This is part 2 in the continuation of my last post during our vacation in Hawaii in September 2004.

While my wife and I were on vacation on the Big Island we stayed at our favorite hotel the Royal Kona Resort in Kailua-Kona. The hotel is right on the water and many of the rooms have an ocean view. When we stay there we leave our balcony door open all night so the sound of the ocean will put us to sleep. If you have never fallen asleep to the sound of the ocean and the sensation of the trade winds blowing over you, you must do so at some time in your life. There is nothing more relaxing and your attitude towards life will never quite be the same.

At breakfast one day in our favorite local eatery we started to discuss buying a second single family residence for investment purposes and renting it out. We discussed numerous places that we should seriously look. We decided that Phoenix was the best place as it would be close to our other investment property. Also, it is close enough that we could drive there and my wife has family there so all around it seemed like the best place to buy. Of course the subject came up about it being nice if we could afford a house there in Kona.

I think it was at this point that the beauty of Hawaii had taken us over and we really started to feel like it was home to us. Of course we knew we couldn’t afford a house in Kona or any where in Hawaii. But I decided that I was going to pick up every free real estate magazine I could find. All over Kona you will find newspaper stands with these free real estate advertising magazines. If you have never seen one of these they are beautifully done with thick glossy pages and each picture could be used on a travel poster for the islands. Brief descriptions of each property are included along with a head shot of the realtor who is listing the property. It’s funny that I have met quite a few realtors in the last few years and the pictures they use of themselves are either totally re-touched or 20 years old! LOL No offense to anyone but I find it amusing.

I don’t want to get too sappy here but this particular trip was not just spectacular, it was moving to me. I have lived all my life in Southern California and when I plan to travel to Hawaii I can hardly wait to leave SoCal. On other trips to other locations it is always nice to get back home. But when it is time to leave Hawaii I always feel like I am leaving my home. And I don’t want to go back to Southern California. But this time is was very hard for me to leave Hawaii.

On the plane flight back to the mainland I scoured through all of the property magazines and found that the biggest and most expensive homes are near the front and back covers. The ads get smaller as you get near the middle and once in a while you catch a glimpse of a piece of property or a home that seems to be advertised at a price that is too good to be true. The biggest problem is they list the homes in a sub-division and I have no idea where these sub-divisions are. The seed has been planted…

To be continued.

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