There are 3 things that jump out to me as ways you could could make improvements without taking out a second mortgage. The first is painting. There's nothing wrong with the present color per se, but the "barracks" paint scheme -- of everything being the same color -- lacks in punch and interest. I earlier got through speaking about it in another thread and my advice would be the same here. I think the overall best general scheme is some version of grey/taupe with white trim. In order to make it work, the body color must be dark enough such that white is a contrast. If they're too close (as your color is now) is just doesn't have the necessary punch. But you could take the same color and intensify it. Search Google Images for "taupe (and grey/ seafoam/ sage/ mauve, etc.) house with white trim" and you'll see the vein of schemes I'm talking about. Some of the greys can be too "cold" so watch out for that. And steer away from too strong of colors. If you were to go this route it would definitely make the porch area stand out with greater importance since it is comprised of a lot of trim. (I would not paint garage doors white, just the trim. Also, what helps improve the look of garage doors is replacing the top panel of each door with a panel that has windows all across it.) Another way you could improve the overall looks is to re-do the front walk, as it has amazing power to set the impression for the whole house. A skinny little walk makes a whole house look cheap. Yours is average, but it could be substantially improved if made wider. Bringing it farther from the house and creating a larger landing would bring greater stature to the whole "entering" experience. The third thing you could do is improve the landscape planting. Nothing about it now jumps out as horrible and there are some nice features (mainly palms) within it, but it is a long way from "showstopper" quality. If you want some general suggestions on that, retake a battery of slightly overlapping pictures with the camera lined up with the center of the house, while standing at the edge of the street (a little closer than these pictures.) Pan the camera from far left to far right showing surroundings of the yard, and do not change position between photos.

I have no idea what building costs are in Hawaii but I am currently doing a gut remodel of my condo. It's a high rise with restrictions and in Los Angeles which is extremely expensive labor area - material costs are less variable regionally. Mine is definitely not a building grade remodel as I am opting for high end materials since the space is not that large and the labor is really the same whether I spend a bit more to get what I love or compromise. Marble for counters and floors in bathrooms, granite; extremely expensive tile; fairly expensive wood floors; replacing interior doors; skim coating the ceiling (had to remove asbestos popcorn); construction of two tiled showers; custom cabinets in quarter sawn oak (a LOT of them since I am also doing built ins for my office/den). The list is endless because there is literally nothing left in my condo after demo except for the HVAC :-) My costs are nowhere near the $574,000 that Sophie's formula would have you believe. And all of my construction is being done by licensed electricians and plumbers; licensed GC who has done work in my building and has worked with my designer on other projects so this is not being done by day laborers I picked up outside Home Depot :-) In my condo, the manager would be able to provide information on who has done a recent remodel. Perhaps you could get your realtor to contact the manager of the building you are interested in and then contact people to find out their sources. In my experience, people tend to be very helpful in this kind of situation in terms of supplying leads and information - a side benefit is that in a condo, it's always great to work with a GC who is familiar with the building in terms of both rules and quirks of the construction. That would at least give you a ballpark figure on the construction costs - I am essentially supplying all the materials that are optional in terms of price and quality and aesthetics - i.e. I supply the marble, tiles, floors, sinks, fixtures etc. and GC supplies labor and the underlying materials like the cork, plywood and glue for all the layers of the wood floors I am installing :-).

If it’s a major job, i always recommend moving out during the work. Living there while the Reno is ongoing is not too bad at first, but will at some point become a real pain.

I agree we need a to scale floor plan and you do not convert that garage you actually build a new addition to include that space You need an architect and depending on the rules maybe some permissions too . I have found in the UK many homes are listed even when you can't imagine why. I have never been one for keeping items that do not work with my design aesthetic so if modern is the aim those windows will need to go but you really need an architect to help make this happen and we need that floor plan.