Working with Everett Arakawa to secure our VA loan was an exceptional experience. His patience, knowledge, and steady guidance made the entire process feel smooth and stress‑free. He took the time to explain every step clearly, answered all of our questions with care, and ensured we always felt supported and informed. We're truly grateful for his professionalism and expertise throughout this journey. Highly recommend Everett to anyone looking for a dedicated and trustworthy MLO. read more

Smart Money - A-Team - Mortgage Brokers Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I am a first time homeowner in Hawaii, and a big reason why goes to Everett Arakawa over at SmartMoney. While shopping for lenders, I found Everett & SmartMoney to be the brokerage that offered the best rate and loan option for my particular situation that no other lender could offer. I even had an executive at a local bank here in Hawaii shocked by what Everett & SmartMoney offered me, as their own bank couldn't even match that rate. Throughout the entire process, Everett answered my calls and texts and was very thorough in explaining my options. Being a first time homeowner, a lot of this was new information, however he was great in taking it step by step and explaining everything. It felt like he works 24/7 by how fast he answered my questions, which I really value a lot. A big reason for my unwillingness to own a home after all these years was the fear of how much it costs. Everett did a great job in keeping my monthly payment down to where I won't have to worry financially or live paycheck-to-paycheck. I can gladly say if I was to buy another home or refinance, Everett will for sure be my go-to guy. read more

Smart Money - Mortgage Brokers Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

My family and I recently closed on our new home, and we couldn't have done it without the amazing team at Smart Money Hawaiʻi. A huge mahalo to Huyen and Will for guiding us through every step of the mortgage process. Buying a home can be overwhelming, especially with multiple family members involved, but they made everything feel manageable. They were always available to answer our questions, explain the next steps, and keep us updated throughout the process. What stood out most was how much they genuinely cared. We never felt like just another transaction--they took the time to understand our situation and worked hard to help us reach the finish line. Thanks to their dedication and expertise, we were able to close quickly and smoothly. read more

It is always a pleasure working with Everett! This is the 4th time he's helped us with buying and refinancing our homes and each time, he made sure that the whole process is smooth, efficient and uncomplicated for us. He is extremely knowledgeable, answered all our questions and always has a great strategy when navigating through unexpected situations. Everett has great communication skills, always honest and supportive through the whole process. Our family highly recommends Everett and Smart Money to anyone in need of mortgage financing. read more

I make a decent living, but I am not saavy with money, or life admin in general. I hate buying real-estate because there are just too many line-items, forms, disclosures, etc. William Rodriguez is continuous with details but easy going to deal with and made the process so easy for me. I can't say enough good things about about him. read more

Great local experts that are committed to supporting their clients get best rates, types of loans and do everything with Aloha!!! Great and quick response time and appreciate them telling me the truth and doing what best for me not them! Blessings and will definitely do more business with Smart Money! read more

Darci was so great to work with and came at the recommendation of a friend in the real estate business. She was very responsive and answered all my many questions. She jumped on many phone calls to discuss anything that was harder to explain via email or text. She was honest with us along the process and when our initial lender pulled out, she walked us through the next steps and was able to find another lender (which worked out as the rates dropped a little). She was so patient with us through everything and made it feel like we had another person in our corner through the whole process of purchasing our first home. I recommend Darci at Smart Money if you want someone in your corner who will take the time to explain the process! read more

Devan KWEE is the man! He's the best loan officer ever! Highly recommend him if you need any home loans. He helped us achieve our dream of home ownership twice. A true professional with so much knowledge and patience. Mahalo nui Devan for everything you've done for us! read more

Everett helped my husband and I buy our first single family home for our family. I loved working with him as he is professional, kind, considerate and responsive. He answered all of our questions well. I could tell that he was in this business to help others and make buying a house painless. I recommend choosing this company and Everett as your mortgage advisor as he will take care of you! We thank Everett and his team for communicating well and helping us close on the house of our dreams. read more

Tami from Smart Money was AMAZING! She walked us through all that we needed to do every step of the way. We are so grateful to her for all she did to help us close the purchase of our new home so quickly!!!! read more

