All Forum Posts by: Michael Borger

As you indicated yourself, it's mostly throwing away money because you have nothing left at the end of the lease. It's a steady march to zero. That being said, I've flipped leasehold condos before- both by keeping them as leaseholds and by buying out the fee. But you're talking about keeping it yourself, which is a different analysis. Still, I think you'd find it difficult to find one that would be a good long-term investment unless you had another ~20-30 years to go, it's at least cash neutral, and you don't plan to hold it too long (to avoid too much investment loss and before you get to the point where it's unsellable because of too few years left); that's another way of saying that maybe it suits your cash needs in the near-term or is at least less of a pill to swallow than other options until you find something that's more of a sensible long-term play

Welcome to the club. I do the occasional Big Island deal - either side.

Mike Lambert above is correct about house values in Japan. It's not like here in the states. I go to Japan almost every year -- the demographic future is not positive. I see abandoned, teardown houses everywhere.

You have to find the areas that are either zoned for Hotel and Resort or have NUCs (non-conforming use) certificates. On Oahu, that will mostly put you in Waikiki. I was on island earlier in the month for an eviction trial and stayed at the Waikiki Banyan for a few nights - that seems to be a popular STR building. For last year's eviction trial (seems to be a recurring theme for me - three years in a row!), I stayed in the Waikiki Sunset which was also fine.

You just have to run your numbers like any other deal. Be conservative because demand can go up or down at any time as can the laws -- a good general rule of thumb for STR is to make sure it still makes sense as an LTR. I had a STR in another market get shut down by zoning, so I put construction workers in there on a 30+day stay over the summer and now have a MTR tenant to keep the lights on through May after which I'll sell since I have no guarantee on having another 30+day contract next summer.

Aloha, Angela - welcome to BP. I've been in the Hawaii flip scene for about a decade. I no longer live there but come back as needed (like later today for my North Shore property).

Welcome to the group, @Jerem Kaawaloa . Hawaii is one of the two markets I operate in (and Anchorage, AK). It's a good place for flips; cash flow maybe not so much compared to mainland markets. I'm closing on a nice condo deal this Friday. I'll probably get notice of settlement while I'm in court for an eviction on a North Shore property, lol. 

Don't mess around. Get an attorney ASAP, not just to protect your own interests but to get ahead of others in the same boat who may be considering the same thing. Be first in line.

Hi @Michele Hart - I'm sorry to hear about your mom. I've been in your situation and nothing can prepare you for losing a parent. As mentioned elsewhere, as much as you're able to do so now, handle all estate matters so you can avoid probate. If it does go to probate, hopefully your brothers and you can amicably go the informal route vs formal (I've worked with families in both when buying properties out of probate and informal is FAR easier).

Since there's no debt on the house, maybe you could sell with financing or maybe you could even buy out your brothers with financing -- that way you maintain ownership and just pay them a monthly amount.

I don't think anyone would ever recommend to NOT consult an attorney, but you're likely pretty safe with a lease from Avail. I'm using theirs for one of my Alaska properties.

I understand you're a realtor, but this sounds like an extremely niche property. Unless you specialize in this niche, you may be better served by working with a luxury realtor who focuses on these types of properties -- mixed use, commercial, international, etc.