Category Archives: Consumer issues

While looking for public information

5 Replies

I almost got hooked by a scam when looking for real property tax info for an address in Honolulu.

The city makes this public information readily available on line at no cost. Yes, free.

But I made a mistake. Instead of going directly to the city site, I was lazy and just searched for “honolulu real property tax” and then clicked on an official-looking link that appeared to be affiliated with the city. It looked different than I recalled, but I didn’t see any other immediate red flags.

It quickly got strange, though, when I entered an address. Suddenly the search, which typically takes just seconds, stretched on for at least five minutes. I wondered whether the city was suddenly using a new and very inferior vendor to provide this service.

But the biggest surprise was yet to come.

A notice of a fee for the public information. And a fee with an explanation I still find confusing and ambiguous.

PAYMENT:
$1 PER PROPERTY REPORT
REPORT BUNDLE 720 PROPERTY REPORTS

PER REPORT RATE AVAILABLE VIA REPORT BUNDLE PRICING OF $30 EVERY 30 DAYS OVER TWO YEARS NOT INDIVIDUAL SALES
WE ONLY ACCEPT VISA AND MASTERCARD FOR PAYMENT, NO ALTERNATIVE CARD TYPES ARE SUPPORTED AT THIS TIME.
GET ACCESS TO OUR PROPERTY RECORD PLATFORM WITH RECORDS FROM HAWAII FOR AN ACCESS FEE OF $1, AND 720 REPORTS FOR INSTALLMENTS OF $30 EVERY 30 DAYS FOR TWO YEARS STARTING TODAY, 24 PAYMENTS TOTAL.

ACCESS FEE TODAY: $1.00
ACCESS FEE CONNECTS YOUR ACCOUNT TO OUR PUBLIC RECORDS DATABASE
REPORT BUNDLE: PROPERTY REPORTS ARE AGGREGATED FROM PUBLIC SOURCES AND DO NOT CONSTITUTE CONSUMER REPORTS, OFFICIAL OR GOVERNMENT-AFFILIATED DOCUMENTS.
YOU CAN CLOSE YOUR ACCOUNT TO END PAYMENTS AT PUBLICRECORDSDATA.US, 1-855-601-5805, EMAIL SUPPORT@PUBLICRECORDSDATA.US, OR USE THE LIVE CHAT FEATURE. CHARGES WILL APPEAR ON YOUR STATEMENT AS PUBLICRECORDSDATA.US.
SELECT PAYMENT METHOD:
VISA
MASTERCARD

Luckily, the possibility that I might be charged $30 a month stopped me in my tracks.

So I started again at the beginning, and this time immediately found my way to the familiar site of the city’s free system.

The lesson? If you find yourself online in a place that feels weird and is asking for money, run far and run fast!!

How to offload some practical personal finances

19 Replies

Here’s another practical problem we’re facing.

Background: For decades, Meda and I had a division of labor. She had the secure full-time job with benefits that we could rely on. I had a number of short term or part-time jobs, and did freelance writing along the way. But I was the primary cook, travel planner, and cat litter box monitor. Keeping our personal finances in order (bill payments, investment decisions, tax preparation, etc) was also part of my job.

As we recently prepared to fly to California for treatment at UCSF, I was scrambling to finish our federal and state tax returns. I made it, but the experience made me realize how quickly I could find myself unable to attend to those financial matters if my medical condition took a rapid and unexpected turn for the worse.

We established a living trust in 2018 that holds almost all of our assets–bank accounts, savings, investments, title to our home, etc., although it didn’t change management of our day to day finances.

So what should we do now?

It seems to me the question is how to go about selecting a third party to take over bill paying and tax preparation, or be ready to do so on short notice if I am suddenly unable to do the job. And how to do it with maximum legal protections for ourselves.

I know this must be a common transition for those with assets to manage, but before we reached that certain age, it never seemed like something we needed to be worried about. Now it is!

Before calling our bank to see what they can do, I thought that I would again solicit advice from readers, especially from those who have already managed such a transition. Please email me at ian@ilind.net, or text at 808-955-1819.

And I thank you in advance for sharing your experience.

The view from the parking lot

5 Replies

We got up this morning and discovered little on hand to eat for breakfast, prompting us to head for Koa Pancake House in Kaimuki.

It was about 7:14 a.m. by the time we had parked, registered with the Park Smarter app, and looked up to find an incredible morning rainbow spread across a clear blue sky!!

Welcome home!

We’re back home and now facing new issues

11 Replies

We arrived in Honolulu a few minutes ahead of schedule Tuesday night.

I have a scheduled meeting with my Honolulu oncologist next week to set up the schedule for chemo and immunotherapy. That’s where the rubber hits the road, I guess.

And now a series of new decisions have thrust themselves into my immediate attention.

Here’s an example.

Our lease on a 2024 Nissan Leaf expires in September, which entails a choice. We can buy the vehicle outright at a price set in our original lease. We can sign a new lease on a new vehicle, which the dealers are always happy to
accommodate. Or we can just turn the car back to the dealer and walk away. Or, of course, shop for the best deal on a new or used EV from other dealers.

And here’s the problem.

I can no longer assume that I’ll be around to see the end of a new 3-year lease, as things could take a bad turn for me during that time frame. I’ve been handling our financial affairs, including keeping track of car expenses, etc., and I would want to leave the least possible mess for Meda to have to deal with if I were not here or no longer able to manage these affairs.

Buying the car would not be wise, since EV prices have dropped since 2024 and today, meaning we would be paying too much if we purchased pursuant to our original lease contract.

So do we need a car or not, given the uncertainty about my own future? We don’t drive much at all, not more than 4,000 a year. But we do have good friends in Kaneohe and in Kaaawa, and having a car makes it possible us to visit them somewhat regularly.

To complicate things, Meda basically stopped driving several years ago as I took on our routine chauffeur duties faster she retired from UH. So if I were gone, leaving a car in the garage would create a big headache for Meda to sort out.

We could go carless, but it’s not a simple decision. At least one of our closest friends made this move several years ago. With ride share and delivery services, and our central location in Kahala, it would probably work, although I’m not sure how we would continue to see our windward friends.

I haven’t done even a rough assessment of whether going carless would save or cost us money compared to a new lease or purchase of another vehicle.

And giving up a car is a wrenching rite of passage to a different lifestyle with lots of psychological and social implications.

Meanwhile, the clock on the soon-to-expire lease is ticking.

Next step for me is to solicit your advice. Please feel free to share by commenting here or via email ian(at)ilind.net.

Then I’ll likely talk to the dealer and find out how they see our options.