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BRITT: You think living in Hawaii is only a dream?
Over a million people call this island paradise home.
Hawai'i Life is a homegrown real-estate brokerage.
Our job is more than just finding homes.
It's about connecting people
with the lives they want to live.
Look at the bananas right in your yard.
With thousands of properties
spread across four major islands,
there's a little aloha for everyone.
Wow, that's fantastic. That's beautiful.
You just have to want it.
[ Squeals ]
[ All cheer ]
This is "Hawaii Life."
-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.
Meet Doreen Valentine and J.T. Schilling
from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
We're moving to Hawaii for a much more relaxed lifestyle.
We both work really long hours.
J.T.: We love the laid-back island attitude.
The first time we came to Kauai, it was so peaceful.
We just felt at home here.
We have two kids.
Emerson is 16, and Sophie is 14.
With so many outdoor activities,
there is so much that we can all do as a family.
We just want to spend some time in the sun.
Doreen owns Dozen Bakery in Pittsburgh
and wants to share her love of sweet treats
with the people of Kauai.
I love my business, I love my cupcake shop,
and we've noticed
there's really not anything like it on the island.
If we can open a bakery here just like Dozen,
it would be like bringing
a little piece of home here with us.
That's true.
Today, Doreen and J.T. are on Kauai
to meet with Hawai'i Life realtor Roni Marley
to start the search for their new island home.
Hi. It's nice to finally meet you.
Well, welcome to Kauai.
Tell me what you're looking for in a house.
DOREEN: Basic things --
We'd like four bedrooms, but three bedrooms would do.
The kids, they are teenagers, so, you know,
they ideally would want, you know, their own space.
We'd love an ocean view or a mountain view.
If we can renovate -- make it our own -- that's fine.
I am thinking about opening a cupcake business here.
I have a bakery back home.
A big kitchen would help, but just something I can work in.
I think privacy is a big --
Yeah, that's the most important thing for me.
I definitely don't want to look out my bedroom window
and be looking into someone else's bedroom window.
Okay. Well, what about location?
Well, we'd like the north shore.
We drove around, and we like Princeville.
Princeville's going to be a great place for me to look for you guys.
All of the homes are actually located
within walking distance to the beach.
What's your budget like?
$700,000 to $1.2 million.
Okay.
DOREEN: For the right house,
we would be willing to go above the budget.
I've got a lot to work with.
Why don't you guys let me do some looking around
and see what I can find you guys?
Sounds good.
BRITT: There are 137 islands that make up Hawaii,
but the four major islands
are the Big Island, Maui, Oahu, and Kauai.
Kauai is the oldest and wettest of the main islands,
with a population of approximately 60,000 residents.
The island boasts some of the world's
most beautiful waterfalls, canyons, and beaches,
making it the perfect spot for people who love to explore
the peaceful seclusion of the garden island's lush, tropical landscapes.
And at about 75 degrees year-round,
there's plenty of opportunity
to experience what the island has to offer.
Princeville is near iconic Hanalei Bay.
It's a perfect spot for enjoying a day on the beach
or any outdoor activity you can think of.
The first house I'm going to show J.T. and Doreen
is located on Kaweonui in Princeville.
Though this house is a fixer-upper,
it boasts wide ocean views,
which is at the top of their list.
How's it going?
Nice to see you.
I've picked this house.
It's a little bit on the remodel side.
I know you guys can see beyond things like that.
Four bedrooms, almost 2,000 square feet,
so there's a lot to work with here.
This one is listed currently at $795,000,
so it would give you a little bit of room
to put into your remodel.
So, come on in, guys. You got this bright and airy view.
And how about all of the ocean?
Yeah. You can definitely maximize the ocean views.
The light is great in here.
DOREEN: Yeah, I love the sunlight.
The breeze is great
from all the windows and the sliding doors.
You can begin to get a feel for what you need to do
to modernize it
and make it a place that we could call home.
Well, I'm excited for you guys to wander through the house
and see what kind of ideas you come up with.
DOREEN: Oh, it's bigger than I thought.
It is dark.
