Welcome to the Kailua Kona Hawaii Buying Guide



The Kailua Kona, Hawaii home buying process is one of the most exciting, and can be frequently the most stressful, experience you’ll ever go through. This holds true whether you’ve bought many homes or you’re looking to buy your first, whether you’re in the market for a new primary residence, an investment property or that perfect vacation getaway.

Today’s real estate market in Kailua-Kona can offer more challenges because of the lack of inventory. There are a multitude of factors to consider and decisions to make. When buying your Kailua Kona, Hawaii home, it’s crucial to have all the available resources necessary to make a well-informed decision. I would welcome the opportunity to assist you with your Kailua Kona Hawaii home purchase and know I can help meet or exceed your expectations. As an Accredited Buyers Representative, I will work you, not the seller to obtain the best possible purchase price.


What does it cost to work with me?  (Absolutely nothing, zero, nada)  The sellers pay our commission fees.

 

Don’t take my word for it! See what some of my clients have to say about the way we help buying Kailua Kona, Hawaii real estate:

My husband and I have purchased 2 homes and sold 1 with Stephen’s help. He was invaluable in pointing out things we didn’t know about the area and different neighborhoods. When we decided to move locally a few years later, we immediately called Stephen. He listened to and understood our needs, was always personally available during the process, and helped us get a very good price on the house we sold. We would trust Stephen again the next time we purchase or sell a home. – Alex & Kelly

If you’ve landed here on Stephen’s page, you can stop looking for a realtor now, he’s your guy! He helped us buy our first house ever (in a brand new area). That in itself is scary and we weren’t sure where to start. But Stephen came highly recommended to us from our last realtor and honestly I cannot imagine any other realtor being as great as Stephen is. He found us a rental super quickly while we spent the first two months in the area house hunting. He makes you feel like your his only client, he’s always responsive and super knowledgeable about the entire area and doesn’t disappear after you buy the house, he’s still helping us with any questions we have. There isn’t a question that you can ask him that he doesn’t know the answer to and he is dedicated to helping you find your perfect house. Stephen makes it feel EASY to buy a house, cannot recommend him enough. – Samantha & Kevin

Finding and purchasing a Kailua Kona, Hawaii home includes the following steps, which we’ll examine in more detail below:





1.) Define Your Goals, Research Your Options, Make Your Plans

Now that you have the green light to buying your Kailua Kona, Hawaii home means educating and preparing yourself as much as possible. Know what your personal reasons are for buying, and determine the type of home, neighborhood, and features you want.

Buying and financing a home are connected, so you’ll also need to examine your current financial situation and know what you price limits are. You don’t want to fall in love with a home you cannot afford.  Once you have a clear direction, you’ll be in a better position to research housing and mortgage options, and create an action plan with timelines for moving forward.





2.) Contact a Kailua Kona Real Estate Professional

While it is possible to do this yourself, you may benefit by consulting an experienced real estate professional right from the start.  Buying your Kailua Kona Hawaii home is a complex matter with many factors to consider as no two homes or transactions are alike. The unique opportunities and potential pitfalls are best navigated with an expert on your side. Contact a real estate professional once you’ve decided to buy.

An Accredited Buyers Representative maybe you best choice because they will work exclusively for you and not the seller.  Sometimes people think by using the seller’s agents they can save some money and I can tell you this is not true since the sellers agent has a contract agreement to obtain the highest possible price for the sale and that means they only represent the seller and not you.





3.) Get Pre-approved For Your Mortgage

It’s important to get pre-approved or pre-qualified for a loan before you start shopping for your Kailua Kona Hawaii home. The pre-approval process involves meeting with a lender and authorizing them to examine your current financial situation and credit history. On the basis of this examination, the mortgage lender will provide you with a document detailing the amount you can borrow to purchase your Hawaii home.


There are several different types of financing these days and your real estate professional will be able to suggest lenders with a history of offering excellent mortgage products and services.




4.) Start Looking For Your Kailua Kona Hawaii Home

The secret to a happy Kailua Kona Hawaii home search is in knowing what you really want. That means distinguishing between “haves” and “wants”.  92% of buyers use the Internet or mobile apps to search for homes.


Find Your Hawaii Home Here


However, it’s absolutely necessary to view homes in person so don’t make your final decision from just looking at photos.  While the property details may seem similar online, homes can be very different in terms of layout, design, workmanship and other aspects. Ideally, you should view homes with the assistance of your experienced real estate agent who can point out items and features you might overlook just viewing properties online.  Since Covid, we have been doing loads of virtual showings for our clients and would be happy to do the same for you.  




 

5.) You Found Your Hawaii Home Now Make An Offer and Negotiate With The Seller

When you’ve found the Kailua Kona Hawaii home you’d like to buy, it’s time to make an offer.  Again, you should use a real estate professional to represent you with this process since you are signing a legal binding contract.

Once you’ve written the offer, your real estate professional will present it to the seller and/or the seller’s representative. Generally speaking, the seller can accept your offer, reject it, or counter it to initiate the negotiation process. Successive counter-offers, with deadlines for responding and meeting conditions, may be exchanged between you and the seller until a mutual pending agreement is reached or the negotiations breakdown.

Negotiations involve many factors specifically relating to different market conditions, homes and sellers, and other variables so you want a real estate professional agent with strong negotiation skills to represent with this process.  In todays, market you need someone with very strong negotiating skills.  




 

6.) Time To Secure your Financing

If you are paying cash for your Hawaii home purchase than you can move on the item 7, but if you are like most home buyers please read on.


Once you have an accepted agreement, it’s time to return to your chosen lender to finalize mortgage details in order to close the deal. This means finalizing your down payment, interest rate, monthly payment schedule and all other financial conditions associated with the closing and your mortgage It’s crucial for you to work with people you trust so make sure you are working with a mortgage professional that can perform and get you to the finish line.  Your real estate professional should be able to recommend several mortgage lenders that they have used and can count on to get the job done.





7.) Close The Deal and Pickup The Keys To Your New Kailua Kona, Hawaii Home!

If everything connected with purchasing your new Hawaii home goes well, taking ownership should be a positive happy experience. One of the last steps prior to signing all your loan documents will be a final walkthrough – you will be given the chance to look at the home one last time to make sure it’s in the same condition as when you signed the initial purchase agreement.


Once you have done your final walkthrough you will meet with the escrow officer, sign all your closing documents and wait for funding and recordation.   When the property has been recorded in your name, Success, you are officially now the proud owners of your new Kailua Kona, Hawaii home and your real estate professional will arrange for you to pick up your keys, Congratulations!


I would like to be your Realtor! If you want expert assistance with locating and buying your Kailua Kona home, I am an Accredited Buyers Representative (ABR) whose helped hundreds of people like yourself successfully purchase great homes. I can do the same for you.  Call me today at 808-300-9393 or email stephen@realestatekailuiakona.com today!





Contact Me
Stephen@RealEstateKailuaKona.com
808-300-9393