• Go through your sphere of influence (list of contacts) and reach out to everyone who qualifies as a first time buyer and encourage them to contact you.  Consider sending a few of your favorite listings from different areas of your island, as well as in different price ranges to give them an idea of what’s out there.
• Closed in the past five to eight years with clients who qualify for the $6,500 credit?  Now is a perfect time to get back in touch, offer to answer any questions they may have about how to go about taking advantage of this credit.  Your continued assistance will go a long way, most of all to keep you top of mind as THE go-to agent when they are ready to buy or sell in the future.
• Educate your clients.  Send them to AlohaLiving.com where we have posted the following information for buyers to reference.

Happy selling!

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First-Time Buyers Have Until April 2010 for $8,000 Tax Credit

If you can afford to purchase a home, it’s always the right time to buy — regardless of the market. Now, however, home buyers actually have extra reason to consider home ownership: lower prices, anxious sellers, reasonable interest rates and best of all, the wildly successful $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers has recently been extended, and the program has been expanded to include existing homeowners. In addition, income limits and credit opportunities have been increased.

With the $8,000 tax credit for new buyers, and up to $6,500 available for current homeowners who have lived in their primary residence for at least five of the past eight years, there is something for everyone. But act now — these amazing opportunities are only good until April 30, 2010.

Homebuyer Tax Credits in Review

The tax credit creates a near-perfect opportunity for first-time home buyers and existing first home owners. Who qualifies? How does it work? Here are a few frequently asked questions and helpful sites with more information from the National Association of Home Builders:

* A “first time home buyer” is any person who has not owned a principal residence in the past 3 years prior to the purchase.
* To qualify the sale of the home must be purchased by April 30th, 2010 and must close by June 30th, 2010.
* In Hawaii, it will typically take 60 days to close a sale, if all goes right. Make sure to give yourself a good buffer, just in case things come up to push it back.
* The tax credit can be applied to your 2008 or 2009 tax returns.
* Any type of home qualifies for this program, even newly built ones!

The newly passed legislation (in effect Dec. 1, 2009) brings with it a few additional items of note:

* If you are a qualified first time home buyer who is currently in the process of purchasing, you do not need to worry about the previous Nov. 30th deadline.
* Buyers will have to purchase their home by April 30th, 2010, but will have an additional two months following that (until June 30th, 2010) to close.
* Existing homeowners who have lived in their primary residence for at least five of the prior eight years and whose homes are worth $800,000 or less are now eligible for up to a $6,500 credit.
* The income limit for qualifying buyers has also been increased. Limits for a single purchaser have gone from $75,000 to $125,000 and for couples, from $125,000 to $225,000. Don’t fit into these two groups? Credits are also available on a diminishing basis for those above these particular income limits.

For more in-depth information about the first-time buyer credits available, visit this NAHB sponsored site.

To begin your property search and/or find a real estate professional who can help determine what price range you qualify for CLICK HERE.

~Realty Blogging, Richard Nacht and Paul Chaney

Not Your Ordinary Blog – Be Part Of The Elite…
 
Are you ready to take your online marketing to a whole new level? Alohaliving.com is offering the unique opportunity for a limited number of bloggers to establish themselves as experts in real estate territories throughout Hawaii, as well as in certain market niches such as insurance, home improvement, or even food and entertainment.
 
Your blog will be prominently displayed across our website AlohaLiving.com, one of the most comprehensive, Hawaii focused, real estate websites out there.  Blogs are syndicated to our partner sites, as well as thoroughly and frequently indexed by Google and other blog-specific search engines like Technorati.

The Nitty-Gritty Details…
 
Why blog?  Blogs tend to do VERY well in search engine rankings due to their frequently updated content. So, write often, create a following, and watch as the traffic and leads from your blog develop organically. 
 
The Aloha Living Blog Network is built on an enterprise version of WordPress, an immensely popular, open-source blogging and content management system. A talented global community of programmers are constantly improving and refining the software. In addition, we will be developing and implementing our own custom solutions to provide you with more versatility and features down the road – one of the distinct advantages of the open-source movement.
 
