Kona Condo

Kudos in order

Angel Stephens earned her Hawai'i real estate brokers license the old style way - by learning from her ohana. She joined ATR at age 16, learning the ins and outs of the business first-hand while continuing her studies. She earned her real estate sales license almost five years ago.

Now, at age 24, she's one of the youngest RE pros on the Big Island, but is going on ten years of experience in the field.

Angel: It goes by quick, doesn't it? Take it from a couple of former "whiz kids." ;)

To the above we can only add: way to go Angel!  Auntie Geri, Angel, and our cousin Theresa at ATR Properties are the best ;)

W/Aloha

ML&S

Don't know why today's topic hit so close to home...

Mmmmmm....could it be, that we're just about to go online and pay our semi-annual property taxes on our little money pit?

Mmmmmmm....could be.

Uh. . . sorry it's a few days late. (plus "administrative fee" for paying online ((((grumble like Pele)))).Sock it to me (sigh) . . .

We post this (hopefully) with the cherished permission of the above copyright holders -- and we urge to you visit Mr. Peters' splendid site -- and those of his corporate overlords -- one King Features syndicate.

Uh, and, yeah, and we owe our discovery of this little jewel to our semi-friendly daily miracle -- where we are faithful subscribers. (And by the way, you haven't changed a bit!)

Please also, visit Grimmy's patrons, the Red Cross, and Humane Society.

And of course, we cheerfully pay all of our taxes, as:

a) It's every good American's civic duty to to ALWAYS pay their taxes, right Mr. Geithner, Mr. Treasury Secretary, sir?
b) It's all going to good use . . .
c) ...uh... it is ALL going to good use . . . isn't it?

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Putting your mana to work...

So, we pass this along from the Texas set, where author Christine Christine Karpinski says buying a vacation home is a smart financial move these days.

Why?

Well, it beats making bets on what's going on with Wall Street, where the big money "Masters of the Universe" are proving themselves to be the Kings of Nothing.

To Karpinski, a vacation home can be "a remarkably good investment right now."

She's the director of Owner Community for HomeAway.com and author of "How to Rent Vacation Properties by Owner, 2nd Edition: The Complete Guide to Buy, Manage, Furnish, Rent, Maintain and Advertise Your Vacation Rental Investment."

"I wouldn't recommend buying a second home with the expectation of flipping it for a quick buck (and neither would we), but if you hang onto it for a while—and better still, turn it into a vacation rental property—you'll make a nice profit."

Lots of nice deals on the islands these days, and loan terms are pretty attractive if you've got lava rock solid credit, no?

Here's an Amazonian link, if you're interested in reading up.

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Start your Hawaii vacation savings program today

Well now, just because times are a bit tougher economically, doesn't mean we all shouldn't forget to follow one of the many important maxims of personal finance -- pay yourself first.

Most fortunately, there are many great savings programs around, and ShareBuilder is one of them.

There's a Hawaii connection coming up soon, trust us.

Through Sharebuilder, one can open an account with a very modest sum, then, regularly invest automatically through your banking account.   Invest enough modest sums periodically and over time, you save enough for...wait for it ....

...a vacation at the Kona Condo Kona Isle C31 (cue the Aloha music!).

And, if you follow this link, you also get some Hawaiian Airlines miles to go along with it...

There are no account minimums to get started, and you don't earn your HA miles until after your first trade.

To get started, just follow the happy link here, or, head straight to Sharebuilder.com and use the promotion code: hmpem0408.

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Travel insurance

It's one of those things you spend a buck or two (or more) on, hoping you'll never need it.

No, it's NOT prepaid legal advice!

It's worse than that, it's insurance.

Now, we're not necessarily vouching for these guys, just passing the info along for your consideration.  Considering that Yo, is just getting over the effects of a badly pulled calf muscle for participating in a sport he had absolutely no business participating in, we're in one of those frames of mind.

That's where folks like AIG come in. They offer all kinds of trip insurance at their site: www.travelguard.com

Seems they recently conducted a survey of travel agents, who've learned that such energetic pursuits as adventure activities and ecotourism make up 44 percent of those who book cruises.

We're told AIG Travel Guard is among the only providers of optional upgrades to cover such pursuits that are excluded in most plans.

