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  • Housing costs/property taxes

    Hi all,

    Im moving to hawaii and want to buy an appartment.

    Can somebody tell me what the costs are to buy an appartment $400 to $500k. What are the approximate property taxes on Oahu?

    Are there any other hidden costs that I should know about?

    Thanks in advance.

    Jon

  • #2
    Re: Housing costs/property taxes

    Go to: http://www.oahure.com/

    Select an area, select a building, and then everything for sale in that building is listed, often with pictures of the unit. Additional information includes property tax, homeowners dues and what they include, and recent sales. The site is a goldmine of information.
    Peace, Love, and Local Grindz

    People who form FIRM opinions with so little knowledge only pretend to be open-minded. They select their facts like food from a buffet. David R. Dow

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Housing costs/property taxes

      Speaking of.......I HATE August (February too but not as badly). I am
      grateful to own a home but those are property tax months, August has
      homeowner's insurance so it's a double whammy!

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Housing costs/property taxes

        Leashlaws...can your lender create an impounds account for you? That way you pay 1/12 of your prop. taxes and insurance with your monthly mortgage payment and the lender pays those bills. Another option is to open a savings account, money market account or money market fund and pay that 1/12 amount into it each month. Unfortunately, there's no way to get around paying those expenses so it boils down to finding the best and easiest way to do it...psychologically!

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Housing costs/property taxes

          Originally posted by tutusue View Post
          Leashlaws...can your lender create an impounds account for you? That way you pay 1/12 of your prop. taxes and insurance with your monthly mortgage payment and the lender pays those bills. Another option is to open a savings account, money market account or money market fund and pay that 1/12 amount into it each month. Unfortunately, there's no way to get around paying those expenses so it boils down to finding the best and easiest way to do it...psychologically!
          Thanks for the tips! It's such a great forum here that everyone is so helpful!
          I just plan well for August to be sure and February usually seems to just
          work o.k. too. My SIL was saying that in CO you can pay all your taxes at
          once which why anyone would want to do that is beyond me! Off topic
          but in the "what's for dinner" thread I wanted to know what you had at Bali
          that was especially good!

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Housing costs/property taxes

            For Hawaii tax rates, click here http://www.tfhawaii.org/taxes/property.html

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Housing costs/property taxes

              Originally posted by leashlaws View Post
              [...]Off topic but in the "what's for dinner" thread I wanted to know what you had at Bali that was especially good!
              Oh, I missed that earlier, leashlaws. Sorry. Every once in awhile, and for some unknown reason, unread HT threads get marked as read so I miss 'em! Anyway, I replied!

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Housing costs/property taxes

                Aloha,

                Just a few things we have learned from experience since we started looking. I moved here in February and my wife arrived in May. If you have any other questions I can help with let me know. I did post some basic facts in introductions, just do a search on my id owensct.


                1. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS get a home inspection, if we hadn't we would have bought places that had major problems. The houses/condos here tend to have hidden issues.

                2. Property condition, take it with a grain of salt. One place we were looking at said above average, but the home inspector said it was close to a tear down.

                3. Most lenders will not lend on a property that is in below average condition.

                4. Most insurance agencies will not insure a place that is in less than average condition, thus making it impossible to close escrow.

                5. If you get a place close to the water you’ll need to do research to get homeowners insurance. Depending on how close to the water it is a lot of companies will not insure the property.

                4. If you’re looking to buy a teardown for the land or a vacant lot most lenders require 25% of the asking price down, which can be a hefty amount.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Housing costs/property taxes

                  Originally posted by jonw68 View Post
                  Hi all,

                  Im moving to hawaii and want to buy an appartment.

                  Can somebody tell me what the costs are to buy an appartment $400 to $500k. What are the approximate property taxes on Oahu?

                  Are there any other hidden costs that I should know about?

                  Thanks in advance.

                  Jon
                  And besides all the other advice going on, be sure to become familiar with the concept of lease land vs fee simple land. If you don't already know the differences, you'll want to become educated on what those terms mean before you start house hunting (and don't just trust a realtor trying to make a quick sale to tell you the drawbacks of lease, do your own homework!).
                  Now run along and play, but don’t get into trouble.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Housing costs/property taxes

                    Here's a recent article you might find interesting. Be sure to read the comments offered by various readers as the page scrolls on down past the article. The comments are continued on a second page, also. Food for thought.

                    http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/ap...ef=patrick.net

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                    • #11
                      Re: Housing costs/property taxes

                      Thanks for the "food for thought." Interesting read, especially the comments. More reasons we will wait a while and work on the savings accounts.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Housing costs/property taxes

                        What so bad about August in hawaii?

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Housing costs/property taxes

                          Originally posted by Janette View Post
                          What so bad about August in hawaii?
                          August and February are the two months when property tax payments are due (I'm guessing).

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Housing costs/property taxes

                            O right when we have tax on everything over here in the uk including pay tax on house, food, phone bills, petrols, gas, electrice, just about everything is as tax on it, which I thing I speak for every Uk pple its a dam rip of and bloody dear do.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Housing costs/property taxes

                              Originally posted by Leo Lakio View Post
                              August and February are the two months when property tax payments are due (I'm guessing).
                              Bingo!

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