But if we take out this wall,
all that sunlight from that nice great room
is going to pour into the kitchen.
You could cook your eggs here and look out and see the ocean.
It would be definitely worth the time and effort.
Wow, you can even see the ocean
as you're walking up the stairs.
This must be the master, I would assume.
It's kind of small for a master.
Yeah.
But look at the outdoor space.
Lots of outdoor space.
This is what you wake up to every morning.
This is even better than the downstairs lanai.
Right.
The best thing about the house on Kaweonui,
obviously, is the view --
an unobstructed view of the ocean
from almost every room in the house.
So, this looks like the master bath.
Uh-huh.
Okay, so you got a separate room with one sink.
And did you see these colors?
Oh, whoa, wow.
Yeah, definitely this was
a one-of-a-kind custom-artwork creation.
So, you have to go outside to get to the bedrooms up there.
But the kids would like this.
Still got a great view from these stairs, too.
Wow, this is like its own separate apartment.
DOREEN: It's like a little cottage.
I don't know what that is.
It looks like it was its own kitchen.
Uh...
Yeah, it's a sink and a mini fridge.
The bathroom -- wow, this is big.
I can see this being like a separate kids' suite.
Still close enough that we can keep an eye on them.
Right.
Until then, we can stay over here
while they remodel the house over there and work on it.
The only part of the house
that is sort of turn-key ready to go
is the two-bedroom apartment above the garage.
While we're not opposed to construction,
it's not fun for us.
So that is definitely something to consider.
Great backyard.
We're far enough away, I mean,
we're not directly looking into people's homes,
which is nice.
Right. Right.
Wonder what's up with this empty lot over here.
If that's going to be vacant,
then that really moves it up the list for me.
MARLEY: Hey, guys.
What'd you think?
You're up front about, you know, when it was built
Exactly. Okay.
But I think our big question is, you know,
the lot next door -- is that an option?
This is a separate lot over here.
I'd be happy to check with the owner.
Yeah, the house needs a lot of work, updating.
You can't change the view, but you can change the house.
Absolutely right.
Well, do you guys want to go see another home?
All right, let's go.
Well, the first thing I notice
is definitely, like, how nice it is.
DOREEN: Yeah. This could really work.
Two rules for you guys --
no touchy...touchy.
Whoo!
Go!
Hey.
We think it's pretty amazing that we can drive five minutes
to zipline through the rainforest.
Oh, yeah. Go!
Whoo!
The look on the kids' face is priceless
when they're experiencing that for the first time,
and that's really why we want to be in a place
that affords us the ability to have new adventures.
Awesome job today. High-five. Whoo!
Since it's such a nice day, do you want to walk
about the Princeville neighborhoods a little bit
and get a better feel for it?
The second house I'm showing J.T. and Doreen
is on Akai Place in Princeville.
This house is just a five-minute walk
from the house on Kaweonui.
Princeville is such a walking community.
So, what about getting to the ocean? How easy is it?
So, there's a couple beach access routes for pedestrians.
There's one which is inundated with turtles.
It's one of my favorite places to go,
and it's really an easy access point.
Yeah, I think it's great that the beaches are so close,
but you also can, you know, turn your back to the beach
and see the mountains and the waterfalls.
It's so set back,
you would never know this is back here.
Wow, it's a big house.
This is one of the newer homes that we'll see today.
It was actually built in 2004.
It's a little over 3,500 square feet.
Four bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths.
This is listed at $1,295,000.
Wow, I love the ceiling.
MARLEY: Look at this, huh?
It's quite a bit different
than how the other house looked.
Well, the first thing I notice
is definitely, like, how nice it is.
DOREEN: Yeah.
I like how you can see outside from here in the kitchen.
You know how many batches of cupcakes I could make
in one afternoon
with all this space for mixers and cooling racks?
This is a great kitchen, a great place to experiment
and make new recipes for the island.
You bake them, I'll eat them.
It's really gorgeous out here.
Yeah.
There are some homes a little closer.
That's a nice-size dining room.
It really feels like you can be outside in a moment's notice.
Right.