So appreciative of everything Eric & his team did for us. They explained everything so thoroughly and helped us every step of the way. Eric communicated well and very frequently to ensure the home buying process was smooth. Thank you Eric!! read more

Everett helped us with our mortgage, and then our refinance a year later. When we found our new home unexpectedly, we called Everett to see if he could help us get pre-approval asap so we could make an offer on our place right away. He was super responsive and helped make it happen. Along the way he always took the time to explain things since we had so many questions! He was extremely patient with us. A year later we did our refinance with him since the rates dropped and he made that process just as seamless! Highly recommend Everett at Smart Money! read more

Very professional, knowledgeable and quick response. Made our first home buying journey easy! Lots of paperwork that were needed and Darci was a big help in gathering them for me. Thanks Darci! read more

Ian Quirk was helpful throughout my application and acceptance of the mortgage process Friendly, willing to go the extra mile! Thorough, detail oriented every step of the way. He scheduled the appraisal, arranged for the insurance coverage and title too! read more

Working with Everett at Smart Money was the best move we made! He and his team committed and delivered! Our experience working with him and the Smart Money Team was nothing but excellent. His timeliness, efficiency and overall professionalism was valuable and grately appreciated. He delivered all that he said he would right from the start of our connection in such a manner that made the process of purchasing our property with ease, kindness and care. We would highly recommend Everett and his team to anyone looking for a lender and we look forward to working with him again in the future. read more

When looking for the best deal possible, I was stoked to meet Eddie with Smart Money. I was a little nervous at first since I never used a broker before usually relying on my trusted bank. After going through the pre-qualification process with my bank, I decided to give it a shot with Smart Money. That was the BEST DECISION I could have made. Sure, it was great getting a stellar rate on my loan, but what is even better is having someone on island that I trust when it comes to financing large purchases. I even reached out to Eddie several months later and he bent over backwards to get me in touch with the right people for another transaction. Personally, I trust Eddie and the Smart Money team and THAT is invaluable. read more

We have worked with Everett through 2 refinances within the last couple of years and he has saved us a ton of money. He has great insight within the industry and is able to provide strategic plans that meet your financial goals. With Everett, he treats you like family and it's exemplified through his customer service, I would give him more than 5 stars if I could! He is prompt with following up and answering your questions. There's never a dumb question, in fact, he encourages it so he knows you're clearly understanding everything. Between the thought of all the paperwork, the unknown, and overall confusing mortgage process, not once did my wife and I feel lost because Everett was there to ensure everything was clear through the entire process. I would recommend Everett for your mortgage financing needs. Mahalo Everett for your great work! read more

I cannot say enough amazing things about the staff at Smart Money and the work they do! We are first time homeowners, working with a VA loan and Smart Money knew the ins and outs of what needed to be done but also kept US and our needs in mind-not just the lender! Special shout out to Will and Huyen for being on top of everything and getting us only the best! Thank you to Micah for setting us up with these awesome folks! (: read more

We were introduced to Wil - VP of Smart Money Hawaii by our realtor, Deedee Melchor. From the start, Wil had been nothing short of amazing. We were worried our transaction would be too complicated, but he took the challenge and made it seem so easy and made us feel comfortable! Our first transaction with him was lightening speed quick - his entire team (Huyen and Eric and everyone else) worked tirelessly to turn our VA to conventional within a mere few weeks! (Which they did so well). Their communication skills are exceptional - every text, call and email was answered and all of my "what if's" were taken care of. This was in addition to working with us to ALSO (simultaneously) purchase our single family home. Wil worked to customize every loan pre-approval to submit with our offer. He even went as far as offering to give the listing agent a call to vouch for us when we were crossing fingers for an accepted offer. We finally got the "call" for our dream home, and Wil and Huyen were rockstars. They truly catered to our every need and worked night and day to ensure everything was submitted on a timely manner. The Smart money app is the bomb!! It's so nice to know exactly where in the process you are, and be given specific documents to upload straight into the app. Huyen always followed up with an email, a text or a phone call, even with information in the app. Small bonus: these super cute custom animated videos would come through in email whenever we complete certain steps. So nice! We had some hiccups in the loan process, but Wil never made us feel worried, he had solutions and walked us through them as if it were a good thing. Talk about customer service at its finest! We were given 11/17 as a rough recording date and we did it on the 19th!! What an amazing team and I'm so happy to work with Smart Money Hawaii! They made magic happen from documents via docusigned (best thing ever) to notary signings at our home at 930pm at our convenience. Thank you Eric and Huyen! Moving forward, we will be doing a VA IRRRl and Wil (being a VA specialist and a veteran himself) already sent us a calendar invite to prepare and start the process. 5 stars all the way!!! read more

