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ZIETZ: You don't have to be rich to live in Hawaii,
you just have to want it.
Hawai'i Life is a homegrown real-estate brokerage
that connects people of all walks of life
to the island lifestyle.
MAN: It feels like you're in the treetops here.
Oh, wow.
Hawaii offers a variety of homes to fit any wishlist...
Oh, the house looks amazing.
Isn't this spectacular?
...whether you want to be oceanfront, mountainside,
MAN: Oh, there's the view.
Yeah, I can see Mana Camp from here.
We're ambassadors to the life you can live here.
This is Hawaii Life.
-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.
Dorothy: So pretty here.
DON: Hi, I'm Don, and this is my lovely wife, Dorothy,
and we're the Merrills.
We have a 2-year-old daughter named Amelia,
and we have one on the way.
I'm a submariner that operates nuclear reactors on submarines.
And I'm a navy wife and stay-at-home mom.
We are from Kingsland, Georgia.
It's a small town in the middle of nowhere,
and we are moving to the amazing island of Oahu.
Come on, baby.
DON: We are moving to Hawaii due to orders from the Navy.
Instead of being stuck somewhere
where it's snowing and miserable,
I'm actually in a place where there's glorious weather.
Did you get splashed in the face?
DON: When we first landed,
all you see is this nice vegetation,
open mountains, clean air, wonderful weather.
It was breathtaking.
My life back in Kingsland was quite difficult for both of us
because I had to be away from family all the time,
constantly serving on a submarine,
not really being able to interact with them much
except for a couple months at a time.
But now we're looking forward
to being able to have him home more often.
Looking forward to being in Hawaii
so that Mia can be near the ocean
instead of being cooped inside.
Mia, help daddy.
Not only can you go to the beach, or go to the pool,
or go to the aquarium,
but you can also go hiking in the mountains,
and there's so many different terrains to experience out here.
I'm looking forward to spending a lot of our time outside
and enjoy the Hawaiian sunshine.
Pretty exciting.
Oh, look at that view, that's amazing.
I know, mountains in the distance and everything.
ZIETZ: Dorothy and Don are meeting
with their Hawai'i Life Realtor, Alison Wisnom,
to discuss homes for their growing family.
So, tell me about the areas that you've chosen.
We're definitely looking for the Makakilo, Kapolei area.
Also be interested in the Ewa Beach area.
Both of them seem pretty good,
but definitely more Makakilo.
It seems like it's a really central location
that's close to everything.
And it's not too far away from the base for him.
All right.
So, let's run through what you're looking for.
We are looking for a three-bedroom, two-bath house.
DON: Also, we'd like all the rooms
to be on one floor if possible
because we are expecting one on the way.
WISNOM: Well, congratulations.
And you have Mia, so she needs a good spot to play.
Yes.
We're also looking for something, like,
a garage for my motorcycle to be stored in.
I'd like to have a little bit of space outside
because it is Hawaii
and I'd love to enjoy the outdoors,
especially with my family.
Yeah, definitely here, the outdoor space
is as important as the indoor space.
We might be willing
to shrink the size of the house a little bit
if it's an amazing outdoor space.
Are you opposed to living in a condo?
No, we'll consider it
if it meets every other criteria we have.
I'm okay with wherever we live, as long as there's enough space.
Okay.
How about your budget?
$350,000 to $450,000.
Okay, all right. Great.
I need to go do a little research
and make some appointments,
and we'll get back together in a bit and get to work.
Sounds good.
ZIETZ: Hawaii is made up of four main islands --
Kauai, Oahu, Maui, and the big island.
Oahu is the most visited island.
Upwards of 4 1/2 million people each year
visit Oahu for its iconic sites
such as Waikiki, Pearl Harbor, and Diamond Head,
the dormant volcano
located on the southwest side of the island.
Along the slopes of Diamond Head is a historic hiking trail
originally built for the coastal defense system
within the volcano's crater
and has stunning views of Honolulu
and the southern coast line.
Don and Dorothy want to find a home in Makakilo or Ewa Beach.
Both are popular for military families
due to its affordability, proximity to amenities,
and distance to Pearl Harbor.
The first house that I'm going to show Don and Dorothy
is Panana, and this home is up in Makakilo,
which is west of Honolulu,
and there are some shops and restaurants up there.
It is commutable to his work at Pearl Harbor,
and it's a good family community.
So, they should meet a lot of people up there.
The Panana Street property
is three bedrooms and three bathrooms.
