Lynda Gill’s Poipu, Kauai, Hawaii Real Estate at Pacific Ocean Properties

Kauai Real Estate Sales

News Alert!!!  Congress passed a bill for those buyers that are qualifying for the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit to extend the closing date to September 30, 2010.  This is for people who currently have accepted contracts dated no later than April 30, 2010.  Before they had to close by June 30, 2010 but with short sales this process can take longer, also there can be other extenuating circumstances.

We’ve got another week of some really great figures for sales and properties that have gone under contract.  For an excel spreadsheet on what came on the market and what sold island wide  CLICK HERE FOR SPREADSHEET

Vacation Rental Bill Opposition

A bill that would legalize hundreds of existing transient vacation rentals on agricultural lands is gaining ground.  It already has received the stamp of approval from the Planning Commission and has also had it’s first reading in front of the Kauai County Council.  In March of 2008 our last Mayor Brian Babtiste signed a bill that would legalize vacation rentals that were in non-conforming areas as long as they could prove that they had been operating within the letter of the law as a vacation rental.

Little history on this is that for many years bed and breakfast houses and vacation rental units converted from homes and ohana units had sprung up and had been operating illegally for many years, some owners had no idea that they were not in a legal area to do the rentals that they were doing because it had gone on so long with nobody saying anything.  The law was formed to stop any new rentals from happening in residential neighborhoods and to legalize the ones that were in existence.

But that law did not include rentals that were on Agricultural land and this is the issue that is before the Planning Commission.  There are strong feelings on both sides of the fence on this bill and no clear idea on what will happen when bill 2364 gets revisited on July 7, when it goes before the council’s Planning Committee.

A Week Of Waiting In Lines

Two events hit our island of Kauai last week: the first day of the sale of the new iPhone and the premier of the movie “Eclipse” which is the latest movie in the Twilight saga.

On Tuesday our Apple store started selling the new iPhone and hundreds of people stood in lines to get one.  A resident reported that she went to the store at 7 am and was told they were all sold out.  An altercation had broken out in the line and one man was taken the Wilcox hospital.

On Wednesday the movie “Eclipse” opened up at our Kukui Grove Cinema in Lihue.  One couple arrived at 8:45 on Tuesday night to officially claim their “first in line” status for the first movie on Wednesday.  They said the folks at Kukui Grove have been really nice allowing them to use the restroom as they camped out overnight and spent hours and hours waiting in line with hundreds of other people.  One girl who was celebrating her 15^th birthday by going to see the movie arrived hours early but not early enough; at 10 am they were already 116^thin line for the 2:30 show!  Armed with “Eclipse” crowns, T-shirts, key chains, necklaces and more fans passed the hours with much Aloha and camaraderie as they waited for the first showing.

Another New Hawaiian Airlines Flight 

Last Thursday Hawaiian Airlines announced a new non-stop flight from l to Seoul-Incheon International Airport in South Korea.  This is pending the approval of  South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs (MLTM).  This flight is to start January in 2011. 

The flight is expected to lift up travel from Korea to Hawaii but also acts as an important gateway city link for many parts of Asia as it’s a major hub for international travel.

Hawaiian Airlines has a long term vision to expand their presence in the Asian marketplace.  Not long ago they announced a Honolulu to Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport.

Delta Airlines is wanting to get into the act as well, they have announced a new flight from Honolulu to Japan starting December 22, 2010.  This flight is waiting for government approval.

Second Dead Body Found In Two Weeks

 A fully clothed, deceased body was found Saturday morning in a remote area of Kealia.  The body was pretty decomposed so there has not been any positive identification.  There was no signs of foul play but the Kauai Police Department are conducting a thorough investigation.

Last week I wrote about a 59 year old man was found dead in front of the Kapaa Library.