Daily Archives: May 30, 2015

Here we go again with the unintended consequences

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Did you catch the Hawaii News Now story last night reporting that tourists are becoming criminals for simply sitting on Waikiki Beach anytime after midnight (“Homeless crackdown catches Waikiki tourists“)?

From the story:

The city’s crackdown on homelessness in Waikiki — meant to make things nicer for tourists, is causing some visitors big legal problems.

In order to keep the homeless from settling in overnight, the city began closing popular beachfront parks in Waikiki at midnight. A violation brings a criminal citation.

According to the City Prosecutors Office 20 percent of those citations, one in five, is going to visitors, for whom the criminal charge and its mandatory court appearance can be more than just an inconvenience.

Some visitors are saying they’ll never return to Hawaii. Foreign visitors (you know, the ones the industry is desperately trying to attract?) are left with a criminal record which could block them from entering the U.S. again in the future.

Talk about shooting ourselves in the foot!

Obviously, in the rush to target the homeless, the city did not think through the potential consequences of its park closures.

And so here we are….”Visit Hawaii, and you too could get a criminal record for enjoying the beach in the moonlight.”

Seeking advice on selling a house without benefit of broker

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Have you gone through a home sale, or purchase, without the benefit of a real estate agent handling the transaction?

We’re trying to sell our home in Kaaawa without incurring those large real estate commissions. We’re are already in negotiations with interested buyers, we’re all pretty much on the same page so far, and are trying to figure out how to proceed.

I should mention that the buyers were referred to us from a reader who saw my original post about our move (“It’s only about 26 miles from Kaaawa to Kahala“). So that bit of do-it-yourself marketing worked.

The next hurdle, after reaching a tentative agreement–drafting a purchase contract that captures the conditions that the buyers propose, most of which we have agreed to at least in principle.

We’re looking at options, that include hiring a real estate attorney or deal with a discount broker like Jeffrey Samuels, who has been advertising heavily on television.

Any suggestions? What’s the best way to protect ourselves, as sellers, and the buyers?

Once the buyers apply for a loan, I’m guessing that the lender will have its own team, including escrow agent and attorney, but how to handle the preliminary stage?

If you’ve been through this process, or have heard from others about their experiences, please share. I’m sure we’re not the only ones to be interested.