Smart Money - Mortgage Brokers Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I would highly recommend Smart Money Hawaii, with Tyler Tanigawa. His expertise has shown with getting us the best rates on the market! We are ecstatic with his services, and his professionalism is second to none! We are so Greatful for all that Tyler has done for us! read more

Sean Iwanski - is the best lender on planet earth! Where to begin... My wife and I started house hunting 14 months ago... right as the pandemic was sweeping the world. We were in a very precarious position... we want a nice house (around 800,000, in hawaii, with only 5% down...) we basically came to sean with the impossible. Oh yea,.. and we don't qualify for USDA and we're extremely picky about the home. 50 offers and one failed escrow later, we changed agents and lenders. Our agent was great but she had so many high level clients, we felt a little left behind. Our previous lender was great as well... but seemed to be getting a bit tired of our situation. Sean on the other hand, even if he was tired of our situation, he kept pushing forward. Sean got us an 825,000 home, with a 5% down payment, at 2.65%..... Sean is the man!! He is so on top of his game and so dang creative with the way he structures everything. I can't recommend Sean and the whole smart money team enough. Sean, you've made us so happy and we would refer you to absolutely anyone! If Sean can do what he did for us... then I think he can certainly help you! read more

Everett was incredibly helpful throughout our entire home buying process, especially since we were first-time homebuyers! We have complicated income (part-time, self-employed, flex pay, etc.) and Everett was able to show us all of our options available to us. In this time of turmoil, Everett was able to work efficiently with our bank and also keep the seller's agent happy as well. He was so reassuring during the whole process and managed to balance getting us a great rate without us having to pay our loan down at a high rate. We were so grateful to have Everett on our side and that he was on call for us whenever we needed. He has also followed up with us after our purchase to make sure we know what options were available to us for potential refinancing if rates continue to drop. We highly recommend Everett. He is incredibly smart so we know anyone would be in good hands working with him! read more

Smart Money - Everett helping us with our closing! - Mortgage Brokers Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

We worked with Eddie on our home loan. He found a mortgage option from a local bank which fit our specific situation better than anything else we found online. He and the whole Smart Money team were very quick to respond to questions and kept us updated throughout the whole process. We'd be happy to use them again - everything went smoothly, and we're closing ahead of schedule! read more

We highly recommend Smart Money! Our friends and family know they are the ones we choose and they're our number ones! The Smart Money Team is the only team we trust. Will, Daryn, and especially Daniel, are our guys! They're hardworking, honest, funny, knowledgeable, truthful, think outside the box, and truly care about your situation. Daniel does an amazing job listening to your needs and caters the approach and the plan based on your actual situation. He gives you the best numbers to run with , and allows you to make the best decision for you and your family. The Smart Money team stays on top of the market and knows exactly what's going on. While they specialize in VA Loans, and First Time Home Buyers, they're experts on the island and will give you the information you need to truly move forward with your dreams. If I could give them 100 stars, trust me, Daniel and the entire team deserves it! Thank you Smart Money for going above and beyond! read more

Eddie and his crew at Smart Money made purchasing our first home a breeze. Eddie kept us up-to-date and informed throughout the entire process (even when we were still on the east coast). He took many opportunities to check in and answer our questions about the process-- as first time home buyers we had ALOT of questions and he was so patient and helpful making sure we felt secure with everything along the way. We can't imagine this process without his expertise! read more

