Hawaii Real Estate – MLS Search
Posts tagged Relocating
Hawaii Animal Quarantine Moving Cats or Dogs
Nov 18th
Hawaii Quarantine Laws – Dogs and Cats
Your dog or cat will need to go through quarantine; if you plan ahead, you can minimize the time your pet needs to be quarantined, which also minimizes expenses. E-mail us: rabiesfree@hawaii.gov Animal Quarantine Station phone: (808) 483-7151
Hawaii is rabies-free. Hawaii’s quarantine law is designed to protect residents and pets from potentially serious health problems associated with the introduction and spread of rabies. All dogs and cats, regardless of age (puppies and kittens included) or purpose, must comply with Hawaii’s dog and cat import (link to form) requirements.
Chapter 4-29 Hawaii Administrative Rules, governs the importation of dogs, cats and other carnivores into Hawaii. This law states that dogs and cats meeting specific pre- and post-arrival requirements may qualify for 5-day–or-less quarantine program, which has a provision for direct release at Honolulu International Airport after inspection. (See “Checklist For 5-Day-Or-Less Program” for details.)
Furthermore, the law requires dogs and cats not meeting all of the specific 5-Day-Or-Less program requirements to be quarantined for up to 120 days upon arrival In Hawaii. (See “Hawaii Rabies Quarantine Information Brochure” for details on 120-day quarantine.)
Prohibited Animals: The regulation of animal breeds and species that are permitted to enter Hawaii is under Plant Quarantine Branch jurisdiction and administrative rules. Non-domestic dogs and cats and hybrids such as wolf, wolf cross, Dingo, Bengal, Savannah, etc are prohibited under Plant Quarantine (PQ) law. Refer to Plant Quarantine’s animal guidelines for importation. Puppies and Kittens: Due to the minimum amount of time needed to prepare a puppy or kitten to meet the requirements of the 5-Day-Or-Less program, a puppy or kitten will be about 10 months of age by the time the preparations are completed.
Puppies and kittens not able to meet all of the requirements for the 5-Day-Or-Less program will be quarantined for 120 days.
Hawaiian Resident Pets: Owners wishing to leave Hawaii with their pets and return without extended quarantine must meet all requirements listed on the “Checklist Only For Resident Dogs And Cats Originating From Hawaii And Returning For The 5-Day-Or-Less Program.” The length of the waiting period after a successful rabies blood test is modified and must be completed before leaving Hawaii. See “Checklist Only For Resident Dogs And Cats Originating From Hawaii And Returning For The 5-Day-Or-Less Program” for details.
Re-Entry Fee Requirements: For pets re-entering Hawaii after completing a Hawaii rabies quarantine program, click here for requirements when a reduced “Re-entry” fee for Direct Airport Release or 5-Day Or-Less quarantine applies.
Direct Release on Hawaiian Neighbor Islands: Pets may now qualify for direct release at Kona Airport (Big Island), Kahului Airport (Maui) and Lihue Airport (Kauai). See “Checklist for Requesting Direct Airport Release at Kona, Kahului and Lihue Airports.” A Five-day-or-less quarantine went into effect on June 30, 2003. This quarantine program allows pets to be directly released at the airport if the pet owner follows strict procedures prior to the pet’s arrival in Hawaii. It takes at least four months to qualify an adult pet that has had at least one rabies vaccination. It takes at least 10 months to qualify a newborn puppy or kitten for this program.
Call me or send an email if you have questions.
Hawaii Cats
Staging a House – What is Home Staging
Nov 16th
What is Home Staging – Staging a House for Sale
When it’s time to move and sell your home, staging can make a difference of thousands of dollars in the sales price.
What is it that a buyer sees when they arrive at your home for sale? Are you selling a home? No, you are selling a lifestyle. You need to do your best to convey the positive aspects of that lifestyle in as little time as possible. But why all the fuss? Is it going to pay off?
Making Changes to the Property
REALTORS often advise sellers on tips on how to sell a home. Declutter. Spruce up. Paint the kitchens and bathrooms. Use neutral colors as much as possible. Wash the windows, mirrors and sidewalks. This is all good advice, but we’re just getting warmed up. You need to continue to think of ideas on how to give your Hawaii home that certain aura. With “House Staging” you want to give the home an overall feel, beyond the bricks, paint and plaster. Once you have completed the basics , then you need to decide whether you want to go it alone, or hire a professional. Do you want to (or can you) move furniture around? Do you have storage for the numerous items you may need? On the first pass, your basic low-cost options are to move it, plant it, paint it, organize it, hide it, replace it, light it and clean it. When it comes to painting, white or off-white is not always best. You should do a little research on how to select the best colors for your home. If you decide to make big changes, think about how much remodeling you want to do and whether it is worth the time and money. See NAR’s Cost vs. Value Report.
Staging, Training and Marketing
I believe that real estate agents have many roles and wear many hats, marketing, sales, advertising, office organization, taxi driver, concierge, confidante and many more. For most agents, home staging is not one of them. Just as you wouldn’t leave a home sale to anyone, leave the specialization of staging a house to the professionals. Do you want to try to learn interior design in one week? There are many resources out there to get you started, but to give homes that inside appeal, you want to inquire and interview candidates about professional designations and memberships. Some of them include the American Society of Home Stagers and Redesigners, and the Real Estate Staging Association.
