Buying a Home in Hilo

[hotzcatz]

Gee thanks, Pilgrim, for the kind words! *blush!*

Almost_hawaiian, the homeowner exemption is for folks who have the house as their primary residence, you could ask the tax office if you'd qualify although only 3-4 months out of the year, it doesn't sound like it would be considered as your "primary residence".

[cynmkolohe]

Originally Posted by almost_hawaiian

A general question about real estate tax: how does it work? Say the house is worth $200k? I've looked thru the MLS listings and sometimes you see taxes for only $200/yr, other times it's $2000? I see the words "homeowner exemption" used sometimes but not sure how to interpret it? I'm looking at purchasing a 2nd home that I would occupy 3-4 mth per yr.
Thanks

If you are getting information forwarded to you from a realtor, the tax map key number should be a clickable link that will show you the break down from the tax office.

Or you can search here:

Hawaii County

For residential properties the current rates are below--the link above shows more detail.

Tax Rate Per $1,000 Net Taxable Value

1 Residential Building: $7.10 Land: $8.10

9 Homeowner Building: $5.55 Land: $5.55

[almost_hawaiian]

Thanks, cynmkolohe.
By the way, anybody knows how the county assessed value compares to current market value? Should the assessed value be much higher (10%?) these days? Also is 2008 the latest assessment? If so, I guess the 2009 assessment will likely be less?

[SkyBob]

Originally Posted by cynmkolohe

Tax Rate Per $1,000 Net Taxable Value

1 Residential Building: $7.10 Land: $8.10

9 Homeowner Building: $5.55 Land: $5.55

Isn't what hotzcatz saying accurate? Aren't there two different property tax rates for owner/resident and for owner/non-resident?

Bob

EDIT : or is this what you are saying? Residential might be owner/non-resident and Homeowner might be owner/resident? I thought the tax bite for non-resident to be much greater.

[cynmkolohe]

Sorry I didn't clarify--the "homeowner" rate is what you pay if the home is your primary residence. Homeowners also get an exemption, deducted from the gross value of the property, and there are also additional exemptions for seniors. (Properties that are used for agricultural purposes are a whole different catagory best dealt with on an individual basis.)

This link is to a PDF version of the information we usually give to buyers at closing. It includes the requirements to consider a property eligible for the homeowner exemption and instructions for filing. New owners need to pay close attention to the dates:

http://www.hawaiipropertytax.com/pdf...20Brochure.pdf

[almost_hawaiian]

Thanks for the additional clarification. We do have the possibility of staying > 200 days/yr even though I'd keep my job on the mainland. From what I read, so long as I don;t claim my mainland property as primary residence, one could qualify for residency in HI. But that probably means I'd have to file state taxes in HI rather than on the mainland? I've heard taxes in HI are high!

[cgreenberg]

We've lived here for 2 years and love it, but it's been an adjustment.

HPP is a great neighborhood, but there's a lot of caveats. And, it depends on what kind of neighborhood you're looking for. HPP is very rural -- most of the roads are red cinder. It's not too far from Hilo, which is where you go for any big shopping.

The public schools here are less than adequate. If you have school-age kids, start looking now for charter or private alternatives.

Except along the ocean front, each lot is an acre. Some streets have great people on them, and others are just plain scary (drug-wise). There's some fantistic walking / bicycling here, especially along the water front. You can hike to Shipman beach through a 3-mile jungle trail to one of the few white sand beaches on the east side. It probably rains a little every night and at least a few times during the day. The saying is "If you don't like the weather here, wait a few minutes!". We're 3 blocks from the ocean and we get a constant light breeze most of the time which is great.

There's lots of BIG cockroaches, geckos and mosquitoes here, so you just have to get used to it. Also, be prepared to throw away anything that's made of leather, because it will just mold here.

About utilities:
1. Your water comes from a rainwater catchment system (you collect rain water into a tank).
2. Not all areas have broadband internet -- we're on DSL and satellite for TV.
3. No natural gas lines here. You're powered by electricity, propane or solar. We're on electricity and it runs about $400 - $500 a month for a family of four.
4. There's no home mail delivery, only PO boxes which are very hard to come by. So as soon as you get a place, put in your notice with the post office for a mailbox. When we moved here, we got a mailbox at Mailbox Plus, one of those shipping places. The thing is, once we got a regular USPS PO box, they wouldn't forward our mail from Mailbox Plus, and wont do it for any commercial mail place. It's been a real bummer, but a great way to get rid of junk mail.
5. No city garbage collection. You can go to the local dump (not too bad) or pay for a private trash service.

I would also suggest checking our Seaview Estates/Kapoho area. It's a little south of HPP and it's very pretty and a little more hippie. If I had to do it over again, we might have rented first to get a feel of the island. HPP is definitely a good choice though, and the least expensive area we found.