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In today's HTH there's a long list of properties for sale to the highest bidder because of taxes that haven't been paid. They seem to all be vacant lots and almost exclusively owned by Japanese nationals.
I assume this happens regularly, I hadn't noticed it before.
Has anyone been to these auctions? Any big bargains to be had?
Is there a website where you can easily find out where each property is? They only provide the tax key, and a map number. I tried hawaiianpropertytax.com but it's tough going.
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I like to use
http://www.hawaiipropertytax.com. Lot easier to look up addresses and tax records.
I don't know if the law is the same for Hawaii, but owners of tax defaulted properties here have up to a year to "redeem" their property after the "sale".
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And any improvments you do belong to the former owner if he can cough up the tax bill in a year!
Gordon J Tilley
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I didn't get to this auction since there was a big pig in the trap that had to be dealt with instead.
Did anyone else go? How well attended was it? Any idea on roughly how much lots were selling for? Close to what a Realtor would get?
I've been to quite a few of these tax auctions in times past. Around 2004/2005 there were crowds out the door. The last auction I went to earlier this year wasn't all that well attended. The lots still sold for real close to the price you'd have to pay to buy it from a Realtor, though. If you buy a lot from a Realtor it doesn't have the year long right to redemption and has a clearer title, too, I think. If one is going to get a lot which may or may not have problems, one would think the price would be significantly reduced.
Anyone go to this last auction?
"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson
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quote:
Originally posted by gtill
And any improvments you do belong to the former owner if he can cough up the tax bill in a year!
Not really true. The original owner has one year to redeem the property from the NEW OWNER by paying what the new owner paid plus 10% interest. I bought several properties on the tax sale, in the "old days" there were some good deals there. When the market started going up the whole auction became crazy and people actually were bidding up the prices higher than the comparable prices in MLS.
They have the tax sale twice a year. I was there in May, the winning dids were about 15% less than the MLS prices. Here is the link to the list of properties:
http://www.hawaii-county.com/real_proper...axsale.pdf
(The tax sale will be in November.)
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Is there a particular reason why nearly every single one has a Japanese name next to it? Does that happen every time?
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Back in the 80s the Japanese bought lots of properties not only in Puna but in all of Hawaii. Then the Japanese economy crumbled and they stopped buying and the RE bubble burst. Many sold for huge losses but it's surprising how many lots are stilled owned by Japanese nationals. I looked up two adjoining lots to mine and both have owner's addresses in Japan but they have been up to date with paying their taxes. My own lot was purchased from a Japanese national.
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I don't remember the specifics, but at one of our last board annual meetings, a rep from the tax office spoke and gave us a head's up that the next list would have an unusually higher number of these properties. Seems they have been working on a way to "clean things up" and get these properties re-sold to folks who will pay the taxes.
Cynthia
Cynthia Hoskins, R(S)
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quote:
Originally posted by rbakker
Is there a particular reason why nearly every single one has a Japanese name next to it? Does that happen every time?
There was a legal hurdle about the proper notice to the owners about the deliquent tax. The COH is required to contact the owners and post a Notice about the Tax Sale in the local newspapers, but, obviously, the owners in Japan don't read the local papers. This has been addressed during one of the Council meetings. I guess they solved the problem somehow.
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are you required to attend in person to bid on a property?
