On Kauai, 1 in 8 homes is a vacation rental. And on Maui it's 1 in 7. Most Illegal

[Pyramidsurf]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

Nearly the "entire downtown" - seriously, you consider that stretch a "downtown"? What the heck is wrong with Whole Foods - Longs? That is the change you are bent out of shape about? The Macy's was a dump - finally putting a couple of decent restaurants in there. I do agree on Target - any Target/Walmart is an eyesore in my opinion.

Regardless - Kailua isn't much different than the mid-90's - but so what, and 30 years ago (a large percentage of the population wasn't even alive) - gosh, that is a real stretch - where has any place not changed. Kailua is fortunate - it has transformed a bit, but not even close to places in Maui - especially the Kaanapali area......

Who said I was bent out of shape? I happen to like it. But to say it hasn't changed much is completely false. Kailua is completely different compared to the 80's and 90's. It's not a bad thing, but it is different. I'm not one to hate change.

I do hate vacant housing and illegal vacation rentals though. Out of state buyers should be penalized much more than the current rate to discourage outside investing into real estate.

[eastside14]

Originally Posted by Pyramidsurf

Out of state buyers should be penalized much more than the current rate to discourage outside investing into real estate.

Why would you want to penalize outside real estate investors? I really don't understand why you would have an issue with a home purchase from a non-resident. Everyone benefits from a healthy real estate market, higher prices = higher tax revenue. Property taxes are almost double for non-residents already. Homes accessed over 1 million (average in Kailua) are classified residential A.

If an out-of-state investor leaves the house vacant for most of the year, all the better. Don't you want fewer cars on the road, fewer people on the beaches, etc? There is less burden on all residents because there is no need for subsidized public services, education, healthcare. Resources such as water/sewer, electric, waste and transportation are preserved for local residents. If a person purchases a home and chooses to occupy that home full time or just a few days a year how is that anyone else's concern?

[Pyramidsurf]

Originally Posted by eastside14

Why would you want to penalize outside real estate investors? I really don't understand why you would have an issue with a home purchase from a non-resident. Everyone benefits from a healthy real estate market, higher prices = higher tax revenue. Property taxes are almost double for non-residents already. Homes accessed over 1 million (average in Kailua) are classified residential A.

If an out-of-state investor leaves the house vacant for most of the year, all the better. Don't you want fewer cars on the road, fewer people on the beaches, etc? There is less burden on all residents because there is no need for subsidized public services, education, healthcare. Resources such as water/sewer, electric, waste and transportation are preserved for local residents. If a person purchases a home and chooses to occupy that home full time or just a few days a year how is that anyone else's concern?

Because there's limited land in Hawaii. This isn't the mainland. Locals who live and work here should be living in the available houses. I'd much rather live next to a local family then live next to an empty house. If you want to own a home in Hawaii as an out of state resident then it should hurt you financially or move here and plant your roots like the rest of us.

The property taxes in Hawaii are already extremely low. The non-resident rate is low enough that it makes no difference for the wealthy. The state needs to make it hurt to discourage the practice.

[Molokai100]