I think so.
Yeah.
It's like a little Jack and Jill bathroom.
Oh, yeah. I like that.
Oh, this is like a private master suite
all by itself up here.
Wow.
Yeah.
It's big.
Whoa, look at this.
This is great.
We have a private lanai.
The breeze up here is awesome.
It's nice to sit out here and feel the sun.
I love the glass-block shower.
Usually, I'm not a fan of glass block,
but this is really pretty.
Wow.
So, this is really the idea of a master suite.
Let's go find this downstairs space.
I think the entrance is over here.
J.T.: It's like a studio apartment.
DOREEN: Yeah.
This would be really great for guests.
It's got its own bathroom.
This could really work.
This is a great space, especially for the kids.
I think they'd really like it.
It's a big plus. Yeah.
Let's go see what's outside.
I'm not as excited about the yard as I am the house.
It feels a little bit neighborhoody for me.
I know.
It feels like we're living
on a golf-course community back home.
We're really trying to make a change,
and if we're going to buy a house,
we don't want it to feel like one
that was just picked up and moved from Pittsburgh.
Much different playing field we've got here, right?
But you did like the house, and you loved the layout.
Could you see this working for your family with this layout?
DOREEN: I mean, that house is pretty hard to pass up.
Well, great, it sounds like this was a pretty good option
to at least have,
and I've got one more home for us to go and see.
Okay, very well, let's go.
BRITT: Kauai is known as the island of discovery,
and hikers can explore the beauty for themselves
through the island's numerous trails.
On the north shore, climb the 11-mile Kalalau Trail
and experience Kauai's breathtaking Na Pali coast
and see unparalleled ocean views, lush, emerald peaks,
and waterfalls carved through lava rock.
The hike isn't easy,
but to experience these views is well worth the challenge.
MARLEY: The home on Kapiolani Loop is extremely private
and offers J.T. and Doreen the seclusion they're looking for.
This is going to be a hidden gem, literally.
This is almost 3/4 of an acre in Princeville.
J.T.: Oh, wow, that's a lot.
A little bit smaller house,
still nearly 2,000 square feet.
3 bedroom, 2 1/2 baths, listed at $1,347,000.
So, you can tell already we haven't seen
a home of the style yet.
What do you guys think of this immediately?
What's your initial reaction?
I like it.
The architecture definitely has an Asian feeling to it.
So, if you'll notice, there's copper gutters,
the rain chains, as well,
but definitely the attention to detail is here.
Sure has that Zen garden feel to it.
This is the main living room, of course.
Take a look outside.
Yeah, that's amazing.
You're in your own private jungle.
I can also mention that little private jungle of yours
that belongs to this property has two waterfalls on it.
Awesome.
That view out of the back is just spectacular.
As soon as you enter the door, you're just drawn to it.
This is something else.
You can't see any other houses or anything.
J.T.: Yeah, it's like your own jungle in your backyard.
How far does it go?
It's all the way down there.
Roni said those waterfalls, those are on the property.
DOREEN: I've dreamed about it,
but it seems like it could actually be ours.
Privacy's on the top of our list.
I don't think you can do much better than this.
I feel like we're on vacation in, like, a fancy resort.
Right.
Oh, this is nice.
I like the step up.
You know, it's not huge.
No, I mean, it's definitely smaller
than the one house we looked at,
but definitely big enough for the cupcake business.
Big dining room -- windows on every side.
Yeah, I really like the space.
This is a nice, sunny, happy room.
I like this room.
I still don't see any neighbor's house.
This house achieves a great deal of privacy,
because the lot is very large.
There aren't any window blinds or treatments,
because there aren't any neighbors to see in.
So, this is like a den area.
This could be kind of a kids' hangout area.
Wow, this is a big master bedroom.
Yeah, that bed has to be --
it might be a California king.
That is a big bed.
Every major room's got
the vaulted ceiling with the fan.
It just has that tropical feel.
Oh, the bathroom is big.
Yeah.
It's only one sink, but it's a big sink.
And the shower is the length of the entire room.
Let's go check out the waterfall
and the rest of the property.
