Are you searching for a new home in Hawaii? Or have you lived here for awhile and deciding now may be the time to sell your home and move up? You may be seeing countless faces of Realtors on Zillow, Realtor.com, the MLS, on signs and ads around West Hawaii. How do you choose the right person to represent you on one of the single biggest financial decisions in your life? LUVA Real Estate would like to offer a few suggestions to help make the process less stressful.

Referrals

Most people say they found their Realtor through a trusted source, friend, family member, etc. If a Realtor has done an exceptional job for someone you know, that could be a great start. However, you may be new to the island and have no friends or anyone to ask their opinion! Reading through testimonials on Zillow can be painful, but you can also use Yelp.

Interviewing

During your search for homes on the local MLS, you may see a few names of agents keep popping up showing their expertise in the area. Or you may do a search through a real estate company’s roster list reading bios and see someone who pops out to you as someone you share a common bond with. Call them and ask them if you can interview them to see if you feel if it’s a good personal fit. If you are the kind of person that likes to be kept in the loop constantly, ask the agent if they work that way. It is better to know up front how an agent likes to communicate and how frequently so you both set realistic expectations. You can ask for a phone interview or even a Skype/Zoom or face to face if you are on island.  No, not all Realtors are the same, and each has a different expertise based on what you are looking to buy or marketing/negotiation skills for sellers.

Communication tactics

Communication in the transaction is as important as location is for real estate. If you want someone to pick up the phone and call you, or you don’t want to talk to anyone and want to do everything through text and email, you need to make sure the agent you choose is on the same communication “platform” as yourself.  Also, the three to six hour time difference from the mainland, may have some agents requesting phone calls and communication start after 8 am HST, but if you have other ideas, make sure you are upfront with your expectations. Remember, the interview goes both ways!

The key is to find someone you want to work with over the course of a few months and sometimes even over a year, as many buyers contact an agent in advance to ensure they have all their ducks in a row to make a home purchase and a move to an island.

Let us make a few introductions to some of our LUVA Realtors! From professionals who were born and raised on the island, to people who had full lives on the mainland and came to Hawaii to fulfill a dream, to people who came to raise their families, we have some amazing Realtors who can help you with your buying and selling needs!

Cindy Regli

Living And Selling Hawaii ~ Aloha Style!

Cindy began here real estate career in 2004 in Northern California. After many years of vacationing in Hawaii she and her husband fell in love with the Big Island and decided to embrace the Aloha dream FULL TIME. “We purchased our home in Kona in 2010 and have adjusted to life on an island where the weather offers eternal spring, spectacular sunsets and endless smiles. My commitment throughout the years has been to provide my clients with the utmost honesty, integrity and unparalleled service”.

Cindy’s motto is: Cherish every moment and remember no dream is too big!!!  Contact Cindy to learn more here. 

Larry Roy

After buying his home with help from the LUVA Team, Larry was driven to become part of this amazing family of professionals. Retired military, small business owner and professional musician; Larry brings a lifetime of experience and energy to his new found passion in real estate here on the Big Island.

Larry grew up in a small town in Illinois and enlisted in the USAF shortly after graduating high school at the age of 18. He began his career as an aircraft mechanic and then found his new passion as a C-5 Aircraft Flight Engineer where he remained for the next 20 years. He lived in several different states, lived in Europe for 4 years and traveled to some of the most amazing (and sometimes not so amazing) places on the planet, eventually retiring in Dover, DE after 27 years of service. After retirement he and his wife Jodi decided the Big Island was the perfect place to begin the next chapter of their lives and are now living their dream with their son Gabe and two chocolate labs in Mountain View on the East Side of the Big Island.

Mike Hammanwright

Before joining the LUVA Team Mike embraced his entrepreneurial spirit by founding and serving as CEO of Revolution Cycles, a Washington DC Metro area based multi-store retailer annually selected as one of America’s Best Bike Shops. The culture of his company was rooted in the core value that their greatest asset wore shoes; namely their customers and the amazing staff that served them.

A native Californian, Mike was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and first discovered his passion for the Big Island of HawaiI during a visit in 2002. Mike and his family returned every year to explore the island and its rich culture where his desire to call Hawaii “home” continued to grow. Contact Mike to learn more here. 

Andy Estrada

Andy has specialized in the luxury home market since 1998. Over the past 20 years he has created a niche in the Hualalai & Kukio developments located in West Hawaii.  Andy loves to spend time with family in Kohala and is an avid surfer & hunter.

Anna Brough

Being born and raised in Kailua Kona, Anna brings a relaxed style to the real estate industry.

Both her husband and Anna’s love for Hawaii and the warm salt air brought them back to Hawaii in 2008 from California. Raising their two girls, a dog, a cat, and a chicken named Carol, they spend most of their time in the waves. Always planning a new family adventure, whether it’s to snowboard or to surf, Anna loves exploring the Big Island. Together with her husband, Anna owns a successful woodworking business in town. When not at the office you will find her in their shop, listening to podcasts while assembling and sanding. Her husband doesn’t like her on the table saw or bandsaw…she happily agrees.

With all ten fingers, her knowledge of the Big Island, and deep roots in the community, Anna loves being able to help people. Whether you are selling, want land to build, or first time home buyer, she will do her best to find the perfect fit.

Anna’s dream job?  Helicopter pilot, professional puzzle assembler, and lifestyle surfer.

If you would like to contact Anna, here is her contact info.