Gina's Blog

Aloha:In Hawaii we call our Mother in Law, or In Law suites Ohanas.  These Ohanas can vary from a separate cottage on the property or an attached Ohana.  Properties with Cottage Ohanas have to be over a certain square foot size and depending on the size will dictate the size of the Ohana. In Maui...

The Top Ten Payback projects for year ending 2008 are in!  Survey sent nationally by Hanley Wood LLC breaks down this by area. Since Maui is too small on a national scale I will share with my readers the Honolulu results. Attic remodel to a Bedroom (Here in Maui that would be a loft conversion) C...

There is alot happening in Central Kihei.  Kalama Park was one of the reasons we moved to Kihei when my son was younger.  It has a fabulous playset for younger kids, a skatepark for older kids, and a skating rink (roller or blade) for kids of all ages, not to mention the surfing. So what is a Mau...

In Hawaiian Language which I speak "small kine" to my son one of the words I use is Kuleana.  When he was younger I used it in terms of homework.  It is your kuleana or job.  But that is not the true Hawaiian meaning.  It goes deeper. Kuleana is your Responsibility or the Right thing to do.  In H...

On October 9th (TOMORROW as of this writing) will be the 3rd monthly meeting of South Maui Sustainability. This months topic is Conservation. We will have Carl Freedman speaking on "Vast VS Practical - Our individual roles and opportunities towards sustainability". We will have MECO, Water Dept a...

Finally a website that lets community members be in charge of content and is interactive. in addition to the great blogs on Localism.com for Kihei Check out the www.SouthMauiGuide.com that we have sponsored as a forum for South Maui Residents to post classified ads (incl your vacation rental cond...

The Big Headline today was the Governments seizure of WAMU (Washington Mutual).  As I have several short sales pending with WAMU this is of concern to me and I'm sure other agents. I have my Escrow officer looking into who we will be communicating with from now on due to today's event.  They are ...

There is something in the air at the Maui Ocean Center.  I mean really in the air on top of the entry roof you will now see six prototype wind turbines.  They are there to supplement the electric that the Maui Ocean Center uses and are the product of AeroVironment of California.  Just another exa...

KAI MALU IN WAILEA Just south of Kihei in Wailea is my favorite new home community called Kai Malu.  I recently had the opportunity to show buyers this special neighborhood.  Located in the Resort area of Maui in Wailea, this complex had (as of this writing) 22 listings active listings that were ...

The list of whos who and more turned out this year for the annual MAPA Garden Party.  Held at the Wailuku Estate of the Yokouchi family, this annual fund raising event features some of the "top" restaurants on Maui and a sampling of their gourmet creations.  I enjoyed the Hula Grill selection but...