How to Buy a House Without a Real Estate Agent. Buying a home in Hawaii from the mainland is a dream come true for most people. lending It was just like being on House Hunters, and I would know because I have appeared on that show from the agent perspective of things, helping buyers in Sacramento buy a short sale. Ah, Hawaii! Thanks! 2020 Best Places to Buy a House in Hawaii About this List Explore the best places to buy a house based on home values, property taxes, home ownership rates, housing costs, and real estate trends. view listing photos, review sales history, and use our detailed real estate filters to find the perfect place. Ask them for the annual rate, which is what the mortgage company will want. You could also call your insurance company and see if they will do a free quote for homeowner's insurance on whatever you're looking for (i.e., 2 bd/2 ba condo, 2 bd/2ba house, etc). In Aiea, the same house might be $1million, and the lot will be less to buy. Houses that I'd like to buy are in the $500K range. But I am. Also, given Hawaii's distance from the rest of the country, you may have to rely on your agent a lot more than you would when purchasing a house on the mainland. In my own hunt to buy a home in Hawaii, I covered a lot of ground with my agent. Clearance and certifications in my field carry a ton of weight. Should You Buy Or Build A House In Hawaii? Thinking of buying a house in Hawaii? There are plenty of online real estate resources. Hawaii's housing market is in a whirlwind today with luxury condominiums climbing up towards the sky and developers continue make promises for ... 4 Tips to Buying Real Estate in Hawaii. thank you so much for the long response. I bought a townhouse (move-in ready) near Kailua that was foreclosed on when the market turned south in 2008. -- Follow @TheAlohaHouse on Instagram!! This is different from the process that you are used to in Canada. Figured I could use some help out here. For example, this year listing prices for homes in Hawaii were lowest … However, this is so far from the truth. This is a big decision for you, and you need to look long and hard at your current debts, if any, AND any you might take on in the next five years. Open house on Saturday, September 14th, from 1:00 to 4:00 P.M. 75-217 Nani Kailua Drive, #160, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740 is listed exclusively by RE/MAX broker associate Linda Johnson in Kona at $574,999. your pushing affordability. Some considerations: Our HOA was the cheapest I saw when I was looking for homes ($300/mo that only covers exterior maintenance--landscaping, roof, and paint). If you're really serious about learning more I can help. My first property manager, a Navy spouse, was TERRIBLE. Keep putting it into your TSP and keep saving until you learn more about finances and actually need a house. We bought a house in Hawaii in 2013. There are two options: ship your car to Hawaii or buy when you get here. Hello all, I've joined the Navy at 17 and never really had any financial experience when it comes to housing. Building your dream home in Hawaii comes at a cost. Currently I'm just renting a room not too far from base. I am active duty Navy getting out in 10 months to a job in Hawaii. We are here to help members of the military with their personal finance questions. Only if you sell too soon (I'd say any sooner than 4 years), you're looking at having to bring money to the table to close because whatever you're going to sell for is going to be based off of appreciation of that, not necessarily what your loan was. That's 2.15% of the PURCHASE price. While buying a house sight unseen has long been the only option for people relocating due to a new job or military service, the trend has been on the rise for more and more folks. Congrats, Hawaii is awesome. Buying A Kauai Home. Our Hawaii market moves too fast to wait for a Buyer to get Pre-Qualified. As my wife is fond of saying, "your IRA doesn't call you at midnight to report a broken pipe. On Redfin, you’ll see all the homes for sale with listings updated every 15-30 minutes. !WE ARE MOVING TO HAWAII!!!! loans Automate your savings into a dedicated savings/investment account. apartment also, Hawaii housing is going up. Most vets/AD don't want to or can't afford to pay that upfront, especially if they're using the 0% down method. loan It’s not a great investment on this island for the short term. For a 400k house, expect to pay your mortgage, which should be around 2100, your hazard insurance which is around 60, and your property taxes which vary depending on your state. We re-financed the mortgage when rates bottomed-out. 2020 best places to buy a house in hawaii about this list explore the best places to buy a house based on home values, property taxes, home ownership rates, housing costs, and real estate trends. The escrow officer, in addition to your Realtor, will communicate with you regarding issues of title, signatures, inspection time lines or other issues dealing with ownership and title. Neither is 100% best. I’ve always said that Christmas is the best time to buy a house, too. Buying a house in Hawaii – How-to guide. Anyways, as the title suggest, I'm currently an active duty E6 stationed at Hawaii. Buying a house doesn't look like it once did. But, you have to be smart. I saw some with over $1,000/mo. Even after the financial "collapse" of 2007 and 2008, home prices in Hawaii only dropped slightly. do you have a college degree? If you were planning to buy a house in the near future, you might be questioning