Rookie at Selling Real Estate - About to Sell a Condo in Hawaii

[Katrina Cabral]

Aloha - I recently did a 1031 exchange and bought a condo in Hawaii around June of 2021. I want to sell the condo now and I was hoping/planning to sell it the traditional route through a real estate agent. However, I think that I need an education on selling, working with an agent and understanding their wants and needs, or advice on choosing a different route. When I sold my property in Georgia, I used OpenDoor and they bought the property from me and so there was no agent involved. As soon as I finish posting this, I'm going to explore that route again but I think that I read that they had slowed or halted their buying. 

Here is my question - When you plan to list a property for sale do you have just one agent evaluate the property or do you seek input from more than one? A friend suggested that I should get at least three different agents to walk through the property to give me their suggestions on what needs to be done and what to list it for. It seemed like good advice but so far two of the three agents that I have contacted don't seem too excited to list my property. (!) And I think that I'm figuring out why but would deeply appreciate any insights that you can share. 

THE DETAILS:

The property is located in Honolulu, Hawaii on the beach in Waikiki. It has unobstructed views of the beach and is 'on the beach' you simply walk about 15 feet across the street to get to the beach. The condo is huge by Hawaii standards at 1,500SF and has a ginormous outside lanai/balcony adding another 1,500SF of outdoor living. It is currently a 2 bed, 2 bath. And I paid $200K in June of 2021. It is in a 1955 building and is leasehold which expires in 2034. For those unfamiliar with leasehold, this is a common term in Hawaiian real estate and you can liken it to a mobile home park - where you own the mobile home but not the space it sits on. I own the condo but not the real estate it sits on so I have to pay lease payments similar to space rental. The expiration date means that If the owner is unable or unwilling to buy the lease then at the end of the term the property becomes the leaseholders. The lease was offered for sale to the previous owners for $1.4M and they refused. I asked if I could buy it and the leaseholder said they are not selling it at this time. I could appeal and try to persuade them but I don't want to bother. The place also comes with high HOA dues at almost $5K month.

The first two agents that I spoke with were primarily/singularly concerned with me buying the lease and once that was out of the way that I could not - they did not seem interested in selling the property at all. I'm wondering if the small price tag is turning them off because it's just as much work to list a $200K property as it is a $2M property? The bizarre thing is that both agents seem to be basing my comp on what I paid rather than what I could get for it. I was lucky to scoop it up as a distressed sale and in spite of the leasehold situation, I feel like it is a steal at that price. What am I missing? 

[Mio Chee]

Aloha Katrina,

I am from Oahu, Hawaii and I would speak with several agents before narrowing down and committing to one agent. That's what I did when I was looking to buy (not sell in my case) rentals a few years ago. I think a leasehold on beachfront may not be the most desirable property for some buyers due to the sea level rise (it is getting really serious and affecting many properties) and the fact that there is only 12 years left on the land lease. With that said, you may want to speak with Loren Graham at Graham Property. I only have attended his seminar, but I was impressed with his knowledge on leasehold properties on Oahu. If you decide to reach out, please mention my name. It may help smooth the conversation (and agents always love referrals). 

https://www.grahampropertiesha...