STEVE &
LINDSAY
SEIZING A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY
Meet the beautiful Taylor family! Steve and Lindsay are an Army family, stationed here for 1.5 years now. They are the parents to three beautiful elementary school aged kids and this is what they had to say about their Home Journey.
If I had a question during any part of the home buying process, Sarah already had an answer or was already looking into it! Very open communication.
We were stationed in Hawaii for our second military tour here during the Summer of 2019 and felt we had missed out on the opportunity to buy an island home the first time here. We told ourselves we would buy it if we had a second tour in Hawaii.
Now we are homeowners in Kailua and have remodeled a fixer upper that feels like our family’s first home! Our home is on the canal where we can drop our paddle boards and kayaks in to paddle and we are centrally located across the street from our children's school and two blocks from the beach.
I found my favorite part of the home buying process was viewing all of the available homes and picturing what they could look like after a remodel. My advice to new buyers is not to let other people's opinions sway you on a potential purchase. If it feels right, do it! I was most surprised by how much work goes into actually purchasing a house but if I had a question during any part of the home buying process, Sarah already had an answer or was already looking into it! We had very open communication.
I also recommend using a contractor to help with the remodeling process. We had a great remodeling experience with our contractor and chose to use one because we had a tight timeline in which we needed our kitchen functional and the home to be livable. Now we can enjoy family skateboard rides through our new neighborhood and weekends at the beach and hiking.
We look forward to hanging onto our home for quite a while after having put so much work into it! We are happy with our decision to buy and had an excellent experience working with Island Living Homes!
LINDSAY TAYLOR | HOMEOWNER
"Chemistry with your agent matters!" S.B
Each transaction is unique. Read Sarah's thoughts on her journey with Lindsay.
We met briefly at a local bike shop and then struck up a conversation in the meat department of the Commissary a couple weeks later. It was then we realized we had daughters in the same class at school and moved onto real estate. Something that struck me about Lindsay was that she had an intuitive feeling driving her desire to buy a home and build her family Hawaiian dream. Most people ignore dreams we don't think are tangible due to a higher price tag or something outside the scope of our immediate "know how'. Lindsay was curious and cautious but fantastic at collecting all of the information she needed to know about buying in Hawaii to support making the decision she instinctively knew was right for them.
They are Illinois family transplants with a tropical lifestyle vision! Being from the midwest myself, I connected with Lindsay immediately as she has a modest, down-to-earth, mentality. Working with her was a dream because she didn't shy away from taking things on and doing them herself. With her husband working long hours and leaving for deployments, she did her due diligence on the purchase as much as she rolled up her sleeves to help the remodeling process meet her deadlines. She is very numbers focused and analytical, all the while able to see the value in buying a fixer upper in Kailua.
Living in close quarters or sharing a dwelling space is common in Hawaii. Everyone wants to live near the beach, rental prices are higher and buying can be really pricey! Lindsay looked at quite a few houses and eventually landed on a beautiful CPR canal home. The home was divided into two separate units of ownership but offered plenty of privacy from her neighbor. They only have one shared wall and driveway and the location is priceless! The Taylor's home, a 4 bedroom, 2 bath is over 2,000 sq ft of living space with a gorgeous canal and mountain view and a short paddle to the local surfing hotspot, Castle's Beach! Her kids literally walk across the street to their school and her husband is able to jump on the freeway less than a mile away to get to and from work.
After buying the property, I enjoyed showing Lindsay where to buy things for the remodel and introducing her to contractors to choose from. We looked around the cabinet and countertop shops and it was fun watching Lindsay design her remodel! Even though she hired contractors, she put in a ton of sweat equity by doing a lot of it herself! Check out her before and GORGEOUS after photos! There is nothing more rewarding than helping our clients reach their dream and seeing them enjoy their new home here in Kailua.
SARAH BAKER (RS - 82086)
ISLAND LIVING HOMES AGENT
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