Working with Huyen at Smart Money is the best decision we made in making our home ownership dream a reality in Hawaii. Her expertise was essential in helping us secure the dream home we thought was beyond our means given current market conditions. She found the best rates for us and was able help us move to a new lender mid-way with an even better rate and still close in 18 days! Huyen and her team was a pleasure to work with -- answering all our questions, helping us plan for our future home, and keeping us updated throughout all the process. I look forward to working with Huyen and the Smart Money team for all my future financing needs. read more

Special shout-out to Eddie Akabane from Smart Money, who Joe from the O Team introduced me to, for working his loan processing sorcery to make sure I got the best loan package possible. From advising me on what steps I needed to follow to sell my house and reinstate my VA eligibility to making sure that I got the best deal possible, Eddie had my back. read more

Our experience working with Everett and the Smart Money Team was nothing but excellent. His timeliness, efficiency and overall professionalism was valuable and grately appreciated. He delivered all that he said he would right from the start of our connection in such a manner that made the process of purchasing our property with ease, kindness and care. We would highly recommend Everett and his team and we look forward to working with him again in the future. read more

We recently purchased our first house on Oahu with Robin Hood @ Smart Money. From the very get-go, Robin was extremely thorough, gracious, kind and professional. She took the time at the beginning of our home-buying journey to walk through various scenarios of payments, which helped us make a final decision on purchase price. Once we made a decision, her professionalism continued as she helped arrange all paperwork that the lender and underwriter required, and even coordinated directly with our realtor. It wasn't just their personality that won us - their rates were much more competitive than other commercial banks in the area (FHB, BoH, etc.). While a home-buying decision doesn't come every so often, I will be using Smart Money again in the future should/when I buy another home. I would wholeheartedly recommend Smart Money (and Robin) for their mortgage services! read more

Smart Money - Happy customers! - Mortgage Brokers Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I wanted to give a shout out to Darci at Smart Money Hawaii. Darci, Daryn and the Smart Money Hawaii team took great care of us and gave us updates the whole process. If you are looking for someone that is patient, has excellent follow up and has amazing service, then give them a call. Ask for Darci and tell her Nate sent you!! read more

Eddie found me home loan quickly with what was within my means. He is knowledgeable, professional and attentive. I recommend him and his company for anyone who is reading this. read more

It's always a pleasure working with Everett! He's professional, responsive, very thorough and I appreciated his diligence and persistence in getting things done on a timely basis. Have done 2 refis with Everett and he got us great rates and good pricing!!! The process was smooth and everything went well. Would highly recommend Everett!! read more

100% stoked on our experience with Everett Arakawa and Smart Money. He was there with us throughout every step. Everett definitely helped to make the complex process as smooth and understandable as possible. Would recommend without hesitation to anyone interested in a home loan. Mahalo read more

