(gentle ukulele music)
- I’ve always wanted to do this. Marker.
- [Cameraman] There you go.
- Okay. I’m gonna go look at houses.
- All right.
- My name is Howie.
- And I’m Theresa.
We’re looking for our dream home here in Hawaii.
(upbeat Hawaiian music)
- No place on earth embodies the term paradise
quite like Hawaii,
and of the seven islands that make up the state,
Oahu is usually the first place visitors see
when they arrive.
The island is home to more than two thirds
of Hawaii’s total population.
More than a million people live here,
and once you see it in person, you understand why.
Even though the island is less than 600 square miles,
there’s so much to see.
To the west, you have Lanikai Beach,
consistently ranked among the best in the world.
If you want adventure, you can hike the many mountain trails
on the east side of the island.
With so much to offer,
Oahu’s housing market is incredibly competitive.
In fact, median home prices shot north of $1 million.
Homes are on the market here for days, not weeks,
but that hasn’t discouraged Howie and Theresa,
who are looking for what locals call the aloha spirit
right here on the north side of the island.
(upbeat music)
- Look at this beach right here.
It’s so beautiful.
As a local girl, to live in the North Shore,
that is a dream.
For me, born and raised here, Hawaii is my home.
- I grew up outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
I did my schooling back there as well as New York.
We actually met on my mother’s birthday, June 14th, 1996
at a conference on Oahu,
and we had a long distance relationship.
She was in Hawaii living, and I was in Colorado.
We courted about six weeks short of a year.
We got married here on the islands
at a small private wedding.
We both had a sales background,
and we started a sales company.
- 25 years later,
for us to really experience this opportunity
to buy our dream home is awesome.
- Let’s go find a house.
- Okay. Let’s do it.
Woo!
- [Howie] So, what part of town is this called again
that we’re going to see?
- [Theresa] So, it’s on the other side
of the North Shore, Hauula.
- Hauula.
The thing we’re really looking to find is a place
that family can congregate with kids and stuff.
There’s probably about 28 of us,
including my parents, when we all gather.
So bedrooms, idea would be five.
And then, if we could have access to the beach
or be close to the water or even on the beach,
that would be incredible.
- Yeah, I would love a large kitchen where
people can not only congregate,
but we can cook and definitely something private.
- So budget wise, 3 million.
But for me, I don’t mind if we walk into a place,
and there’s a few things that might need to be fixed up.
If we find a place that’s move-in ready,
that’s also nice, too,
but I like really renovating.
The house is not waterfront,
but is looking out at the water,
and it’s just three bedroom, three baths,
so, not as many bedrooms as we’re looking for,
but the square footage is good size.
It’s 3,200 square feet, and it’s 1.3,
so, I think worth looking.
- Yeah, maybe we can add enough
extra couple bedrooms or something.
- Yeah.
- [Howie] Having more bedrooms and more space
for the family’s always the key.
- Yeah, that would be the dream.
- [Howie] Yep.
Okay. Here we are.
(relaxed music)
Oh, nice.
Looks like two car garage.
All right, let’s go take a look.
- Okay.
Wow. Look at that view.
Traffic might be a little noisy, but -
- Yep.
- View is spectacular.
- Yep. Looks like it’s beach access right there probably.
- But look, there’s a bridge.
- I wonder if anybody lives under there.
Maybe we will.
If we don’t get the house, we get to live there.
- [Theresa] Wow. Bamboo floors.
- [Howie] Well, look at the high ceilings.
- Wow. I bet the view in the top is awesome.
The noise, though, shucks.
It’s so beautiful.
- We could actually make these windows thicker
so you couldn’t hear the traffic.
- Yeah.
- That would be nice.
I’m a light sleeper, so I’d want to have -
- Yeah.
- [Howie] When we have all 30 of the family members here,
we need a place to spread out for sure.
- My mom and dad are the backbone of our family.
They really have knitted all of us together,
so we spend a ton of time here in the island.
And so, that, for us, is a big reason
why we keep returning to Hawaii.
- [Howie] We spent every Christmas and New Year’s here
with the kids.
We have three children, two boys and a girl.
- And they were all born here on the island.
We rented out beach houses along the North Shore,
and experiencing that beach life,
we fell in love with it.
- In 2012, we had a home burn down in Colorado Springs
under the Waldo Canyon Fire.
