Fuck It Friday - 1

Fuck It Friday (FIF)! Sporadic news and commentary of no interest to anyone ... FIF! The fucked housing situation in Hawai'i is the primary focus of this edition.

No attempt has been made to contact the possible new Realtor® because more research is required before a list of acceptable properties is compiled. The selection of the Makaha Surfside condominium project was a "knee-jerk" reaction to the crisis at hand and may not be the best choice.

Scrutinizing a handful of on-line reviews of the Makaha Surfside project has raised some doubts about its fitness as a candidate. While not a despicable "condotel," it is heavily subsumed by vacation rentals. There are also a number of fixed-income senior citizens residing there (sound familiar?) as well as locals who cannot afford to purchase anything else. The locals are apparently of the lowest caste along with expected poor behavior associated with the latter.

Gym buddy, Mark, who referred his Realtor®, had recently sold his fee simple condominium in Makiki. He used the proceeds to purchase another Makiki condominium in cash, a leasehold unit. The maintenance fee and leasehold rent runs about $1,500 per month. Mark stated that the lease term was good for over 30 years before renegotiation. "I'll probably be dead by then anyway," he said when queried about the rationale behind the swap.

Leasehold condominium units are now possible candidates for purchase. However, low maintenance fee and leasehold rent are primary objectives. Lease length will approximate possible lifespan. There's no need to worry about the outcome of the property upon death.

The fucked housing situation in Hawai'i is the reason why there are so many homeless senior citizens on the streets and crammed into various homeless shelters. Senior citizen rental housing is not affordable no what claims are made. An "affordable" rental studio apartment runs about $800 per month without subsidies. Income requirement is $1,600 to $2,400 depending on the whim of property management. Most senior citizens cannot meet this requirement.

Senior citizens with assets can purchase property such those available in the Makaha Surfside condominium project. Others with no assets are "shit out of luck." Fuck it!