Heres an issue that's not even being discussed. 1st of all I have been in the Islands since 1986 and in that time i have purchased and sold 6 homes. I'm not wealthy... I bought these on a $50K per year income. Half of those i ended up renting and during all those years I had maybe 2 or 3 good tenants. The rest ranged from bad to the kind of bad that costs you thousands of dollars to fix.
I'm not alone either. Everyone I know who is a homeowner/landlord has a similar story. Once they have trashed your property or not paid rent for months you get to deal with the extremely pro-renter legal system who rarely side with a landlord regardless of the circumstances.
A friend on Maui had two tenants refuse to pay rent for 6+ months and destroyed her property. the final bill was in excess of $17K. When she went to court they asked her to lower the amount to around $5000 which she refused. They simply set court dates infinitum until she lowered her price or gave up.
I recently sold my property in Kohala which I had owned for a long time simply because good tenants are nearly impossible to find and I was tired of spending $2-5K every time I found them in multiple violations of the lease agreement and evicted them. To fix it up to sale condition cost me $10K.
I got out of it because the headache and cost were finally overwhelming. Many landlords...and im talking about locals or kamaaina who have chosen to invest in real estate vs. the market realize there is another solution. Either sublet or vacation rental their properties. This has many benefits. 1. You can get to know a tenant for a period of time before committing to them. A paid screening process. One can always revert to a long-term rental if you happen to find that "unicorn" tenant who actually has integrity and can afford rent. 2. You can rent your property out for 10 days of the month and make the same amount as a long-term rental. 1/3 the wear and tear and way less hassle. Never a court date. People on vacation are not desperate and struggling as many long-term renters are and are as a rule happy and on good behavior. Sorry if this sounds cold but i get tired of endless excuses from tenants about how hard their lives are. I came here with next to nothing and worked my ass off and made it. Want to hear my sad story? No? Good! I dont want to hear yours either.
I will never rent again so you can take my affordable single-family dwelling forever off the list. Until the idea that all landlords are rich and owe the rental population something for THEIR hard work and sacrifice and until the courts actually enforce the laws equally you will continue to see houses being taken off the long-term rental market. IMO this issue is probably 30% of the problem so I agree outside investing is hurting the housing market but the ridiculous attitude in the courts and the idea landlords owe people something is driving people (like myself) away from this type of investment.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by Pyramidsurf

Locals who live and work here should be living in the available houses. I'd much rather live next to a local family then live next to an empty house. If you want to own a home in Hawaii as an out of state resident then it should hurt you financially or move here and plant your roots like the rest of us.

My opinion is when someone is born and raised somewhere - it shouldn't give you some sense of entitlement that you are more worthy than someone who wasn't - it reeks of jealousy - rather than trying to improve oneself. And also in my opinion - although more controversial, it isn't a stretch that many of the "locals" who move to the mainland for college - stay a few years - and then come back tend to be more successful than the folks who stayed put on an island in the middle of the Pacific ocean.

With that said - out of state buyers, in my opinion, especially on Oahu, aren't that high and have little impact on housing prices (they are buying on the higher end). And besides, the legal (see my next paragraph) out of state buyer, isn't exactly buying entry level houses and taking them away from the so called "locals" - they are buying homes near the ocean - view properties - new Kakaako condos, etc. Not some average Ewa Beach or Pearl City home.

Now, I would agree - the out of state buyer (and lets not forget the "local" buyer who does the same thing) who buys housing in Hawaii strictly to turn it into a illegal vacation rental has impact on the community and likely has an impact on rent. My Kailua legal rental could easily bring 2x or 3x the revenue if I turned it into a short term rental. It is very tempting.....

Before penalizing out of state legal buyers who don't turn homes into illegal rental properties, enforce the existing laws on short term rentals and lets see where the dust settles.

[Pyramidsurf]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

My opinion is when someone is born and raised somewhere - it shouldn't give you some sense of entitlement that you are more worthy than someone who wasn't - it reeks of jealousy - rather than trying to improve oneself. And also in my opinion - although more controversial, it isn't a stretch that many of the "locals" who move to the mainland for college - stay a few years - and then come back tend to be more successful than the folks who stayed put on an island in the middle of the Pacific ocean.

I agree for the most part.

But, there has to be a line somewhere. Allowing foreign investors to scoop up real estate is where I draw my line in the sand.

And I'm not jealous (not sure if you're referring to me or not) since I have my own house in Kailua that I bought and paid for through my hard work. I just hate seeing empty houses that some investor bought that is going to let it sit vacant just to ride real estate market. Discouraging the practice probably wouldn't do much to prices but at least people living here would be buying the houses.

Now, I would agree - the out of state buyer (and lets not forget the "local" buyer who does the same thing) who buys housing in Hawaii strictly to turn it into a illegal vacation rental has impact on the community and likely has an impact on rent. My Kailua legal rental could easily bring 2x or 3x the revenue if I turned it into a short term rental. It is very tempting.....

Before penalizing out of state legal buyers who don't turn homes into illegal rental properties, enforce the existing laws on short term rentals and lets see where the dust settles.

I agree. Illegal vacation rentals needs to stop. I don't have a problem with owner occupied BnB, but I can't stand transient housing in neighborhoods.