 Thank you for joining me on Think Tech Hawaii. I am Shonda Park, your host for Money Talk. And today we will continue on the topic of June, being US National Home Ownership Month. I am a business owner and an investor, passionate about helping people understand how money works. I am a mom of three wonderful children and my net worth was about $0 when I became a single mom about 10 years ago. Education has helped me build a strong financial foundation and create a net worth in the millions. Like me, my guest today has gone from zero to million. And he used to be my patient starting in 2011, up until the time I retired as a dental hygienist in 2020. He has been a licensed realtor since 1973, developing more than 150 projects, including CPRs. He got his brokerage license, started his own brokerage firm, which in 2017 became a franchise partner of Century 21, one of the most recognized real estate brands in the world. So his company is Century 21, I Properties Hawaii. He is also the founder and owner of Abley seminars, the largest real estate school in Hawaii, providing a pre-licensing and continuing education classes. So Abe, he is a longtime advocate and creator of affordable housing. He wrote the book, How to Become a First Time Home Buyer to help Hawaii residents buy their first home. He has helped many families, including mine. He is someone that I look up to that I have a great deal of respect for. And he is someone who truly inspires me. Welcome, Abe Lee to the show. Hi, Abe. Thank you very much, Chanda. I appreciate it. It's an honor. Thank you so much for being on the show today. I appreciate you agreeing to be interviewed today. Thank you. So I remember when I first met you back in 2011 and right away I knew that you were someone that I could learn a great deal from. And so I would be picking your brain while picking at your teeth. And no matter how much time has passed and I still occasionally talk to you today, you still really inspire me with all your knowledge, your wisdom, your experiences. So I'm really excited to have you here. And I wanted to just first ask you to share a little bit about your background, where you're from, about your family and then how you chose your career. Sure, thank you. I'll make it short. I know you have other questions and things, topics to talk about. But I came from Korea when I was eight years old in 1956. So for you mathematicians, I'm 74 years old. And my father was a professor at the University of Hawaii and he came in 1947. And we came in 1956. So having been born in February, I did not see him for almost eight years and had no knowledge of the English language. It was hard for me, but we're immigrant families. I went to University High School and then to University of Hawaii. Went to University of Utah for a master's degree in education. And so I have a very background in education. My mother was a teacher in Korea and my father of course was a PhD now all back then and a CPA as well. So I had some really good upbringing as far as education was concerned. Oh yes, definitely. And your background too for your master's? Yes, in education. In education. In education and administration on creative thinking processes. Okay, so with that, how did you choose the career that you chose? Actually, I didn't choose it, it just happened. I got a bachelor's degree in agent studies, which is what I call, what do you do with this degree? Yeah. But I always knew that I would be doing business somehow. So I just got my degree in agent studies because I was the fastest way to graduate from college to satisfy my mom and dad because they're Asians and they want you to graduate from college. So in my senior year in college, I went door to door selling products like brochures in Kahala, because I figured rich families, they need to protect their home. I knocked on doors and so far I sent brochures door to door. I got a call from a guy and the gentleman and he says, hey, my wife says I should hire you. I said, who are you? Because when you saw my wife, three fire extinguishers and she says, this guy's really good, you should hire him. He's a life insurance agent. I had no idea about life insurance. So I interviewed with him and I got intrigued about how you make work or are living selling insurance. I was interested. I interviewed with three different companies. I didn't join him unfortunately, but I joined Connecticut Mitchell. And back then they gave me a draw, $1,000 a month. As long as you sold enough insurance to satisfy the draw, then you kept your job. After three months, I sold enough insurance to qualify for one year's worth of salary. So I told my boss, hey, I'm gonna take a break and I'm gonna go and get a real estate license. And he said, you can't do that. I said, but I'm nine months ahead of schedule. No, you can't. I said, I thought I was a free agent and I could do whatever I wanted as long as I kept up with your draw. And I said, when did I turn in my resignation? So then I went to real estate and gave up my insurance career after six months or something. That was very hard-lived. Yes, it was. So I got my license and for somehow, very fortunately, I met a lady named this baker, whose husband developed real estate and she sold his projects. So first preference was always given to first-time home buyers. So I rounded up eight buyers. They were first-time owner occupants and I sold the most owner occupant units in that project called the Canal House on Alawai Boulevard. So that got me started. But what it taught me was you just talk to anybody and everybody about a project and I had people calling me and say, hey, my friend told me to call you because you got this project and you helped me. So I had eight buyers that were total strangers and but they bought. So then I went to graduate school in Utah, came back before my master's, came back and worked for a fellow named Bob Allen to develop Century Center, Century Square Executive Center. So I had heard about Bob Allen because he's a very good developer, very nice man. And his daughter was a broker. So I called