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Retired Army Veteran Buys Vacation Rental Property in Maui: Incredible Before and After Photos

Maui County does not experience nearly as many purchases by actively enlisted members of the military (we don’t have a base here, Oahu does).

However, we do see a very strong number of veterans who decide to move here full time or purchase second homes/investments properties. I have had the privilege of helping our service men and women throughout the years and such is the case for my friends and clients Larry and Teresa Heisen, who fulfilled their dream of island ownership on Maui in 2021. The Heisens have family members who live in Maui full time now, as well as own investment properties, who are very close friends of mine and also help with my real estate and vacation rental practice.

Royal Kahana 213- A Fixer Upper Vacation Rental Property in Upper West Maui

The Heisens focused their attention in upper West Maui as their family owns property here. They fell in love with the Royal Kahana Resort (search all Royal Kahana real estate here) directly on the sandy shores of Kahana Bay. The Heisens decided to move forward with a second floor, one stack back from the oceanfront, residence #213 at Royal Kahana. RK #213 is a larger one bedroom at a little over 700 sq.ft. with a fantastic ocean view, but needed a lot of work on the interior to bring it up to their personal liking, while also optimizing its appeal for vacation rentals.

maui ocean view vacation rental

Tough to beat this view from Royal Kahana #213 overlooking the pool, cabanas, and oceanfront grilling area right on the shores of Kahana Bay.

Pre-remodel photos of the property to give you a nice sense of the transformation.

royal kahana maui condo

maui short tern vacation rental

dining room

Royal Kahana #213 Today Offered by The Stice Team of Hawaii Life Vacations

After several months of hard work by both Larry as well as some skilled sub-contractors that our team helped to arrange, we were able to pull together what is now a very attractive home away from home and lucrative vacation rental property. Among other things, the property was completely repainted, all of the flooring replaced with a beautiful wood grain luxury vinyl, a brand new shower, plus some fantastic new furniture and artwork.

The Stice Team cares greatly for our active service people and veterans, with this we would like to offer a 5% discount off all published rates as well as a special gift basket of appreciation for those who chose to stay with us. Please just mention this in your inquiry details.

Link to Royal Kahana 213 Vacation Rental Website 

royal kahana hawaii life vacation rental on maui

ocean view condo

view of kitchen dining and living area

A Few Words from Larry and Theresa Heisen:

My wife and I traveled to Maui for a vacation in early 2021. To say we fell in love with the “Valley Isle” would be an understatement. We knew then and there we wanted to have a home in paradise. We were introduced to Jeremy by a close friend who assured us that he would take care of our needs…and that he did. During our initial meeting, I explained to Jeremy that having just retired from the military, we were not interested in an overly complicated transaction, we were looking for simple. He fully understood the challenges military members have had to deal with during their time in service and worked to alleviate any of our concerns. His appreciation and respect for service members was evident from the minute we met. 

After a discussion about what we were looking for, we toured properties with Jeremy on short notice, benefiting from his knowledge of the area and his professional experience as a life long resident of the islands. When our vacation ended, Jeremy’s job was just beginning. As we identified possible properties, he would give us a tour via video and send us a detailed analysis of the property, always taking the time to answer questions. When my wife and I settled on our dream home, Jeremy and his team provided outstanding communication during the transaction. Purchasing a property 5,000+ miles from home can be a little daunting, but Jeremy and his team made us feel comfortable with the process, never giving us cause for concern. I would highly recommend Jeremy to anyone who wants their real estate transaction to be handled by a true professional.

Lawrence & Teresa H.

Mahalo Jeremy!

Strong Financial Performance from Royal Kahana #213

graph of royal kahana vacation rental performance

Here’s a snapshot of how Royal Kahana #213 is performing thus far in 2022. The first two months of the year should have been on par or likely transcended both March and April but the central a/c at the resort of the Royal Kahana and some of our guests elected to cancel their stays rather than accept the discounts that we offered while still providing very solid portable A/C units.

We brought Royal Kahana #213 to the rental marketplace in late 2021 which was extremely challenging. The draconian measures that the State of Hawaii has pursued in its overzealous and, in my personal opinion, downright criminal restrictions of local businesses to operate and provide for our families. We live in one of the most incredible places in the world but there is no question that Paradise comes at a cost. This can be especially difficult to navigate if you have a mortgage on top of very healthy monthly HOA figures as well as substantial property taxes with the short term rental tier in place for all properties properly zoned for vacation rentals regardless of how an individual owner decides to use his/her own property (another brilliant decision made by the majority of our local county council members). I key in on some of the complexities and intricacies of said matters here in a previous post:

Maui Vacation Rentals: The Rotten Egg or the Golden Goose of Affordable Housing in Maui

Not only did our team need to navigate these measures from the government but we also dealt with extremely high tensions for myriads of vacation rental guests who were newer to the islands and do not properly understand the spirit of Aloha yet. Often times we felt like verbal punching bags but we did our very best to hold our heads high, treat people right with honesty, integrity, and a high level of service with a burnish passion to persevere and succeed.

