Betty Sakamoto: Welcome to Betty’s Real Estate Corner, brought to you by Roy & Betty Sakamoto of Sakamoto Properties, Coldwell Banker Kapalua, Coldwell Banker Maui, and Coldwell Banker everywhere. Coldwell Banker is everywhere, which is fabulous.
Roy Sakamoto: Coldwell Banker Island Properties.
BS: Coldwell Banker Island Properties. We are everywhere now, which is really great. Our office at Kapalua is second to none. We get a lot of people who stop in almost daily, just wanting to talk real estate. I think we’re some of the most fortunate realtors around.
RS: Yeah, it’s a great location. 700 Office Road, almost adjacent to Sunset Restaurant, and very easy to find.
BS: Almost adjacent to it. And the Honolua store.
RS: And close to the Honolua store.
BS: Right. That’s where we can pick up almost anything at any time, so that’s been worthwhile. We’re in the heart of the Kapalua Resort. We live nearby. We’re pretty fortunate.
RS: Very.
BS: Very close to Napili. We’re a short walk to the ocean. We’re some of the luckiest people in the world.
RS: Golf courses around us. It’s a little slice of heaven.
BS: It is, isn’t it? I mean, it’s funny. For some reason, I feel like I need to talk about a little slice of heaven.
RS: Yeah.
BS: We live in it. We live in Maui, which is the greatest place, really, in the world. Kapalua couldn’t be any better. Lahaina, I know it’s a problem right now, and it’s been so difficult. It will still take a long time to bring it back to where it was or to get it back to any, what I’ll call, a sense of order and comfort for people. It’s still so sad for everybody. But we still are in a spectacular place.
RS: Lahaina is coming back. The fire, no doubt, has set us back quite a bit. But yeah, we’re coming back.
BS: And the rest of the island is fine.
RS: Yeah.
BS: When you think of it, if you leave, let’s say, Lahaina, and as you drive out and away, looking at the water, the ocean, Napali, and everything that is so beautiful all the time. Then, when you’re over here in Wailuku, Kahului, or anywhere, it’s like nothing ever happened.
RS: No. Lucky we live in Maui.
BS: Lucky we live in Maui and lucky we live in Lahaina. Luckily, we live on the West Side. Lucky everything. We’re some of the lucky ones. I mean, that sounds silly, but I just feel like I want to say that we’re some of the luckiest people in the world.
RS: Sure. So, a quick thought on the elections.
BS: Interesting. Quite interesting.
RS: Well, I’ll tell you, whether your candidate won or lost or whatever, we need to support those who are in office now and really give them our support, and not be afraid to voice our opinions.
BS: Well, I think that’s a great statement. The hard part will be voicing your opinion, or my opinion, whatever, you know, whoever it is.
RS: Yeah, but this is what democracy is all about. In our country, we have two major parties. One party wins, one party loses. We need to respect that, respect the process, and respect the winners.
BS: Well, I think you’re right. There’s no question about it. Respect the process. Respect the winners. If you’re not happy with the results of the election, four years from now might change everything. If you’re not happy with the results of this election, let’s all start to think about what we want. And again, I think what Roy just said is the truth.
We have to support the President of the United States. We have to support our local council people. We have to support our world and take care of it. We don’t have to step into something we don’t want to do, but again, let’s support the people around us and see if we can make things better, no matter what.
RS: What’s the shame is that too many people really don’t pay attention to government affairs unless it’s an election year. It’s something we need to pay attention to year-round. Just not during election years.
BS: Well, I think you’re definitely right. What’s hard—and maybe again, we should all start thinking about it—is that most of us have gotten a little too busy. Between children and grandchildren, etc., etc., whatever your age is.
When you’re at the age where you’re starting a family, worried about money, funding, food, and all the things you have to think about, worry about, and wonder about. Life is difficult. It’s not that simple. Then you get to a different stage, and life gets a little bit easier. But still, it’s not that simple.
RS: No, no, it’s never easy.
