Questions for Kimo:

This Beach House was constructed in 1927 but most of the original parts of the house had been replaced at some point over it's history. We wanted to re-establish it's Old School roots so we replaced the ceiling with new bead-board and added cross beams that were common to the era. We also installed 3/4" Bamboo floors, replacing the carpeting.

We salvaged some molding from a previous project and added it beneath the chair rail to give it a little more refinement. We painted the walls a light blue, and the trim molding and ceiling a brilliant white.

We also changed the fans and light fixtures to a brushed nickle with Teak paddles. The Brushed nickle was repeated through out the house in the door fixtures in both entries and the doorways to the bedrooms and bathroom. We used a Teak coffee table and neutral colored furniture and an orange oriental rug to ground the space and compliment the floors and wall art. Normally we would have pulled the furniture away from the walls but the space dictated otherwise.

Project to be continued...

Aloha all you pet lovers,

Hawaii loves it's pets, especially the furry variety that goes 'woof'!

Do to Hawaii's stringent quarantine regulations bringing pets to Hawaii is difficult if you don't do your home work in advance. We have many places to live where our beloved canine companions are welcomed with open arms and even visiting here does'nt mean Fido has to stay at home.

However, it is essential that if you plan bringing your pet to Hawaii that you visit the Hawaii.gov website and carefully follow the instructions. http://hawaii.gov/hdoa/ai/aqs/info

The benefit of doing this preparation allows you to travel with your dog just about anywhere. Including Great Britain which is equally difficult for pet importation.

Peace,

Questions for Kimo: Can foreigners by land in China?

In the Late 1990's China began reforming it's land ownership policy to accomodate the rapid urbanization of it's southern cities. In an attempt to revitalize decrepit commercial and residential areas China sought the experience of foreign investment to accommodate it's urban growth and wealth. With the transfer of Hong Kong from British hands back to the Mainlands control, the Chinese government sought to preserve the economic vitality of the former foreign colony by creating a Special Administration Region or SAR as it is commonly referred to. It is merely coincidental that it shares the same acronym with the deadly respiratory syndrome and it has a had quite the opposite effect on the region. Within the SAR, the vital financial apparatus was left to operate relatively unhindered by the Chinese Government.

With that said, yes Foreigners can purchase property but there are restrictions. The Government is acutely aware of what speculative investment can due to it's growth potential and has set restrictions to foreign investment. But that does not preclude westerners from investing in Chinese Real Estate Development.

Residential: Currently, since my latest trip this past December, If you want to purchase a second home or primary in China you need to live in the country for a least a year.

Commercial: This is a little bit tricky as there are new laws regulating all sorts of commercial investment but partnerships with Chinese firms is a common investment vehicle.

A lawyer is a definite, preferably one who is fluent in the Mandarin dialect as that is the official language of the People's Republic of China. 

For expert advice on investment in China I suggest contacting HIREC: Hawaii International Real Estate Committee. Some of it's members are licensed Real Estate professionals in both the US and China.

HIREC members at the MIPIM Asian Conference at the Hong Kong Convention Center Dec 2007. Left to right Carol Weinrich, Managing Director International Operations NAR. Lawrence Van Hoey HIREC & FIABCI, Judy Sykes HIREC & FIABCI, Pat V. Cross President NAR 2007, Angie Ho HIREC, Julian Josephs President FIABCI International, Stanley Ching HIREC, Photo by JDS Consulting.

You may contact them at  HAR@HawaiiRealtors.com

                                web: www.hawaiiRealtors.com

Real Estate Development in China...you've got to see it to believe it. Part II

Out with the old in with the new.

China's Real Estate development is literally transforming the urban landscapes over night. With millions of migrants relocating annually from the vast rural areas of China to the Major metropolitan centers, both residential and commercial Real Estate is booming. Many development projects house migrant workers on construction sites in vast prefab housing complex's with around the clock work shifts. Such efficiencies would be virtually impossible in the United States. The wages offered migrant workers are very low by western standards and until recently there was no national minimum wage which is offered to state workers only. In China's boom towns like Guangzhou wages are less than $50 a month.

A lonely pagoda can be seen standing in the distance as the massive Guangzhou International convention center and commercial complex rises in the forground. 

 Photos by Kimo

Observers enjoy a singing exhibition in front of a statue of Marx And Engels in the former French Concession, Shanghai

The vast majority of Chinese live subsistent agrarian lifestyles and the lure of a better life in the major cities is a driving force in the rapid population booms in China's southern cities. The population spikes offer an endless supply of cheap labor, keeping labor cost minuscule by US standards in China's Real Estate projects.

to be continued...

For those of you who have been to China lately you know what I'm talking about, the urban Real Estate Market in China is beyond description, the shear scale and breadth of which far out weighs anything the world has ever seen and quite possibly ever will.

From Beijing to Shanghai, Guangzhou to Hong Kong the Urban landscapes of China, to put it mildly, are gargantuan. The rising steel and glass skyscrapers are of monolithic proportions with cities competing for the tallest and grandest structures ever built; all of which are shrouded in an almost perpetual haze of pollution. Not surprisingly China's rising list of billionaire's are mostly Real Estate developers. Riddley Scott's vision of the future is here in China. Welcome to the world of megastructures...

Shanghai on a sunny day.   

Pudong Skyline, was swamp land 20 years ago...    

The largest, for the moment, suspension bridge in the world, Shanghai.

The former tallest just in front of the soon to be tallest building, the Shanghai World Financial Center. 

