Real estate insanity

[David M]

I wouldn't say NO has advise to give on building, but the right questions need to be asked.

David

Ninole Resident
Please visit vacation.ninolehawaii.com

[pslamont]

Come buy my place..... $975,000.00 and it is yours! No RE a gets and fees, titl and Escrow company direct1

I want to be the kind of woman that, when my feet
hit the floor each morning, the devil says

"Oh Crap, She's up!"

[VancouverIslander]

I think you can find things cheaper than building from scratch, especially if you won't be doing a lot of the work on the house yourself. We bought a 576 sq ft place that was unfinished and unpermitted on an acre for about 30k and will have put another 40k into getting it permitted and hooked up to electric. That's about $100/sq. ft. for a nice looking little studio house in the woods, but you'd pay more for a fancier layout with more internal walls and counter space and such. I use bigislandreale.com to troll around for real estate. I have noticed a bit of a drop in real bargains in the last few months, but there are still some pretty decent deals if you don't mind repo houses that have had a bit of vandalism. When you factor in the cost of restoring them they are still cheaper than a comparable house that's complete and you end up with new appliances etc.

The one thing I found with building is that permits for an 'as built' can sit on desks in Hilo for an awful long time (and if you need to apply for an sspp to be done, that can take a long long time as well). All told, between having our offer accepted and when I think (hope?) our house will be done, it's been sixteen months.

There's one place in Eden Roc that looks like it might be a bargain: 11-1804 Alani. I don't think it has electric, but it appears that permits were pulled back in 2006 - you'd want to check on the status of them. Also, I'm not sure why they cleared so much of it recently, but you'd probably need some road crush for a driveway as it looks a bit wet in the cleared area. They want less than half the assessed value.

[dcl]

Keep in mind there are still foreclosures coming through at some time. I know of one that has taken more than two years, and is just now finally getting the foreclosure. Keep in mind some of these properties, like this one have been vacant for quite some time, but if you are willing to work on them you might get one at a good deal. Pretty sure the one I know of is only one of many.

[unknownjulie]

Thanks for all of the advice and info! I guess I have a lot of requirements these days, due to the three kids.

[Carey]

Julie, wether you buy or build, you may still wind up dealing with contractors...We had thought we would build, but then decided to buy (for many different reasons) ...then the earthquake of '06 did damage to our structure, and we have done some major things like rewiring the electric, adding concrete lanais around the house, along with the repair work...all of which requires working with contractors, good & bad...

Luckily we are fairly handy, & I have taken a shining to cutting tiles (when we moved here, who knew???) so no matter which path you choose, be prepared to discover new skills that may be hiding within your skill set (be it managing others, cutting tiles, researching 'how in the heck???' on a slew of things you would never have thought you needed to know - luckily there are many here & around the island that have been where you are, and many may even help you...)

[dcl]

Don't know what to tell you, the place I know of is 1800 sq ft and was a beautiful place sitting on two acres, with one cleared, in orchidland, when it was vacated more than two years ago, due to the owners having to move out of state to find work. Viewing it now from google maps it is just hugely overgrown clear to the roof line it looks like the roof is black with mold, so can only imagine the inside condition. Like I said before, I know there are more coming through the foreclosure pipeline,but when they will be let go is anyone's guess. And it depends on how much work you are willing to do yourself. Pretty sure this one will have to go for a very low amount due to the amount of work it will need to bring it back up to snuff, but at the right price may be worth it as it topped out during the peak of 2005-2006 with a 400k appraisal. Of course what I consider a low price may not be to you.

[unknownjulie]

dcl, Where in Orchidland is this house? I agree there are more foreclosures coming, but what's happening now (in my limited experience) is that anything priced well has multiple offers on it within days. There's a house in HPP for instance, that's been stripped and vandalized and I still think it's going to sell for way too much. I think you might be able to build a shell for cheaper- since that is essentially what you are buying. Carey, really good point about contractors. That's why I'm only looking at almost new houses, but I still know that is no guarantee either. I have worked on houses in the past. I absolutely detest it, am bad at it, and also find it stressful. Hence, wanting to buy newer construction- but I may just end up in another fixer and it will drive me crazy all over again.

[dcl]

Send me an email through punawebb and I will give you more information that I have.

[unknownjulie]

DCL I just tried to figure out how to send and email and failed to decipher it. Sorry about that. I know Carey managed to figure out how to send me one in the past.