Uncle would make a great real estate agent.  I never wanted him to be one because he is so handsome and charming – call it jealousy and control; I call it being smart and safe.  Well, we are getting older and it’s time to let kites fly and dogs run.

Paul Xavier & Co. (formerly Real Estate Xtreme) have presented a great opportunity to anyone who is already a licensed realtor or agent, or thinking of becoming one.  To kick it off, they are re-naming and re-branding to Nextage Aloha Realty and moving into a bigger office in the same Pearl City complex at 98-029 Hekaha Street behind Cutter Ford.

Nextage is a different way of compensation for realtors.  Traditionally, an agent and broker have a pre-determined split of commissions, and if an agent sells, he/she makes a cut of the sale and the broker makes a cut.  If an agent doesn’t sell anything, he/she doesn’t make anything.   A wise friend of Uncle was a realtor for the very reason that real estate is the most expensive item people buy, and has the highest commission.  The next most expensive item is their car.  So, if you are going to make commisions, make it with real estate (followed by automobile commissions I suppose).

Imagine combining the multi-level marketing concept of companies such as Amway, Shaklee, Mary Kay Cosmetics, etc. to real estate.  All those spokes that radiate out from your base also help to feed your base.  At the same time, whatever sales you make are credited to you and help to raise you to a higher compensation level.  The more people that sign up under you increase your compensation level, and so on.

Well, when I first heard the presentation from Paul Xavier and saw the slide presentation, I dismissed it as a MLM (multi-level marketing) gimmick and not for me.  However, the more I thought about it the better it became.  This is passive income in the most lucrative and desirable market of real estate, with the option to get more active and generate even more income.  The fluctuations of selling one month and not selling the following month are padded with the team commissions from your 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. generations of agents.  The bottom man on the totem pole will still get the biggest share of the commission since he did the most work, but you also get to share in the “remainder” portion whether you had a hand in the sale or not.  It becomes one big team and it would deserve a great big team party at the restaurant of our choice every year!

Seriously, I might have Uncle get his license, or I’ll get one [Got mine!].  Aunty signed up under Nextage Aloha Realty – for $125/year + $80 start up fee.  I’ll soon have a website for anyone wanting to become a Nextage agent, so ask me about it before you do sign up and Aunty gets credit.  [Aunty has decided not to renew her license as a real estate salesperson – it IS a lot of responsibility and a whole lot more to learn!] Paul Xavier doesn’t believe in Las Vegas investing (yet), and we probably have more differences in politics, philosophies, and poop, but he is a straight shooter.  I respect straight shooters even if I don’t like their brand of bullets.

Meanwhile, check out Paul & Co’s new website NextageAlohaRealty.com. This gives a brief overview of the “we” instead of just “me vs them” kind of company concept. Make sure you let the know Aunty sent you so I get credit.  [Or so Paul thinks that Aunty is cool.]  Paul also runs info meetings about Nextage every Monday evening at 7:00 pm at the new office in Aiea.  Contact them at:

808-483-5777

and let them know you want to attend their free info seminars to learn more!

I took my pre-licensing course from Abe Lee Online Seminars.  I find his audio lessons really entertaining and educational at the same time.  It costs me $425, but well worth the money – as it teaches me as well as prepared me to pass the State and general tests in order to get licensed.  I am also interested in his Ninja training – the cadillac of systems for realtors.  So much to learn, it’s a wonderful time.

Here’s a website that compares rental prices in your area:  rentometer.com.  Pretty cool stuff for a realtor, renter, or landlord.

MySmartMove.com is a site that helps landlords by taking online tenant applications and checking their credit and criminal information for a fee ($25 or $30, depending).  Fees can be billed to prospective tenants, though it is up to them to accept those conditions.  Check out their video (rather long) tutorial to see if this will work for you.

When we were just married and starting our family, an incredible opportunity arose for us to buy the house we loved and currently lived in.  We were renting, and kind of half arsedly looking for a place to buy.  I liked almost every house we looked at, but Uncle would say, “too hot”, or “junk”, or “no more lichee tree”.  Then, the owner of the house we lived in offered the house to us for a great price (Hawaii prices in the 1980’s were good) of $165,000.

So, we did what almost all local young couples do – ask our parents for help with the down payment, and get a loan for the rest.  Because it was our very first time borrowing money from the bank for such a large amount, it was a big learning curve and a great victory when the loan was approved and we signed an inch of paperwork.

Now, financing is a different animal.  After the sub-prime loan fiasco that resulted in thousands of foreclosures, banks’ underwriters are like bloodhounds looking for a reason to deny your loan.  You must be very diligent in knowing where every dollar was spent and keep copies of any check deposits.  However, only give them what they ask for, otherwise you open up a can of worms and they want documentation for a whole bunch of other unrelated stuff.

I have been unimpressed with Bank of Hawaii, the “best” bank in the nation.  I thought loans were how banks made money.  I also thought loyalty to a bank should give a lot more credence to service and help streamline the process.  Although it would be convenient to have my banking and mortgages at the same bank, it didn’t happen, for whatever reasons. [Update, Bank of Hawaii has gotten better at lending now.  Which goes to show that it pays to ask around because institutions change their policies all the time.]

Cyrus Robinson at Territorial Savings Kahala branch is great to talk to.  It’s nice to have the branch manager as your point of contact.  I had my call returned immediately by him, and 4 loans processed, all at the same time.  Unfortunately that meant 4 hits to my credit score at the beginning and at the end of the loan approval process, but the main thing is the loans were approved.  I love the tellers at the very small Kahala branch.  All of them happy, fast with their fingers, and very nice.  I just opened a new business checking account with them – very easy, very fast, very personable.  This might not be the biggest bank but they sure know how to make you feel like family.

Robert Kiyosaki stated that the most important question to ask a loan officer is if their income is based on salary or commission.  The one you want is a person who is paid on commission.  They are more driven and able to find you what you need rather than be constrained by their employer’s restrictions and rules.

We currently use Noreen Ho, a loan officer with Savvy Realty and Loans who also performs as a traveling notary public.  Noreen is sharp, focused, and has never disappointed.  Her email is nho398@gmail.com, phone (808) 398-8528.

Hard money loans.  Yikes.  In this I am like a chicken.  High interest, high points, short term, with almost the same scutiny and qualifications of a bank.  Maybe I need to get over it, but for now, I’m not ready to deal with that venue.  On the flip side, being a hard money lender does sound appealing….

Joint ventures – this is something I am really really thinking about.  There are a myriad of ways to enter a joint venture.  Uncle and I are maxed out on conventional loans.  Someone who doesn’t have many loans can qualify and get conventional loans.  This takes a bit of time on my part to learn how to do joint ventures where everyone wins.  Currently, we are participants in joint ventures with Real Deals Hawaii, with them in the driver’s seat.  For now, it’s good.  In the future, we might want to call out for fellow investors to enter a joint venture with us.  I’ll let you know when we do.

Tempting, but full of tension, are those blank checks the credit card companies send to us.  0% financing for a year with a 4% transaction fee, or 3.99% interest with no transaction fee.  I suppose they are good for short term use, and I keep all the offers in a drawer, just in case.  This is potential good debt that can turn ugly if it isn’t paid off by the end of promotion date.

Check the newspaper and see what is out there.  I just saw an ad from First Hawaiian Bank offering a 30 year conventional mortgage with zero points!  That is pretty awesome.  Bank of Hawaii has a 1.99% HELOC for the first year.  Haven’t really looked into more ads, but I will and suggest you do too.