whether you should put that idea on pause, too. Hawaii has a delayed response time regarding movement and market conditions as compared to Sacramento. This meant buyers could spend potentially $30,000 more on a property compared to prior years and still expect to be within their budget. I've always wanted a townhouse type home, but as you all know Hawaii housing is pretty expensive. I rent a place bigger than what I intend to buy for 2k a month and afford it. Here are 10 reasons to buy now! all I hear about is how its cheaper to buy than to rent in Hawaii but im only paying 2k for rent right now so I don't understand...how is $4600 hundred supposed to be cheaper than $2000, 120k salary, 400k house? Search. foreclosure, Press J to jump to the feed. foreclosure As long as the Hawaii property values keep trending up, we'll sell the place when I retire for a good profit, but it's been a lot of headaches to get there. Even with best-case low mortgage & HOA expenses, it is NOT an income property. I strongly encourage you, in the interest of making a sound financial choice, NOT to get a mortgage for the maximum that the bank is willing to lend to you. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Those things exist here, yes, but there are a few aspects of buying a home on the Big Island that you should be aware of: Fee simple vs leasehold Zillow has 8,675 homes for sale in hawaii. Doesn’t matter if you plan to buy a second home in Hawaii or age in place in this house, all the work has been done for you. My questions really are what will I be expecting to pay month to month that I just don't know about. In Hawaii, housing inventory, mortgage rates, and market trends vary from month to month. Most of the other quotes I got were nearly $5k/yr. Fortunately I've lived here in Oahu for 3 years so I am quite familiar with the cost of living differences, New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, real estate Now, 2.15% on $350K is $7524.99. She did a horrible job screening tenants, which is how I ended up with undocumented sub-sub-subletting--by the end of the lease, 8 different tenants had passed through our unit. When you wish to own a home in Hawaii, here is what you need to know in order to make a successful purchase.. Fee Simple.If you plan to buy not only a house but land as well, you should choose a fee simple. 10% down and all taxes, home insurance, pmi and hoa- $2615 per month. She’s thinking about relocating her family here, however, in spending a good half hour on the phone with her, there were a handful of misconceptions she heard about buying property here. Bottom-line: After repairs, property management, insurance, property taxes, general excise taxes, HOA fees, etc., we're lucky to come out about break-even. A nice new house in Oahu can vary greatly in price. You'll have less stress that way and be able to enjoy Hawaii a lot more. If you think you will be owning the house until at least that point, you shouldn’t lose money based on the math. Currently on deployment and planning to save around 10K by the time we get back. One with amenities and/or more service will easily be 2-3 times that. “COVID-19 has definitely created special circumstances for homebuyers,” said Susan Moguel, marketing director at Arden , a real estate developer in Palm Beach County, Florida. On $450K it's $8600. We sold both mainland vehicles before we left. Yikes. I got a notepad with all your advice on it. It's called a Funding Fee, it's based off the amount of the loan and varies from person to person. landlord Have about 20K in the bank, could've had more but I spent a lot of money on stupid stuff on my younger days. If you're interested, I can hook you up with contact info for my property manager/realtor. $60??? Is your car, if it's paid off, likely to last at least that long? Any person that is looking to buy a vacation home in Hawaii should definitely partake in some extensive research of the state before doing so. So when you go to sell down the road, the record will be a $400K sale. If you were able to ride out 15-20 years in the same home, and make some sweat equity at the same time, it would be okay. and I'll be sure to run some questions by you. By using our Services or clicking I agree, you agree to our use of cookies. Traffic is insane. Everything from the local economy to your financials to the housing market in Hawaii will impact what home you buy and how much it costs. I won't put my company email here or my cell #(don't want to get spammed) but you can reach out to one of my personal emails and I'll walk you through everything so you can see exactly what you qualify for and what benefit it has to you; pro bono [email protected] Or just add me on LinkedIn - Justin Chermak. Pete missed his Jeep (irrationally, I thought). If you had 5% for a down payment, it goes down to 1.25%, and 10% and over you get 1.15%. Or running. Like 500/ month in a place with no pool, no gym, no utilities included. | Barker Kapelle Construction LLC As you plan your future in Hawaii, one of the biggest concerns you will face is housing. Prices are going up in Hawaii now. You can't rest when it's a blue day. 3) Aggressively Save And Invest Consistently 10%-50% Of Your Paycheck Before Spending . There are single family homes on my street that rent for 2/3 what my mortgage is and I bought near the bottom of the price range for my neighborhood. Everybody is in a good mood. In Hawaii? Thoughts of living in a warm climate year round, with the smell of tropical flowers and the ocean in the air at all times. Buying