Nanakuli, HI · Member since 2017 · 47 posts · 10 votes
Aloha everyone! I'm a new investor looking for a mentor to take me under their wings and help to guide me throughout the process of flipping real estate in Hawaii.
I've done a lot of research and have been using the trial/error process to gain as much knowledge as I can in hopes of getting my first deal done!
So far I'm in the process of trying to obtain a Tax Delinquent list from the Honolulu County which has been extremely difficult! But I haven't given up and am determined to obtain this list in hopes of using it as a tool for contacting home owners that have been delinquent on their taxes for 5 or more years in hopes of buying it before the property is foreclosed on.
Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you for your time!
@Account Closed, I know they do it in Maui County, but it's only the Tax ID. I need to cross the ID to the address. I would think if Maui does it, Oahu would have the list somewhere....
I'd guess that property values are such that people don't get foreclosed by not paying property tax. That tends to happen when property isn't even worth someone paying the tax on.
Or am I missing something?
@Cody L. They have the list, they're just giving me a hard time trying to obtain it. They keep transferring me to different departments when I call and when I go in person so I'm stuck at this point but I won't give up. If I'm persistent perhaps someone will lead me in the right direction!
@Cody L. They have the list, they're just giving me a hard time trying to obtain it. They keep transferring me to different departments when I call and when I go in person so I'm stuck at this point but I won't give up. If I'm persistent perhaps someone will lead me in the right direction!
Interesting. So yeah, you'd think they'd have the list or they don't. And you'd think they either give this list out or they don't. Odd that they'd have it, be willing to give it, but have some odd process where they jerk you around.
@Cody L. yes, they're definitely giving me the run around :/ they requested I fill out a government form in order to be able to access it yet it clearly states on their website that it is public info and that they have to maintain such list. I'm honestly not sure why it's so hard to obtain it when other counties have it readily available. Perhaps I need to reword it or maybe just need to find the right person to help me.
@Nate Maier lol good tip! Thanks for sharing. So far I've been given an email address and a form to fill out to obtain the list. I was told to be as specific as I could in exactly what it is that I am looking so I'll keep you all posted on what I end up with. But all in all it's a learning experience so either way I'm grateful!
I will ask a friend about this, he might be able to point me to the right person since he has a lot of contacts here on the island, so i'll let you know what info i come across.
@Randy Gaona thanks Randy! I appreciate you trying!! I'll let you know if I ever do get that list! Right now I'm in the process of doing so through email. They had me call 5-6 different departments and email a bunch of different people but I'm hoping my persistence will pay off soon lol. Anyways thank you again!
@Randy Gaona@Nate Maier I finally got the list! It took me almost 2 months but patience and perseverance definitely paid off! The only downfall to this is that I've realized that Hawaii is an entirely different ball game than the rest of the world! After making many phone calls I've been told that Hawaii doesn't sell Tax Liens/Certificates. They do a foreclosure sale once a year where a 1 year redeemable tax deed is given but was told that most property owners will pay off their debt before the sale to keep their property and that's why they haven't had much properties to sell at the annual auction. BUT this can't be right as the list is over 300 pages. So I asked her what happens to the properties that aren't sold at auction to which she replied that they're out back on the list for the following years auction.
Did she seem pretty confident? Sometimes when i get someone that is hesitant i will try calling back a different day and time and hope i get someone else and see if they say the same hahaha. i figured each state sold tax liens/certificates, but of course nothing in Hawaii is like the mainland.
@Randy Gaona lol I called back several times throughout the day and the week 🙈 And. Lay of the time they directed me back to the same lady 🤦🏻♀️. It's ok it's a learning process! And yes NOTHING in Hawaii real estate is like the mainland! It's ok it'll all be worth it in the end!
@Lane Kawaoka I'm trying to use it as a motivated seller list to find off market leads. I found some probates while driving around my neighborhood. Do you do probates here on oahu?
Months ago I loved the idea of using Tax Liens list with the possibility of getting the property in the end. But found Hawaii is not like the mainland with its strange rules. So I did not pursue it.
Maybe just invest in the Tax Lien itself (not in the property) with the ROI payed to you at the end of the year. ???
And do Tax Lien/Deed Investing in another state. ???
@Michael Gayer Jr yes you're definitely right about Hawaii having some strange rules regarding Tax Liens! So far my research has concluded that Hawaii doesn't sell properties over the counter (according to the C&C tax assessors office) and I'm still waiting to hear back from the State Tax Collections department regarding Tax Lien Certificates.
I've found those probate properties by researching them through the tax records and google. Once I've found out who the Owner is I'd google their name(s) and their obituary showed up in the search results.
@Michael Gayer Jr sorry I'm not sure where to find a list of probates online. I meant that when I googled the owners name that their obituary had come up in the newspaper and that's how I knew that specific property was a probate. Sort for the confusion.
@Account Closed, I know they do it in Maui County, but it's only the Tax ID. I need to cross the ID to the address. I would think if Maui does it, Oahu would have the list somewhere....
There are ways to go through, find addresses for each zip code you want, get parcel numbers, then use the parcel numbers to look up taxes due vs taxes assessed. This gives you a sense of how overdue a particular property is. This process can be automated.