Hawaii Mortgage Company, Inc.

10/31/2026

Inflation is slowing, but prices remain high. Learn how inflation compounds, why costs stay elevated, and how income growth can restore purchasing power.

Inflation is slowing, but prices remain high. Learn how inflation compounds, why costs stay elevated, and how income growth can restore purchasing power.

10/25/2026

Imagine you purchased or refinanced your home when mortgage rates were exceptionally low. Today, you're sitting on a 2.75% fixed-rate mortgage. Not bad.

Now your family needs more room. Maybe an adult child is moving home, elderly parents need a place to stay, or you're considering an addition.

How do you pay for it?

One option might be refinancing the entire mortgage and taking cash out. But that could mean giving up your 2.75% rate and replacing it with a substantially higher rate on the entire balance.

Another option might be keeping the existing mortgage and obtaining a home equity loan or line of credit for the additional funds.

The rate on that second loan may be higher, but you're only paying it on the additional money borrowed.

People sometimes focus entirely on the new loan's rate without looking at the combined cost of all their financing.

Compare the total monthly payments, closing costs, repayment terms and how long you expect to keep the financing.

Sometimes keeping the low-rate first mortgage is clearly better. Other times, refinancing everything may make more sense.

There's no universal answer. But if you're fortunate enough to have a mortgage rate beginning with a 2, I'd certainly think carefully before giving it up.

10/24/2026

Explore 8 Honolulu Charter amendments on the 2026 ballot affecting housing, property taxes, affordable housing funds, and City finances.

Explore 8 Honolulu Charter amendments on the 2026 ballot affecting housing, property taxes, affordable housing funds, and City finances.

10/24/2026

Here's a question I wish every Hawaii homeowner would ask before the next major storm.

What exactly does my insurance cover?

People often assume that if a hurricane causes damage, hurricane insurance must cover it. Not necessarily.

Insurance coverage depends on what actually caused the damage.

Wind damages your roof? That may fall under hurricane coverage, depending on your policy.

Heavy rain causes water to accumulate outside and flow into your home? That may be classified as flooding, which is generally excluded from standard homeowners and hurricane policies.

The fact that the same hurricane caused both events doesn't mean they're covered by the same insurance.

And you don't necessarily have to live beside the ocean or in a designated high-risk flood zone to experience serious flooding. Hawaii has steep terrain, intense rainfall and drainage systems that can become overwhelmed.

Take a few minutes to review your policies and ask your insurance agent about flood coverage, deductibles and exclusions.

The best time to learn what your insurance doesn't cover is before you need it.

10/23/2026

Self-Employed? Your Tax Return Can Change Your Mortgage.

10/23/2026

Same $150,000 Income. Different Mortgage Qualification.

10/23/2026

How a $1,200 HOA Fee Changes Your Hawaii Mortgage

10/23/2026

How Much Income Do You Really Need to Buy a Home in Hawaii?

10/23/2026

I recently received a call from someone who was seven days away from his scheduled real estate closing.

He was nervous, and with good reason. His lender kept requesting more documentation but still hadn't issued a loan commitment. That's never reassuring when you're a week away from closing.

After reviewing his documentation, I reached an unpleasant conclusion: under the programs available to his existing lender, I couldn't see a path to approval.

The family was relocating from the mainland. Their children were already enrolled in school. They needed this purchase to work.

I spent the weekend reviewing every possible way to structure their financing. Nothing worked.

Then, the following Monday, I received an email from one of my lenders announcing a new program. It fit their situation perfectly.

From the day the transaction officially transferred to Hawaii Mortgage Company, we closed in 25 days.

I'll be the first to admit that the timing was fortunate. But there's an important lesson: not every lender offers the same programs, and not every loan officer recognizes a problem early enough to do something about it.

If you're approaching closing and your lender keeps asking for documents without giving clear answers, don't simply hope everything will work out. Ask direct questions.

Sometimes a difficult mortgage can be solved. But the sooner you recognize a problem, the better your chances.

10/22/2026

I received an email from a newsletter reader that I wish every aspiring first-time homebuyer could read.

He moved to Hawaii in 1991, shortly after graduate school, determined to become a homeowner. He saved money wherever he could: an old car, inexpensive rentals, simple meals, no unnecessary spending.

When he finally purchased a home, it wasn't exactly something you'd see in a luxury real estate magazine.

His first house was a landlocked, two-bedroom, one-bathroom fixer-upper built in 1935. No driveway, just a narrow walkway. Outdated wiring, plumbing that needed work, an inexpensive metal roof, and weeds taller than he was. He used a moped for transportation.

Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?

But he had a plan. For five years, he spent his spare time and money improving the house while continuing to live modestly. Eventually, he sold it and bought something better. Then he repeated the process.

Today, he has achieved substantial financial success.

What impressed me wasn't the house. It was his willingness to start with what he could afford rather than wait until he could buy everything he wanted.

Your first home doesn't have to be your forever home. Sometimes the best way to get where you want to go is to start somewhere less glamorous.