Betty Sakamoto: Aloha, and welcome to Betty’s Real Estate Corner, brought to you by Coldwell Banker Roy and Betty Sakamoto. It’s one of those days—I don’t have a partner with me, so I’m going to be scrambling a little bit. I may have a couple of call-ins, so we’ll see how the day goes. Somebody called me over the weekend and asked me if I would read again the thing—the procrastination thing—which we kind of use for real estate, but it’s also interesting for anything you procrastinate about.
“I hesitate to make a list
Of all the countless deals I’ve missed—
Bonanzas that were in my grip,
I watched through my fingers slip.
The windfalls that I should have bought
Were lost because I overthought.
I thought of this, I thought of that,
I could have sworn I smelled a rat.
And while I thought things over twice,
Another grabbed them at that price.
It seems I always hesitate,
Then make my mind up way too late.
A very cautious man am I,
And that is why I never buy.”
“How Nassau and how Suffolk grew,
New Jersey, Staten Island too—
While others called those sprawling farms
And welcomed them with open arms.
A corner here, ten acres there,
Compounding values year by year.
I chose to think, and as I thought,
They bought the deals I should have bought.”
“The golden chances I had then
Are lost and will not come again.
Today I cannot be enticed,
For everything’s so overpriced.
The deals of yesteryear are dead,
The market’s soft, and so’s my head.”
“Last night I had a fearful dream.
I know I awakened with a scream.
Some Indians approached my bed
For trinkets on the barrelhead,
And dollar bills worth twenty-four—
And nothing less and nothing more.
They’d sell Manhattan Island to me,
The most I’d go was twenty-three.”
“The Redmond scowled, not on a bet,
And sold to Peter Minuit.
At times, a teardrop drowns my eyes.
Four deals I had but did not buy.
And now life’s saddest words I pen:
If only I’d invested then.”
I’d found this years ago in a Farm and Land Magazine, or Real Estate Maui Style—and it’s dated: October 1917.
But it is one of those things that I think will be with us for the rest of our lives. Somebody will be able to read that and kind of chuckle a bit about it. Today, real estate-wise, we’re still going through that same period as last time we were on the radio, which was a week ago, where prices are—I think—everything’s been going up, up, up.
And now, I’m not so sure it’s going to keep doing that. I think most people are kind of a little fearful. The upper end of the market still seems to be moving along, but I think it’s going to be a harder time. We’re getting more people who are stopping by the office at Kapalua, the old Kapalua Realty location, which is in the middle of the restaurants now.
But it really is a perfect spot. We have people stopping in every day who want to talk about real estate. They just want to figure out what we think is going to happen. Some of them end up buying, and some end up coming back a year later and buying. But it really is a pleasure when somebody walks through the door and just wants to sit down with us and talk about real estate.
So if you want to do that any day, come by. There should always be someone there on floor time, seven days a week, who is very knowledgeable about real estate. You can leave a message for me, Betty Sakamoto, or my husband, Roy Sakamoto, and one of us will call you back. So if you wander in and everybody is busy, just ask for a card—either theirs or ours—and somebody will give you a call back, and we can all chat, answer your questions, etc.
But again, that is what we do there. A lot of times we’re closing deals there or we’re meeting with someone and running out to look at properties. So come by. We can put you in the car, or the person there will usually stay, answer the phones, and talk to people, etc.
But there’s somebody that will get together with you—either right then, or in a couple of hours, or the next day—and take you on a tour and see what we can find that you might be interested in, or at least update you on what’s happening and show you what’s available at Kapalua, etc.
So do that. You can reach my husband, Roy Sakamoto, at 808-870-7060. Or you can reach me, Betty Sakamoto, at 808-870-7062. So give one of us a call and we can fill you in on basic information about real estate. You can also email us: [email protected] or [email protected] and ask us almost any real estate question. We’ll get back to you within a fairly reasonable period of time.
You know, say that you heard us on the radio show and you’ve got some questions—so just give us a call or stop by the office. Somebody will be there—again, seven days a week—and they’ll be able to help you and give you some ideas about what’s going on in real estate, and fill you in on what’s happening in the area.
Ritz-Carlton is close by, so a lot of times somebody is going between the golf courses—walking between the Ritz-Carlton, let’s say, and the Bay Course. And again, the Bay Course is just a short walk. Everything is really nearby. So it’s worth wandering around, chatting, and hearing what’s going on from the standpoint of a realtor who’s sitting there talking to people and filling you in.
You know, sometimes you just want to come by and make a new friend. We’ve done that a lot with people. You meet someone, and I used to always call it the new best friend—my new best friend—because you’d meet someone and they would kind of become your new best friend. You’d spend some time with them, showing them the property, wandering all around, doing whatever you can do to show them some things.
Usually, you know right away that they’re not going to buy something this visit. But they want to meet someone. They want to have a person here that they can call and ask questions. Again, I think whoever you meet when you walk into our office will be willing to be your person. Just give it a try—give it a go. We’ll call you, check with you, or that person may just give you a card and be the person for you. But you’ll enjoy the process.
It may not be now that you buy, but there was one family that I met—actually, I met the people on an airplane. I wouldn’t give up my seat, which is a long story, but I had an aisle. I hate being on the window. Long story, but I hate the window, so I kind of didn’t want to give it up.
And the wife sat next to me. Before we took off, actually, I said to her, “You know, I’ll switch with you,” and she said, “You know, we’ve been traveling together, we’ve got our twin boys with us, etc., and it’s enough—we’re good. So why don’t we just fly together?” So we flew together.
Before we got off the plane—and I never talked real estate with her—we just talked about family, whatever family things, what’s going on in the world, etc. But I gave her my card and said, “If you ever need something, we’re going to be in Maui for a couple of weeks.” I never heard from her. But anyway, about three years later…
She actually walked into the office and had my card with her. They came to Maui this time to buy real estate. And now, I had never had that happen before—that I handed my card to someone and they just walked back into the office. But they did. They bought a house, and eventually they bought the lot next to it, etc. Then, eventually sold the house.
But really, the greatest family. It’s interesting how those things happen. So give it a try. I mean, wander into the office and see what’s going on. Again—make a new friend. You just don’t know. Sometimes someone will be super busy, other times they won’t be. But I would say at least give that a go, because you’ll get some information.
If you’re staying for a while, you’ll learn about the best restaurants in town and whatever else is happening at the Coldwell Banker Kapalua office. So give it a go. I think—I’m trying to think of different things right now. I also brought with me today a list of properties that are on the market right now, and I think I’m going to run over some of those because it’ll give you some idea of what’s going on.
We have a listing—Coldwell Banker, my husband, Roy Sakamoto, and Juliette Lei Heron—which is Lokelani, and it’s listed at $1,450,000. It’s a larger unit: two bedrooms, two baths. I believe there are two baths—I can’t find it on here, but it’s two bedrooms, two baths, and oceanfront. Really great, great location. And you could call.
Just call Roy or me, and we’ll get you set up to talk to Juliette about the property. I know that she has an open house tomorrow, Friday, at the unit. If you want to find out what time it’s going to be, let me just see… she should be there, I think, most of the afternoon.
But call her. This is her cell phone: Juliet at 808-344-4167. This is a property that over the years has been one of the most sought-after condo complexes in West Maui. I think, a fairly large unit, too—direct oceanfront land. Nice, where you will be able to enjoy year-round sunsets, whale watching from the primary bedroom and the main living area.
Both bedrooms are located upstairs. The unit number is A-125, I think. I didn’t say that. But it’s a highly popular rental unit and worth getting a look at now. It is rented a lot right now, so I think it’s worth going by, talking to her. There’s a lot going on with the properties that are in the short-term rental program, but I think she has a lot of information about it, and it’d be worth sitting down with her.