BS: No, it’s never easy. That’s the bottom line. But let’s help one another, too. There’s another thing. We live in a relatively small community. There are things we can do for one another. I’m not saying huge things, but just every so often, if you see someone who needs something, help them. Whatever it is—if it’s only helping someone with groceries or getting something in their car.
RS: Or opening a door or whatever.
BS: If somebody drops something, you pick it up for them. Whatever it is, let’s all remember to do that. Let’s do something nice, at least for today. Then let’s try to do the same thing tomorrow. Do something nice for someone—whether it’s picking up something they dropped, saying hello, holding a door, or helping with a child. You’ll see someone trying to get a child into a car seat, and a lot of times, nobody wants your help, but just offers to help someone who needs it.
RS: Or just say hello to a stranger. You know, a smile and a hello. Especially in the world we live in, where we have so many visitors, a smile and a hello go a long way. That’s who we are, basically.
BS: It really is. I’m kind of one of those people who probably say hello to too many people, but it’s something I’ve always liked doing, and it really matters to me. You see someone who maybe looks like they’re walking and staring off into space, and you just say, “Hello, how are you doing?” “Are you visiting?” And all of a sudden, you’ve got a whole conversation going on. But I think it’s important. I think it’s important that we all remember that.
RS: You talk story a lot with all these strangers.
BS: I do. I kind of slow down the world around me, but I don’t know… I always feel like I’ve made a friend in the end, even if they don’t know who I am. It doesn’t matter. If I’ve helped someone a little bit, or if I’ve given them a smile…
RS: Yeah. You may not be able to do that in New York City or somewhere, but on Maui, yeah, absolutely.
BS: Actually, I did it in Chicago and Buffalo, New York.
RS: And nobody hit you?
BS: Nobody hit me. Nobody’s ever hit me for it.
RS: Okay.
BS: So I think I’ve been okay. But here you can do it with love and caring, and nobody’s ever looked at me like I was a little off course. Maybe in Buffalo or Chicago, they did, but that’s okay, too.
RS: Yeah. You know what’s interesting? In talking about different places and so forth, we had Sakamoto Properties for 40-something years. Just before our merger with Coldwell Banker Island Properties, we stepped back and tried to figure out where our clients were coming from. We’ve got clients from 38 states and 14 foreign countries, so we’ve got aloha in 38 states and 14 foreign countries. As we travel, maybe we can make it 39 states and 15 foreign countries.
BS: That would be great.
RS: Yeah.
BS: Because it’s true. Wherever we are, we talk to people, even if we don’t speak the same language.
RS: No, but just spreading aloha. People are, by nature, friendly, I think, and love to talk to strangers.
BS: A smile goes a long, long way. You could say aloha. I think in any country, if you give someone a big smile, they’re going to walk away smiling. So, let’s always remember that. Anybody listening today, think about that. An aloha and a smile go a long, long way. You can take it anywhere in the world, and people will leave you happy, and you’ll be happy, too.
RS: Yeah. We’ve been in an elevator in Singapore, and we said aloha to people, and they kind of looked at us like, “What did you say?”
BS: It’s true.
RS: But yeah.
BS: We actually did that, and by the time we got off the elevator, we had made new friends. We exchanged business cards or laughed about where we were from. It’s funny. But you’re right. I do get out there a little bit talking to people, but here I am. I’m on the radio now. Let’s all do that a little bit more. Let’s make this the year we do that. Let’s talk a little bit more.
RS: And we start with Betty’s Real Estate Corner, and go from there.
BS: We’ll start with Betty’s Real Estate Corner.
RS: One thing about saying hi and aloha to a stranger on the street—even if they don’t acknowledge you, they’ll walk away wondering, “What the hell does that person mean?” and then think about it.
BS: I hope so.
RS: Not at all a bad thing.
BS: No. I think most of the people I’ve talked to, whom I didn’t know and probably will never see again, find it very interesting when you think about it. I did tell this story once, and I’ll try to make it as short as I can, but years ago, I was on an airplane, and the people wanted my seat. I had an aisle seat, and I really liked the aisle.
I’m not going to get into why, but I love it. I have to be in the aisle seat. I didn’t want to give them my seat. So, the wife was sitting next to me, and before we took off, I actually offered them my seat. I offered it to her, and I would go back and take her husband’s seat.
