Diana J Woods - Big Island Hawaii

If you are thinking about remodeling on a budget, you want to spend your money where it will have the best chance of being recouped when it's time to sell. Assuming your house already has fabulous curb appeal, the first place to start is the kitchen.

•· Kitchen lights. Install new kitchen light fixtures. Consider a pendant light over an island or peninsula. Maybe replace the sink and its hardware.

•· Kitchen cabinets. Add roll-out organizing trays. Recondition the wood with oil. Put on new hardware. If the cabinets are just too beat up, buy new doors and drawer fronts. Reface the boxes. There are companies in Kona that specialize in this. Counter tops. Skip the solid nature stone. Go with stone tile or another solid surface. Maybe adding a new backsplash is all that is required. If you live with humidity, Formica counters may not be a good choice because it's made with particle board. Since low cost Formica counters have surface seams at the corners, moisture can get in and swelling results.

•· Breakfast bar. When you have the opportunity to cut an opening in a wall that separates the kitchen, make it an oversized breakfast bar.

•· Bathroom. Install a new medicine cabinet, and new light fixtures. If you have tile grout, lightly scrape and re-grout. After the old tile is buffed it will look better too. Add a French shower door. That will take eyes off the old tile.

•· Basement. If you have a basement with cement walls, have a contractor fill the cracks with hydraulic cement and finish first with waterproofing paint and then color. Use a quality floor paint to further spruce up the space.

•· Add a room. If you have a large space, consider adding a wall to make a new bedroom or study.

•· Lights. Install new light fixtures in the foyer. Install dimmer switches around the house where they would be appreciated.

•· Garage. Replace the garage door opener with a remoter touchpad entry system.

•· Front door. A pretty new front door is good value. Don't forget to spruce up the front lanai or walkway.

For more information about Hawaii Island's Kona, Kamuela and the Kohala Coast, go to BigIslandOceanfront.com or email us.

Living in paradise isn't always paradise. Yes the weather's usually great, the beach is warm, and Hawaii Regional Cuisine is easy to find in Kamuela and the Kohala Coast. But we are occasionally reminded that we live in the back waters of the mid-Pacific, especially when seeking local government service.

The past few years I have been dutifully collecting my e-waste. Old printers, old PDAs, and anything electrical has been gathering in a sturdy cardboard box in the workshop. Planning a trip into Kona this week, I called the e-waste recycling business I saw advertised. The ad referenced a fee. A fee? The best way to encourage citizens not to put e-waste in the landfill is by charging a fee? Well, it can't be much. Wrong! In my case, handling my e-waste responsibly will cost about $100.

"We haven't received a subsidy check from Hawaii County since January," said Kona's Compucycle clerk. "True," said one County Councilman's legislative assistant. "I believe the County canceled that contract." The Mayor's Executive Assistant, Bobby Command, said we still do budget for a subsidy, but funds always run out too early. I asked him if the County can create a consumer tax levied at the time of an electronic purchase to fund the subsidy? Only the state can do that, he said.

So I emailed my state representative. Sadly, I don't harbor hope for state legislators to pay any attention to my suggestion. Most voters are on Oahu, where they have Best Buy, a retailer which accepts e-waste at no charge. I guess I can pay the $100 to get rid of my e-waste, or take it all with me to Oahu on my next trip and visit Best Buy. To be environmentally responsible while "living Hawaii" on the Big Island can require a fat wallet.

Diana also writes the BigIslandHawaiiLuxury.com blog.

Over the past few months my sunny optimism has been stunned into silence. Advisers are saying don't read the news. Pay close attention to the market and prepare for the turn around.

I can't stop reading the news. I'm a voracious reader. I read, listen and watch international and national economists, and discuss the local market with professionals I trust. Consequently, I've been in a funk. I don't know if it's the decision by opinion leaders to moderate the gloom and doom, but this morning I heard a fleeting bit of good news from the powers that be in Honolulu. I didn't hear the source, but someone said prepare now for the 2010 turn around in the real estate market.

I am so ready to believe this. My spirits immediately jumped. I have noticed neighborhoods favored by second homeowners here on the sun drenched Kohala Coast have, for the most part, not been in a value free fall. Sure, the property values have been slipping, but they haven't been dropping like a stone, especially high end property.

I have noticed that neighborhoods favored by permanent residents have been losing value much more quickly. As a reult, those are the homes going into escrow. Granted it may only be a few each week, and some may come back on the market, but the point is there are buyers out there.

At my office in the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, in the Mauna Kea Resort, there's been a steady stream of folks dropping by looking for a steal. They are looking for the prices they are seeing in their hometowns. And they continue to be disappointed. The value of homes in tennis and golf resort neighborhoods near the beach, with resort amenities, have slipped in value since 2006, but considering the global circumstances, they are holding their value. Most owners in these posh communities don't have to sell. They would rather give the property to their kids than lose money. As a result, the deal seekers in the one million plus range continue to wait. I caution them to watch interest rates closely. A one point rise in rates can wipe out a heck of a lot of price reduction.

Luxury property investors who really want a deal should lower their sights and notice where the locals are buying. The best neighborhood to find a deal lately in South Kohala is windy Waikoloa Village. Can you find a fixer upper under $300,000? Yes. And it may have a peek-a-boo ocean view. I'd be happy to email you today's list with photo links.

When the muse of hope and blogging strikes me again, I'll see you here. In the meantime I will continue to watch the market, listen to the experts, and keep track of which properties are worth seeing. A hui hou!

You've once again returned home from vacationing on the Big Island's Kohala Coast thinking about buying a second home in the area. You stayed at a fabulous hotel, and you played golf at Mauna Kea Resort. While you were there, you saw the oceanfront tennis courts and Kauna'oa Beach - the best beach on the Big Island. Hmmm. Maybe this is a good place to buy your Hawaiian vacation home, or company retreat. But you're not sure.

Try before you buy! Many Mauna Kea Resort luxury homes are available to rent. Condos with huge ocean views located on the golf course start around $500 per night. Very large ocean view homes are also available. If you would like a brochure describing the available properties, just give me a call. October is the time to book accommodations for the holidays. I would be happy to suggest a variety of things to do and see while you are here. A hui hou!

I just read the October/November edition of The Robb Report Vacation Homes magazine. The article "insuring your vacation home against visitor mishaps," by John Morrell and Nikki Swink, had some very good information for second home owners.

We know home insurance protects us when a guest hurts herself while visiting. But did you know there is insurance specifically for vacation homes? If you don't have it already, it's a good reason to touch base with your insurance broker. Your broker will want to know if the home will only be used by you, or will you rent it? How many days a year will it be used thus?

You may have decided to insure your vacation rental as an owner-occupied residence to save money on the premium. Your policy may then be void should a tenant injure herself. What if you don't rent it, but you occasionally loan it to friends? Then your policy needs a guest provision. You may want this provision to cover your guests against wrongful entry or eviction.

If you own a condotel or conhotel, be sure to provide your insurance broker with copies of that neighborhood's bylaws and rental management agreement. You want to be certain your policy is written to accommodate this new breed of real estate.

Do you already have the correct policy on another vacation home? Ask your insurance broker if an umbrella policy would be a good fit. Be sure to share how the properties are held. Are they in a trust, LLC, partnership or corporate entity?

As you know, how your vacation home is used may also have tax consequences, either now or when you want to sell. If you are on the ball with your 2008 taxes and are talking to your CPA this month, you might check to make sure you are on the same page in this respect.

If all this has got you thinking about your next visit to relax in your beautiful Big Island vacation home, please don't forget to stop by my Mauna Kea Resort office on the Kohala Coast and say hello! I love to talk story.