Mortgages Different in Hawaii

A retired college professor on the Big Island lived without a mortgage for 57 years, often finding his own food supply from the earth and eradicating the need for debt or credit. He had lived off the land for six years, living in a tent in a mango tree and walking to work each day to teach college. After the six years, he had saved enough money to buy a few acres in Fiji and a few acres on the Big Island. After twenty years, he broke down and got a mortgage.

Hawaii is a leasehold state, meaning that, though you have a mortgage, you only own your residence for just less than 100 years. The monarchy and the secular ideals of the Hawaiian natives has led to a way of owning the land without really owning the land. Mortgages for the state are high and housing prices are even higher; sometimes buyers from places outside Hawaii cannot even obtain a mortgage due to a possessive streak of the natives. But if you want to own a part of the Big Island, you may feel the pinch to bring some big money.