But anyway, she said, “Now this is kind of fun. We’ve been traveling for a while. We have twin boys in the back. I’m exhausted. This is just fun.” So, we ended up together on the plane, and before she left, we never talked about real estate. I gave her my business card, and she took it, but I didn’t comment on it.
So, like three or four years later, she walks into our office carrying the business card, and they wants to buy real estate. So, all this time, there are people who actually heard you. They took your card and came back. It was amazing. They became really good friends.
RS: They bought two separate properties, and we ended up selling one of them. They still have one, right?
BS: And their son was here selling real estate, but I’m not sure if he’s still here. He was really great. He came back, got his real estate license, and was really nice. I’ll always think about that moment when I didn’t want to give up my seat, but then I offered it. But that’s enough story for now. We should probably think about a little bit of real estate.
RS: Well, one more word about the charities here on Maui, the non-profits. We talk a lot about the Maui Food Bank and various other charities, and non-profits. We talk a lot about Hale Makua, we talk a lot about Lahainaluna – support our local non-profits. There are a lot of well intentioned, hardworking people out there working for various charities.
Especially as we come toward the holidays, they all need our help. So, let’s pay attention. If you have an extra dollar, please consider donating to the Maui Food Bank, Hale Makua, Lahainaluna Foundation, or a variety of different non-profits here on Maui. Everybody needs help.
BS: Even the person sitting outside the grocery store with some music going on and a pot collecting. I think often that’s a couple of different charities doing that annually, and they’re always there. They’re definitely outside.
RS: The Salvation Army will be setting up soon. It’s all worthy causes. So, let’s consider that.
BS: If you’ve got a little change or something in your pocket, and you want to help a little, it doesn’t hurt at all.
RS: No.
BS: And again, a smile and say hello, because they’re working hard, sitting there in the sun half of the time.
RS: Absolutely.
BS: So let’s help those guys, too, a little bit.
RS: Yeah. Like the Maui Food Bank, as we’ve spoken about a few times, every dollar supports four meals. So, if you donate $10, that’s 40 meals. That’s huge.
BS: It is huge. Right now in Maui, especially in West Maui, they are still taking care of a lot of people and feeding a lot of people who lost jobs and still don’t have jobs. It’s a very difficult time. Housing is extremely expensive, and many people lost their jobs. Things haven’t opened up again—it’s a hard time. The Maui Food Bank is still feeding and taking care of a lot of people on Maui.
RS: Absolutely.
BS: So, I think from the standpoint of real estate, there are so many things we could talk about. We’ve been at Kapalua for a long time. We’ve been involved mostly in the upper end of the market, fortunately. But we do, you know, Roy has recently put together some really nice deals for people who have been looking for a while.
RS: Yeah. People are asking, “What’s the real estate market like now?” And I’m telling prospective buyers, “You know, buy now, we just closed the largest sale in West Maui for residential real estate at a little over $26 million.” But the buyers, who will remain anonymous, are going to be big assets for the community.
They’re very concerned about the environmental effects of global warming, for our seabirds. It’s people like this that we need in our community, and we look forward to them contributing in some way to Maui and our overall health and welfare.
BS: Actually, that is an amazing property. The little seabirds you’re talking about, the ones that nest there, the current owner and the new owner have actually bought into that, and they do have to take care of the little birds and their tiny little nests.
RS: No, they are tiny when they’re born. They’re little fluff balls. But yeah.
BS: I’ve never seen the big ones but the little ones, you just want to protect and take care of them. Take care of these little seabirds like they’re family. And they are family now.
RS: They are.
BS: There are so many things like that on Maui.
RS: You know, it’s a great time to buy. People are saying, “Well, I’m going to wait for interest rates to come back down to 2.5% or 3%.” I don’t think we’ll ever see that again. Interest rates are floating around 6% to 6.5% for fixed rates. Less than that if you opt for adjustable-rate mortgages, which I think are the way to go right now. Get an adjustable mortgage, and there are a lot of great buys out there.
