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Proud to Announce our new Hansen Ohana Member!! Rories New Baby Boy!!
Colin Suda Rowe
birth day of August 1ST 2010 AT 12:24 AM
6 pounds 7ounces and 19 1/2 INCHES LONG
Kellie Pali is the Broker/President of Creative Financial.
Lately, when asked about interest rates
she has called the current situation “Interest Rate
Limbo,” with everyone wondering how low the rates
can go.
In another time those low interest rates—the lowest
since the early 1950s when most home loans were
15-25 years—might have been the spark that ignited
the wildfire of another housing boom, setting off
bidding wars and competition among several buyers
for a single high value property.
Today, with a nervous economy, lowered consumer
confidence, and a significant tightening of mortgage
loan standards, there are many elements that collectively
could inhibit the emergence of a healthy housing
market, a factor that has traditionally been one of
the most important aspects in any sustained economic
recovery.
When it comes to today’s tougher lending standards
—and to today’s historically low interest rates—it
seems that much of what was old is, in fact, new
again.
Tricia Morris, Owner/President of Hawaii’s Premiere
Mortgage Company, says that “We are back to
doing business the way it was done in the ’80s and
’90s. Stated income loans are no longer available and
we are back to analyzing tax returns. Credit and cash
reserves requirements are higher. The funds needed
for a down payment are also greater. We are seeing
more family help for the first time homebuyer down
payments.”
Ivy Costa, a loan officer with Maui Mortgage
Group, sees that the major changes in lending are
guideline based. The guidelines have changed to ensure
that a more financially qualified borrower is borrowing
money, thus lowering the risk of high numbers
of defaults and foreclosures in the housing sector.
“In order to qualify for a loan you must now document
your income and assets and also show credit
worthiness, which are now set to a higher standard,”
Costa said.
“New requirements for credit, types of loans no
longer as available, etc. Credit is now a big deciding
factor to writing loans, negative items such as bankruptcies,
late mortgage payments and overall debt exposure
is being carefully evaluated,” she said.
It’s not all bad news. There are still good loans
available and opportunities that may not have existed
1-2 years ago.
Be prepared
The advice from mortgage professionals today is
to be prepared and be able to document the ability
to take on a loan.
“The best thing a homebuyer can do now is prepare
their credit,” said Costa. “Your credit will ultimately
decide the programs and pricing you can
qualify for. Some key elements in keeping your
credit in good rating is making payments on time,
keeping credit card balances low, avoid acquiring
or applying for more credit lines, save for a good
size down payment and don’t make any major
changes in your employment/income situation,” she
said.
That advice to be prepared also applies to refinancing
and to loans that may be having trouble.
When it comes to refinancing Morris tells her
clients that the first thing to do is to check the value
of their property. This can provide the information
as to whether the appraisal will be sufficient to
make the loan.
“We can do that at a minimal cost and avoid the
loan falling through at the last minute with a full
appraisal cost,” Morris said.
Morris recognizes that some loans may need to be
reworked to meet economic realities “Modifications
are happening and are a viable way to avoid a foreclosure.
They do take a fair amount of work on the borrower’s
part even if they are working with a modification
company.We have seen many go through and
they are viable for those who meet the requirements
and have no other choice. A refinance is the way to
go, for those that qualify for one.With a refinance,
your credit is preserved,”Morris said.
AOL co-founder Steve Case has significantly expanded his stake in Maui Land & Pineapple Co., buying additional stock that increases his ownership to 62.8 percent of the company.
Case paid $15.6 million to acquire an additional 4 million shares, according to a report filed Monday with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission. The deal comes just days after Case paid $16.5 million to acquire 4.27 million shares July 28, under a rights offering by the company.
The back-to-back transactions more than triple Case’s holdings in Maui Land & Pineapple, to a total ownership of 11.8 million shares.
The company held a rights offering that gave existing shareholders a chance to buy more ML&P stock. The sale was part of an effort to raise cash and retire some $40 million in convertible notes, a portion of the company’s significant debt.
Maui Land & Pineapple filed a separate report last week saying it had completed the sale on the New York Stock Exchange.
Chief Financial Officer Tim Esaki said Wednesday that ML&P was pleased with the result of the sale.
“We’re actually very appreciative of the confidence expressed by all our shareholders in the company, but in particular we’re very fortunate to have someone like Steve Case, who not only believes in the company but also recognizes the importance of the company to the Maui community and economy,” he said.
Read the full article at Maui news : click below for shortcut
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Condominium owners, their associations and county administration officials supported the revised measure, but it was opposed by Council Members Jo Anne Johnson and Gladys Baisa.
Johnson, herself a condo owner, took issue with a condo association representing her to the county, although the county attorney and Finance Department officials assured her that condominium owners ultimately would be responsible for reporting their units’ use and would get sufficient notice before any tax classifications were changed.
“I still believe what you’re doing is illegal,” Johnson said. “I’m not buying it.”
Johnson didn’t like the idea of a condo association getting between her and the county, and believes the bill as written leaves the county open for litigation.
“I feel my rights are being abridged as a taxpayer,” she said.
County Finance Director Kalbert Young and Scott Teruya, administrator of the Real Property Tax Division, said the reports from condominium associations to the county would be used as a tool to initiate investigations into possible inaccurate tax classifications.
“We have never been strong-handed,” Teruya told Johnson as he explained the process in which a condo owner’s tax classification is bumped up to a higher property tax rate because it’s used more as a rental than a personal residence.
“We don’t want to enforce or police the report,” Young said, referring to the association list required in the bill.
The revised bill says a condo association would file an annual report of all units in the association before Dec. 1 of each calendar year. The county would provide the form for the list and indicate whatever supporting evidence is needed to determine whether a unit is owner-occupied or a rental.
Johnson and Baisa voted against a Budget and Finance Committee recommendation to approve the measure. Those voting in favor were: committee Chairman Joe Pontanilla, panel Vice Chairman Danny Mateo and Council Members Sol Kaho’ohalahala, Bill Medeiros, Mike Molina, Wayne Nishiki and Mike Victorino.
The proposal recommended for approval Tuesday is meant to close a loophole that allows condo owners to declare how their property should be classified for tax purposes. All other landowners in the county automatically pay taxes according to the highest use allowed under their property’s zoning.
The bill also consolidates the current “improved residential” and “unimproved residential” property tax categories into a single “residential rate.”
The bill is expected to come before council members for first reading Aug. 24.
According to Teruya, of the 25,000 condominiums in the county, approximately 16,000 can claim the units as private residences.
Dave DeLeon, government affairs director for the Realtors Association of Maui, testified that the bill “brings us to a middle ground” with the methodology in which condo owners are able to report their tax classification, with confirmation from their owner associations.
“The end result should be an end to widespread tax cheating, via a procedure that the industry can live with,” DeLeon said.
Bob Fondiller of the Association of Apartment Owners for Wailea Point also supported the bill. He said his group agrees that those renting short-term should pay the higher hotel and resort tax rate and that the association could assist in identifying which condo owners fit into that category.
He said the association at Wailea Point has been collecting information on its owners for years for its own internal reporting purposes and sees “no problem” with providing the same data to the county.
Like others testifying Tuesday, Fondiller said details on how a condo association drafts a list for the county tax division would have to be discussed more thoroughly. For example, questions about what do with condo owners who let their relatives or friends use the condo with no costs would have to be addressed.
Pontanilla said the bill would not go into effect until July 2011, and county officials would have time to work out the details prior to implementation.
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