Judy Allen Dang. I said, hey, Judy, I understand you think this project, can I meet with you? And she goes, well, we're not hiring any agents, we have enough. I said, well, can I just meet with you and just see what the project's about? So we met and it was the Executive Center on the corner of Hotel and Fisher. And so then she says, you know, I like you, I'll hire you. So even though she told me there was no opening, she took me and I sold 50 units in that project. And that was number three in sales. But it took me two years and a half to get that many buyers because we're selling off of plans. And we're just seeing if we can find buyers based on the plans. But I sent out a thousand letters. I got 200 interviews and 50 bucks. So that's the numbers I use when I tell my agents, you got to talk to a lot of people before you get to meet them and then you get to sell them. But I met a whole bunch of people along the way. And it really helped me to learn how to... It's a lot of large numbers in any business you're in, right? So you had a very early on in your career. And I consider a person to be successful when they are successful in all areas of their life, especially their family life. So would you mind sharing about you being a father of six, a grandfather of 11 and share about your secrets to marriage being that you're gonna be celebrating your 50th wedding anniversary next year? Yes, I was very fortunate. I met a beautiful young lady named Sally Okura from Hilo. And she was at the University of Hawaii for a master's degree in social work. We met, fell in love. Three months later, we got engaged. Six months later, we got married, which is pretty quick. That is really quick. Yeah. Then we had our first child. Then our second, I said, do you think that's enough? She goes, no, there's more. And I said, no. So we had our third and fourth. And I said, do you think that's enough? She goes, no, there's somebody missing. So when we're out of a sixth child, she was like, okay, I think we're done. Thank goodness. But I always tell people the success through our wedding marriage. One, I don't yell and scream at her. I've never sworn at her. And we just don't fight. Now we disagree, but we don't fight. And the two words I always tell people that you have to learn as a husband, you say, yes, dear. And that's it. That's a secret. That's great advice. That's the secret. Okay, just yes, dear. That's right. She took care of the home and was very supportive in you in building your career and your businesses. She was working full-time as a social worker, raised six kids, we had two miscarriages. I don't know how she did it, but she took care of the family. I mean, we had kids doing hula, basketball, music, piano, you name it. She arranged for the rides for all these kids. And I did it once in a while, but she really did most of the work. So I give her credit for having been able to manage six children, a full-time career, and still run a house. And so far, eating husband too. Yeah, she's so amazing. She's really, so amazing. Thank you for sharing about that. And I wanted to ask you, I know in 1980, you made a lot of things happen, getting your broker's license, starting Abley seminars, and then also purchasing your first home. So how did you do it all? Well, when we had three children, we were asked by our landlord to leave. And the store is too long to give you now, but my wife started calling everywhere to see if we could rent a place. And every landlord said, how many kids you got? Three, too many. So she started to really get this funded. And then she called on this one ad and the lady that answered said, come on down, let's talk. Come to find out that she was a nun for the Catholic church, her husband was a priest for the Catholic church, and they both decided to get married, and they had five or six children, and they're managing this apartment building. He said, ah, three kids, plenty, okay. So she let us rent, otherwise we would have been homeless. So we'll be forever grateful to her for allowing us to live in a two-bedroom with three children. And I told my wife, the next time we move, it is not going to be to a rental. We're going to be moving into our own home. And I made a pact with her. Fortunately, one of my clients, her husband inherited six homes under the Lunar Literary by Peacoy, by the post office. And this is your first that you purchased? Yeah, what happened was, they had six homes and he inherited the property, but he had inheritance tax that he had to pay. And so he felt like he had to sell this property to get out from that debt. So I brought in some developers and they made presentations to my clients. And as I listened to the presentation, I said, they're not giving them my clients very much of a good deal. So it was like a dummy, I said, let me develop this for you. And I can give you five homes with 400 grand cash and you can have your house pretty clear and you can pay your taxes. And they go, really? Can you do that? I said, I think I can. I didn't know, but I did it. We condominiumized six homes. They kept the house in the back and I sold four and I bought the fifth house. So my deal was I got 15,000 consulting fee. Each cottage was selling for 80,000. So I bought my cottage for 30,000. Wow, wow, that's amazing. I was lucky. Like you said, you didn't know. I didn't know what to do. You just took that chance. Yeah, so we borrowed money and we built a four bedroom, two bath house, 1,400 square feet on 1,400 square feet of land. That was our mansion. 1,400 square feet? Yeah, 1,400 square feet of land now. There was two-story home, right? 