Knowledge and experience are the keys to successful real estate transactions.

Working as your Hawaii Realtor®, I can provide you with an enormous amount of valuable information on buying and financing a Honolulu home purchase.  Information, plus my experience and local island knowledge, will help you be a successful buyer in Hawaii’s real estate market.

One of the keys to making the Honolulu home buying process easier, more efficient, and more understandable is planning. Knowing what to expect, you’ll be able to anticipate requests from lenders, escrow, title companies, inspectors, and other professionals. These 12 suggestions will give you a head start as you begin looking for a new home.

12 Steps to Financing Your New Honolulu Real Estate Purchase

1. Find a lender. Ask friends, family, or co-workers for referrals; speak with local real estate agents; search the Internet. Visit my References Page for names of experienced lenders who can help you get started. If you choose an online lender, realize they are not as familiar with Hawaii real estate and local mortgage people, and you may need to build in a little flexibility in your closing timeframe to allow for this.

2. Get preapproved for a loan – not just prequalified. You want to know right away what you can afford.

3. Fill out a loan application. See #7 below. Now is the time to gather all the documents you will need, including starting the process to clear any items on your credit report which may be harmful.

4. Get an estimate of closing costs and loan fees from the lender you choose. By law, the lender is required to provide this statement to you within three days of receiving the loan application. Make sure to ask what type of loan program he or she has selected for you, including the rates, terms and any special information, such as prepayment penalties. This is the time to get all of your questions answered about costs.

5. Compare costs, fees and terms of loans if you are working with more than one lender.

6. Negotiate fees. Sometimes you can negotiate the amount of fees or loan points (a point is 1 percent of the loan amount) the lender charges you.

7. Consider lowering your interest rate by paying more points. The relationship of interest rate to points paid is an inverse one: the more points you pay, the lower the interest rate. Even though rates are at historic lows, if you keep the home for a few years, you may want the cushion of a rate just as low as you can afford.

8. Provide required documentation.

9. Pay any required up-front fees. Sometimes the lender stipulates that the appraisal, or a processing fee, be paid at the beginning.

10. Approximately one week prior to closing, review the loan with your lender, even though the final documents will not yet be prepared. Make sure the loan matches the original quote you were given, and that you understand thoroughly all documents you will be have to sign.

11. Transfer your down payment funds into your account four to six days prior to closing.

12. Closing in Hawaii means signing loan documents and bringing a cashier’s check for the down payment to the escrow company. The lender will send the title company a check for your loan amount. Once the transaction closes and escrow clears the title for you, they disburse your funds and the lender’s to the seller. They will mail you a copy of the deed and all closing papers.

Financing the purchase of a home in Hawaii involves many people working together to meet deadlines, and to make sure the legal contingencies and contract provisions have been met for all parties. That’s where I come in. As your Honolulu Realtor®, I’ll follow the mortgage and escrow process diligently, to make sure you end up with what you wanted – to be a Honolulu homeowner. Call or email me with any questions you have on financing real estate in Honolulu.

Call or Email Me Today!
(808) 226-2537
Barbara@BarbarasHawaii.com