Nothing like a mishap on a vacation to ruin the fun (and the fond memories). Take it from someone who knows.  You can go "out of pocket" for big bucks in the event of an ER type evac.

Not to harsh your Kona, Big Island mellow, just one of those "for your consideration" type thoughts of the day...

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Death and...

As they say, no job's finished until the paperwork's done. 

So it is that taxes are taking up the bulk of time these crazy days.

And speaking of, what is with the increasing property taxes in Hawaii? What about the little people, whose incomes are not rising in correspondence?  How are they supposed to cope?

It doesn't take a dismal scientist (aka, economist) to note that, while it may be good for governments, and all those tied to their COLA-fueled budgets, there's going to be a certain percentage of folks squeezed at the margins.

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It's Capt. Ho Ho time, It's Capt. Ho Ho time...

My, he takes up a lot of space. Doesn't he?  But, then again, he's a god, and gods always take up much space.  After all,  they are here, there, everywhere, always were, always will be. (Especially if, 'scuse me, I mean, WHEN they do say so themselves.)

We are looking at EBISU, one of the seven lucky gods if you trust Wikipedia. Nope, that's not a koi fish he's holding.  It's Tai (Sea Bream). Though it sure looks like a koi. Ho, ho, ho (shoulder squeeze).

The wiki wiki people say he's often depicted with a cod or sea bass.

Any rate, the Japanese drawing was purchased on the Big Island in December 2005.  The fact that Capt. Ho H-, I mean, EBISU, is hugging his koi, er, Tai, means he is catching a big fortune because it is known as a happy occasion fish in Japan.

Fa-, er, EBISU is known as the god of businessmen and fisherfolk. Wiki wiki people talk amazing story about his origins in Japanese mythology.

I dunno.

To seasoned observers, it sure as heck looks like he's just taking up a lot of space, and not doing much else besides chuckling and guffawing (mostly at his own weak jokes) and hogging scarce resources.

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Big news for the Big Island

A long-running fight over a major development (including a resort golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus) north of Kona is apparently resolved.  West Hawaii Today's Bobby Command details the settlement that stalled development of a 665-lot luxury subdivision in the March 15 issue.

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin intimated a deal was imminent in its March 8 edition.

Work was stalled for the last 2 1/2 years after a judge upheld a suit by preservationists and declared the development an illegal use of agricultural land.

The judge vacated his ruling based on terms of a settlement revealed on Tuesday, under which the developers must apply for a rural designation, agree that an ancient path on the site is public and comply with a number of other conditions.

The developers have also agreed to fund a multi-million "community benefits package that will include construction of as many as 168 affordable homes and create a perpetually funded charitable organization known as the Hokulia Foundation, which will be dedicated to serving Kona in various areas such as education, health care and affordable housing."

Details of the story here. But you need to register if you haven't already at West Hawaii Today. The paper ought to join the new millenium. Don't they realize how much registration hurts site traffic?

No comment yet on the Protect Keopuka Ohana web site.

However, Command quotes PKO's James Medeiros as saying the group was never interesting in hurting the development, but sought to protected "cultural issues."

A site set up by the developers at hokuliaupdate.com  doesn't have anything new.

Phase 1 sales of some 261 home sites started at $1,000,000.  WHT's Command says 192 lots have been sold.

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Jobs in paradise!

Mainland life getting you down, bruddah?

Seems there's no shortage of work for enterprising folks on the Big Island.

A quick Yahoo! search for jobs in Kona turns up the following:

Sunshine helicopters Pilots, co-pilots, mechanics, sales, dispatch.  Hmmm. Dispatch: Need excellent customer service skills, energetic, on feet all day, computer skills, full-time position, benefits.

Into hospitality?  Oodles at Careerbuilder.com, including one from Makaha Resort & Golf Club, looking for a front office manager. (Anyone know the Hawaiian word for "Fore!"?)

Or, this generic search  on from the same dang site turns up gigs ranging from manager at the Rent-a-center and Wendy's district manager, to merchandiser openings at  Hilo Hatties.

And, how cool is this?  New West Broadcasting Corp. is on the lookout for account executives.

We may make it to the 2006 Merrie Monarch Festival yet.

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