House Staging – Your Home
Does staging work? If we revisit the NAR cost vs. value report, what do you see most? Kitchens and bathrooms. Although you may not make back 100% on remodeling, you will almost always make 100% back on basic home improvements such as fixing up the bathrooms. Here’s a checklist:
1. Replace outdated lighting fixtures
2. Strip off wallpaper. Although you may like Gummi Bears, it’s a personal choice.
3. Replace electrical outlets with GFCI receptacles
4. Wash all windows (I mean really scrub them, so they are spotless)
5. Replace hardware – faucets, cabinet handles, mirrors, racks, hooks, and toilets (at a minimum replace toilet seat and internal fill valves)
6. Scrape or sand all surfaces, primer and paint with two coats (or primer with two coats). White is well…too white, choose
7. Get everything off the floor and everything off the counters
8. Time to add some finishing touches
· Potted plants, flowers if you can
· Plush cotton towels, preferably in a set. Tied with a ribbon works nicely
· Fresh candles, scented soaps (not too strong though), lotions in a small basket
· Polished stones or seashells
· Wicker basket (to keep clutter out of sight)
· Spend at least $30 and get a nice shower curtain
The Power of Staging
Clean is good, but empty houses are not always better. Staging is good, but can also be used to hide defects in the home, such as carpet stains, broken fixtures, and other deferred maintenance. If you need a professional Home Stager call me to get recommendations for local staging professionals. Most will do a consultation for less than $500 and get you pointed in the right direction. It is money well spent.
There is no question that staging will allow the home to sell for more money. Keep this in mind, when buying a home as well. Compare the home to other similar homes in the neighborhood. When there a lot of homes on the market, you can often find two similar homes in similar condition for comparison. As your local REALTOR, I will keep an eye out to spot that tall potted plant blocking the 10-year-old air conditioner that is about to fail. I always insist on a home inspection and most sellers will pitch in half or buy you a one year home warranty.
Relocating to Hawaii
Nov 15th
Relocating to Hawaii
Honolulu consistently ranks in the “Best” lists among major magazines. Fortune Magazine rated Honolulu as the #67 best place to live in 2009.
It also rated it as the one of the Best places for a long life. Men’s Health just rated Honolulu, HI as #1 in the category of “Blues-proof towns.”
Business Week listed Honolulu at Number 1 in the US from a study done by Mercer Consulting. Among all cities worldwide:
No. 29: Honolulu – U.S. | 2007 rank: No. 27
2011 Quality of Living worldwide city rankings – Mercer survey . Canadian cities dominate the top of the ranking for the Americas. Vancouver (5) has the best quality of living and is followed by Ottawa (14), Toronto (15) and Montreal (22). Honolulu (29) and San Francisco (30) are the highest-ranking US cities.
GDP: $13.86 trillion (2007 est.)
Population: 303,824,646 (total country); 380,000 (total city)
Life expectancy: 78.14 years
Relocating to Hawaii
A handy calculator shows you how to figure out the difference between where you live and Honolulu. For example, if you make $50,000 in Los Angeles, you will need to make $53,523 in Honolulu, since the cost of living is 7.7% higher here. Here’s the catch: employers in Honolulu typically pay less than employers in Los Angeles. That explains a lot, doesn’t it? Anyone that has tried to get a job here knows that pay rates are typically lower. It’s due to the sheer number of retail and tourism jobs, which tend to bring the median wage down. The closest similar income is DC – Washington.
If you want to get a good comparison of Hawaii home costs compared to the mainland, see UHERO. They have data on domestic and Japanese arrivals, employment, tourism, inflation, growth (including Honolulu’s CPI or Consumer Price Index) and forecasts. Good stuff.
When relocating, it’s very important to know about place where you are planning to move. Sometimes people regret relocating to a particular place, because though the place looked beautiful and tempted them to move here when they visited it as a tourist, actually staying in this place is a tough task, taking into consideration factors such as housing costs, economy, standard of living, etc. Therefore, before planning to move or relocating, one should do a thorough research about the place.
Moving to Hawaii
Maybe you’re thinking of buying your first home in Hawaii, or perhaps you’re relocating to Hawaii from another state. Either way, it’s important that you educate yourself on Hawaii before shopping for a home and mortgage. Here are some things you will need to know before buying a home here.
The first item to consider is that Hawaii homes for sale are much more expensive than the national average. The median price of a home in Hawaii (PDF) is $582,000. It appears to have peaked in the $643,500 range in 2007, with Maui peaking (and plumetting) higher (and fluctuating more). Homes in Hawaii doubled in price over the last 5 years. In hindsight, everyone sees that they appreciated at rates so high that they were unsustainable at those rates. As a result, income levels in many parts of Hawaii are too low to purchase a median-priced home with a conventional loan. This ratio, of the median sales price to median household income is known as the housing affordability index. The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index: Complete History by Metropolitan Area (1991-Current)Excel file contains a complete history of the HOI by metropolitan area going back to 1991. As of the 2nd quarter of 2011, it stood at 40. The last time it was at this level was in 2005.
In the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index: Complete Listing by Affordability Rank, the table displays the complete listing of the Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) by affordability rank. Honolulu is the third least affordable after San Francisco and New York, White Plains-Wayne.
Aloha,
Frank
Relocating to Hawaii
Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter