Makapu ‘u Lighthouse is a popular landmark that is visited by thousands of tourists throughout the year. The lighthouse is built during 1909. You can hike on the paved trail to reach the lighthouse. From the paved trail, you will be able to observe the scenery of the Molokai Island. The hiking trail that leads to the lighthouse is about 2 miles long. Although the trail is quite steep, it should not be difficult to hike it.

There is no facility located on the trail. The weather can get hot in the afternoon so it is recommended that you begin the hiking journey in the morning. To protect yourself from the heat, you can wear sunscreen. You can also drink a lot of water to prevent yourself from becoming thirsty. You should apply some sun lotion on your skin as the ultraviolet ray from the sun can cause unnecessary damages. Upon arrival at the Makapu’u Point Trail, you can park the car on the side of the street. From the parking area, you can proceed to the starting point of the Makapu’u Point trail. If you follow the trail, you will come to the west side of the ridge. Afterward, you have to turn to the north and east side of ridge. You are only allowed to hike the trail on foot. You cannot cycle on the trail. Open fire is not allowed on the trail as well. You don’t have to obtain a hiking permit in order to hike on the trail.

The Makapu’u Point Trail is located in the Ka Iwi State Scenic Shoreline. When standing at the trail, you can watch the beautiful scenery of the windward coast. You can also observe offshore islets, and the Makapu lighthouse from the trail. The offshore islets located near to the trail are home to a variety of birds.

You can also observe the Manana Island and Kaohikaipu Island from the trail. In front of the lighthouse is the Molokai Channel. If you want to perform whale watching, you should bring a pair of binocular. At the trail, you will notice signs that hint you where to stand to look out for the humpback whales. By following the signs, you will be able to easily spot the humpback whales. Makapu ‘u Lighthouse offers a good vantage point for humpback whale watching. You can watch the whale traveling in the Molokai channel from December to April. 

The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) requires that your mortgage lender give you a statement, which will break down all of your costs. It won't protect you against unwarranted charges—it just lets you know what are all of the charges against you at closing.

The real question for most buyers is not so much what will the charges be (like death and taxes, most can't be avoided), but when will you find out about them and what can you do about unwarranted ones? If you learn of unwarranted charges on the day you are set to close, it's a bit late to do anything. That's why your lender will give you a good-faith estimate of your closing costs at the time you apply for a mortgage. These may not be complete in that they may not cover all proration’s and some other charges, but they should tell you what your charge for obtaining a mortgage will be as well as give you an esti­mate of escrow and title insurance fees, if any.

If you are dealing with a good Hawaii real estate agent, that agent will prepare a list of your estimated charges even before you make your offer! The idea here is to show you what your true costs are so you can better decide how much to offer on the property. One agent I knew used to claim that she could come within $20 of the actual charges and most of the time, she did!

Keep in mind that there could be some sizable expenses to pay for the closing including the following:

- Points on your loan. You should be told the number of points by the lender, up front. Remember, each point is worth 1 percent of the loan amount. If you must pay 2.5 points on a $200,000 mortgage, that's $5000.

- Escrow and title insurance fees. These are usually based on the sales price. The higher the sales price, the higher the charges will be for these fees. Keep in mind that escrow and title companies compete and that one may therefore be slightly less or more than another.

- Attorney's fee. Usually the attorney's fee is around $1000 or less in states where attorneys are regularly used.

- Agent's commission. You pay this commission only if you used a buyer's agent and agreed to pay the commission instead of its being paid by the seller.

- Prorations. Taxes, insurance, rent, or other prorations could be next to nothing or amount to thousands of dollars.

- Other fees. These are usually in connection with the mortgage.

Determining just what your closing costs will be shouldn't be a difficult or arcane procedure. If your agent can't or won't do it, have the escrow officer or your attorney do it. Anyone familiar with real estate transactions should be able to come up with a very close estimate in short order.

Leeward Coast offers a variety of rural towns. Leeward Coast in Oahu constitutes a few communities including Waipahu, Makaha and Nanakuli. The Leeward Coast has many beautiful beaches. One of the popular beaches Leeward Coast is the Ko Olina Beach. The climate is relatively warm at the region. You can go swimming and snorkeling at the Ko Olina Beach. During the winter, you can go surfing at the Leeward Coast. Big waves can be seen at the Makaha Beach and Yokohama Beach.

While at the Leeward Coast, you can visit the Kaena Point State Park. Kaena Point State Park is located in a remote coastline. The beach at Kaena Point has many humpback whales and Hawaiian monk seals. The site is great for people who want to go for picnic. You can also go fishing at the sea. You can carry out recreational activities at Keawula Bay such as board surfing, body surfing, and swimming. It is recommended that you visit the beach during the summer. The beach has lifeguard so it is safe for swimming. Along the coast, there is a hiking trail that has a length of 2.7 miles. At the beginning, it is easy to travel on the trail. After you proceed further, you will find that it becomes difficult to travel on the trail. The barrier in the trail is caused by natural erosion.  While hiking on the trail, you can view the volcanic coast. You can also view the Makua Coastline from the hiking trail. Some of the facilities that can be found at the beach include dustbins, restroom and public telephone.

Tourists can pay a visit to the Hawaii Plantation Village. The Hawaii Plantation Village is located in Waipahu. The village is an outdoor museum where tourists can learn about the history of the sugar plantation development in Hawaii. There are many replicas of buildings and sugar plantation structures on the site. More than 350,000 people immigrated to Hawaii so that they can earn a living a the sugar plantation. The immigrants are from the East such as China, Portugal, and etc. You can find out what type of houses the immigrants occupy while working at the sugar plantation field.

Besides, you ca visits the Walanae mountain. There are many plantations at the Walanae mountains. The tallest peak at the Walanae mountain is the Mount Kaala, which are about 4,017 above the sea level. The mountains have existed for more than 3 million years.

The area of the windward coast stretches from Kaneohe Bay to Laie.  The windward coast in Oahu has several interesting places including Nuuanu Pali Lookout, Kailua Beach Park and Makapuu Point Lighthouse. Nuuanu Pali Lookout is a tall cliff that offers a good view of Oahu. The site becomes famous as the place where King Kamehameha fought off the Oahu armies by driving them down the steep cliffs. While standing one the Nuuanu Pali Lookout, you can have a breathtaking view of several landmarks including Kaneohe Bay and Chinaman Hat. Nuuanu Pali Lookout is opened from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. every day. The admission to the Nuuanu Pali Lookout is free of charge.

Kailua Beach Park can be accessed from the Pali Highway. You should keep on driving on the Pali Highway until you reach the Kailua Road. The beach at the Kailua Beach Park is suitable for swimming and surfing. There are all kinds of amenities at the park including restrooms, showers, pavilion, and picnic areas. You can rent a kayak and take a trip to the Flat Island. If you go snorkeling, you will see many green sea turtles. The water at Kailua Beach has many rare creatures. The best time to visit the beach is the summer seasons. You can rent snorkeling and diving gears at the rental shop if you did not bring your own gears. Kailua Beach is known for the invasion of Portuguese jellyfish after the full moon. The jellyfish usually come to the surface for at least nine days after the full moon. You should also lookout for the stinging Limu seaweed. The person in charge will post warning signs at the beach from time to time.

Makapuu Point Lighthouse offers a spectacular view on the scenery of the Windward side of Oahu. The lighthouse was originally constructed in 1909. Hikers can take the paved travel to reach the lighthouse. The paved trail is quite steep. Although the trail is steep, you should be able to complete it without any difficulty. The 2-mile trail has moderate difficulties so most people have no problem in hiking it. Along the trail, there are not restrooms or shades. It is best that you start hiking before the afternoon because of the hot weather. You cannot travel on the trail by car. From the lighthouse, you can see the island of Molokai, Manana Island, and Kaohikaiu Island. You can observe humpback whales from the lighthouse if you come in between December and April.

The Central part of Oahu is famous for the Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor is the site where the World War II started in the United States. A large fleet of ships operates at the Pearl Harbor. You can visit the NAVSTA Pearl Harbor because it is the operation site of the U.S. navy. To view the damaged ships during World War II, you can go to the Naval Station Pearl Harbor. The best viewing point for the naval ships is the hospital point. At the Hospital Point, you can watch ships coming in from different countries. The Hospital Point is where the movie Pearl Harbor is filmed.

The USS Arizona Memorial is the most famous tourist destination in Hawaii. Every year, more than 1.5 million visitors visit the Pearl Harbor. If you want to visit the Pearl Harbor, you can go early in the morning when the tour buses haven’t arrived. While visiting the USS Arizona Memorial Visitor Center, you can watch the documentary film. The documentary film lasts for 23 minutes. By watching the film, you can learn about the attack that take place at the Pearl Harbor.

If you are traveling in the summer, you can take a boat trip to the USS Memorial Visitor Center in between 7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. The USS memorial will be opened on weekdays and weekends except public holiday. If you want to fully explore the area, you should spend at least 1 hour. You can enjoy the scenery of the promenade. When going to the museum, be sure not to bring bags. You are not allowed to bring any kind of bag including camera bag, handbag and diaper bag. If you are pushing a stroller, you must make sure the pockets are empty; you can bring your digital camera to take pictures of the scenery around the memorial. There is a baggage storage center near the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park.  

Besides, you can visit the USS Missouri Memorial. The USS Missouri Memorial is situated on the Ford Island. There are a number of guided tours you can participate. The guided tour lasts for up to 90 minutes. Throughout the ship, you will find many tour stops such as pilothouse, engine room and etc. You can reach the USS Arizona Memorial by a tour bus. Traveling by tour bus is the best option for people who don’t posses credentials from the U.S. Department of Defense.

The north shore of Oahu offers picturesque scenery of Tropical Island. In the north shore of Oahu, there are two places you can visit including Haleiwa Town and Waimea Bay. While at Haleiwa Town, tourists can participate in the guided tour provided by the North Shore Surf Bus tour company. You can carry out various types of activities while at the north shore of Oahu including camping, hiking, cycling, horse riding, snorkeling, scuba diving and etc. There are many camping sites at the north shore of Oahu. You must obtain permits from the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources if you want to camp at the area.

Dole Plantation is a popular family vacation destination. If you have children, you can let them ride the Pineapple Express Train. The Pineapple Express train ride will last for 20 minutes. Children will be able to gain knowledge about process involved in growing the fruit trees. The Dole Plantation has a maze that consists of twisting paths. The Dole’s World’s Largest Maze covers about 2 acres of the land.

If you like gliding, you can go to Dillingham Airfield. Dillingham Airfield offers tourists opportunities to participate in a scenic flight. You will enjoy the scenery while on the plane ride. You can take part in the hang gliding activities. The hang gliding activity aims to teach you the basics of hang gliding.

The North Shore of Oahu has a number of golf courses including Turtle Bay Resort, Arnold Palmer Championship Course and Tom Fazio Course. The golf courses offer breathtaking sceneries.  Besides, you can go hiking on the North Shore. You can rent a bicycle and explore the North Shore as well. There is a large network of bicycle trail at the region. When hiking, you can take the trail from Pupukea to Keaena Point. You can also take part in horseback riding while at the North Shore. You can ride the horses to visit several locations. The horses can be rented at affordable prices. There are plenty of horse stables at Waimea Valley.

The North Shore has several motocross tracks. Most of the motocross tracks are located in between the Sunset Beach and Turtle Bay. Recreational riders often visit the Kahuku Motocross Track during the weekend. Many people will come to watch the motorcyclist on the track. Another popular tourist attraction is the Polynesian Cultural Center. The Polynesian Cultural Center offers a large range of cultural shows that showcase the lifestyles of natives from Polynesian islands such as New Zealand, Fiji and etc. If you want to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center, be sure to bring along a camera. 

When people want to plan a vacation in Hawaii, they will often think of Honolulu. In Honolulu, there are many landmarks including Aloha Tower, Duke Kahanamoku Statue, Kawwaiahao Church, King Kamehameha Statue and Leahi. Aloha Tower used to be the tallest tower in Hawaii in 1920. The total cost for building the Aloha Tower is $190,000. Today, it is the second tallest building in Hawaii. The tower symbolizes the Aloha spirit. It features a clock, which has been in perfect condition since the time it was built. You can view the clock from different places in Aloha Tower Marketplace. Because it is a popular tourist attraction, the foreign tourists constantly visit the Aloha Tower. Around the tower, you will find many shops, cuisine restaurant, entertainment sites and etc.

