Millionaire gives mansions to homeless

[ck4829]

I wonder when the CEO of Exxon Mobil or the CEO's of other corporations with million dollar paychecks are going to do something like this.

"Dorie-Ann Kahale and her five daughters moved from a homeless shelter to a mansion Thursday, courtesy of a Japanese real estate mogul who is handing over eight of his multimillion-dollar homes to low-income Native Hawaiian families.

Tears spilled down Kahale's cheeks as she accepted from Genshiro Kawamoto the key to a white, columned house with a circular driveway, a stone staircase and a deep porcelain bathtub. Her family will live there rent-free, but must pay utility bills.

"What we need to do is appreciate," Kahale said. "As fast as we got it, it could disappear."

Kawamoto, whose own eyes started welling up as Kahale cried, handed over two other homes Thursday to homeless or low-income families."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070322/ap_on_re_us/homeless_mansions

[proud patriot]

1. Wow

:wow:

[BayCityProgressive]

wow.

I guess everyone isn't completely run by greed.

[shance]

2. Thank you so much for posting this CK*** That's wonderful and very heartening.

nt

[Horse with no Name]

3. This is awesome

It would be wonderful if the recipients could renovate part of the home and open it to another family.

[KamaAina]

4. Kawamoto is quite the local character

during the height of the Japanese economic bubble in the '80s, he would cruise down that same street in a chauffeured limo and say, "I'll take that one, and that one, and that one", pointing out these very same houses.

Score: Eccentric Japanese investor 1, allegedly moderate repuke gov 0.

The only downside to this is that Ms. Kahale and her new neighbors will have to wait a half-hour for the bus to run down Kahala at peak hours, and an hour middays, evenings and weekends. :-)

[bryant69]

5. That seems like a wierd story

I mean hooray for those people, but what's the next step? Are they going to have the money to keep the lights on? Or, more likely, are they going to sell them quick and move in someplace more modest?

Still, it's a brilliant gesture.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[bbinacan]

6. Great to hear, but

I hope they can afford the utility bills of a mansion.

[drm604]

7. That's my concern.

Rent free is great, but it says that they have to pay the utilities. What happens if they can't?

[bainz]

11. Agreed

Perhaps he should have purchased an apartment building, equipped with maintenance staff, and housed many families. Handing a "mansion" to a family of 6 (or was it 5?), seems like a waste of resources.

FWIW, I would not accept a "mansion" for my family. We could do with much less.

[Breeze54]

8. Homelessness doesn't mean they aren't employed.

Thanks for posting this ck4829! Great and heart warming story!

Snip-->

"Kahale became homeless two years ago when her landlord raised her rent from $800 to $1,200,
putting the apartment beyond reach of her salary as customer service representative for
Pacific LightNet, a telecommunications company.
She first stayed with family, then moved to a shelter in September."

[bananas]

9. k&r nt

[Canuckistanian]

10. That's nice, but...

Think of how many other families he could have helped by selling those mansions and building more practical affordable housing.

This is one act that brings great photo ops, but solves very little, save his own gratification.

Lets' see how they're doing in 10 years.

[Rosemary2205]

13. Tax deductions while the property appreciates.

Clearly the man wants to hold onto the property - he's not giving away the homes, just allowing people to live there rent free. Hiring a full time caretakers for the properties are expensive and obviously he thinks the IRS deductions will be worth giving up the rent that could be gained if he actually rented them out.

Regardless of the financial benefit to the man from the tax laws and the good PR, it's still a nice thing to do.

[Breeze54]

14. If you were in a shelter...

this would solve a lot of issues!

Not to mention just peace of mind and relief for that family!

snip-->

Kawamoto selected the eight low-income families from 3,000 people who wrote him letters
last fall after he announced his plan. He has said he tried to pick working, single mothers.

Native Hawaiians are disproportionately represented among the state's homeless and working poor.

The article doesn't state how old Kahale's children are but maybe they're old enough to help out.

Kahale's new house is is one of the more modest homes in the neighborhood, many of which feature ornate iron gates, meandering driveways and sculptured gardens.

Here's a $5 M house

http://lycos.honolulu.oodle.com/browse/-/bedrooms_7/

Doesn't 'look that big' but the family can close off rooms not used, etc.

I think you made some good points but what the hell? This is good for this family! :)

[Canuckistanian]

16. 32 people out of 3000? That's a 1.07% success rate

Assuming that a family is four people.

And given his tax advantages with this scheme, I'm not as overly impressed as you.

[The Doctor.]

12. It could be a cruel joke...

So many people who come into money and buy a beautiful home have no idea what the upkeep is like.

They win a million dollar lottery and find out that the million dollar home costs a hundred grand a year to run.

If this guy is paying for their utilities indefinitely, that's great.

Otherwise these people will have to either ratchet up their incomes or liquidate.

[DarkTirade]

15. Hmm. Looks like a camel CAN fit through the eye of a needle after all... :)