A Wave of Giving Creates an Ocean of Caring 

Giving back to the community, where we live and work, defines the Locations Foundation, the not-for-profit arm of Prudential Locations, Hawaii’s No. 1 locally owned and operated real estate agency, with more transactions than any other company.

Last night, November 14, the Pacific Business News held the 12th Annual Business Leadership Hawaii Dinner and Awards Event and recognized the Locations Foundation as the Community Spirit Award winner from a panel of eight finalists. 

“The key to a successful volunteer effort is simple: offer employees an organized and empowering opportunity to give back to the community,” says Bill Chee, Prudential Locations CEO.

In attendance to accept the PBN Community Spirit Award were Locations Foundation donors: Jodee Farm, Locations Foundation president; Dolores Bediones (R), Stephanie Chan (R), Michael Marks (RA), Brandon Lau (R), Chad Takesue (R), James Chan (R) and Mary Tess Edu (R).

Are you thinking about changing up your real estate investments - looking for properties with better opportunity for appreciation or increased rental income potential, but you're worried about capital gains tax on the profits? Welcome to the world of the 1031 Exchange.

The Internal Revenue Code (IRC) 1031 Tax Deferred Exchange is a great way to sell your investment property and trade up to another investment property, tax deferred. And by investment property, we mean any property that’s not your principal residence or second home. Typically, it’s a rental that’s either residential, such as a house, townhome or condo, or commercial, like an office building, warehouse or strip mall or vacant land that’s either residential or commercial.

Foreign investors are pouring billions into the U.S. housing market, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Foreign buyers purchased more than $68 billion worth of U.S. residential real estate over the 12 months ending March 2013. That’s approximately 6.3 percent of the total U.S. Existing Homes Sales (EHS) market of $1.08 trillion for the same period.

International buyers frequently pay all cash with about 63 percent of reported transactions being cash purchases. How the payment is made depends of course on the buyer, country of origin and type of property they are purchasing. 

Mortgage financing for international clients can be tricky because of a lack of U.S. based credit history, lack of a Social Security number and difficulties in documenting mortgage requirements and financial profiles. However, with the right people and right documents in place, foreign investors can obtain U.S. backed financing.

Is your home market ready? Will it make a great first impression to potential buyers? I’ve helped many people prepare their homes – here’s a few items to consider before putting your home on the market.

Timeline – If there’s not too much that needs to be done, an average timeline based on my experience is about one month. However, if there are larger items such as roof repair, termite damage or items that require a professional, it may take longer.