Betty Sakamoto and Elizabeth Quayle tackle the question on investing in Maui real estate. Answering a regular question we get of I live out of state. How can I invest in Hawaii real estate? Ask our Maui experts!

Betty: Aloha and welcome to the Sakamoto Properties Blog. Elizabeth Quayle is here and Elizabeth, what we discussed today was we’re going to go through this list of questions that seem to keep popping up on our blog and our website. The first one being from someone that says, “I live out of state. How can I invest in Hawaii real estate?”

Elizabeth: That’s a very common question and there’s a really simple answer call us, we can help you. Anybody in the United States can buy property in Hawaii; we are a state of the union. Lending requirements are federally regulated so everything is going to be pretty much the same as it would in most specific areas.

B: Again, a follow up question from the same person is, “how long does it take to buy a home in Hawaii?”

E: It typically takes the same amount of time as it would anywhere on the mainland as well. If you are purchasing with cash it all depends on how long it will take for the process of getting the cash over here. If you have particular contingencies in your offer which involve a building inspection, etc., etc. Generally you can do a complete home sale in 30 days, if you are getting financing, normally its about a 45 day process with perhaps a 15 day period of extension just in case.

B: Again, I’m kind of dealing right now with questions from a particular person, who follows that up with “what’s my first step in the home buying process?” Now you may have answered that with the first question but maybe let’s give a tiny bit more thought on it.

E: Depending on how you plan on financing the property, you’re first step is going to be to speak with your realtor, let us know on how you plan on doing that. If you plan on using cash, you need to have proof of funds available. If you’re going to be writing an offer using a lender, then we have several lenders to whom you can speak if you’re not with one already and they will spell it out for you, but we are here to make sure that you speak to the people that are going to be able to help you and they will certainly assist you with everything that is involved in getting a loan.