All Forum Posts by: Royce Talbo

@Isi Nau how did your July rental go? I have a rental in Mililani that usually has numerous calls and now none. I am debating whether to drop the price more or wait it out. its a 3bd/1bath. I was asking $2200 dropped it down to $2000. 

My sister has a large studio in kaneohe that usually has multiple applicants, but last month there was only 1.  

My friend in wahiawa was looking for roommates and no calls either.  

@Justin Young from the lenders I talked to locally, they all use the city and county records for a refi or HELOC. So you wont be paying for an appraisal unless the amount you want is over $250k was what I was told.

@Ruthie Hopkins From what your original post states, the appraiser should not be using bad comps and trying to make adjustments for them, they should be using good comps and make little adjustments even if they have to go back further or go further out and adjust for time and location it would be better then using bad comps.

I did a little digging and assuming this is the correct condo. That appraiser doesnt know what he is doing. There is no way this unit is worth $330k.  The previous sale of this property for $230k has no sale conditions, so not short sale, not foreclosure, it was open market and they did less than $15k worth of work replacing the cabinets, countertop, bathroom vanity, and paint.  They could have at least do a full rehab and change the floors and shower.  The other unit similar to yours that was fully rehabbed sold for $290k on 2/27/17.  FYI that is also not the best area its kinda sketchy at night and there is freeway noise.  This is all assuming its the correct unit I'm looking at, you should get out anyway you can or at least drop the price significantly.

@Sean Sakaida Why dont you refi into a 30 year? With rates still low you will start cashflowing immediately.  To me it doesnt make sense to be negative just so that you can be 0 debt and cashflow in the future.  Remember there is good debt and bad debt.  You could probably even refi and cash out a little to get some down payment for other properties without going negative.  The reason to refi into a 30yr is so that you have the options to cashflow, break even and pay off a little longer than 12 yrs, pay the same amount you are paying now and pay off in 12 years, or break even and take a little cash to purchase another property.  My personal opinion for Oahu is to never sell unless it is to buy a better property.  

@Randy Gaona Seems like you made up your mind, but before you do, think about what exactly your property manager does for you and is it worth the $265(10% of rent) you pay him a month.  I am assuming probably not as this is a newer home with an association.  If you cut him out, will you now break even or cashflow a little?  If yes everything you need to know about landlording is here on BP and just get familiar with the landlord tenant handbook and go with your gut and you are good to go.  Hawaii will appreciate and cashflow better than any other place in the long run.  Ultimately its up to you want you want to do, good luck.

@Donnia Soto I dont know much about them, but I know that every island has different regulations.  Also there are no mobile homes because there are not waste treatment plants to take the waste to.  If you are going to try and build a tiny home not on a trailer then it would still be considered a building structure and would have to follow the same restrictions as a regular house.

@Joel Duque-Estrada On Oahu if you are in a residential zoned area it is illegal to do short term rentals.  You are correct most people just ignore this law and it is enforced but barely because of under staffing/budget.  If you are lucky enough to get busted there is high fines and if you cancel upcoming stays you could run into trouble with the vacationers, so I wouldnt risk it. 

Also since you are moving off island you will need a point of contact on island that can manage your 30 day rental or long term rental.  I personally would just do a long term as there is less hassle and more of a steady income.  long term rentals here can be filled easily with 0 vacancy. vacation rentals will have lots of turn over meaning more wear and tear and managers take 50%, so the numbers I calculated before when I was looking into vacation rentals end up about the same.   

I'm confused, how is this going to work exactly? The article is for Big Island talking about Big Island tax, but they are talking about the state taxing real property to fund the DOE. The state does not run property tax, the counties do.  Property tax rates are different for every island, since it is county run and it supports emergency services, trash pick up, etc.  How is the State going to take this over?  Or are they going to have this as an additional tax to what the city charges?

@Jeremy Blackowl Why would he move in for 2 weeks and break his lease to buy a house?  It usually takes more than a few weeks to close on a place.  Doesnt make sense to me, but if he really doesnt want to be there I would let him leave if he wants to.  Forcing him to stay could cause trouble for you like property damage.  Oahu usually has 0 vacancies and its easy to find a replacement tenant, so you shouldn't lose any money, if you do, you can take it out of the security deposit to cover losses of a broken lease.  If you dont incur any loses, I'm pretty sure you cant keep any of the security deposit if I remember correctly, refer to the tenant landlord handbook.

@Rosston Smith I believe time is the most valuable thing and if you have to work a week to pay to hire a painter that can do it in a day vs you doing it in 2 days, you better be DIY.  If you have enough rentals that you make enough money in the 2 days it would take you to cover this expense, then hire it out.  Its all about measuring time and as they say time is money.