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How does the Canadian healthcare system work? I have a friend who just married a Canadian and I think they have to spend six months or more each year in Canada... ...Five and a half months in Hawaii and six and a half months in Canada might work out? Keep your healthcare and avoid the worst of the winters?
I don't know the specifics, but there's definitely something about Canadians being limited to visiting the US for no more than 6 months out of every year behind the large number of Canadian snowbirds we get in Hawai'i, who come for the winter and rent their places out during the summer.
Lots of good advice in Dave's post, but I'll quibble on two points:
The $20K property tax estimate seems awfully high. I always use 1.25% for estimating California proprty taxes; it's 1% base plus the inevitable special assessments that vary from county to county. Using that formula, a $500K purchase would have about $6K per year in annual property taxes.
Regarding getting "more house", I got the impression from the OP that he wasn't looking for a lot of space and merely something with two bedrooms to allow visitors. For those of us thinking about retirement, "more house" means "more maintenence" and "more chores" (which is why we chose a condo in Maui instead of a SFR.)
Maybe the property tax could be less than $20K. That might apply to a $1M home, which is very common in southern California. Does the 1.25% apply for all people, including newcomers, not just long time residents? I heard the both California and Florida have much higher property taxes for newcomers. People with identically properties could have drastically different property taxes depending on when they moved to the state.
That's true, more square footage means more expenses. No maintenance to worry about is a nice factor. I don't know if we could live in a climate in a condo where gardening could be done year round, and not garden. That seems really wrong! We have friends in southern California. Some have beautiful gardens, others have just weeds in their back yard, which is disturbing to me.
Our property tax in Canada is less than $4,000 per year on a 3 bedroom house with finished basement. The standard lots on our street are 80x200 feet.
Healthcare is a problem, 183 days of the year you should be resident in Canada to keep the free coverage.
I think renting for a couple of months each may be the answer, and that gives us the option of trying various areas. My wife is of Croatian origin so maybe somewhere like Dubrovnik or Split would be possible as well as US destinations.
Some Googling to be done, I think!
Thanks again for all the input and suggestions.
I don't see any advantage for you in buying an expensive place to retire to. Your current house will most likely appreciate as fast as one in Hawaii, so just hang on to it til you're ready to retire. When that time comes, sell your house, bank the money, and put your stuff in storage. You'll have the resources to make a decision as big as this with the care it deserves.
Rent a furnished place in an area you're considering, for a month or three months. You can afford it. If it doesn't seem right, try somewhere else. Spend a week or two in Bali or The Bahamas, maybe you'd like that better.
I've never had a home depreciate in Hawaii.
But I do agree with you about moving some place expensive during retirement. We're move AWAY from Hawaii when we retire.
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Maybe the property tax could be less than $20K. That might apply to a $1M home, which is very common in southern California. Does the 1.25% apply for all people, including newcomers, not just long time residents? I heard the both California and Florida have much higher property taxes for newcomers. People with identically properties could have drastically different property taxes depending on when they moved to the state.
The 1.25% is a good rule of thumb for the initial price of the property in California. So a $1 million dollar place is around $12,500 or less.
The nice thing in California, is you don't get reassessed like you do in Hawaii. If you buy a $1 million dollar place in California, the property tax increase is limited by how much it can go up per year, by a relatively small amount. So, in 5 years, if your place is worth $2 million, you aren't paying property taxes on a value of $2 million.
It does get reset when the next buyer comes in, so if the new person pays $2 million, they pay property taxes on the $2 million dollar amount.
It has nothing to do with newcomers - it has to do with the initial purchase price of the property.
It is all about location - many parts of the Big Island are still struggling, others have rebounded. 96778 (Pahoa) still has 1/3 of its homes underwater.
Even in the smoking hot market on Oahu, 96707 (mostly Ewa Beach) still has 14% of its home underwater and 96792 (Waianae) still has 19% of its homes underwater.
It is all about location - many parts of the Big Island are still struggling, others have rebounded. 96778 (Pahoa) still has 1/3 of its homes underwater.
Even in the smoking hot market on Oahu, 96707 (mostly Ewa Beach) still has 14% of its home underwater and 96792 (Waianae) still has 19% of its homes underwater.
Yeah, location is key. Generally speaking though, Hawaii real estate is not known for depreciating (in an Oahu-centric POV). As many of neighbor islands complain, I too am guilty of thinking "Oahu."
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I don't see how you couldn't with housing being one of the most important things you need to plan for during retirement?
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Im just curious, how is the real estate market not newcomer centered? When you have big houses being built and condos going for a million to two million per unit? I personally don't know anyone from Hawai'i who could afford that so its got to be foreigner money? Sometimes i wonder.
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