It has 1,400 square feet, and it's listed for $424,000.
So, we're a little higher up,
the breezes are flowing through the area.
It's a little cooler up here.
I'm liking the walk up so far.
Yeah.
It is a condo,
but it's in a quite community and pretty private.
Come on in.
Got a large kitchen area over here.
Nice.
View is fantastic from up here.
Added bonus to have a nice ocean view, too,
when you're doing dishes.
Definitely makes it a lot easier right?
DON: I like the kitchen,
lots of counter space,
and it was a bar counter, also,
which really helps with saving up space,
especially in a small house.
So, why don't you two go check out the house a bit,
and I'll wait outside, and when you're done,
come out and let me know what you thought.
Will do.
DOROTHY: Well, I do like the fact
that the living room has some bamboo flooring in it.
So, that's nice.
It does look like they separated the space pretty well,
so seems like there's room for some sort of dining room table.
DON: Definitely.
Do you want to go outside and check out the lanai?
Let's go check it out.
Wow, that's amazing.
See everything from here --
Diamond Head all the way down there.
Wow, that is Diamond Head, isn't it?
Never thought we'd get a view like this.
Well, looks like there's a nice grilling area out here for you,
so it's a nice, big space.
Looks like there's nice privacy
between us and the other families.
Let's go check out the rest of the house, hun.
You got a guest room, looks like.
Looks like it's a decent size.
We definitely would be able to family down here
when they come and stay, or it could become
another kid's room down the line.
Nice, open windows, also, keep it nice and comfortable.
Definitely.
That's an obvious.
Lots of storage,
don't have to worry about not having any room for her stuff.
I don't know if I like the fact
that they can look right into the kids' window.
That's one downside to me.
Looks like this is a master?
DON: Yup. Very spacious.
Look at the view.
I mean, you get to wake up and see that every day.
That's just going to be amazing to be able to see that.
DOROTHY: To know that not only is it an ocean view
but it's an ocean view
that spans all the way to Diamond Head --
To sit there and know that Diamond Head
is so far away from us
but we can still see it is amazing.
So, what did you think?
DON: It didn't feel like you were cramped in and surrounded,
especially on the inside.
Definitely is a different eye-opener.
Might be something that might change my mind.
All right, let's go see some more properties.
All right, then.
All right, hopefully the next one's not a condo.
DON: Before moving to Hawaii,
I never really noticed
how weather can play such a huge impact in my life,
where it can affect whether I can go out
on the motorcycle or go sailing.
Now I can just do whatever I want.
DOROTHY: Yeah, look!
Look right there.
Oh, wow, look at them!
Look at the big turtle.
I think it's amazing for us to be living in Hawaii
while our family is still young and growing.
Mia, look.
Because we're used to being from an area
that is constantly raining, or it's cold,
or there's always something wrong with the weather,
never being able to do anything,
wake up in the morning with the plan to go to the beach,
now it's storming.
Now that we're in Oahu,
we don't have to worry about that.
Wow!
Are they singing for you?
Yeah.
[ Cheering ]
ANNOUNCER: Aloha!
Aloha!
Ladies and gentleman, it's Duey Lani.
DOROTHY: My daughter absolutely loves sea lions.
She's a big water baby.
So, Mia's face lit up
when she saw all of the sea life in there.
She was so excited to run up and touch everything.
Look at that. Excellent job.
All right, now don't forget to feed your sea lion.
Between the beach and the waterpark and the aquarium,
and everything there is for this island
that it offers to us,
we're never going to run out of things to do,
and I think we're going to be spending
a lot of our time outside.
The next house that I'm showing Don and Dorothy
is Manaolana, and it's in Ewa Beach.
Ewa Beach is a good family community.
It's down closer to the beach and to parks and recreation,
and it is out of the metro area.
This community is single-family homes.
Okay.
Lot of military families live in the area,
between 30 and 45 minutes depending on traffic
is a typical commute to Pearl Harbor.
That's not too, too bad.
Manaolana is a single-family home.
It has three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
It's about 1,100 square feet, and it is $375,000.
This one's a little bit unique
because it has a two-car garage on the first floor, of course,
and then the master bedroom suite
is also on the first floor.
Some separation between us and Mia.
Don't know if you're going to like that.
I don't know if I'm going to like that, either.
But you do have a two-car garage.
Sure.
Why don't we go check it out?
All right.
Got some good lanai space out here.
It is nice. I mean, it is concrete,
but it's still nice, so Mia can play out here.
