be a terrific place to pick up bargains, right? Like my attorney friends always say, it depends. Only since 2008 or so have foreclosure notices become common in our Hilo newspaper. It’s a dubious honor to have gone from dead last in the number or foreclosures to currently...

The Federal government requires a withholding of 10% of the gross proceeds any time a foreign seller conveys property.  Escrow will also withhold an additional 5% because the foreigner is not a Hawaii resident.  The 5% withholding applies to all out-of-state owners.  Buyer and seller alike should...

It’s a small town. We once rented a home that developed a problem with the cesspool. While cesspools in East Hawaii are fairly maintenance free, this particular part of town has under ground springs which during periods of heavy rains are prone to back ups. Being an all round good guy, the proper...

Seems like just yesterday that Realtors® were begging for listings.  After all, when the market is brisk, even an overpriced listing can lead to a decent paycheck.  Today, getting a listing sold requires concerted marketing.  Interestingly, even the face of marketing isn’t what it used to be.  Fo...

Are all deeds created equal? It depends. There are basically 3 different types conveyance documents used in Hawaii. Here’s the basics. A regular warranty deed contains many covenants from the grantor. Among them, there’s a covenant that the owner really owns the property, that the property is bei...

I need a new treadmill. Because we visit Costco pretty regularly, I’ve been looking at theirs seriously. I started taking notes when I noticed the little square QR code on the side of the box. A simple “snap” put all the specs right on my phone. For many, this is old stuff but for the few uniniti...