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20% Rebate for Buyers
$3,500 Flat Fee for Sellers
2% Full Service for Sellers


Service Providers

Escrow Rate Sheets

Home Inspectors, Electrician, Plumbing, Solar, Soil Engineer, Contractor, Yard Work

Termite Inspectors

Surveyor

Lenders, Loan Officers, Banks

Attorneys & CPA

Permit Questions & Solutions

Property Management

Insurance

Architect

CPR

Utilities

City & County Government Numbers

1031 Exchange

Roof Repair

Moving

Cleaners

Photographer

Errand Service

Appraiser

OahuRE.com is making the recommendations based on positive experiences our clients have had with the service providers. We in no way warranty or guarantee your experience will be satisfactory and cannot be held responsible for the outcome of these service providers' work. We suggest you call the service provider to determine if they are suitable for your needs.

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Escrow Rate Sheets

First American Rates

Title Guaranty Escrow Rates

Title Guaranty Title Insurance Rates

Premier Title & Escrow Rates

Old Republic Title & Escrow Rates

Rate Comparision using a $500,000 property.

Title Insurance - Old Republic - $1,900, Premier - $1,950, Title Guaranty - $2,105, Fidelity National Title - $2,105, First American - $2,214

Escrow Rates - First American - $1,828, Premier - $1,861, Fidelity National Title - $2,184, Title Guaranty - $2,184

Some of the escrow companies offer discounts for Military, Senior Citizens, First Time Home Buyer, 1031 Exchanges, Investors, or if the seller currently has a policy with the same company. Please let them know if you fall into any of these categories.


Home Inspectors, Electrician, Plumbing, Soil Engineer, Contractor

Home Inspectors

Diamond Head Home Inspections
808-228-7478

Inspect Hawaii
Oscar Libed
808-728-5707

Grey Owl Home Inspections
Jason Lewis
808-489-9431

Electrician

E I Electrical Inc.
808-975-9111

Plumbing

A-1 Budget Plumbing
808-526-3747

Plumbing, Electric, and Solar
W Contracting Inc.
http://www.wcontractinginc.com
Tel: 808-735-8595

Pool Inspector
Art Pada
Pada & Sons Pool Cleaning Service 
808-395-8064

Cesspool and Septic Inspector
First Quality Enviromental Hawaii
808-259-0100

Concrete & Wood Repair
Epoxy Restoration LLC
Don Fernandez - 808-230-8673

Yard Work / Tree Trimming
Allegiance Yard and Tree Service
808-216-4503 - Billy Balonzo - Free Estimates

Painting
Keri Aybar 
808-673-5087

Handyman
Kama'aina Handyman
808-393-1163

Structural Engineer

Harvey & Steve Gerwig
1039 Kupau Street
Kailua, HI 96734 
(808) 261-1615
Website 

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Termite Inspectors

Fred Chang
Golden Termite and Pest Control, LLC 
Phone: 808-225-1888
35 years experience, a full service company.

Jamie Neely, Entomologist
SINCE 1973 MORE THAN 25,000 TERMITE INSPECTIONS
808-754-1804
http://www.jamieneely.com/

Sandwich Isle - Hawaii's Top Pest Control Company

Tenting and Pest Control

Pest Tech Hawaii
State Termite & Pest Control

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Surveyor

Wesley T. Tengan, Land Surveyor 
Phone: 808-735-4207
Website


Lenders


Keri Shepherd
Cell: 808-223-4118
Website


Duncan Hsia
Cell: (808) 489-1067
Website

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Attorneys

Bushnell Law Group, Stuart Feely - takes cases if an issue was not disclosed by the seller during escrow.

The Grad Law Firm

Nancy Grekin

Pitluck Kido & Aipa, LLP

Certified Public Accountant

Trent Kobayakawa, CPA, LLC

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Permit Questions and Solutions

Trager Design

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Property Management

OahuRE.com has partnered with one of the most experienced Property Management companies on Oahu.

They have worked with thousands of local property owners.

They strive to make property ownership stress free for their clients and are always ready to resolve your biggest property headaches.

They offer a 24/7 online account system so you always know your properties performance.

If you need a great Property Management company to work with please contact Bryn Kaufman at bryn@oahure.com. He will introduce you to the Executive Team to talk to you about your property management needs.