a house is exciting, but it's by no means easy. landlords Unless you're going to get VA disability pay when you get out (as an IT person, I doubt it's likely, but I know USAF more than USN), you'll have to pay a 2.15% funding fee. While many closing costs become optional when there's no lender to require them, paying for a title search and title insurance, inspection, survey and more can help reduce your chances of buyer's remorse down the line. That really skews the cost away from buying. Its our new insta for Hawaii Life! No degree...I work IT for DoD. We got super lucky and bought a duplex. Where it sticks you is on resale. However, some real estate brokerage firms, like Benn Pacific Group, Inc., have an in-house lender to simplify this process. Kauai Realty has been helping families buy and build their dreams on Kauai since 1960.Kauai Realty’s award-winning, friendly real estate agents Should you wait? Tax was a big thing I was worried about. Even if you 'break even' on a home, there are a lot of transactional costs involved like realtor fees, property tax, fixing it, insuring it, etc. For a 400k house, expect to pay your mortgage, which should be around 2100, your hazard insurance which is around 60, and your property taxes which vary depending on your state. We hit our bottom of the market in 2011 and Hawaii felt the ripple about 18 months later. If you were to buy a house then get PCSd, you will not be able to rent for what your mortgage in nearly all cases. My guess is your monthly will be 2500, excluding trash, water, hoa, electricity, etc. You’ll need a local, Hawaii-based company that is familiar with Hawaii underwriting and valuation. What part of Hawaii are you looking at? Lex Allen of Solid Built Construction, Inc., advises on the costs of constructing a new Hawaii home. 10 reasons to buy a home in Hawaii Now. Buying A Vacation House in Hawaii. There is a myth that not everyone can buy a property in Hawaii. I will have disability due to sports related injuries while in, but not a high percentage. NO CLICKBAIT!! mortgages Find a Real Estate Attorney financing We're lucky to have day jobs so we could save enough to be able to cover expenses on the property for a few months in case of a long vacancy. There's plenty of people that buy a house and realize a few years later its not what they want or what their significant other wants and end up selling. See, your house will only appraise for $400K, not $408.6K. I'm prior service Marines and a mortgage banker now, I specialize in doing VA Loans and help people out with this trash daily. So one thing I'm not sure you're tracking and that no one else has mentioned is the VA funding fee. borrowing Just bought townhouse in northern VA for $456k. Press J to jump to the feed. View listing photos, review sales history, and use our detailed real estate filters to find the perfect place. Also keep in mind that the VA loan has a fee that’s about $8k on top of other closing costs so my initial thoughts are you don’t have enough to put down on a place. If it’s your dream to own a home in Hawaii, Kauai Realty would like to help you make this dream come true. So much real estate in Hawaii is owned by foreign investors for cash, which in part, drives the cost of rent down. Cookies help us deliver our Services. So much real estate in Hawaii is owned by foreign investors for cash, which in part, drives the cost of rent down. I’d suggest looking in SD or even Washington state, but ultimately you want to buy a place or wait to buy a place where you know your going to settle down. Even with a good property manager, we've had problems. and Holy shit I'm lost. I got a call this past week from a Buyer in Ohio on a listing of mine. What if something happens and the renter you find for your extra room can't make payments or you don't find one at all? The next time we use our VA entitlement (we each get one because we're dual), we're paying the fee upfront. Look at the “break even” time for the loan amount at around the current interest rate. Then take that amount, divide it by 12, and probably add 1% because the bank will want more in escrow rather than not enough, as far as taxes are concerned. As others have pointed out, 3bd at $500k (plus whatever HOA is at) isn’t going to be a great commute unless you work near Schofield or Barbers Point. Oh, and to figure out what your monthly property taxes will be, a good estimate (not perfect, though) is to go to Realtor.com for the house you're interested in and see what the tax amount paid in the previous few years was, especially if the seller bought it recently. At $375K, our realtor commission alone will be $22.5K, and then we have to pay off our mortgage, which will be somewhere around $340K still--and that's with paying extra each month. Renting in Hawaii is usually much cheaper than buying and allows a ton of flexibility, especially for military. Normally the rental market is way lower and you could be in a really bad spot. Hawaii is a truly beautiful and magnificent place and it is also very expansive. Zillow has 7,796 homes for sale in Hawaii. Oh yeah, Hawaii taxes rental properties. You won't have a down payment, loan origination fees or points to cover at closing. If you have a service connected disability you can get it waived, New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, More posts from the MilitaryFinance community. 