About Waikoloa's Waikoloa Beach Resort

Vista Waikoloa Condominium Complex, has a surprising amount of Foreclosures and Short Sales. In fact, the Association Of Apartment Owners (AOAO) has foreclosed on 7 units alone, now operating 6 of them as rental units. (according to public records - AOAO owned units - A103, A204, B105, B106, D103, E203) F201 was also recently owned by the AOAO, but foreclosed upon by the bank.

In fact if you look at the public records, Hawaii MLS reports, that out of the last 9 sales - 4 were distressed properties, either a short sale, pre foreclosure, or foreclosure - thats nearly 50% of all sales - worse yet, if you add the 7 - AOAO foreclosures, on top of the "distressed property" sales - you have a 2 to 1 ratio - over non distressed sales.

On an up-note, with most of the sales averaging in the low to mid 300's you can still get a good deal out there.

Buyers - just make sure you do you "Do Diligence"

Check on Lawsuits - concerned with AOAO foreclosing on so many units,

Check on Deliquncies - DCCA Biennial Report (June 2011) shows over $324,000.00 in Delinquent maintenance fees - that's HUGE

Check on any upcoming special assessment's, that $324,000.00 has to be recovered somehow - maybe turning the complex into an actual "apartment complex" can resolve the delinquencies? (note - public records show no upcoming assesments - but the 324k is concerning)

Maintenance fees: $567.00 - $1.282.00

Owner Occupancy: 6% - another red flag.

On the Big Island of Hawaii we have run into a lot of issues lately with quality control on VRBOs (Vacation Rentals by Owners). Although some guests do have positive experiences, the horror stories of renting through VRBOs is multiplying to the extent that I believe it is hurting my business as a vacation rental company.

The most common issue of late are guests arriving to a dirty vacation rental and not being able to get a hold of the owner on the mainland to have it taken care of. In these cases either the owner did not have an on-island contact or they were unresponsive.

Is anyone else having similar issues or have any thoughts?

Here is a post I wrote about why I think it is better to go with a management company versus a VRBO

The Waikoloa Beach Villas developer townhouse-style unit for sale (MLS 241983) has a built-in grill like this

With the developer of Waikoloa Beach Villas having moved most of their remaining inventory in 2010, and the short sales and foreclosures having been snapped up at attractive prices, the beginning of the 2011 high season finds prospective buyers with very little to choose from.

Of the four condos currently listed for sale, three are developer. One of these is a 3-bedroom on the golf course side offered for $569,900. Of the eight (yes, 8!) condos with offers on them, four are 3-bedrooms, at prices ranging from $449,900 for an REO(bank-owned) property to $499,900 for another developer unit. The REO was a great buy for someone. It had lots of cool upgrades, with the only downside being its location directly adjacent to the King's Shops near the gas station.

The developer also has listed two of the larger 2-bedroom floorplan for $399,900 and 414,900. Both units are adjacent to one of the two pools in the complex. The only resale listing of this floorplan is asking $389,000 on the golf course (more private) side.

If you are looking at a Waikoloa Beach Villas listing on-line and can't figure out from the funny numbering where the unit is, here's a quick guide. The letter A through O, indicates the Building. The numbers indicate the unit in the building (at many Kohala Coast condos, like Kolea and Halii Kai which are also in Waikoloa Beach Resort, or the Fairways and Kulalani at Mauna Lani, the system is reversed, with the number being the building and the letter being the unit)

Buildings A-D are all poolside. These are 6-plex buildings. The largest 3-bedroom, townhomes on the end are numbered 1 and 4. Two-bedrooms on the ground floor - units 2 and 3 (slightly smaller than the golf course units)and the 2 bedroom + loft are units 22 and 23. These larger two-bedrooms have interior stairs which create a funny entrance where the front door opens directly onto a set of stairs.

Buildings E-P are golf course/lake view (except for the side of E where the REO was located, which has a gas station view), 8-plex with elevators. Again the numbers 1 or 4 indicates they are 3-bedrooms; , 2 and 3 are ground floor; 22 and 23 are second floor and 32 and 33 are top floors.

All Waikoloa Beach Villas have detached garages. Buildings I, L, O have the garages that face out which provide tandem parking, which is considered a plus. HINT: two of the four condos available for sale are in the desirable O building!

A hui hou

Beth

Back in September I got a call from a couple who were renting at Waikoloa Colony Villas. They were loving it and wanted to see condos for sale there. We spent a productive day viewing the ample attractively priced options, and they left for home armed with information about how to submit an offer long-distance.

In the almost-four months since their visit, six Colony Villas condos have sold and seven more are under contract! The sold prices range from a low of $237,900 for the smaller of the two 2-bedroom models, and a "high" of only $305,000 for the 3-bedroom floorplan. At these prices, less than half what the sellers paid, there is strong demand for this project. All of these are spacious townhomes. Amenities include two swimming pools, tennis courts, and a fitness room.

The developer is the same as the Fairways at Mauna Lani and Kulalani, and prospective buyers will recognize the similar floorplans.

The floorplans at Waikoloa Colony Villas are all spacious, townhouse-style condos

With that level of demand, suddenly the available "inventory" shrunk to almost nothing.

Economics 101 predicts two things will happen:

• prices will begin to rise
• the suggestion of slightly higher prices will bring new listings on the market.

In fact, there are currently only 10 active listings at Colony Villas, and of these 10 condos for sale, only 4 of them have been on the market over 75 days! Of these listings, one is a short sale and two are REOs (foreclosures), the bank-owned properties having been in the pipeline for quite some time.

Put another way, with 12 closed sales this year and 7 in escrow...and only 10 condos currently for sale, those remaining bargains are likely to sell quickly, and the next set of non-distressed sales begin a rising price trend.

And now excuse me, I have an appointment to show Waikoloa Colony Villas this morning.

A hui hou,

Beth