Put some toys out here for her to play with.
Seems like there's plenty of shade for us.
WISNOM: Sure, and you have some opportunities
for landscaping out here.
You could add a personal touch.
Definitely.
DOROTHY: Even though it was concrete,
it was big and it did wrap around the whole house.
So it was nice that Mia would have some sort of outdoor space,
even if it wasn't grass.
Wow.
DOROTHY: There's the master, I'm assuming.
Not much privacy when you first walk in.
There's a door.
It's a decent-sized room.
Kind of weird with the vanity
right in the master bedroom almost.
And it's only one sink.
DON: But at least you have your tub.
There is a tub and a shower,
but that's a tiny, little bathroom
and a tiny, little closet,
and I don't know how that's going to play out.
Your uniforms alone would take up half that.
Hmm.
Well, let's go upstairs and see what's there.
Nice-sized living room.
Open concept. I like it.
They've got some pretty bulky furniture in here,
so it looks like it wouldn't be able to fit
all of our stuff in it.
But with all the furniture that we have, once it's in here,
we're not going to have anywhere for her to play.
I don't know if I'm really digging the kitchen, though.
There's like no counter space whatsoever.
Hey!
There's a bonus. [ Chuckles ]
I won't have to be the dishwasher.
Yeah, we could always upgrade later on
and possibly even redo the countertops, maybe.
It's an option.
Since the house is at the lower part of our price range,
might be able to add some of the things
that we want to add to it,
like updating some of the appliances
or maybe extending the kitchen and adding granite,
which might make me like the kitchen a little bit more.
DON: This is a nice, little room.
They have a queen-sized bed in here, so it's decent-sized.
I think that it's just a matter
of us getting used to that things here
are going to be a lot smaller.
So, downsize a little bit, I guess.
So, what'd you think?
Uh, the master's kind of weird since it's on the bottom,
not really much privacy when you walk in.
It is a different layout.
But the upstairs was pretty nice.
I thought the living space was good,
it was a decent amount of space, and the price is also nice.
It's also a single-family.
And it's also a single-family.
Why don't we go take a look at some more properties?
Sounds good.
The last house I'm showing Don and Dorothy
is Luahoana in Ewa Beach community.
It is about a 40- to 45-minute commute
from the Pearl Harbor base.
So it is a little further but it's a single-family home
in an area that has a community pool.
DON: Can't believe we've gotten orders to come to Hawaii.
DOROTHY: If we're going to be a submariner,
there's only so many options
as far as where you're going to be stationed.
Look at those mountains.
Have you seen anything like that in Georgia?
No, there's a lot of flat land there.
DON: It's like a dream come true here.
Sun, surf, great weather.
I can't wait to go sailing, though.
Yeah, I bet.
Sailing's definitely going to be a nice thing to do around here.
Definitely ready to have a home of our own,
not have to worry about renting anymore.
Looks like we're here.
Looks like a nice community here.
I'm seeing there's fences around every house,
so maybe there's backyards here.
Yeah, lots of speed bumps.
[ Laughs ]
At least you'll know to be safe.
Down here in this area,
you've got a lot of shops and restaurants,
and you are close to the beach down here.
You're at work, I'll be at the beach.
[ Laughter ]
So, this house is a three-bedroom,
2 1/2-bathroom home.
It's about 1,100 square feet, and it's listed for $395,000.
And here is your backyard.
DOROTHY: Love the grass area.
I'm almost hoping we like the inside.
This is a massive yard space for him.
And you've got a patio back here, a lanai space.
It's really nice to still have
that view of the mountains from here, I mean...
Yeah, that is a plus to have that view.
Okay, so, here it is.
This is the living space.
DON: Talk about all open concept.
Counter space here is pretty small.
Yeah, it is, and it would definitely need some upgrading.
If we add some sort of an island here, maybe,
we might be able to make a little bit more space
for us to be able to do more.
But without doing that,
I don't see how the kitchen would work for us.
They barely have two couches sitting in this living room.
We've got a lot more than that.
I don't know if it will all fit.
The kitchen and the living room
look like it's just one giant room with no separation.
I want an open-concept house,
but I want there to be some separation between the rooms.
This room seems pretty decent-sized.
I'm assuming it's the master
because there's a walk-in and an en suite.
Yeah, you got your bathtub back there, too.
The tub is decent.
Once again, I would want to upgrade it.
This is where you say, "Yes honey.