Duke Kahanamoku Statue was erected in remembrance of Duke Kahanamoku. Duke Kahanamoku has a passion in water activities such as surfing, and swimming. He is best known as the father of modern surfing. King Kamehameha statue is built to remember King Kamehameha. King Kamehameha brings peace to the people on the Hawaii Island during his reign. An American artist called T.R. Gould built the statue. The statue was given to the king during he coronation ceremony. There are three King Kamehameha statues. The main King Kamehameha statue is located in front of the AliIolani Hale. Another statue can be found at the Kohala on Big Island. The third statue of King Kamehameha is located in Statuary Hall.

Leahi also known as Diamond Head is a volcano tuff. The height of the volcano has a height of about 230 meters and a width of 990 meters. It was named as Diamond Head because the British sailors though the rock has many diamonds. Actually, the diamonds are calcite crystal. Diamond Head has many vents. In the past, it has erupted several times. The volcano is now extinct.

Waikiki has the most famous stretch of beaches in Oahu. Waikiki has the longest coastline compare to the beaches in other areas of Hawaii. You can plan your beach vacation at Waikiki. Nearby Waikiki, there are lots of hotels, resorts and shops. Oahu also has many museums including National Memorial Cemetery, Honolulu Academy of Arts, Bishop Museum and Iolani Palace. The National Memorial Cemetery is one of the most popular cemeteries in the United States. It pays tribute to the army of the America Armed Forces. The Honolulu Academy of Arts and Shangri La is a fine art museum. Bishop Museum offers a large range of artifacts.

You need to tell your Hawaii agent enough to allow him or her to qualify you as to price and terms. Most of us believe we know how much we want to pay. But, unless you're in the business or quite sophisticated in terms of real estate finance, you may not actually know how much you can afford. It could turn out to be more, or less, than you think. You need to tell your agent enough so that he or she can come up with a price and the type of financing to suit you.

Our finances are very personal. Most of us feel uncom­fortable sharing them with anyone. We don't even like sharing them with our banker (but know that's often a necessity). And though we may be dealing with an agent whom we like and trust to find us a property, we may still not feel comfortable revealing the delicate intricacies of our money matters. That could be a problem.

How much can you afford to pay for a house? The answer is a combination of how much you can put down and how big a mortgage you can get. Do you know the correct answers? If not, then your agent can help you find them.

As an alternative, if you're a prime buyer (no bad credit, good job, money in the bank), you can simply go to a mortgage broker and get a letter stating how big a loan you can get. This will tell an agent how much mort­gage you can get and with the knowledge that you have 20 percent or 10 percent to put down, they can easily qualify you for a home. (The lender's letter is also very helpful when negotiating with a seller!)

On the other hand, if your credit isn't wonderful, you don't have much for a down payment, and/or your job prospects are less than certain, it could be a different story. Now you may need "creative financing" or help from the seller to buy. Usually it takes an agent to arrange this. However, the agent must know your financial situa­tion in order to do it.

In short, in many cases you'll need to explain your finan­cial circumstances, perhaps in great detail, to your agent so that he or she will know how to help you. In my experi­ence, I have found it extremely rare that clients who tell a licensed agent about their personal finance end up having a complaint. Remember, the only reason the agent wants to know how much money you have to put down, how big a monthly payment you can handle, and what your credit is like is (presumably) in order to "qualify" you, to determine which houses you can actually afford to buy.

On the other hand, many agents are hesitant to come right out and ask for personal financial information. Most won't ask a direct question such as, "What's your gross income?" or "What are your monthly expenses?" But nevertheless, they need to know that information, and you may need to tell them, even to volunteer it!

If you don't want to tell an agent about your personal finances, you have to ask yourself this question: If I trust an agent to negotiate what will probably be the biggest purchase of my lifetime, my house, why shouldn't I trust that agent with my personal financial information?

You may save money, but negotiating the deal will usu­ally be more difficult. The seller of a for sale by owner (FSBO) has not listed the house with an agent, usually to avoid paying a hefty commission. Some agents will not show you FSBOs, so you may need to find them on your own. Sometimes the sellers have cut the price to get a quick sale, so these can be a real bargain. At other times, the sellers may have set an unrealistically high price, and the home may be no bargain at all.

