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I really worry about making a living on the islands, and also think that property taxes should not grow with land values. It is fundamentaly wrong. How is it that someone who lives on a fixed income, and bought their pad years ago on that fixed income, now needs to worry about the fact that other people moving en masse to the area, and the market changing, now means that they have to make more money. It is fundamentally wrong.
California's Proposition 13 was passed to remedy situations like the above. Unfortunately, the aftermath of Proposition 13 has not been beneficial for the majority of Californians. It introduced some major inequities, inefficiencies, and regressivity into California's tax structure and contributed to its lack of affordable housing. If a Proposition 13-type initiative were passed in Hawai'i, it would probably be disastrous. Hawai'i already has a dearth of affordable housing, poor public schools, inadequate infrastructure, and a host of other problems that would probably be exacerbated by capping the property tax rates. In addition, capping the property tax rates in Hawai'i would simply lead to an increase of "special assessments" to fund things that would have probably been covered by increasing property taxes in the first place.
Most of the counties in Hawai'i have age-based "exemptions" that reduce the taxable value of real property. In addition, homeowners over the age of 62 can tap their equity via a "reverse mortgage" in order to remain in their homes. If these measures aren't feasible, long-term residents of Hawai'i can always move to a place that has a lower cost-of-living, like Nevada.
Something to keep in mind when discussing propery taxes is that the assessments lag behind the market by about 18 months. For those who saw their taxes increase this year, but also are keeping up with current market values in the area where they own property, this has proven to be very confusing and frustrating. Advertising a property as "priced below assessed value" doesn't really mean much anymore if it is vacant land you selling. Hardest hit were areas like Nanawale, HOVE and other Kau subdivisions.
Something to keep in mind when discussing propery taxes is that the assessments lag behind the market by about 18 months. For those who saw their taxes increase this year, but also are keeping up with current market values in the area where they own property, this has proven to be very confusing and frustrating. Advertising a property as "priced below assessed value" doesn't really mean much anymore if it is vacant land you selling. Hardest hit were areas like Nanawale, HOVE and other Kau subdivisions.
Will the tax increase that occured last tax year be reversed then? My property was assessed at a value that it no longer is. Will my taxes go down and if so, when?
Flowermom! You are so much more positive than Mauidude. If I didn't know better, I would say he is trying to keep everyone from moving to Hawaii. It's not working Mauidude! Your plan has been discovered.
Glad your experience is good. Me and my hubby & girls are very excited to make a move, and after going there on vacation, we totally thought it was feasible. We do everything as frugal as possible. Not saying cheap, but living in OC, we learned to really spend our money wisely. Spend when needed and get the best bang for your buck without sacrificing quality or fun. I think we would be fine there.
Thanks for your post.
Keep in mind that this person is buying a house and you are renting.
She's probably much better off than you are from the start.
hawaii is "expensive" if you have lived in low cost of living areas. Where I'm from, the prices are about the same so moving to Hawaii was not a huge shock at all. In some ways, it's less expensive than where I'm from (gas being the exception). Gas is probably the highest you'll find anywhere here in Hawaii but at Cosco it's only $3.00 per gallon.
I believe in the 50/50 rule - Take about 50% of what you learn from the Internet as truth and the other 50% as not applicable - people from such a wide range of backgrounds are giving their opinions based on their different experiences so the "grain of salt theory" applies.
California's Proposition 13 was passed to remedy situations like the above. Unfortunately, the aftermath of Proposition 13 has not been beneficial for the majority of Californians. It introduced some major inequities, inefficiencies, and regressivity into California's tax structure and contributed to its lack of affordable housing. If a Proposition 13-type initiative were passed in Hawai'i, it would probably be disastrous. Hawai'i already has a dearth of affordable housing, poor public schools, inadequate infrastructure, and a host of other problems that would probably be exacerbated by capping the property tax rates. In addition, capping the property tax rates in Hawai'i would simply lead to an increase of "special assessments" to fund things that would have probably been covered by increasing property taxes in the first place.
Most of the counties in Hawai'i have age-based "exemptions" that reduce the taxable value of real property. In addition, homeowners over the age of 62 can tap their equity via a "reverse mortgage" in order to remain in their homes. If these measures aren't feasible, long-term residents of Hawai'i can always move to a place that has a lower cost-of-living, like Nevada.
Although the cost-of-living in Nevada has increased somewhat, it's still cheaper than most of Hawai'i. Considering that Nevada leads the nation in foreclosures, I'm willing to bet that the overall cost-of-living there will continue to be less than that of Hawai'i.
Although the cost-of-living in Nevada has increased somewhat, it's still cheaper than most of Hawai'i. Considering that Nevada leads the nation in foreclosures, I'm willing to bet that the overall cost-of-living there will continue to be less than that of Hawai'i.
Nevada is a big state. Sure, with a trailer out in the desert one can live less expensive; I was thinking of Las Vegas.
Nevada is a big state. Sure, with a trailer out in the desert one can live less expensive; I was thinking of Las Vegas.
There's more to the cost-of-living than housing prices.
Every time I go to the grocery store, put gasoline in my car, pay my electric bill, or purchase furniture in Hawai'i, etc. I am reminded of the "price of paradise." Since most of the jobs in Hawai'i pay less than comparable positions elsewhere, folks either work longer hours or reduce their standard of living.
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Nanawale Lot