9.25% if your rental is less than 180 days, 4.5% if it's longer. Since the COVID-19 outbreak worsened in mid-March, the real estate industry has had to adapt, leaning on technology like never before. I know this is heavily open ended but I never thought I would be in position to buy a house in Hawaii at 23. Of course there is property depreciation, housing market swings, etc that could affect the number. Is the market going up or down? I pay $250/month for insurance in Louisiana on a 150k house, not even including flood insurance. Trust me, that’s what everyone did that ever bought a house before. Some property managers have other charges--many require you to add them to your insurance ($$$). I'd suggest live in base until you make a friend with someone who has a house in Waikiki area and rent there. Hawaii has many volcanoes Free simple vs Leasehold. would that matter? Ranking based on data from the U.S. Census, FBI, and other data sources. You can ship your vehicle; that cost to ship your car to Hawaii starts at around $1200 from the West Coast and the car can’t have any stuff in it. Would I be able to afford that on my own based on my BAH and Base pay? Renting in Hawaii is usually much cheaper than buying and allows a ton of flexibility, especially for military. These houses comes in usually 3+ bedrooms, I was thinking of renting them out to help with the mortgage. investing View 2873 homes for sale in Hawaii, HI at a median listing price of $359,000. 3. house so with your numbers $4600 a month plus utilities? foreclosures Hawaii is one of like 2 bases I recommend just living on base if you have a fam or renting a room somewhere. 1 - Hawaii Real Estate has been the one of the safest investments in America. If you were to buy a house then get PCSd, you will not be able to rent for what your mortgage in nearly all cases. Thank you! Of course, the lot is going to cost a lot more here in Hawaii Kai. The combined rents between the two earn almost 2x what the rental market would support for a single home with the same square footage. GS jobs pretty hard to lose in case I royally fuck it up. One way to make buying a house easier is starting the process at the right time. The more you know about the steps to buying a house and the current real estate trends in Hawaii, the better you’ll be able to navigate your choices. something I was highly recommended to do instead of renting out here. Feel free to ask any Hawaii specific questions, I lived there for 8 years working as a mortgage lender. houses 2020 was a good year to buy a house in terms of affordability, as interest rates in 2020 were 3% and lower. So that gets rolled into the loan. Quality of life is just saving and living as close to work as possible. Go for the $350K mark instead of the $400K mark so that you don't end up living paycheck to paycheck on the off chance of a raise in taxes, a car accident that demands total replacement, that sort of thing. I have no debt, just paying monthly bills of phone and rent right now. - Getting Started Hawaii Moving Guide How To Secure Your First Rental Tips To Finding Your Dream Home Condo Or House Living Quality Of Life And The Finest Weather Useful Hawaii Resources & Info Guide To Oahu Schools Pet Friendly Condos In Honolulu Oahu Farmers' Markets Oahu Self Storage Facilities 10 Best Golf Courses On Oahu Hawaii Fishing Guide … ranking based on data from the u.s. … 4,346 single family homes for sale in Hawaii. Of course, when you get an actual house to get a quote for the amount may vary, but you can get a ballpark estimate. They were astronomical when I lived there. But if you don’t plan to make the island your home, you’re going to have a hard time breaking even. But QoL increases when you can walk out your door to the beach also. Cash transactions can be complet… I've been renting it out since 2011. You can take HI BAH and rent something in a 3bd townhouse and bank 12k a year tax free, easily. Then the mortgage company will roll that into your monthly payment for you, so 1/12 of whatever the annual insurance rate is. The property taxes vary from county to county but are surprisingly cheap once you file your homestead exemption. This process can take 60 days or longer to complete if the purchase is being financed. But either way. thanks so much. In Hawaii Kai, it could be as much as $1.5million if the lot is really good, and even more if it's in Portlock or has a view. So lets assume I buy a house for 400k with the 30 year loan. Congrats, Hawaii is awesome. VA Loan requires down payment and solid interest rate. Or surfing. ... a bank, or even a credit union. buying a house and had to deal with non-responsive handymen who only work on island time. I'd rather do it sooner than later. Make sure to consider what the rental price per square foot is compared to buying. so essentially utilities + mortgage + 2500 for property taxes? Will you be able to make it. definitely did not see anything about the funding fee so thank you for the heads up. Maybe. Since you always feel like you are on vacation, it's very difficult to look outside from your computer and not have the feeling that you should be out swimming. what can I expect to pay monthly and what other little things should I expect? What are the closing costs if you buy a house with cash? I'm aware of the VA program and I do plan to use it, but even so, would I be able to afford a house in the $500K range? 5. In Hawaii, we use title companies and escrow officers to handle the transfer of the property, including the deed. She is a retired Army 1Sgt and I trust that she would not steer servicemembers into something that is not in their best interest. See pricing and listing details of Hawaii real estate for sale.