She’ll direct you everywhere, but you’re between the best golf courses. Kapalua and Kaanapali each have two golf courses, which really spectacular golf. There are the greatest beaches all up and down the coast. There’s a beach right out in front of them. So again, it’s located at 3833 Lower Honoapiilani Road. They don’t have a lot of open houses, but I know tomorrow—Friday—they’re going to have one.
So again, give Juliette a call—808-344-4167—if you want to schedule a showing. Or you can just give her a call and find out what her plan is for tomorrow and how long she’s planning to be there. But again, give that one a shot. I think it’s a great unit, and it’s larger, and I think it would really be worth your getting a good look at it. Listed at $1,450,000. So again, great unit. We’ve also got some homes—larger homes, smaller homes, etc.
But again, this is another one kind of worth looking at—or I’d say definitely worth looking at: 214 Kahoma Village Loop. It’s listed at $1,695,000. It was just listed March 7, so it’s been on the market 41 days. It’s a three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath, about 1,500+ square feet, but it seems to me more spacious than that. That says 1,500 square feet, and three bedrooms, two and a half baths.
I’d say it’s great. It’s really a great property, listed at $1,695,000. It’s listed by Jesse and Marsha Wald. But again, do the same thing—call one of us, Roy or Betty—and we can direct you to someone available on the day you’re looking. If you want to get in and see this.
So I think either call me—808-870-7062—or call Roy Sakamoto—808-870-7060. A couple of others… let me just see here. If we stick for a moment with houses—here’s one at The Summit: 174 Welau Way. It’s a four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bath single-family home listed at $3,475,000.
It’s 2,771 square feet. The land area is over 10,000+ square feet, and it has a garage. It already has blinds, ceiling fans, a security system, dishwasher, disposal, dryer—all the usual appliances. But it’s one that I think is again worth looking at. That one’s listed with Mary Anne Fitch and Nam Le Viet.
But again, call in. I think if you just call Roy Sakamoto—808-870-7060—if he’s tied up, he’ll get back to you shortly. If not, you could also call Nam Le Viet at 808-283-9007. So give that a call—it’s a property that, again, I think is worth looking at and is priced right.
So again, give that one a go. Let me just see what else we’ve got here. I brought a bunch of these. Kalama Street in Kihei—nice property here listed at $5.4 million. 1598 Halama Street. It has a detached ohana—or cottage.
It’s rare. I mean, right now, you can own what would be one or two contiguous beachfront homes along there—consolidation of the lots… At 1598 and 1606 Halama could create a large estate over 32,000 square feet. So it’s a property that could be sold for the land value only. The main home and ohana are currently rented to long-term tenants. Structures are, at this time, being sold as is. But again, I think take a look at that and, you know, give us a call.
Call again—Roy Sakamoto: 808-870-7060—and get a little bit more information on it. You could also call me—Betty Sakamoto—at 808-870-7062. I’ve now intermixed my husband’s and my phone numbers, so you won’t be sure who you’re going to get!
We also have a nice Kapalua home at Pineapple Hill: 222 Crestview Road. The lot is 20,000+ square feet—really very, very nice home. Pool, jacuzzi. And again, once you’re there and you get a good look at that, you’ll know why it’s listed at $6,475,000. Again, way, way worth getting yourself in there and having a look at it. There are just so many. The number of homes at Kapalua right now that are on the market is very low.
I don’t know—none of us know—where the market’s going to be going. It’s been a hard time because it’s just difficult. We’re finding more and more properties… You know, there were a lot of sales over the last year or so. There are things on the market a little bit longer than they were a while ago.
So it’s hard to say exactly what’s going to happen in the market. I’m sure most of you have heard the information about short-term rentals, and that there’s kind of a—I’m going to call it an argument—going on about whether you’ll be able to continue renting some of the properties.