Yes, I will upgrade the bathroom."
Yes, dear.
Whoa.
Wow, even the ceiling.
That's... That's, um...
Something.
Someone really likes blue in here.
I match.
You blend right in.
Yeah, I'm not a fan of it.
Lots of paint.
Definitely lots of paint.
It's nice that all the bedrooms are on the same floor.
In case there's a problem in the middle of the night,
we don't have to worry about doing down the stairs
to take care of our daughter
or the new baby that's on the way.
Hey, so what'd you guys think?
It's interesting.
So, how'd you feel about the outdoor space?
Really liked it.
Especially with the single-family home,
you get a lot more outdoor space for the dog.
Great views and everything like that.
Could be a good option for us
just because of the outdoor space.
Okay.
Well, it's been wonderful showing you guys houses,
a lot to think about.
You've got two different communities --
Ewa Beach, Makakilo,
single-family versus condo community.
So take some time and make a decision,
and just give me a call in a couple days.
Will do.
Look at all the surfers.
Great waves.
It's really nice over here.
What'd you think of the houses we've seen so far?
I really liked Panana Street.
Well, that's a shocker.
I didn't think you'd like that.
I mean, on first impressions,
I really didn't want to live in a condo,
but the more I saw of it, I really did like it.
It seems like a house that we could really grow into.
Be able to cook and watch Mia at the same time and the new baby,
and there's plenty of room for all the baby gear.
It really didn't have much of yard.
No, it didn't,
but it did have an outdoor space,
so maybe we'll be able to put some yard out there.
Well, still can't beat that view, though.
True, you can't beat that view.
That view is pretty amazing.
What about the Manaolana house?
Thought it was kind of strange.
As soon as you walk into the house,
you have the master bedroom on the left-hand side
It was kind of weird,
but it did have a door, so we could close it off.
I don't know how I feel about the fact
that we'd be downstairs and the kids would be upstairs.
Do you think that the kids would be able
to grow into the bedrooms?
Well, they were kind of small,
but, I mean, we are in Hawaii, where space is premium.
But it is a single-family home,
and there's a lot of outdoor space, too,
so it'd make up for it.
What about the Luahoana house?
Really liked the views you have from there.
You can see the mountains and everything like that.
Was a single-family home, also, with grass space this time.
It had a decent amount, too.
What about the inside of the house?
First floor was kind of weird
where it was a really big open concept.
You had the kitchen and the great room
with no real separation.
Counter space was limited,
and I don't know how much you liked that.
But it was in the middle of our price range,
so we may be able to get some sort of a floating island.
What about that blue room?
Just ridiculous.
Lots and lots of primer to cover up that room.
Well, what do you think?
Do you think you made a decision?
All right, let's go.
Hey, good to see you this morning.
Good morning, Allison.
How are you?
So, you made a decision?
I think we have come to one.
Okay.
What do you think?
I think we are going with the Panana house.
I just couldn't get over how much room there is,
especially for our growing family.
Plus, it has a great view outside.
You know, as long as you're going to live in Hawaii,
you might as well be able to look at the ocean right?
Exactly.
So have you thought about what kind of an offer
you want to make on this house?
Yeah, we were definitely wanting to go with the full-price offer
just to make sure that they notice us.
Okay, I think that's a good idea.
It's competitive, in your price range,
so I think a full-price offer is smart.
Okay.
So, I'll go write up the offer, get all of it together,
and we'll see what happens.
All right, sounds good.
I'm so happy for you guys.
Oh, thank you.
ZIETZ: Don and Dorothy's offer on Panana Street was accepted,
and they've started to settle their family
into their new life here in Hawaii.
Hi, there.
We are super excited to move into our house
and be able to unpack our things,
be able to start setting up our life.
[ Chuckling ]
The stress -- There is no stress here.
It's just great to be able to know
that I can walk out my door one day with my family,
drive down to the beach,
and not have to worry about anything.
It's really nice out here.
Yeah, this view's great.
I just can't believe we're here already.
Finally have a home. Are you excited?
[ Laughs ] Very.
DOROTHY: It's amazing having an ocean view.
I never thought that's anything we'd be able to afford anywhere.
So, knowing that we have it in Hawaii is even more amazing.
And how many people can say that, you know,
they just wound up living in Hawaii,
they'd never been here before.
It's, you know, the American dream.
We'll, let's enjoy the quiet while we can
Exactly.
Pretty soon we'll have two, and there won't be any quiet.
Very true.