700 square feet each. Yeah, that was our mansion. That was our first home in Hawaii. Our kids were so happy that they actually had a house to live in. That was brand new. A house to own, yes. So share about that being your stepping stone and how that moved you up the ladder to your next home. Yeah, so I'm developing River State and I'm buying and selling and I saw another property on East Manawa Road and it was on sale for $250,000 back then. So the front lot had a big house. The front of the lot had the big house and there was a back street called Lipeoma Way and there was an empty lot. Space in the back was about 100 feet wide or 45 feet deep. So I thought, we can put a house in there and back then they had what they call Ohana units. They're available that you could see PR and they get separate mortgages. I made an offer and I called my wife up and said, hey, come meet me. We just bought a place. And I don't know how I'm gonna do it because I don't have money, right? But we were lucky. We got back to finance a deal. We sold the front house for $280,000. We bought the back lot for $70,000, very similar to the Nalilo and then we built a six bedroom four bath house. All the house, no yard, but that was our next house. And it was amazing, a miracle that we're able to get a loan to buy the property. So we stayed there for a few years and then a friend of mine who's a real tech called me up and said, hey, there's a house for sale. A lot for sale in Manoa. It's on acre of land with four houses. So I said, oh man, I just moved into this house and I can't afford it. He goes, but you gotta take a look at it. I tell people, you don't have to buy where you should always look. That's advice. That's good advice. Yeah, so I went up there to take a look at the home and it was three really dilapidated houses. If there was a slum in Manoa, this was it. And one house that needed to be fixed. But it was on sale my new 32, 31 years ago at 1.6 million, which is really expensive. I couldn't afford it. So then I said, okay, what if I CPR and sell three lots and then keep my house and get a discount? Yeah. Which is what we did. We throw down two homes, three homes actually, my house and two others and we remodeled one. So three kept one and that's our current home. That's our current home. Can we bring up the slides? Let's see that first home from where you started on Lunalilo. So that's your first home and then your second home is this blue home. Yes, actually they change the color. It used to be beige or something. And then your third home. Your final place, which you've been at for you said 33 years? 31 now, yeah. 31 years. It sits on 11,000 square feet of land. So I need to give my whole family plus my mother and mother-in-law. So we're very fortunate. I don't even tell you, but it's 55 on just their feet. Wow, that's beautiful. So I love your story because everybody starts from somewhere and to look at the things that you went through, the risks that you took in life and just building and building upon, finally getting your dream home. And it didn't really take you that long. Some people may have to take 10 steps, right? And this is your third home and you've been there for 31 years. And we're very fortunate. And you're right. You took a lot of guts to do it. And I didn't know how I was gonna do it, but we didn't have much money. And I was not flush with cash. My parents were not rich, we're immigrants. So it was a gutsy move on the two homes. The first one was easy because that was a small deal. But the other two, oh my goodness. I was sweating it. I didn't know if I could pull that off. I was very fortunate. You get big rewards, right? And when you look back, you never regret the chances that you took in life, correct? Oh yeah, our house is so good. And we have had tons of parties. Our children have brought their classmates over. We have family gatherings. And it's a dead end with lots of parking level. And so we really don't have to worry about people running over our children. It was a wonderful place to raise our children. That's wonderful. So I talk about my own personal situation and going from zero to millions in my network through financial education. And you've gone from zero to millions as well. What you did back then, would you say that it's still possible for people to do the same as you did and do it today? Yes, I believe so. Of course you need a lot more money to start with. But back then, my starting wages was a dollar and a quarter an hour. And now it's $16 an hour. Yes, huge difference. Yeah, so relatively, yes, it's more expensive, but it still can be done with some frugality, saving money. And of course, going through places like Hawaii Home Ownership Center to learn how to become a first-time home buyer, which I think you went through. Yes, I did. Yeah, I mean. Relationship with them and just about your passion about helping first-time homeowners. Sure, because of my experience as being a tenant and having almost been homeless. And by the way, the basement apartment that we were living in had huge cockroaches that I had to go out at night with a flashlight and shoot them with a specter sight. That's how many they were on the walls. Oh, gosh. And my wife did not like those big brown bombers. I wouldn't eat it. That would be a nightmare for me. Yeah, but I learned about Hawaii Home Ownership Center, which I have affectionately called H-H-O-C. It's a wonderful nonprofit. They teach people how to prepare to become a homeowner. And they have a nine-hour course and it teaches you about credit, about how to find a real estate broker, how to find a real estate loan officer, and the whole bit about becoming a first-time home buyer. And I have a client that had three kids and he was working, she wasn't. And they could only afford a $125,000 condo in Uluwehi out in Anakuli. And he said, that's not my first plate choice, but that's the only thing we could afford. And sure enough, he was able to buy that. $125,000 now, back then. Several years later, he calls me up and says, hey, we can afford a $700,000 house now because the wife is working and he had a better job. So then we found a place in Kaliki with two homes on it. So his red is covering most of his mortgage. And his mortgage was about the same as his Uluwehi house. Wow. You can believe it. That's really awesome. I just talked to him a few days ago. He said, hey, AJ, how you doing? He goes, oh man, we love it. And he's introduced me to several of his friends that are in the same boat and are first-time