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Insurance

Jack Wolfe Insurance, Sean Brady
261-7922
https://www.jwii.com/

Liberty Mutual
John Coito
589-8920 X248

State Farm Insurance 
Larry Welsch, Agent, CLU 
Direct: 808-225-4982

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Architect

Innovative Habitat Design

B+G Innovations

Krijnen Lawson + Associates 
Michael Krijnen: 808-492-2224 
John Lawson: 808-778-0513 
Architectural Services Owner-Builder permits obtained for non-permitted additions

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CPR

CPR - Jeff Grad - 521-4757 - www.gradlaw.com
CPR - Nancy Grekin - 778-7590
CPR - May Hung - 623-5336
Cost to CPR Property from $8,000 to $15,000
Land Planning - Plan Pacific - John Whalen - 521-9418 
Civil Engineering - Engineering Dynamics, Ty Miyabuchi - 523-6930 
Subdivide - Surveyor - Jamie Alimboyoguen - 672-8589

About a CPR

This means the property is a condo and will have some condo documents.

CPR homes can still be single family detached homes. It does not mean the home is connected to another home, although it could also be connected.

Many times there is some land shared between the properties such as a shared driveway or other common area, but again not always.

CPR properties typically sell for less than a comparable that is not CPR so they do represent an attractive way to get a nice house for less if you are OK with the Condo / CPR concept.

Be aware that some buyers do not like the concept and therefore the resale demand might be less than if it was not a CPR.


Thinking about creating a CPR? Then read on.

What is a CPR?

Condominiums are a different type of ownership created in the 1960s of real property unlike subdivisions, which have been in existence for centuries. Hawaii is a leader in the development of condominium laws and has been used as a model by other states. The Condominium Property Regime (CPR) was known as the Horizontal Property Regime (HPR) in the early 1960s. Condominiums projects were high-rise buildings or town houses or apartment buildings that were converted to condos and sold to individual buyers. Within the last 15 years, single-family homes on one lot were condominiumized because the property could not be subdivided or the owner chose to do a condo project rather than subdivide.

What makes a condominium form of ownership different from all others forms of ownership in real property? A condo project is a special form of ownership of real property. To create a condo project in Hawaii, the requirements of the Condominium Property Act, Chapter 514A, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) must be complied with. The condo project must also comply with all of the county requirements for zoning and building code.

Condo Creation

The Real Estate Commission (REC) does not create the condominiums. A condominium project is created by recording the master deed or lease, declaration of the condo project, by-laws of the project and the condo maps at the Bureau of Conveyances or at Land Court. The role of the REC is to make sure that all of the condo documents have complied with the law and all pertinent disclosures have been made for the consumer's protection. The law states that you cannot sell the condo units to the public unless you have a public report. The CPR documents can create the condominium and be recognized by the government as a condo project but in order to sell the units to the public, a public report has to be issued by the REC.

A landowner may choose to do a condo project because although he has enough land to build the number of units, the lot configuration may not be conducive or preclude a subdivision from being approved. The lot may be too narrow, or the access to the lot may be a flag driveway, or the lot may be too steep and the grade is unacceptable for a subdivision. The owner may have a lot large enough to subdivide and has the required frontage but he may want to convey title to a smaller land area than the minimum lot size for a subdivision. There is no minimum land area required for a condo unit whereas the minimum lot size for a subdivision could be 5,000, 7,500, 10,000 or 20,000 square feet.

A landowner is strongly urged to condominiumize if a second house is built on the lot and a child has borrowed money to build the second house and the mortgage is on the whole property. The parents may be jeopardizing their financial security if the child defaults on the mortgage and the bank is forced to foreclose on the property. The parents will need to satisfy the bank loan or they may have a new partner on the lot under a Tenants in Common ownership and the new partner can force the sale of the property. If the child goes bankrupt the creditors could attach a lien on the property. If the child gets a divorce, the in-law could ask to be paid off his or her share of the equity. Many problems arise when the property is held in joint ownership. It is highly recommended that landowners condo the property to protect it against lawsuits, divorce and non-payment of mortgage notes.

Development Timeline

How long does it take to subdivide one lot into two? Does the streamlined building permit process affect other applications at the DPP? If all goes well, a subdivision could be approved in 2 to 3 months but realistically, the whole process could take 4 to 5 months or longer. The key is to have a good professional that knows what he is doing and follows up with all of the agencies reviewing the subdivision plans. The streamlined building permit process is limited to duplex and single-family homes only.