BS: When we went through this the last time mortgage rates went through the roof, I remember one person coming in and deciding to buy because they really needed something. They wanted to live here. They purchased a property and did exactly that. They got the best loan they could get, with several years on it.
They actually, in the end, were able to refinance the loan and get an extended period with a good interest rate because it was within a time span when the market changed again.
RS: Absolutely.
BS: So I think you can do that, and hopefully it’ll work now. And if you can qualify for the loan, hopefully, it’s something you can write the interest off, and that would help.
RS: Exactly.
BS: But again, there are so many different possibilities right now to buy real estate.
RS: There are some great buys out there. Inventory is up, which is a good thing for buyers. Work with a good realtor. There have been some changes in our real estate rules and regulations, so buyer representation is very important as you work with a realtor.
You’re going to be asked to sign a buyer representation agreement before looking at any properties. But talk to a realtor. They can explain to you exactly the process and who represents who in a transaction. There’s a variety of different ways to go as far as financing.
But talk to a realtor, and feel free to contact either myself. My number is 808-870-7060. Betty’s is 808-870-7062. Or look at our website, SakamotoProperties.com. Thanks to Meyer Computer, we’ve got a great website. You can hit our website, contact us through it, and look at all the listings in Maui County. You can go shopping on the site.
BS: You’ll definitely get a lot of information there. In every price range, you can go through almost anything that’s on the market. It will show up there as you go through it, and there are some great properties. They are livable, and it really works. You know, Elizabeth has that new listing on Lower Road, 5184, three bedrooms, one, and a half baths. Again, it’s still expensive. It’s listed at $1,900,000, but it’s a great property and very livable.
RS: It’s a great location in Napili.
BS: It sure is. And it’s got a small home, and it’s usable—you know, it’s wonderful. I think it’s a spectacular property. From there, you can move to other options. For the lower end of the market, it’s really great if you get into condos, like Kahana Manor at $555,000. I think we both have a couple of listings here, and we’re going to run out of time pretty quickly. I can’t believe it’s already 12:26.
RS: Here’s a great listing in Olowalu, which is outside of Lahaina a little bit. It’s a three-bedroom, two-bath, part of a condominium. This property is listed by Ray Chin of our office, and the listed price is $1,120,000. It just had a price reduction. It was originally listed a little bit higher, but it’s within walking distance to Leoda’s and the Olowalu little village there. It’s a great price for a three-bedroom, two-bath.
Again, we’re not going to go through all the contact numbers for our agents but contact either myself, Roy, or Betty. Going through SakamotoProperties.com is the easiest way.
BS: Here’s another listing, and again, we’re kind of bouncing from one thing to another, but in the Kihei area, Kahili Makai, which is listed at $599,000 for a studio apartment. Very, very livable. Great area, and you could live there forever. Or a couple could live there. I think it’s worth taking a look at. It’s a nice property, and you can walk almost anywhere from there if you don’t have a car. One thing that’s very difficult right now is that association fees have gone up so much.
RS: Yeah, insurance rates have gone up considerably.
BS: So that’s going to make it difficult.
RS: Right. But still, homeownership is priceless.
BS: It is.
RS: Absolutely.
BS: And interest can typically be written off, and it’s better than having to rent for the rest of your life.
RS: Here is a great buy, especially for a single person or a young couple. Maui Lani Terraces in Honokowai. It’s a studio, small, about 350 some-odd square feet, but it’s listed at $350,000. What a great price for a studio. That’s an ideal starter unit. If you’re paying $2,000 a month in rent, which a lot of people are out there, right? Why aren’t you buying a studio or a one-bedroom? You’ll get some tax advantages and hopeful capital appreciation. It’s a great starting price—$350,000.
BS: Now we’re down to the one-minute warning. So, look at our website, SakamotoProperties.com. You can find everything in the MLS, not just our listings. You can call us and ask. Danny Couch is back on, and he loves Hawaii, and I love Hawaii.
RS: We all love Hawaii.
BS: And I’m fortunate to be here with my husband, Roy.
RS: Aloha.
BS: Aloha.