So, excuse me, you know—some of the properties that are rented short-term may not be able to continue with short-term rentals. That’s kind of up for grabs right now. I don’t think anybody knows for sure. I think there’s going to be a lot of discussion on it. I think the county is trying hard to come up with additional housing for people who lost their homes.
If you’ve been in Lahaina recently, you’ll see that there are a lot of homes that have started, especially in the Wahikuli area, and they’re looking great. I can’t believe—for Maui—how fast these homes are going up. Now again, you get to a certain stage, and it all slows down a bit.
So I think that’s going to be a challenge because everybody’s watching, watching. I’m sure whoever is doing the building has a plan to get in there as fast as they can. But “fast” eventually means what we have available here—and there are supplies that you need. I know that everybody struggles as they get to a certain stage to get things on-island fast enough. So it is really a hard time.
But again, I’m really impressed with the number of homes that are under construction. And if you just drive up and down the main road in and out of Lahaina, you’ll see so many properties that appear to be under construction.
And now again, I think when X-number are done—the ones that are started—hopefully by then we’re going to see that there’s an equal number that have started new construction. Because there’s been nothing there. There’s been nothing there for almost two years, which has been really difficult.
I think the county has come up with some new ways to get it off the ground. If you have one of those properties, I would say call the county, or check in with your contractor if you’ve already got somebody working on it with you—because you’ve got to get it going. People just need places to live.
I believe they are also allowing people to put two ohanas on. If the lot is a certain size, you can put two small ohanas on it, which will help you either with your family members—being able to have a place to come back to or stay when they’re here—or even move into, etc.
But I think it’s worth giving it all a look. Trying to figure out how it works. The ohanas should work for everybody. I think you can also rent the ohanas—if, again, you go within whatever the guidelines are for ohana rentals. I’m not sure what all those are—but again, check with… If you have a realtor you’re already working with.
Check with the county if you’re getting ready to build and you’re going to be doing an ohana—or two ohanas—figure out what you can do. Because I think, again, be fair to people. I mean, we’ve all seen since the fires that, all of a sudden, all the rentals went to these soaring rates. You know, people just can’t afford that.
The people who are coming to you who want to rent—they can’t afford it either. So I think really be considerate, and pay attention to who’s looking right now and who wants to rent. You can ask for more from them—you know, tell them that it has to be kept orderly, that it can’t be overcrowded.
They can’t have extra people staying there. They’ll have a lease, and whatever the lease says is what they can do. So I would just stick with that. I mean, if you’ve rented a small studio to a couple—now, if they have a baby, I guess the baby will be fine—but they can’t just move another couple in.
It’s got to be family. And often, it’ll be a small one-bedroom. I don’t know the square footage on any of that. But I think, again, if you’re going to rebuild right now—I know that in certain areas, you can put up to two ohanas. For everybody, that is a source of income to begin with, or it’s for taking care of your family.
I know when I was first living here, we lived in a lot of smaller places—and it was great. I mean, wherever we were. We lived in a studio at one time, and that was hard. I mean, studios are—oops, looks like we’ve got the two-minute warning. I think I’m talking faster than I thought. I hope I’m not talking so fast that you can’t hear me.
They do tell me—my husband does anyway—that I talk fast. So, it’s too late to slow it down for today.
But we’re kind of coming down to the wire. I mean, call me if you want any information. I don’t have everything on building a home right now or new construction, but I can direct you to someone—someone you can talk to. And be careful who you deal with. You want to be sure people are licensed, that they’re available, that they have time, and that they’ll sign proper contracts with you.
If you need an attorney—I don’t know offhand anyone to refer to, at the moment—but you may want to have somebody look at a contract with you. I mean, if it’s somebody you really know that you’re signing a contract with, that can sometimes be different. But just be careful what you do today. It’s all going to matter to you in the long run.
If someone’s telling you they can finish your house in six months—well… It looks like we suddenly have Danny Couch coming on here. So we’re at the end of our half hour. A special aloha to you, and thank you, Danny Couch. Aloha. Talk to you soon. Aloha!