I posted the following negative review, and was contacted by Wil for posting a negative review. Wil called me and left a voicemail, he texted me, and he emailed me. I implicitly stated to Wil that I do not want to be contacted by him, yet he felt the need to ignore my request and continued to email me attempting to justify his actions. I am publically ordering a cease and desist notice, as of now, that I do not want any further direct communication from this organization. After talking to the owner of the company, he stated that he would reply to my review and that I "may not like" what is posted. I feel that I have been harrassed and retaliated against by Daryn and his staff, specifically Wil. I should not have to feel harrassed or intimidated for posting a negative review on the internet. The owner of the company has the right to reply to my post and defend his company, which is what should have happened--and then the public can judge for themselves whether they want to engage in business with this particular organization. Instead, they felt the need to call me, text me and email me with their version of MY experience. I am standing by my post and will not be made to feel intimidated or harrassed or retaliated against for posting a negative review on an open forum. This organization cannot accept constructive criticism, and feels the need to "defend" itself with every negative review. I have read replies to other negative posts and have been astounded by their effort to re-write the customers experience and defend their actions instead of just graciously and humbly apologizing, or just letting it go--even if they feel the customer is wrong and they are right. This is Customer Service 101. So I am re-posting my review, after thoughtful consideration and even after speaking to the owner, because this is MY experience and my review. And I can expect the owner to reply and present his version of accounts, as though I am the one who is being reviewed. If this is a stand-up professional organization then their reviews and reputation and actions should speak for itself--without feeling the need to go after every negative review. And from reading the reviews it looks like almost everyone is satisfied with their product. It just so happens that I am not. The following review was posted on 2/8/21: Don't be fooled by the reviews. If you are a first time buyer, do your research. These guys promised they could beat the rate of another lender and then changed it up on me when it was getting close to closing time--by which time it was too late to switch lenders. If you are a first time buyer, like I was, do your research and seek out ALL of your options. People will take advantage of your inexperience and lack of knowledge. If you are a VETERAN, seek out other VA lenders. Dont be misguided by Will just because he claims to be a former marine. Then, when it was time for refinancing these guys dodged my calls and Will flat out told me it was not worth it to refinance, they also said that I could not get the rate that I wanted-- basically trying to discourage me from refinancing. I went through Aligned Mortgage for refinancing and easily got the 2.25% rate that I wanted, at minimal cost. Dont be fooled by their selling point that they are a mortgage broker and have access to different products, whereas other lenders are limited to just the company lender. Also dont be fooled by their "local" approach. Bottom line, whether you are a "local" or a veteran, of which I am both, do your research and dont be fooled by "excellent and responsiveness" reviews--look at what is being offered, ask questions, and hold them accountable, and dont be afraid to walk away and go with another lender. You wont hurt their feelings. Its all about money, your money. If I had it to do over again I would have gone with another lender. Good luck. read more

Eddie is attentive, an excellent communicator, and an awesome person to meet in real life. He made a complicated process a real breeze, gently prompting us when we missed some things, educating us along the way. You won't go wrong with Eddie. Five stars +. read more

On my husband and I journey in the home buying process, we went through two other companies before being referred to Eddie and Smart Money Hawaii by our amazing realtor Joe from The O Team. We were feeling nearly hopeless and defeated after being told no by the two other companies, but Eddie took on the challenge. Despite our unique situation, Eddie never gave up on us. He is meticulous and diligent and never failed to remain honest and transparent. Our ohana appreciates his patience and him sharing his knowledge and expertise with us about the different types of loans and processes. Despite the craziness of the ever changing mortgage rates, Eddie made sure we got the best rate. Also, Eddie went above and beyond by keeping in communication with the seller of the home in which he did not have to do. We will definitely be reaching out again when we refi onto VA loan. Mahalo Eddie & team for all of your hard work in making sure we got our dream home! read more

Hi! I just wanna share my experience about Smart Money Inc, Me and my husband been dreaming to have our own house. We went to many lenders and everyone tried because I have special credit history and different situation. We are in an escrow and thought everything will be okay- but still not happened to close. We are like- okay then try again. But my seller team is very nice to make things easier and advice us to go to Smart Money- as we really want to get the house because it's our really preferred location. I search about Smart Money and I was shocked to their mission, to help Hawaiian people. So we trusted the process to Smart Money and especially to Sir Everett, its a smooth transaction- he's professional, he know what he doing. I just give what he needs and he did the rest. Good interest rate especially with today market. He did a great job for buying my interest points and down payment, not worrying about all my saving will be drain because of buying a house. Thank you is not enough for what they did to us. I learned a lot in my situation and I can feel that there's no judgement just pure helping and fulling dreams. Thanks Sir Everett, will be forever grateful. God bless Smart Money Inc. read more

After just completing my refinance with Will, Daniel, Darci and Eddie. I have nothing bad to say. I met Will at my condo gym. After months of getting to know him, he started the process of a refinance for my condo. He is very patient and knowledgeable. The whole Smart Money team is personable and efficient at what they do for an affordable price. If you want nothing but the best, check this company out for your next mortgage! From now on, I will recommend this company to all my friends and clients. read more

Knowledgeable.Friendly Staff and always Prompt to respond to any concern throughout processing time.Make client feel comfortable in times of streesfull and hectic submission of documents. read more

Daniel Quach is our go to. Him and his team are super knowledgeable, friendly and absolutely the best hands down. If you're looking for any lending services you cannot go wrong with them. read more