07-10-2008, 03:37 PM
hmm, I have looked at sooo many houses on the MLS site, even living here on the island, and decided that had to be the one ... and then after pestering my agent to show it to me NOW, the place was very flawed.
Home inspection is a very limited bit of information. It's essential, I think, because it should expose the possibly hidden problems with the structure and systems. It tells you NOTHING about the aesthetics, the paint, the neighbors, whether the house catches the trades, the type of landscaping challenges you may face, the services, the schools, the traffic ... It doesn't even go into a whole range of problems like drainage, toxic mold, radon, lava hazard, seismic hazard, or anything in the walls you can't see.
Most of all, it doesn't assess the spirit of the place, the energy.
This is not like somewhere in a housing tract where there's a lot of uniformity and you just need to know if you're unit is structurally sound.
I really do hope you are happy, sweetwater.
My reaction is for the people who are following this example.
By all means, come to the island. Drive the subdivisions. Drive them at night. Try to stick a shovel in you "soil" if you want to garden. Check your tolerance for barking dogs and all night roosters. Consider security issues. Check the slope of your land for drainage. Check the house for cross-ventilation. Check to see if right of ways or easements affect the property, and how that might impact you. Check the costs to get utilities.
C-51, due diligence period, DO IT!
I once made an offer on a house sight unseen, but we got on a plane and immediately canceled the escrow when we saw it. The photos didn't represent it well AT ALL. We even canceled the home inspection so as to save the money to inspect a better house.
So far I have canceled seven escrows in C-51, and there was one I should have but I couldn't stand to do it to my agent. BAD reason to stay in escrow. Now I do not like to cancel an escrow, but in each case I discovered information that alerted me to major problems.
I've bought six houses, five of them in Hawai'i, and I STILL don't think I ever found the right house. [
] But then, all my house-hunting was during a period of very tight inventory where a buyer had to move fast. I think I could do better in this market, but unfortunately I wasn't patient enough and bought a house last year.
This is the first house I've had here where I like my neighbor. I had some very bad luck by not reading the signs, and in one case I got the neighbors from HELL. (Not locals, either)
So I would NOT buy a house in Hawai'i again without looking closely at the neighbors.
Home inspection is a very limited bit of information. It's essential, I think, because it should expose the possibly hidden problems with the structure and systems. It tells you NOTHING about the aesthetics, the paint, the neighbors, whether the house catches the trades, the type of landscaping challenges you may face, the services, the schools, the traffic ... It doesn't even go into a whole range of problems like drainage, toxic mold, radon, lava hazard, seismic hazard, or anything in the walls you can't see.
Most of all, it doesn't assess the spirit of the place, the energy.
This is not like somewhere in a housing tract where there's a lot of uniformity and you just need to know if you're unit is structurally sound.
I really do hope you are happy, sweetwater.
My reaction is for the people who are following this example.
By all means, come to the island. Drive the subdivisions. Drive them at night. Try to stick a shovel in you "soil" if you want to garden. Check your tolerance for barking dogs and all night roosters. Consider security issues. Check the slope of your land for drainage. Check the house for cross-ventilation. Check to see if right of ways or easements affect the property, and how that might impact you. Check the costs to get utilities.
C-51, due diligence period, DO IT!
I once made an offer on a house sight unseen, but we got on a plane and immediately canceled the escrow when we saw it. The photos didn't represent it well AT ALL. We even canceled the home inspection so as to save the money to inspect a better house.
So far I have canceled seven escrows in C-51, and there was one I should have but I couldn't stand to do it to my agent. BAD reason to stay in escrow. Now I do not like to cancel an escrow, but in each case I discovered information that alerted me to major problems.
I've bought six houses, five of them in Hawai'i, and I STILL don't think I ever found the right house. [
] But then, all my house-hunting was during a period of very tight inventory where a buyer had to move fast. I think I could do better in this market, but unfortunately I wasn't patient enough and bought a house last year.This is the first house I've had here where I like my neighbor. I had some very bad luck by not reading the signs, and in one case I got the neighbors from HELL. (Not locals, either)
So I would NOT buy a house in Hawai'i again without looking closely at the neighbors.