In a subdivision, there is a tentative approval and a final approval and the time it takes between the two approvals is dependent on the difficulty of the project, accuracy of the plans, the proficiency of the surveyor and engineer, the number of projects being submitted, vacation time of the reviewers, and many other factors. A tentative approval could be received as quickly as 30 days if there are no hitches. Final approval will not be given until construction plans are approved, each agency signs off on the plans (about 12 agencies are involved including the utility companies), DPP signs off on the plans, bonding approval if the site work is not finished and the file plan is given to the state surveyor for his review. You can sell the land with a final map being approved but cannot convey title without a recorded map.

In a simple 2 lot subdivision, the surveyor is the key person that will route the plans through the DPP. In a larger project, a consulting engineer or civil engineer will be the key person(s) to design the improvements, sewer lines, utilities, lot layouts, check for sewer and water availability, do preliminary consultations with the various city and state agencies, etc.

DPP has a lot of printed materials on the subdivision process and the guidelines are well defined. There is a subdivision guideline summary booklet that is available. Clusters and PDHs are more subjective and the final decision lies with the DPP Director rather than printed guidelines. In the future, private roads that are 24 feet wide may not be ADA approved and design requirements may be different. Kalanianaole Highway is a classic example of changing rules and the work taking years to finish. The bus stops and fire hydrants are in the way of the wheelchairs traveling on the sidewalks and need to be relocated at tremendous cost and time. State office for persons with disabilities will need to review the plans for compliance with the laws.

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Utilities

It is important that all utilities know the day you will close so they can put the utilities into your name starting on that day. This will assure you that you won't have any service interruptions. Also please make sure you have the proper insurance in place by closing day.

We have compiled a list of the most popular utilities below including links to their websites.

Hawaiian Electric - 543-7771
Board of Water Supply - 748-5030
The Gas Company - 535-5933 
Post Office - (800) 275-8777 
Hawaiian Tel - 643-3456
Spectrum Cable - 643-2100
Direct TV - 1-800-937-9216
Star Advertiser - 529-4848
Trash, Green Waste, & Recycle Information
Solar if system is leased.
Home Exemption Details
Home Exemption Form
File Home Exemption Online

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City & County Government Numbers

Department of Planning & Permitting - Building Permits - (808) 768-8058 
Shoreline - 768-8015 
Variance Department - 768-8021
Zoning - 768-8252
Subdividing Property - 768-8100
Assessed Values - 768-3799
State Commerce and Consumer Affairs Department regarding CPR Applications - 586-2644

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1031 Exchange

First American Exchange Company
https://www.firstexchange.com/

Title Guaranty Exchange, Hawaii's Largest Exchange Subsidiary
http://exchangehawaii.com

OREXCO, Old Republic Exchange Company
http://www.orexco1031.com

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Roof Repair

Rainbow Roof
http://www.rainbowroof.com
808-377-6172

David’s Custom Roofing 
Custom Roofing & Painting 
Phone: (808) 833-1633 / Fax: (808) 833-1827

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Moving

Richard K Shimmon
2 Guys & A Truck, LLC
(808) 542-5058

Lucky's Delivery & Moving Services 
45-171 Lipalu Place
Kaneohe (808) 450-6363

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Cleaners

Pono Clean - Up Crew, LLC

Peach – 810-893-3979

Excellence Carpet and Cleaning

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Photographer

Hawaii Real Estate Photography, LLC
Tron Von Tran
Tron has photographed over 15,000 homes for over 1,000 Realtors and has 14+ years of experience.
Priced at $175 +GET, plus $25 for big or far away properties.
He will have photos to you within 24 hours after the photo shoot.
He also offers Matterport 3D Virtual Tours.
Text or email him only at 808-222-7936 or tronvontran@icloud.com.

Higher End
Slava Slavik
11 Clicks, LLC
350 Ward Ave, Ste 242 Honolulu, HI 96814
808-600-3833

Very High End
Panaviz.com
Dave Tonnes
808-672-0601

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Errand Service

B Everywhere Errands

Appraiser

Robin A. Akina
Akina Appraisals
Cell: 808-737-2177, Office: 808-734-6138
License #: CRA-157