All Forum Posts by: Jerry Murphy

The last time I had to refinance I used an online company. However, it looks like the banks in Oahu -BOH, FHB and American Savings, - all seem to have better rates than mainland banks. Does anyone have any good or bad experiences with local lenders? Anyone I should avoid?

Thank you both for the advice. We did refinance in 2010.

I am going to brag a little because it might be helpful to other Hawaii buyers. I bought a lease with 26 years left on it in 2002 for about $70,000. Then I bought the fee simple for about $80,000 in early 2003. I put $20,000 in repairs into it so it cost $170,000. That is about $50,000 less than my neighbors paid for the exact same condo at the same time. Tricks like that just aren’t available in the mainland where they don’t have as many lease/fee owned properties.

We converted the garage in 2010 for about $20,000. And refinanced, taking out $100,000 to buy the place we live in today.

So the condo has been really good to us.

I am glad you both think making minor repairs and making it look nice is the smart move rather than do a full remodel. The headache of dealing with contractors from 3,000 miles away makes me shiver.

@Adam Britt

Sorry for the late reply. I think you misunderstood my advice. I wasn’t advising a young person going to college. My advice is for someone who is up to their eyeballs in student loans and needs a couple of years of relief to save and build cash flow.

You have to do something to get rid of the monthly student loan bill. Your loans will go into deferment if you take 6 credits per semester. Community college can be really cheap. You may get 6 credits for under a thousand dollars. During this time you don’t have to make payments on your loans.

So take super easy classes that don’t take much time. It won’t interfere with your job or real estate investing time. Then put the money - half your pay checks you say - into income generating activities. Repeat this for as many semesters as you need until you are bringing in enough income to pay off your loans. (Or just do it forever. Bankruptcy doesn’t erase student loans but death does.)

You definitely are not 15 years too late. Sorry I didn’t explain this better.

I’ve owned a condo in Aiea since 2002. I’ve rented it out to the same tenant since 2010 for about $2500. They are leaving. I live out of state.

We converted a two car garage into a nice unpermitted apartment under the main 3 bedroom condo. It has a kitchenette and a bathroom with shower.

Rented separately I think I could get about $3500. But I don’t really want to own a place in Hawaii. It is just too hard to get there and dealing with people from far away is difficult.

What is the return on investment of remodeling it in Hawaii? I plan have it painted and to make whatever repairs are obvious and necessary. It needs to be cleaned.

I don’t want to deal with the hassle of contractors and stuff while I am a out of state but if newly remodeled condos sell for a premium I might be willing to do it. Does anyone know the area and have experience with this?

@Vlad Denisov

No one can have certainty about the next crisis. There are people who can and do predict correctly but being correct is not the same as being certain.

Maybe you are the worlds foremost expert on corporate debt. You can look at the data and see that something is wrong and that it will end really badly. But you aren’t likely to be an expert in everything. A war in China, a natural disaster, a crazy tweet from the White House could easily trigger a recession and make your knowledge irrelevant.

@Adam Britt

Take 6 credits at a local community college two semesters a year and you will not have to make payments on your loans. Take easy classes that will require no effort and little attendance.

Does anyone have an insurance policy that forbids renters from having daytime guests on the short term rental property when the guest rents out the whole house? I’ve never heard of such a thing until this week.  i can’t imagine an insurance company being that intrusive to say they forbid or won’t allow a renter to have friends over for lunch. 

I am often available during working hours. Monday and Wednesday I am available in the evening. 

Tuesdays don't work for me but keep me informed. Maybe some week I'll get a schedule change. 

Don't use Green Remodeling & Beyond. They are slow, dishonest and do lousy work.