After talking with a number of realtors, on the Big Island specifically, and on the mainland, the real estate market seems to be inching up and moving slowly but moving none the less. Once again, this may be a good time to look at fixer upper's - many are in foreclosure. As they head into foreclosure, it seems like the last thing people can afford to do is home maintenance.
Your realtor can give you a list. Go see them. And start making a list of items to be fixed, remodeled, and cleaned up. For a consultation fee, many contractors will now go out and do some estimates on the more involved items. There are also fine home appraisers than you can pay $300-500 to go through it and make you a detailed list of items that need repair or replacement.
Once you have a good handle on the repairs needed, and what remodeling you may like to do - you can accurately compare a "fixer-upper" to a new spec house. There are times that the repairs will exceed what the price might be if it was in good condition. And there are times when just mowing the lawn and painting will bring the value up!
Fixer uppers and even unpermitted structures are not insurmountable if you go step by step and do not expect it to be done quickly so that you can move in when escrow closes! That just rarely happens.
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