04-09-2006, 09:26 PM
Like it or not, property tax is related to property value. We bought our property in Leilani in 2001, paid 15k because it had been previously cleared, leveled, and had minimal landscaping. The raw properties were going for 5-8k. Up until last year, our tax bill was calculated on a value of 8k. The 2005 valuation went up to 18k. This year the valuation is 50k. Am I peturbed? Of course I am. Do I have a legitimate bitch? No, I don't. The market value has gone up. I wanted to sell; but my bride, the War Dept, would have none of it.
There were some statements made to the effect of "my property should be assessed on what I paid for it". One has to wonder if the same held true concerning the sale of a property prior to moving to the Big Isle. Naturally, it didn't. Anyone who wishes to do so may challenge the taxing authority as to the assessments, but the market data of the past couple of years will make any such challenges futile. Real estate is market based and that's just the way it is. Supply and demand. I know that's over-simplified, but that's what one has to live with.
As far as the Californicated voter initiatives are concerned, and this is just my opinion; I hope their presence in Hawaii die a quick and horrible death. The initiatives, that is. All that can be said is...look where it got California. There's an actor as Governor, Congressmen are resigning due to scandal, (we have one of those here in Texas), and there's a move to ban cigarette smoking on private property due to "concerns" of second-hand smoke. This from the worst air-polluted state in the country. And there is no way that anyone could convince me that when I fly into the Los Angeles area, that brown funk the airplane descends into is all second-hand smoke. Thanks, but no thanks...please leave the "voter initiatives" in California. And this is not a slam on people from California; I just think Calif politics are a bit....skewed.
If anyone remembers, the same thing happened on Oahu in the late '80s when the Japanese went on their "shopping spree". While the Nissei eventually took a beating, the effects are still being felt in HNL and the surrounding communities.
The situation on the east side will probably get worse before it gets better. On the other hand, taxes on the east side still aren't as bad as on the Kona side. But, as more and more people continue to pay the prices of real estate, the tax bills will go up. One has to learn to live with it.
I apologise for the rant, there were just some things I wanted to say. My bride and I will be residents in about 2 years. Until then, we'll pay our taxes and go on. I do have to say that I have concerns that what was once our dream of again living in Hawaii on our own terms will turn into a battle against Haolewood.
RB Byrd
http://www.dejavuduband.com
Flower Mound, TX
There were some statements made to the effect of "my property should be assessed on what I paid for it". One has to wonder if the same held true concerning the sale of a property prior to moving to the Big Isle. Naturally, it didn't. Anyone who wishes to do so may challenge the taxing authority as to the assessments, but the market data of the past couple of years will make any such challenges futile. Real estate is market based and that's just the way it is. Supply and demand. I know that's over-simplified, but that's what one has to live with.
As far as the Californicated voter initiatives are concerned, and this is just my opinion; I hope their presence in Hawaii die a quick and horrible death. The initiatives, that is. All that can be said is...look where it got California. There's an actor as Governor, Congressmen are resigning due to scandal, (we have one of those here in Texas), and there's a move to ban cigarette smoking on private property due to "concerns" of second-hand smoke. This from the worst air-polluted state in the country. And there is no way that anyone could convince me that when I fly into the Los Angeles area, that brown funk the airplane descends into is all second-hand smoke. Thanks, but no thanks...please leave the "voter initiatives" in California. And this is not a slam on people from California; I just think Calif politics are a bit....skewed.
If anyone remembers, the same thing happened on Oahu in the late '80s when the Japanese went on their "shopping spree". While the Nissei eventually took a beating, the effects are still being felt in HNL and the surrounding communities.
The situation on the east side will probably get worse before it gets better. On the other hand, taxes on the east side still aren't as bad as on the Kona side. But, as more and more people continue to pay the prices of real estate, the tax bills will go up. One has to learn to live with it.
I apologise for the rant, there were just some things I wanted to say. My bride and I will be residents in about 2 years. Until then, we'll pay our taxes and go on. I do have to say that I have concerns that what was once our dream of again living in Hawaii on our own terms will turn into a battle against Haolewood.
RB Byrd
http://www.dejavuduband.com
Flower Mound, TX
RB Byrd
Flower Mound, TX
Flower Mound, TX