All Forum Posts by: Robert Jones

@Debbie Wilcox. Thanks for the STR legislation summary. I own 0 STR, but this is still frustrating to see an island shoot itself in the foot like this. There was obviously a huge demand for STR from tourists or vacationers. I expect that a lot of business in these areas, like the North Shore, are going to experience a sudden loss of business. Tourism is a pillar of income for Hawaii... maybe I'm missing something, but the legislation seems self harming.

The silver lining though is that change always provide opportunity. I’m curious about where the opportunity will come from, but I suspect that it may come from houses being priced competitively in the next 2-3 months from the sudden influx of supply. Maybe, maybe not.

Also, glad to see your on BP forums. I removed Facebook from my phone and replaced it with the BP app; much more sense of accomplishment! Also, Meetup.com has a couple groups that get together monthly/weekly.

See ya around!

@Mark Takaki

@Mark T.

@Mark Takaki I’m here with you on Oahu, and am looking to attend my first meetup this week over at Gordon Biersch. I know what you mean about how everything interests you, I’m in the same spot! But like @Robert J. mentioned, having your end goal in mind is a great way to sift through what would be the best of those options. Hope to see you around and see which direction you go!

@A Pettie

I’m over in Oahu and can’t speak to Maui County, but typically that info would reside on the county’s or county related website. Also, foreclosure auctions are not usually done one at a time; usually as a group on a single day or the week or month. Maui’s newspaper would likely have a few dates listed. Not a clear and confident answer, but I hope it gets you going in the right direction until someone more knowledgeable steps in!

@Tyler D'Alessandro like these guys have said land tenure vs fee simple. In the rest of the world (US Mainland), when you buy a house, the land that the house sits on is part of the sale and purchase agreement. HI is a little crazy because many of the more reasonably priced houses are sold as land tenure; meaning you own the house/condo, but not the land it rests on. This causes some issues. If the lease term for the land (typically made in 100 year increments) has less than 30 years on, a mortgage lender won’t do a 30 year loan. Also, if you did have a loan for 30 years, the lease expires on year 31 and is not renewed, that newly paid off condo becomes property of the leaser... not a good situation. On top of all that, you could be stuck with the condo if you own it but there is less than 30 years on the lease because other potential buyers don’t want or can’t get financing because of the short amount of time remaining on the lease; probably feels like holding a ticking time bomb! Land leases not being renewed is not common, but it happens... if it is renewed though, prices for that condo will probably go back up quickly.

I not sure, but I’ll pretend like many of us recognize this situation... getting up from the toilet and your legs aren’t functioning because you been sitting there for 30 minutes and they’ve fallen asleep. All while browsing through Facebook, Instagram, or whatever else. I’ve always found the worst part isn’t my inability to stand up... to be honest I find it to be a mix of amusing and embarrassing. To me though, the worst part is that I just wasted 30 minutes or more and got absolutely nothing done. But, there are always going to be occasions where we are waiting for life to happen; on the toilet, the DMV, doctors, or where ever. I’m interested in knowing if you’ve found yourself feeling same way, and what you do to provide yourself a better sense of accomplishment during that lull. For myself, I stopped the endless scrolling through Facebook and began to open the BiggerPockets forum to read, post, respond. Maybe you found something even better? Tell me about it! Also, for a laugh and if it’s not completely embarrassing, have your legs fallen asleep while wasting time on the toilet?

@Travis Henry

Ahh! Here it is, 12:20 on August 8th and I just noticed this post 😩. Hope it was a good meetup, I look forward to getting to September’s!

@Chris Chantavong thanks for the info!! That 5% is a fairly significant difference too! I’ll be shopping around the local banks in August to see which one might meet my needs the best. I e been pointed toward Hawaii State Federal Credit Union, but will check into the numerous other local banks in Hawaii, especially with your lead!

@Jeffrey Hamilton What’s happening! I am in Hawaii now, but considering the same thing with my property in Virginia. Interesting I have the same the percentage balance on a house now worth approx $310,000. From what I’ve gathered abou HELOC, what is available is essentially the dIfference between: Mortgage Balance and (Property Value - 20%). In botg of our cases, it leaves about 5% of the current value. Additional fees for starting the HELOC are up to the lender, but that $24,000 being available might be good for what you have in mind. The value of my property is about half that, and I’m not sure what having $12k available will do for me in Hawaii. Hope I’m not preaching to the choir on this one!