There are both pros and cons in dealing with FSBOs. The pros are usually a lower price. Wise sellers will often reduce the sales price by a large portion of the amount that would otherwise go to paying the agent's commis­sion, and this can save you money. For example, if the listing rate is 6 percent and the house sells for $150,000, that's $9000 in commission. If the sellers reduce the price, say $6000 (keeping the equivalent of $3000 for them­selves), that's a hefty savings for the buyer. Besides, savvy buyers can sometimes pressure the seller to reduce the price the equivalent of an entire commission (or more) thus getting a true bargain. This is usually the case only in a slow market.

The difficulty in buying a FSBO is that you must deal directly with the sellers without the benefit and expertise of an agent. When handling the negotiations, the agent acts as an intermediary, often soothing hurt feelings and at the same time coaxing the price down and getting you better terms. Unless you are a very skilled negotiator, you may find this difficult to do in a face-to-face situation with sellers.

Further, once you and the sellers have agreed upon the price, there's a lot of important paperwork, including dis­closures, you must get from the sellers, and there are inspections you must arrange. The agent is, presumably, up-to-date on all of these and can guide you efficiently through the purchase process.

On the other hand, many sellers are just as knowledge­able as Hawaii agents. The sellers may already have all the paper­work ready to go, can assist with getting inspections and may have an arrangement with a lender to help you get financing!

Sometimes you can buy a FSBO with an agent (thus, getting your cake and eating it too!). Most FSBOs are will­ing to pay a half commission to any agent who brings them a legitimate buyer. If the listing fees in the area are 5 percent, for example, most FSBOs will pay the agent 2% percent. Since this is the same amount as the agent would get by being the selling broker for another agent's listing, they are usually quite willing to go along. If you're work­ing with an agent, have the agent call the FSBO and see if they'll pay a selling commission (half). If they are willing to do so, then just have the agent handle the deal for you. You could get the benefit of a lower price and the conve­nience of having a Hawaii professional do the dirty work!

Overall, buying a FSBO is harder to do than working through an agent, but it is not impossible. If it works for you, the rewards may be worth an extra effort.

The single biggest cause of lawsuits involving property ownership today probably revolves around homeowners' associations (HOAs). Its members run the HOA, and it could be badly run. You should carefully check out the HOA, if your property has one, before you buy. A red flag exists and/or past law suits. Also, see if the HOA has enough in reserve to pay for scheduled maintenance, such as roof replacement and painting. And ask existing owners if there are problems with the HOA not otherwise evident.

All Hawaii condominiums and townhouses belong to a HOA. A co-op has a similar arrangement and some single-family detached homes belong to HOAs as well. If you are buy­ing in any sort of a planned development or community, chances are the home will have a HOA. Be sure to ask to see the bylaws, and the covenants, conditions, and' restrictions (CC&Rs), as well as any other pertinent infor­mation.

The HOA takes care of all property owned in common. This often includes walking paths, grounds, and ameni­ties such as swimming pools, spas, and recreation rooms. It often will also be responsible for the outside mainte­nance of the building, including roof, walls, fences, and so on.

The monthly dues unpleasantly surprise most buyers when they first buy a home that belongs to a HOA. Today these dues can frequently be between $150 and $300 a month. That is a substantial amount and particu­larly daunting when added to a mortgage, tax, and insur­ance payment. As a consequence, I have had buyers ask if they could withdraw from the HOA—do any upkeep and so on themselves—and not pay the monthly dues.

Unfortunately, that is not possible, unless all of the other HOA members agree, which is most unlikely. The HOA normally comes with the property and is included in the CC&Rs, which lists just what it says.

However, even though the dues may be high, be aware that you often get value for your money. You probably won't have to pay much, if anything, for outside upkeep. And the HOA may additionally pay for fire, flood, or earthquake insurance. In other words, much of the money you pay in HOA dues may come back to you in benefits.

Beware of bad HOAs. Boards composed of homeowner members run these associations, and some­times things don't work out very well. Some members become so angry with what they consider unfair decisions that they won't talk to each other for years. I have seen actual fistfights break out at HOA meetings! Usually you can determine how. Also, take the time to ask some neighbors. Often they can and will give you the lowdown.

Additionally, you may want someone experienced with HOAs, an attorney or accountant, to check out their books to see how financially solid they are.

Finally, you are entitled to see all HOA documents that affect your home before you buy. Insist on seeing them. If the sellers or HOA cannot make them reasonably avail­able to you, then that in it is a very bad sign.