Why use a lender on Kauai?
If you are thinking about purchasing land, a home or a condo on Kauai. Here a few reasons why I recommend working with a Kauai lenders or loan officers.
1. They are Familiar with our Idiosyncrasies
For example, Kauai has many Condominium Property Regimes (CPR’s) and Condo-Hotels (condo-tels). Most mainland lenders do not understand that we have 2 unit CPR’s that look like regular stand alone homes. Secondly, we have Condo-tels which mainland lenders see as hotels. A lender may not understand on how we classify some of our properties and not want to lend on them. Therefore, I highly recommend using an on island lender especially for condo-tels. Condo-tels on Kauai are condos that have an active front desk. Like Waipouli Beach Resort, Plantation Hale, Koloa Landing, and Banyan Harbor are a few.
Kiahuna Plantation a Condo-tel in Poipu
2. Closing on Time
Closing on Time is important to everyone! Buyers want to move in, Sellers want their money and Realtors want to keep their stress levels low.
On Kauai we have an appraisal shortage. If you loan requires an appraisal then the appraisal needs to be ordered immediately.
I once had a buyer using a mainland lender and I explained we need to order the appraisal ASAP. The lender kept telling me “Don’t worry we have a lot of time.” We ended up closing late past our scheduled closing date.
Lenders on Kauai know how long the wait is for an appraisal and will order it as soon as we get an accepted contract.
3. They are Reachable
Communication is essential in every transaction. We know how to contact the lenders here, we have most likely worked with them or their company before. Kauai is very small even if they don’t answer their phone we will know how to find them to get answers.
Another reason that I prefer a Kauai lender is that our real estate and lending lingo is the same. When working with a mainland lender I would talk about the “closing date” and lenders often refer to the loan closing date. Where as agents here are referring to the recording date as the closing date.
Here are some Kauai lenders and loan officers that I recommend:
Land Loans, Conventional loans – Gather Federal Credit Union & Kauai Government Federal Credit Union
Gather FCU will only give 15 year loans and only on an owner occupied property. They do not lend on investment properties. However they seem to have the best interest rates for owner occupants. A buyer also must be a resident of Kauai.
Conventional, FHA, VA loans, Hawaiian homelands loans – Guardian Residential Lending, Valerie Harjo
FHA Rehab loans, FHA, VA, Conventional, Condo-tel– CMG HOME LOANS Lisa Ledesma
Conventional loans, FHA, VA, FHA, gift of equity – Blaze Zeilman, with C2 Financial
Why getting pre-qualified first matters
It is very important to get pre-qualified or pre-approved before looking at property on Kauai. Even before booking a plane flight here. That way a buyer can start getting an idea of the properties they can afford online and have their expectations set. Making the best use of your time when viewing properties with a Realtor.