Still, blogging is about the content, not the technology. While this blog focuses largely on the WordPress software, remember – As an Aloha Living Blog Network blogger, you are not really paying for code or servers or the like. What we offer is a service that helps you create timely, topical, interesting content that keeps people coming back, and a constantly growing network that boosts your visibility and reinforces your position as an expert in your area.
 
 
We’re Here For You…
 
There is a lot of information on blogging out there, as real estate and other industry professionals discover its value as a business tool. But we know that you don’t always have the time to keep up with it all, and sometimes need some help to get started.  No problem. We provide personal, individual support to our bloggers, and meanwhile regularly compile and feature tips, tricks, and ideas for blogs and other marketing tools on our Bulletin Blog, Facebook pages, and Twitter profiles.
 
 
Something To Look Forward To…
 
The Aloha Living Blog Network is only a small part of the larger AlohaLiving.com portal. And, as it grows, your blog content will be incorporated in a multitude of different ways, creating more and more opportunities for your business to flourish and thrive.

Hawaii Information Service is unlike most MLS companies in that we offer distinct ways for both members and customers to get information about real estate online. Our company website, HawaiiInformation.com, has long served both as a gateway to members to login to the REsearch system, as well as a starting point for homebuyers looking to find properties for sale on AlohaLiving.com.

Earlier this year, we redesigned HawaiiInformation.com, simplifying its structure and giving it a cleaner, more modern look. Now, we’re further refining the homepage, balancing REsearch and AlohaLiving.com to make it even simpler for first-time visitors to get to the information they need.

Members will still find prominent links to the existing login page, as well as to additional information on the products and services we offer.  The cleaner design will also better highlight the featured agent Gallery Ads.

Customers, meanwhile, will be directed immediately to AlohaLiving.com, where they will be able to find properties for sale, save their searches, access public records data, find an agent, and get more information about living in Hawaii.

Two views, one great new look — what could be better than that?

 
The AlohaLiving.com caption display takes it a step further than on the former HawaiiInformation.com, including them both as image labels and displaying them in the photo “lightbox,” which works in all modern browsers – just hover over the photo thumbnails to see the captions!
 
If you’ve not previously included captions with your listing photos (and most of you don’t), we hope this upgrade and wider visibility encourages you to use them to benefit fellow agents and consumers alike!

The summer days are fading fast (is it really August already?), but living in the tropics has its perks, and no matter what time of year, there always seems to be nothing but perfect beach days ahead… So enjoy the last, lingering days of summer and all they have to offer here in the islands, and don’t forget to indulge yourself in a mango or two.

Erin’s Events for August 2009 >>>

HIS will be performing software upgrades to our Web Servers on Sunday, July 26, 2009, starting at 6:45 a.m.  The upgrades will take about 30 minutes to complete. All REsearch, IDX, Aloha Living, and Public Site customers will experience a loss of service for the first 15 minutes of this maintenance window.

We appreciate your patience and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.  Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact our Customer/Tech Support Team at 1-800-628-3121, if calling from the neighbor islands or 599-4224, if calling from Oahu, or send an email to TechSupport@HawaiiInformation.com.

In case of emergency……
You may leave a message in our emergency voice mailbox by calling the main office number and pressing * (star).  Leave your message and your contact information and our phone system will notify our on-call staff that there is an emergency message.  Phone:  1-800-628-3121, if calling from the neighbor islands, or 599-4224, if calling from Oahu. 

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JULY BILLING & WAIVER REMINDER

Aloha Brokers and Agents
Important Billing Announcment

Next billing for credit card and ACH customers is Wednesday, July 1, 2009  
(Payments by check are also due Wednesday, July 1st)

If you are placing your license INACTIVE, or if you are surrendering your license, we must receive a copy of your DCCA change form.  We request that changes be submitted to us 4 to 5 business days prior to the billing date, so please send your form(s) in by Wednesday, June 24, 2009 to assure that your changes will be processed before the billing on July 1, 2009.  Once we charge your credit card or debit your account, there is no refund.

Please contact us before billing occurs if you would like to make any changes to your billing.