R2D2 A/C Units Save the Day at Royal Kahana

or…..

I am proud to share that despite the central A/C system being down at Royal Kahana for over 3 months that our team prevailed by installing multiple portable units in each of the properties to keep our guests comfortable.

royal kahana vacation rental condo

Three Different Vacation Rental Offerings at the Royal Kahana

Our team is proud to be offering RK #610 a direct oceanfront two bedroom/ two bathroom residence, RK #308 a 1bd./1ba., and RK#213.

Why Hire Jeremy Stice

  • Licensed since 2006 at age 23; Third Generation Realtor
  • Top Selling Broker in the Entire State of Hawaii under age 40.
  • $40M Sold in 2021 and a very consistent track record of vacation rental condo sales.
  • Born and raised on Maui; Seabury Hall and Babson College educated.
  • Honua Kai Homeowner Investor and Ka’anapali Coffee Farm property owner.
  • Facts. Analysis. Performance.
  • Expert negotiator and astute contractual knowledge.
  • Comprehensive pricing Analysis- more valuable/insightful than an Appraisal.
  • Complimentary In-house design and staging services by Laura Lancaster of WIBU Interior Designs.
  • Commitment to stellar “white glove“ services.
  • Driven, Knowledgeable, assertive, determined, and fun to work with.
  • Solution-oriented and able to navigate very challenging issues.
  • Listens well and has strong communication skills.
  • Introduced and established Hawaii Life Real Estate Brokers, Hawaii’s Top Real Estate Firm to Maui in 2009.

Work with a Vacation Rental Specialist

My wife and I have owned an investment property at Honua Kai since 2014, I have represented dozens of buyers and sellers purchasing and selling Maui vacation rental properties, and we operate a top performing vacation rental program at some of Maui’s very top resorts.

Jeremy Stice R(B) at Your Service

As the director of Hawaii Life’s West Maui Vacation Rental portfolio and one of Hawaii Life’s top-selling Brokers, my team and I are here at your service. I was born and raised here in Maui, am a third-generation Realtor, and my wife and I have called West Maui home for the last 10 years-we enjoy sharing our passion for it with all who are interested. I make a commitment to pick up my cell phone as best as I can, return voicemails, text messages, and email in a timely fashion. I also work 7 days a week so feel free to call me anytime you need me. I am here at your service, I look forward to sharing my passion and expertise with you. Want to follow my blog via email updates? Please enter it below. This will not be used for any other reason than automatic blog updates that I post. Subscribe to the Jeremy Stice Blog Roll Here 

You might also be interested in these past articles:

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Rick Alexander

March 18, 2022

First of I’m Born and Raised in Maui 1950 Puunene. In the early 70s I came home from the Vietnam War and lived in Kahana with my Girlfriend and her Family of which used that area to Launch the Boats for A’kule Fishing. I Myself used to help bring in the nets and remove fish to sell to Stores and Locals in the Area and Also Bless The OHANA. That Area and the Rest of so called *S Turn* Should have not been built so close to the Water Period. I Don’t Mind Haoles who Buy and Live here but I Hate *PILGRIM HAOLES* Who Buy and Raise The Prices And Locals Can’t Afford To Live Where They Were Born and Raised. GOD HELP THOSE 👹💰🤮 TYPE OF PEOPLE. Mahalo Hope All That Read This Understands How Most Locals Feel But Have To Much😠SO Called ALOHA 🇬🇧😢

Jeremy Stice

March 21, 2022

Aloha Rick,

First and foremost, Big Mahalo to you for your service to our country!

Thank you for sharing your opinions here. I too, I am born in raised in Haiku during the early 80s in Haiku so I do understand your perspective. I agree with your point regarding home affordability here in the Islands, it is extremely challenging and requires a massive amount of planning and hard work for many families and individuals to accomplish this goal. With this, I have been honored to help many people with whom I have grown up on Maui accomplish this and I am extremely proud of their efforts to accomplish this. With this, we absolutely need to have more new affordable construction and housing on this island (both ownership and rentals) in order to be able to properly serve our community. There are many individuals in our community who are working diligently to make this happen and I am optimistic that we will be successful.

Aloha and Malama Pono Rick.

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