July 22, 2022

When the Shontofski family found their dream home last November, they didn’t have to look far – it was just a few blocks away in Oahu’s Mililani Mauka neighborhood. They purchased their first home in Hawaii 3 years ago, and with two children and three pets, they needed more space.

“We were watching the houses that popped up in our neighborhood, and we found one we liked,” Melissa Shontofski said. “We fell in love with it. It was a perimeter lot by woods with lots of space for the kids to play.”

Melissa and her husband Dan Shontofski, who work at Wheeler Army Airfield and Schofield Barracks respectively, called their friend and REALTOR® Casey Aytes with Century 21 iProperties Hawaii. Melissa was so excited to see the home that she picked Casey up at the airport as he returned from vacation and drove directly to the home.

“The home has a great view and is nearly double the size of the home that they owned,” Casey said.

The 3,000-square-foot home was already on the market, and homes were moving fast, Casey said. To restore their VA Home Loan Certificate, Melissa and Dan immediately prepared their home to sell. With two weeks to go before Christmas, they took down holiday decorations and put away personal items, while also packing for a planned vacation to the mainland.

“The day we were taking photos to list their house, we got a call that an offer was accepted on the other house,” Casey said. “Melissa and Dan were so sad but I encouraged them to put in a back-up offer.”

In the meantime, Melissa and Dan listed their home and entered escrow within five days, with the contingency that they would need to find a new home prior to completing the sale. They continued to stay in contact with the listing agent, while looking at several other houses. A little over a month later, they were notified that the first offer fell through following several extensions, and their offer was accepted.

“We never thought in a million years our backup offer would be accepted,” Melissa said. “None of the other homes we saw were as nice, and our search was very specific.”

They closed the sale and the purchase back-to-back and completed the move in March after renting back from the buyers of their house for two weeks.

Casey, a longtime Oahu REALTOR® and military servicemember, and his family “were there in the trenches with us to help us move,” Melissa said. While having the floors replaced in their new home, they moved in room by room, following the flooring crew each day as they finished.

“It is their dream home, and it was an excellent transaction all around,” Casey said.