Randy L. Prothero - Hawaii REALTOR®

I get calls from buyers whose real estate agent told them to call me to see one of my listings. Their agent can't make the appointment or show the property because they are at work (their real job).

If that buyer finds a property they like, their agent is not qualified to write the offer. They did not examine the property for potential issues and needed addendums. Many times they can't even be reached to get the offer written in a timely manner. You can almost guarantee they do not know the market or are even proficient in contract writing.

If they work a regular job elsewhere, they may not be available to attend the home inspection or the escrow signing. In my experience they will not be attentive to the escrow process, will blow the time-line and will be impossible to communicate with. Yet somehow they feel they will have earned a commission.

When working with me, buyers and sellers get an agent who does not cut corners. answers the phone, knows the market and truly cares about my clients and will always put your needs first.

Here are a few of the things I consider standard service. Very few agents in my area are offering these services to their clients.

For my sellers:

• Quality pictures including wide angle.
• Your home posted in the MLS and many websites (too many to list).
• Color flyers and brochure box in front of listing (where allowed).
• A pledge of services.
• A website with a domain name and sign with the web address.
• Virtual tour.
• Regular Sunday open houses.
• Broker's open houses on the monthly date for the area.
• An electronic lockbox that tracks everyone who enters the home.
• Regular communication with sellers including comparable market reports.
• Print ads.
• The property promoted at regional REALTOR® meetings.
• E-mails to top producers in the area.
• Benefit of the market knowledge of one of the top, full time licensed brokers in the area and his support team.

For My Buyers:

• Free buyer's representation.
• I will schedule and accompany you when you preview homes and point out potential red flags.
• Market analysis and public records check of any property considered for an offer.
• Prepare all documents and explain them in detail. You sign nothing you do not understand.
• Negotiations by an experienced licensed broker.
• Manage the entire escrow process.
• Help with referrals of other professions such as inspectors, loan officers, etc.
• Accompany you to the escrow and mortgage signing.
• I continue to work with you after the transaction if any issues or questions pop.

Many agents have not done well in the market and have cut back on expenses. That is the reality. The problem is clients are buying and selling the most expensive thing own or will own. Why should they entrust it with an agent who does not have enough money to properly market their home or have the time to properly represent them?

I will finish this with a statement I have made many time in the past. Real estate is a full time profession. You cannot sell real estate part time and do it well. Theoretically it is possible, I am just not seeing in real life.

Hawaii has some of the lowest real estate taxes in the country.

Beside being in paradise and having limited amounts of land, which put pressures on the real estate values, we do have very reasonable real estate taxes.

The reason for this is that we do not fund our school system through real estate taxes. Schools are funded by our state general fund. Real etate taxes pay for county government services.

In parts of the country folks will let their land go for back taxes. That is unheard of here. When the economy took a big tank on the mainland, we felt it here, but nothing like some places did.

What I tell folks is that we sell dirt. It is some of the most expensive dirt on the planet and we are not making any more. (except on the Big Island, courtesy of the volcano).

Here are the 2009 Hawaii Real Estate Tax Rates for each county:

Toward the end of last year the Honolulu Board of REALTORS® brought in electronic lock boxes. The Sentrilock® boxes have brought in a much needed improvement over the old mechanical boxes. We can now monitor who and when they enter our listings. It also allows us to create dedicated 1-day codes for venders and agents who have not set up their smart card. I could go on for another paragraph touting the merits of the program.

What is quite disturbing is the number of real estate agents who have not activated their smart cards and those who are not using the boxes on their listings.

Sunday evening I was out at dinner and received calls from three different agents wanting to show my listings in the morning. I had nearly identical conversations with all three of them.

Call From Agent 1:

• Me: No problem it has an electronic lock box on the front door, consider it confirmed. Please drop a business card on the counter to confirm you were there.
• Agent 1: I do not have a smart card. Can I get a 1-day code?
• Me: You do not have a smart card? The Board of REALTORS® issued them to all agents. Are you really a REALTOR®?
• Agent 1: Yes I am a REALTOR®. I have decided not to use them.
• Me: How are you doing business without the card? It also serves as your ID. I apologize, but I am not near a computer and will not be able to generate a 1-day code at this time. If you send me an e-mail, I can forward the codes later tonight or first thing in the morning.

The story gets better. Of the three agents who called, two of them did not have e-mail. I than suggested they call my office in the morning for help.

Three real estate agents, none using electronic lock boxes. Two of the three do not have access to e-mail. Can you imagine being on the other side of a transaction with one of them?

1. No e-mail. Phone and hard to read faxes. (oops I am assuming they have a fax)
   1. One of the beauties of e-mail is the paper trail it creates. If I am dealing with a less than professional agent on the other side, I really would prefer hard copies of all communications in my file.
2. With no Sentrilock® card we will need to generate 1-day codes for all accesses of the home.

If these agents do not even have the basics, we would be looking at a messy transaction.

Buyers and sellers should check out potential agents to find out what level of services they provide. Not all agents are the same.

On Tuesday a letter was issued by HUD letting us know that the $8000 first time home buyer's credit could be used for down payments for FHA loans. A few news stories broke out immediately following that exciting news. At least we thought it was exciting news. Within a couple of days the story reversed. Never mind, HUD withdrew the letter. They were only kidding.

After sending out what I thought was exciting news, I had to send out another message a day later to my clients and fellow real estate professionals, letting them know that the HUD letter and information I sent out was not accurate.

THANK YOU, Jeff Belonger! Jeff the FHA expert who posted a blog article that did a wonderful job of clearing up the confusion created by HUD:

Using First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credits for the Downpayment - It's GONE !!!! - The story of the $8,000 tax credit

In our local news there has been a series of stories about a mortgage broker team who were committing mortgage fraud. They were also trying to trick people out of their homes.

The wife mortgage broker’s wife set up a fake escrow company and used shill buyers to supposedly help folks refinance their homes. They told people they were temporarily putting the deeds in the names of the shill buyers to make the refinance work and the cash they got out would be held in escrow to help make the mortgage payments. They later tried to evict the duped owners. One of the owners turned them in and the prosecutors shut them down. Legal action has been taken to keep the one owner in their home, but the deed is still in the name of the shill buyer.

The public needs to have their guards up. Those of us who are truly professionals need to be extra protective of our clients and be on the lookout for scam artists. Folks who are in a distressed situation are particularly vulnerable to folks like this.