All my baby pictures and all the things from the past
are no longer around,
and so, we actually lost everything.
- But what we realized is really,
all that we lost were possessions.
- And I realized that one of the greatest blessings
in my life has been Theresa’s family and mom and dad.
You know, my dad left when I was eight,
and my mom, she’s passed now.
So, Mom and Dad, they’re my family.
A big part of this search is being able
to find something really special for Mom and Dad,
private suite, a place they could really enjoy and relax.
- [Theresa] I wonder where the kitchen is.
- [Howie] Probably over here.
- Okay. Let’s see.
What is that?
Wow! Look at this room.
- Oh yeah. We could put Mom and Dad in here.
You know, what’s funny?
I rented a room at a graduate school
about half the size of this room with four dudes
in a 600 square foot apartment.
- Oh my gosh. Humble beginnings.
- Humble beginnings.
- Yeah.
- One of the things that really helped me instill
a big work habit was being raised by a single mom.
I watched her work hard just to be able to provide
and put food on the table, and that was a big deal.
She was a great example for me.
Being entrepreneurial,
not leveraging ourselves and saving money.
We’ve always been able to put money away.
- Growing up in the islands,
we didn’t have a lot at the beginning.
My parents worked really hard,
but they really just put away their money and saved,
so, got to see that growing up.
And then, today, to have the idea
that we could have a beach front or beach access property
is really incredible.
Let’s go find the kitchen.
- [Howie] Okay. Oh, there you go.
There’s the kitchen.
- Wow!
- Oh, good. Okay.
- Nice.
- And this overlooks that downstairs room.
No, this is nice.
Looks like it’s gas.
Nice fridge.
Oh, this could work.
Get a chance to see the water from the kitchen.
- You look like you’re on a cooking show.
- Yeah.
- Okay, Howie. What are you cooking today?
- All kinds of great things.
I cooked for you a lot in the last couple of years, yeah?
- This is really cute.
This is nice.
- [Howie] Yep, so, we got a deck here.
- See, this is awesome right here.
It’s gorgeous.
So, there must be one more bedroom somewhere.
- [Howie] So, this must be the master.
- Good size and another deck out there. Wow.
That looks like a movie set.
- And you know what?
It’s a lot more quiet back here.
- Way quiet.
- You don’t hear the traffic.
- [Theresa] Bathroom.
- Yep. Hey, you notice there’s no doors?
There’s no doors on the bathroom or coming into the bedroom.
- [Theresa] That’s kind of weird.
- Yeah, but grandma and grandpa can’t hear anyway.
- [Theresa] Look at this shower.
- [Howie] Oh, dual showers.
- [Theresa] Nice.
- [Howie] Oh, it’s just the two of us.
- That’ll work.
- Yes, that’ll work.
You know what?
I really want to go look at that deck.
- Okay.
- Wow. Look at all the palm trees.
So, what do you think?
- Well, I love this, so peaceful.
- Yep.
- [Theresa] The ocean front, spectacular.
- [Howie] Yep. You know, it’s a little noisy.
- [Theresa] Yeah, but I love all the decks,
the outdoor living for Hawaii, it’s gorgeous, you know.
- [Howie] Yep. I agree.
- So, I think maybe it’s just the space.
It’s like, the bedrooms, we need more bedrooms.
- But there’s a lot more room in the budget.
At 1.3 million, you know,
you could put another 1.3 million into it or more,
and you could do whatever you want.
- That’s true.
- You could do a lot, but we could make it work.
- Yeah.
- Okay. We’ll make some notes.
Let’s keep looking.
- Okay, let’s go.
Okay, so we’re off to see the Waimanalo house.
- [Howie] So, tell me about this part of the island,
’cause in 25 years on the island,
I’d never been on this side that much.
- [Theresa] This side is really known for, like,
the white sand, sandy beaches.
- So, how far, if we were trying to get to Mom and Dad?
- Maybe 20, 25 minutes.
- Okay, that’s, I thought it was gonna be further than that.
And I think this house was like 3.3 million,
and I know it was like 3,200 square feet.
I think it was five bedroom, four baths.
That’s sort of right in the bullseye
what we’re looking for for the family.
- Yeah, but that’d be good.
- [Howie] But I don’t think it’s right on the water.
- Right here.
- [Howie] Oh, nice.