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The Trib today has a story about the rickety House of Cards in Seaview Estates.
Apparently the owner started the structure as a 272 sf tool shed and it has been under construction since 1997 and had gradually grown to three stories.
The story is here:
http://hawaiitribune-herald.com/sections...house.html
So the county has filed a lawsuit and the property has accrued over $14,000 in fines at a rate of $50 a day.
For fifteen years the property owner and county have been at odds. The situation has become a prime example of lax and uneven county code enforcement.
News of the suit may or may not be taken as a sign of improved competence on the part of the county. It will be interesting to see how long the lawsuit drags on...
Assume the best and ask questions.
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This lawsuit tends to support the belief that County will only enforce things that they can see, especially if people are complaining.
So I wonder about both of the edge cases: what would happen if the "house of cards" were deep in Hawaiian Acres? Or in a subdivision with strong CC&Rs? Seems to me the answers are "nothing" and "fixed years ago" (respectively), which leaves me wondering about the "lax/uneven enforcement".
At $50/day, it takes almost 10 months to accrue $14K in fines... which sends a very interesting message.
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Message I got was don't do anything on your property without permission from the owners (.gov) unless you can hide it behind 50 yards of trees
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quote:
Originally posted by kalakoa
This lawsuit tends to support the belief that County will only enforce things that they can see, especially if people are complaining.
So I wonder about both of the edge cases: what would happen if the "house of cards" were deep in Hawaiian Acres? Or in a subdivision with strong CC&Rs? Seems to me the answers are "nothing" and "fixed years ago" (respectively), which leaves me wondering about the "lax/uneven enforcement".
At $50/day, it takes almost 10 months to accrue $14K in fines... which sends a very interesting message.
Well, to be fair to the County (hey, I'm in a good mood today...) if the House of Cards were in Hawaiian Acres and it did what most houses of cards eventually do, the damage would probably be contained on the owner's property. But in Seaview, where the lots are much smaller and the vegetation less dense, if the House of Cards starts to disassemble itself due to any number of logical factors, it could inflict significant physical and economic damage to adjacent people and property.
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Why are they suing them. I've never heard that one before. the M.O. in most places is you condemn it, have it torn down, and put a tax lean on the property for the cost of hauling it away.
Under different circumstances i've done the whole process in one shift - the city council had an emergency meeting right in the street in front of the place while it was still smoking. the whole place was in dump trucks before I went home
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Funny, from the picture (in the paper) it looks like vacant lots all around, nothing lost if the "house of cards" fell on them.
I wonder if any local Realtors™ have used the "house of cards" as a cautionary example of "the value of CC&Rs"? (For some reason I find this idea quite humorous.)
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quote:
Hash figures that if he had to sell his house, he would have to take a $50,000 loss on it because of the presence of the Collins house nearby.
Likes this.
Puna: Our roosters crow first
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If this is about safety that's one thing. If it's about people thinking something is going
To effect there property values that is entirely different
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With high enough winds, the debris from that thing would cover the entire subdivision mauka of it. It won't just fall down in place if we have a hurricane cruise by us, it wouldn't need a direct hit either, to blow apart, it barely hold together as it is.
As far as property values go, for most people their home is their biggest asset, illegally building a hazardous eyesore that reduces the values of that asset for owners of neighboring properties is no different than raiding their 401K. The county should have dealt with this issue years ago, instead of letting it just drag on.
Carol
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
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Buying a house on speculation (and basing your home value on your neighbors plans is speculation, what if they have children, dogs, diesel trucks, chickens, drum circles, ....) and 401k's (a retirement plan based on the stock casino?) come with risk, very high risk.
This is why I'd never own a piece of property less than 3 acres. Your stuck in an illiquid asset where it's usage is based on the whims of neighbors and government employees (so much bad unstated by those two words lol). If your going to live that close to someone just rent, gives you the ability to move when your next door neighbor decides he doesn't like you and wants to raise a stick over utilizing any of the long laundry list of rules of what you can do on property you "own".
"Government is good at one thing: it knows how to break your legs, hand you a crutch, and say, 'See, if it weren’t for the government, you wouldn’t be able to walk." - Harry Browne
