Hawaii Real Estate Investment Should Be a Win, Win

Guest Post: This week, Michael Borger is writing on Hawaii Life’s blog to explain a little about what he does as a Hawaii real estate investor.

Hawaii Life: Aloha Michael, thank you for taking the time to share your insight on Hawaii real estate investment.

Michael: Aloha! I want to thank Hawaii Life for inviting me to contribute on their fantastic corner of ‘digital real estate’ here at HawaiiLife.com.

Hawaii Life: Please tell us a little about yourself.

Michael: My name’s Michael Borger. I’m a real estate investor and the guy behind Big Rock Investments in Honolulu.

Hawaii Life: What are you here to speak about?

Michael: I hope in this brief post to explain what it is that I do, and in this and future posts to shed some light on what a ‘real estate investor’ in general does here in Hawaii.

My focus as a real estate investor depends on your perspective. From a business standpoint, I try to weave through all the activity out there to find properties that can be acquired at a sufficient discount below today’s market value. Single family, multi-family, condos, vacant land–it doesn’t matter. From preforeclosure to free & clear–I’m interested. And if the numbers work, then everyone’s as happy as a honu munching limu at Turtle Beach. But that’s from my eyes and that’s not what I really want to talk about.

Let’s look at the seller’s perspective and I’ll use the case of an elderly gentleman I helped just a couple weeks ago. He owned a 2nd property here on Oahu away from his primary residence that had unfortunately been trashed by some lousy tenants who took advantage of his age and distance. The house was in a good area but was in need of some major repairs. I met the seller at the property and we had a very nice conversation about his current needs. It turns out he owned the house free & clear but wanted some funds for another project. However, the condition of the house meant that it would likely sit on the MLS for months if listed. So knowing his immediate concerns, we agreed on a direct purchase amount between the two of us, all handled by escrow. The property recently closed and the seller is smiling ear to ear as he can now focus his energy, emotions and financial resources on more productive endeavors. Really, he’s one of the nicest guys you could ever meet and I’m very happy to have provided him the solution he needed.

That’s just one side of my business and there are many others that I’ll discuss in future posts, but it’s very important to get that out there. Being a true real estate investor in our Hawaii community is not about looking at every property thinking “what’s the lowest I can get it for?” Unfortunately this is all too common and gives the term “real estate investor” a bad name. Real estate investing is about finding a solution to someone’s problem, yet still making sense for the investor as a smart acquisition. Yes, we all want to get paid well for our efforts, but in my mind each transaction is a partnership and everyone has to leave a winner.

So that’s what I have for you today – I’ll be back again soon with more perspective on the Hawaii real estate investment market. Until then, thanks again to HawaiiLife.com for having me. Aloha!

Who is Mike Borger?
Mike says, “I’m originally a Philadelphia guy with an 8-year stopover in Washington DC. That means I root for Shane Victorino (go Phillies!), don’t consider “snow” a four-letter word and still expect the leaves to turn red in October. After five great years in Hawaii, I think I’m finally starting to turn the corner.

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