buyers. And I sent him the HHOC. So I have a real fun relationship with HHOC. Their people are wonderful. And they teach people how to prepare to become a homeowner rather than spend your life being a tenant. Yes. I love that. And I love that you have a relationship with them and together that you help people become first-time homeowners again. And just like me, even though I owned property before, I owned it when I was married. And through divorce, I ended up being a renter. So through the Hawaii Home Ownership Center and with, of course, your help, Abe, that I was able to be what I consider a first-time homeowner again at the end of 2020 with your help. And I just want to say that you've given very generous donations to me as a qualifying first-time homeowner again. And then you've also given to my nonprofit, Azalea's Legacy Outreach, which is the main sponsor of Safe Ride Hawaii, a service that gets intoxicated drivers and their cars home safely. So I want to just thank you again for your generosity to me in buying a home and then to my daughter's foundation. And I want you to just share about your charity program. Sure. Well, it was a no-brainer as far as giving back to you, because I knew you were a first-time homeowner, single-mother, with three children. And I had great empathy for people like you and you worked hard. So I was glad to give back part of my commissions to you and a way of credit so you could come in with less cash available. And I've done that to quite a few of my clients. But one of my passions is to donate back to charities. So we had an agent who had a house listing in Luano for $1.8 million. And the thing that got us the listing was we told the owner, we donated part of our commissions to our favorite charity, which was our church. So the buyer walked in and didn't have an agent. So now we have two sites that we could give part of our commission to. But my agent, so generous, she says, what do we do with the buyer's commission? I said, Luano, what do you want to do? She goes, let's donate both sites. So we donated the seller's site and the buyer's site to her favorite charity. We donated over $20,000 to our church. That's really amazing. Yeah, it's amazing. One sale, $20,000. So we've done this many times over, not that much. But we donated $10,000 to make a wish, $10,000 to big brothers, big sisters. We're doing something for an Institute of Human Services for the mothers and the children so they can have some shaded area to play in. And that's our next project. But we donated about $75,000 to 50 charities last year. And they're all small, you know, a few thousand, a few hundred. The charities now love us because when they have a property that they want to sell or they have a supporter that wants to buy or sell, they'll say, who use these guys? Because they'll donate part of their commission back to us. We've had some listings because of that. We have some buyers and sellers that said, oh, you're going to donate? Yeah. And they said, well, we'll use you. And so that's what's been inspiring my agents to say, wow, this thing really works. Yes, yes it does. Will you bring up the slide for the charity? And Abe, how long have you had this program? Oh, it's been decades. Yeah, but in the last, it's the last year or two, I had a fellow named Patrick Bullard who runs Heinrich and Bullard. He's one of the largest advertising firms in Hawaii. He and I sit on the same committee for Hawaii Moonship Center. I told Patrick about this idea. He says, hey, I'll help you make a brochure. And so we have a professional brochure that he made for us to promote this charity donation program. The way that people just support us, you know, from different groups. And so we're very fortunate that we're able to do this. And we hope that more and more businesses would do that. And we'd be glad to work with anybody that has a buyer seller who donate part of our commission to their favorite charity. Thank you for that. Including Azalea's. Yes, and if you would bring up that slide as well, this is Abe Lee with his very generous donation to Azalea's Legacy Outreach. So it's greatly appreciated. I didn't even know about this charity program until you helped me buy my home and, you know, having the discussion about it, I was able to find out about this charity program. So thank you again, Abe, and thank you for your very generous donation, everything that you do in the community, helping first-time home owners. And the book that you wrote, I'm sure that it helped many Hawaii residents purchase their first home. So I just wanted to thank you again for being a guest today. Thank you. Thank you for your knowledge, for sharing your wisdom, for sharing your experiences of going from zero to millions. So is there any last minute words that you would like to share with the viewers? Yes, people are afraid the same, you know, we're overpriced in the marketplace. So when they see the median price of a million dollars for homes, they forget that half the homes are under a million dollars and half the homes are over a million dollars. So there's still homes out there that could be somewhat affordable, although they're more expensive than the mainland. Right. Well, condominiums, same thing, $500,000 or $400,000, sorry, median price, half of them below $400,000. So there are opportunities to buy first-time homes. Now, obviously you can't be in Hawaii Loa or in Manoa on the first buy, but you got to start off somewhere. You have to start somewhere. You got to start somewhere, and we want to help people do that. Thank you, Abe. Thank you. And I'm gonna give a lot of families hope. Thank you again for joining me today and being my guest. And viewers, please join me again on Monday, July 11th for another episode of Money Talk. Aloha. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for watching Think Tech Hawaii. If you like what we do, please like us and click the subscribe button on YouTube and the follow button on Vimeo. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and donate to us at thinktechawaii.com. Mahalo.