Aloha from Kailua Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii

With recent headlines (last week) stating that Hawaii Foreclsoures are up over 174%, it has drawn a lot of attention to the great deals going on. Even better, are the short sales . I have seen the exact same home in a subdivision sell for $60,000 less than an REO. Its simple the banks dont want them back and are willing to make a better deal.

I will even give you a little report card here on banks that are willing to cooperate with Realtors

Homecomings Bank : A +

Bank of America: C+

Indymac Federal Bank : C

Carrington Bank: D-

US Bank : B-

Chase Manhattan: D

Countrywide Bank: B-

If you start at the top of my list, Homecomings Bank is so proactive, they have actually sat down and talked about listing prices, will call you after a few weeks and talk to you about activity, and even lowering the price if needed. Then once I had an offer in - they gave me an approval the SAME DAY !

OK, Lets get back on track here. The reason I started this article was to bring you bargain hunters some great news - a new feature offered by the Hawaii MLS, they now allow you to search for, REOs, Foreclosures, and short sales, by check mark fields rather than having to go through and read every one - one by one. Its a great new feature - long overdue.

You can get put into the MLS system by your favorite Realtor (hopefully thats me) or if your licensed you can sign up for the service yourself. Its FREE through your favorite Realtor or about $60.00 a month to subscribe as an agent.

Aloha and have a great day!

Lance Owens