Massive swaths of older portions of cities are demolished, literally scraped to make way for modernity, talk about eminent domain. The only catch is the government relocates millions in a blink of an eye without compensation or restitution.

to be continued...

Please visit www.RealEstateDesignOnLine.com

Please join my hui Aloha'Oe

Photos by Kimo Stowell Copyright ©2008

Questions for Kimo: How do you  describe "Dutch Modern"? -Julie M.

Dutch Modern or Neo-Plasticism,  is one of my personal favorite design styles. I would describe it as Brady Bunch meets Bauhaus. Lots of bright primary colors and crisp clean lines. In it's infancy back in the 1920's it was more angular like a Modrian painting. Today it is a little more organic but Geometric, none the less. funky textures and geometric patterns. Overall it's very vibrant and tres modern. It's a style that's been applied to everything from furniture to coffee grinders and it would seem quite common place in George Jetson's world.

Please direct your questions to JDS@RealEstateDesignOnLine.com

Please join my hui Aloha'Oe, Mahalo nui loa!

Every Realtor needs to know someone who can accessorize: a pictoral lesson

Accessorizing is an art form. It requires an understanding of color, composition and most of all association and I'm not talking about matching your shoes to your handbag. By association I'm mean relating objects that you place in a room, to the function of the room, to the inhabitants of the space, and to the esthetics of the viewer.   Accessorizing when it's done well can be extremely personal, it can be thematic, whimsical, elegant, shocking and even profane. It can be all of the above and none of the above but what it always does is draw the eye through the space on a journey of discovery, like traveling to another world; a world you want to inhabit. 

Above we have assembled Asian themed accessories to create interest in this family room. Our color palate consists of light greens, light blues, dark blues, ocher and maroon. All of these colors can be found in the Chinese cloissone box and dish in the right hand picture picture. The sofa is made of Bamboo and has an ochre tone, the horsetail set in vase intimates the look and natural color of Bamboo. The colors of the sofa pillows draw out the blues, maroons, and greens in the objects in the room.  

Below are pictures of Chinese landscapes with ochre colored bamboo frames. The ochre colored soapstone figurine is of a Chinese family which subtly suggests the function of the space.  The end effect is a cohesive thematic message that moves the observer through the space through repetition.

    Photos by Kimo 

Accessorizing allows the viewer to interact with the space. When you do that you are in fact living in the space not just looking at it. As a sellers agent you ultimately want your clients to see themselves inhabiting the properties you show them. Flat screen TV's make great accessories because most buyers watch TV and love the movies so the bigger the screen the better, to a point.

Personalized items of current residents do not make good accessories because they remind the viewer that this is someone else's home not their own.   Using theme's or a particular style unites the space into a coherent unit. Coordinating colors pulls the eye through the space creating depth and this has a pleasing effect to the brain, so much so, that people will linger longer in a spaces where colors schemes of complimenting and matching color work harmoniously and flee spaces that are monochromatic and void of color. On the opposite side of the spectrum too much color can overwhelm the senses causing the viewer to see nothing but color so balance is of utmost importance.       

More importantly, if you think accessorizing is not important or that anybody can do-it, think again. Take a look at professionally staged homes versus the do-it-yourself variety. Almost in all situations with few exceptions, the professionally staged homes are better received and receive better offers. That attention to detail can make that sale especially when the markets stale.  

The devil and God are in the details...  

Please Visit my website at www.RealEstateDesignOnLine.com  

Please join Aloha' Oe if you like what you see.

Questions for Kimo:  I was thinking of retiring to the Big Island of Hawaii but what are the lending reg's and can you even get a mortgage on a home near a volcano?

It all depends on how close you are to the volcano; the closer you get the harder it becomes. There is a number rating system that lenders use to rate the risk of living in the shadow of an active volcano from 1 to 5.  1 being the closest. It depends on the lender but most lenders will not lend on anything under a 3 value and than the loan amounts can be limited. Of course the land closest to the volcano can be  substantially less expensive than land that has a 5 rating. So if your looking for property on the Big Island be aware that home and land prices will reflect their proximity to the active volcano and though the price may seem a great value in comparison it probably means its a little to close for most peoples and definitely lenders comfort.

Please direct your questions to: JDS@RealEstateDesignOnLine.com

Questions for Kimo: I just heard that Kilauea Volcano erupted last night for the first time in a century, I thought it erupted more recently than that? And are people's home's in danger?  

Yes, Kilauea did indeed erupt last night, as in it spewed rocks and gas; No lava though and no homes harmed. Kilauea has been in a state of constant 'Flow' since the 1980's, that is to say that molten lava has been oozing from it for over twenty years but it hasn't exploded as it did last night since the early 20th century.

You can find out more here http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/specials/kilauea-volcano/

Questions for Kimo: I heard someone describe a room as goo de rot child or something like that, what on earth are they talking about?

'goo de rot child' as you put phonetically is actually 'Gout de Rothschild.' pronounced 'goo-de-roth-shield' The phrase is French, and it's literal translation means In the taste of the Rothschild's. It's a term used to describe an opulence and grandeur that spares no expense. Historically speaking the phrase was coined to describe the design style of one of the wealthiest families in Europe. Today the term belies a certain detail to quality that one found in the 18th and 19th centuries that is jaw droppingly luxurious and by American standards, way over the top.  Some of the Guilded Age homes in Newport R.I. are the closest thing America has to this design esthetic.

Please direct your questions to JDS@RealEstateDesignOnLine.com