If you need to change your payment account, please go to this link:
Exhibit C – Pre-authorized Payment Agreement

Print and complete this form, sign it and fax your new Exhibit C to (808) 524-6874.  Please note that your broker does not have to sign this form if you are only changing your account information.

If you need to change your payment frequency please notify us, by one of the following methods:
a) Call HIS Accounting: 1-800-628-3121, ext. #454, or
b) Send an email to Accounting@HawaiiInformation.com or deb@hawaiiinformation.com

It is the responsibility of the PB to insure that the fees that are due are paid by the 10th of each month or service may be interrupted to the entire office on the 11th.  Each PB must be responsible for his/her own agents.  If an agent is not able to pay his/her MLS fees, the PB has the following choices.

• Release the agent, placing their license inactive with DCCA, and providing a copy of the release to HIS.  The agent’s signature is not required. 
• Loan the agent sufficient funds to pay the MLS fees due.
• Pay the fees due on behalf of the agent.
• The PB is responsible for managing the roster for his/her office.  Fees will continue to be billed until a DCCA change form is received by HIS.

As always, we appreciate your cooperation.

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Also……….
WAIVER APPLICATIONS/RENEWALS ARE DUE NOW!

Do you have agents, assistants, or other staff that qualify for an MLS Waiver? Waiver applications and renewals are DUE NOW! Please read this important information about waiver applications.

Waiver Applications for the new fiscal year period from July 2009 through June 2010 are due by June 30, 2009.

Waiver applications for the July 2008 to June 2009 period will be automatically expiring on June 30, 2009. Anyone who is under waiver and want to continue accessing the MLS service under a waiver application must submit a new waiver application by June 30th of each fiscal year. This affects all licensed support subscribers, property managers and time-share agents. Waivers are also required for each partner or officer, director or shareholder who has a license, but does not engage in sales activity. Click here to obtain the Waiver Application form.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Administration Notes
Normal Office Hours

Monday – Friday:   8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m
 
In the event of emergency ….
you may leave a message in our emergency voice mailbox by calling the main office number and pressing * (star).   Leave your message and our phone system will notify our on-call staff that there is an emergency message.  Call 1-800-628-3121, if calling from the neighbor islands or 599-4224, if calling from Oahu.
 
www.HawaiiInformation.com
Dole Office Building, 680 Iwilei Road #777, Honolulu, HI 96817

Facebook:
HIS – http://www.facebook.com/pages/Honolulu-HI/Hawaii-Information-Service/70158269745
Aloha Living – http://www.facebook.com/pages/AlohaLiving/96969488240
 
 
Questions? Feedback? I’d love to hear from you!
 
Erin Shaw
Marketing Coordinator
Hawaii Information Service
E-mail: erin@alohaliving.com
Phone: 808-599-4224 (on Oahu) or 1-800-628-3121 (toll free)

It’s June. School is almost out, the days are longer, the weather is warmer. Summer is officially here in Hawaii, and for those who live here and for visitors who have experienced it, we all know that summer in Hawaii is basically as good as it gets…

To read more about events happening throughout the islands in June, go to www.alohaliving.com…

Not quite spring, but not yet summer, May is the perfect month here in Hawaii. Its arrival is marked by warm, cloudless, sunny days, light trade winds, and best yet, fragrant blooms of gardenia, plumeria, puakinikini, pakalana, pikake and more – all of my very favorite flowers.

My fascination with flowers started at a very early age, and was only perpetuated by the many hours I spent in our neighbor’s lei garden as a small child. As I grew up, during the month of April you could find me at the Kauai Museum taking lei making classes, and, come May first, I would compete in the lei contest at the museums annual lei day celebration.

Since those days, May Day, a celebration of the exquisite flora and fauna found here in the islands, has always been one of my very favorite holidays – one that truly celebrates the culture and uniqueness of Hawaii. Festivals and celebrations open to the public happen statewide on May first and second, as well as at school’s where the children participate in May Day royal courts honoring each of the islands, as well as song and dance performances and special activities.

Here is a sampling of a few events being held in honor of May Day, as well as many others happening here in our islands throughout the month of May…. www.alohaliving.com