All right, I'm game if you are.
Oh, I mean, it looks like someone tried
to build steps at some point and then gave up.
Nice little path down here.
The backyard at this house is amazing,
but, I mean, I imagine the cost of putting in stairs
to get down there is going to be pretty high.
We may not have an ocean view,
but we have this and the sound of the waterfall.
Right.
If we had a walking stick.
Have I made your decisions hard for you?
I love the property, but the house is
already not just at the top of our price range,
it's above our price range.
I feel like today,
we've seen ocean, we've seen mountain,
and unexpectedly, we've seen jungle and waterfalls.
It has just that feel of why we want to come here.
I look forward to hopefully meeting up with you guys
and discuss if there's any of them that you think
are the right ones for your family.
Yeah, we've got a lot of things to talk about.
We want to go with that house, but...
So, what do you think about the Kaweonui house?
J.T.: So, at that price range, we can definitely afford
to turn the house into what we'd want it to be.
You know, it's important, I think, we can see it
for what it could be,
not necessarily what it is.
I mean, the view is amazing.
Yeah. You can always change the house.
You can't change the view or the location.
The apartment above the garage was perfect,
because we could stay there and oversee the renovations.
We would have a nice, comfortable place to stay
while the work's being done.
But for me, getting the property next door is key,
because there you can protect that view forever.
Yeah. That is the key to picking that house.
Right.
What about Akai Place?
That kitchen was amazing.
It would be perfect for the cupcake business.
It's a huge kitchen.
You know, and the house is ready to move in.
No, not a thing.
Everything from the floor to the ceiling
is perfect and ready to go,
but the location is too sort of generic
and not special enough.
You just swap out pine trees for palm trees,
you're on any, you know, planned golf community that I've seen.
The biggest selling point
of the Kapiolani house is the fact
that it's so private, you don't even see the house.
Yeah. I love that house.
There's not even blinds on one window in the house,
and I don't even know if we really need to put blinds on.
Right.
Biggest concern with the Kapiolani house
is having to install the stairs
to get down to the lower yard.
Yeah, that's going to definitely take
a professional engineer to design that staircase.
Yeah. And a lot of money.
But it's really a dream backyard.
And there's no point in having two private, gorgeous waterfalls
Right.
We just have to make a decision
about sort of shelling out that extra money.
Right.
Is it worth it, or do we go a different direction?
So, tough decisions. Have we made any progress?
Well, we thought about it,
and, you know, while we like the Akai Place house,
it just didn't give us that special sort of Hawaii feeling.
MARLEY: Okay.
So, that leaves us with a tough decision
between Kaweonui -- the view is breathtaking.
We can renovate it to make it the way we want it.
And with the Kapiolani Loop house,
just the size of the lot, the privacy,
the feel of the house says Hawaii,
but it is over the top of our price range, so...
We've decided to go with...
the Kaweonui house.
Yeah.
Oh, I hear a "but." Okay, all right.
We want to go with that house
if we can get the property next door, as well.
Right. It has to be a package deal.
What type of a number are we talking about?
For both the property and the house,
we are willing to offer $1.3 million.
Yes.
The house at Kaweonui really accomplishes
everything we're looking for in living in Kauai.
But we're stretching our budget for this house.
All or nothing, that's it.
Okay, let's go see what we can put together, okay?
Doreen and J.T. put in an offer
on the Kaweonui house and the lot next door,
but the deal fell through when the owner
was unwilling to sell the vacant lot.
But since they loved the privacy and tropical setting
of the Kapiolani Loop property,
they decided to go even further over their budget
and put in an offer, which was accepted.
They moved in a few weeks later.
How was the beach today, guys?
Pretty good.
What do you think of Hawaii?
It's pretty nice --
way better than cold, dark Pittsburgh.
Actually, I think it turned out to be a blessing
that we didn't get the house on Kaweonui.
Now that we have the Kapiolani Loop house,
we couldn't be happier.
Cheers.
BRITT: Now they have the best of both worlds --
their private backyard oasis
and steps from Princeville Shopping Center.