Couple Offers Big Bucks for a Buyer

HONOLULU -- Wanted: real estate buyer. Reward: $100,000.

In a grim real estate market where home builders and sellers across the nation are offering incentives from Harley-Davidson motorcycles to wide-screen TVs, a Hawaii couple is upping the ante by offering a $100,000 bounty to anyone who can locate a buyer or two.

David Bangert and Linda Harris of Kailua listed their two high-end Hawaii properties on the market about five months ago with real estate agents, but amid a declining market and lackluster response, they recently decided to include a $100,000 reward for each property in hopes of locating a buyer soon.

"It's definitely worth it to speed up the process for us because we would like to have it over with," said the 62-year-old Harris, who wants to retire.

The couple's first property is a 2,500-square-foot, four-bedroom home on a 35,000-square-foot oceanfront lot in the Windward Oahu community of Hauula. It's listed for $1.7 million, down from the initial $2.3 million, and features a gourmet kitchen, stunning views of the Pacific Ocean from all angles and a stream that runs along side the property.

The second is a pristine, 38-acre undeveloped parcel near the ocean in the Keaau area of the Big Island for $1.2 million.

"We've had some bites, (but) at this point in time in the real estate world, it's not whether people want it," Harris said, "it's whether they can finance it."

She said the $100,000 reward would be paid out by escrow during closing if a property is sold for the list price. If it sells for lower, the reward would be 3 percent of the selling price. For example, if the home sells for $1.6 million, the reward would be $48,000.