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I am completely happy with the laws here, this is the way of the future. Not everything is perfect, but this place is better than most, and the resources devoted to enforcing corrupt puritanical laws can be put to better use elsewhere. Prohibition, bought and paid for by the tobacco industry, doesn't work. Prohibition in and of itself is on the wrong side of history. Just wait another decade.
The complete opening up of real estate markets to unvetted offshore money has more of a societal impact than finally moving away from laws bought by lobbyists.
I don't think there's any precedent for the current situation. This isn't just offshore money, this is laundered money that would likely put a person in prison if it was obtained the same way here. It is also (so far) mainly being put into residential properties, which has priced a generation out of the market in some locales. These buyers need to face an onerous tax, with the proceeds used to improve crumbling infrastructure that luckier ones who came before have neglected.
Nowhere in the US has a meaningful tax on offshore buyers, nor any rigid vetting re: the origins of money. The 15% tax in Vancouver is a nice step, but not nearly enough. This tax is new, and the HK zillionaires who wanted out before the handover were a different breed, a lot less brash.
Hilarious that someone would sit for a year then be upset when something sells. When you see something for sale that you really want and won't be able to find again, the time to buy is always now.
So, is your house lot 185 or 187? And, which other lot did you buy?
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Orchard wouldn't be bad, other than the watering.
I meant the effort of watering along with the cost, the infrastructure won't be free. Must be quite an aquifer there.
https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/multimedia_maps.html
http://www.staradvertiser.com/2018/06/02/breaking-news/lava-crosses-highway-137-limits-access-to-kapoho-vacationland/
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/14-4916-Kaheka-Rd-Pahoa-HI-96778/536197_zpid/?fullpage=true
https://www.youtube.com/user/ApauHawaiiTours/videos
I'd love to visit just to see this, very similar to the amazing lava fountains of 1955-60, which were in the same area. I can't imagine those properties were insurable (for volcanic damage, anyway) - anyone with even a basic knowledge of geology should know the dangers of building on the rift zone of an active volcano. Insurance companies can't be that dumb. It's a risk you take building there- you might make it hundreds of years with no issues, or a fissure could open in an hour.
That is a good Utube link, thanks
Youtube content may decline now, as more and more roads are being closed off - maybe to discourage possible looters, as there's not a ton of risk from the volcanic activity so long as you have a gasmask, helmet, and can walk more than 1 mph (and keep an eye on the flows so you don't get stuck on an island in a lava river).
Here's a good crowdsourced google maps project that appears to provide better data than the official sources:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?urp=https://www.facebook.com/&mid=1CvBhH9wEeztBrqYbsGDi4YjU1k1QH5AL&ll=19.44747907039587,-154.91617710020523&z=13
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/14-4934-Laimana-Ave-Pahoa-HI-96778/89171220_zpid/?fullpage=true
The prices on that place seem amusing given the zestimate.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/14-4986-Waiopae-Rd-Pahoa-HI-96778/536155_zpid/?fullpage=true
A link to a sobering map, addresses of houses destroyed (and no doubt more since it was last updated)
https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/multimedia_chronology.html
Are any of those places a little ways out of the traditional rift zone insurable? Did you look into insurance when you were there?
Got some good news today from the Tax assessor. She told me the assessment has little to do with what we pay for taxes. By law they cannot raise more than 3% a year. Could be less depending on the state. So my $2676 will not increase before 2019. And then at most $80. Nothing like CA where it went up based on the value before the crash. And I can do any kind of landscaping on my two lots without increasing the taxes. Love this place more every day. Wonderful walk around the course this morning about sunrise. Cool 68 degrees. Hit 101 today. Stayed a cool 76 inside.
http://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2018/06/04/video-kapoho-lava-flow-update-from-civil-defense/
Last shot of our Hawaii Vacation home.
In 1960, this was a scene maybe a mile down the road in Kapoho (consumed by the 1960 flows, I believe). The more things change...:
It wasn't the first time in memory, I think those flows were just to the north. I remember these images from books when I was a kid, as the cars caught my eye.
76 is pretty warm inside for me! I have the AC on when it is like that. Knock it down to around 70, then I am fine, us in the PNW aren't used to that. Regarding taxes, you definitely aren't in CA anymore, a lot less overhead.
http://www.hawaiisalt.com/welcome.htm
At 76-77 constant we are in heaven compared to San Diego. We were very frugal with AC. Never used it until the house was over 80 degrees. To cool that place to 80 would be about $250 a month. Our neighbor had a smaller house his wife kept at low 70s. They had bills over $500 a month. Nothing I miss, except the Mexican food was better. Getting used to making our own.
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2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige
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Funny thing, my mom lives in a far outlying area with a questionably managed PUD, her monthly base service fee is more than my bill - and I live in the high cost high tax area.
Also, your situation in life, and your age makes a difference. I mean, I'm not going to move to NV to save $1 a gallon on gas, or $142 on my car registration. But if I had a little Empire and it was besieged by various taxes and social pressures, I might think differently.
And yeah, IMO saying all of CA is some kind of hellhole is like when those in other countries say the US is a hellhole. Some of it is, but some of it is quite nice. For me, it's a cool place to visit, but I am not itching to move there.