Finding an apartment with bad credit on Maui (Kahului, Kihei: apartments, rentals)

[vin1127]

Aloha guys,

I am looking to move to Maui with my gf this year. I have a bad credit score (around 500), from a bad financial situation a few years back. She has no credit.

We have lived on Oahu for over 10 years. I am coming with a local HI job that pays 55k that I can work remotely. I have 2 or 3 solid references from past landlords on Oahu. No kids, No pets. Just the two of us.

How difficult would you say it is to find a decent apartment, say in the $1,400 to $1,600 range. How strict are the landlords regarding credit scores. We would be pretty flexible on the area of the island to live, but areas we probably would prefer would be more of the south - Kihei to Lahaina, or maybe even up near Kahului.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Mahalo.

[whtviper1]

500?

Instead of spending money moving, focus on fixing your credit.

I can't imagine anything but the more dumpy places available to you with your credit score.

Alternatively, find another girlfriend with better credit.

[trinity1111]

Originally Posted by vin1127

Aloha guys,

I am looking to move to Maui with my gf this year. I have a bad credit score (around 500), from a bad financial situation a few years back. She has no credit.

We have lived on Oahu for over 10 years. I am coming with a local HI job that pays 55k that I can work remotely. I have 2 or 3 solid references from past landlords on Oahu. No kids, No pets. Just the two of us.

How difficult would you say it is to find a decent apartment, say in the $1,400 to $1,600 range. How strict are the landlords regarding credit scores. We would be pretty flexible on the area of the island to live, but areas we probably would prefer would be more of the south - Kihei to Lahaina, or maybe even up near Kahului.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Mahalo.

Apartments? Forget Maui. Even with decent credit you need an inside line/referral to get a decent place. And $1400 to $1600 is not decent on Maui, $1800 is start point.
That said, you could as a couple, possibly rent a room in a house split in a good area for $1200 to $1400.

[davephan]

Originally Posted by vin1127

Aloha guys,

I am looking to move to Maui with my gf this year. I have a bad credit score (around 500), from a bad financial situation a few years back. She has no credit.

We have lived on Oahu for over 10 years. I am coming with a local HI job that pays 55k that I can work remotely. I have 2 or 3 solid references from past landlords on Oahu. No kids, No pets. Just the two of us.

How difficult would you say it is to find a decent apartment, say in the $1,400 to $1,600 range. How strict are the landlords regarding credit scores. We would be pretty flexible on the area of the island to live, but areas we probably would prefer would be more of the south - Kihei to Lahaina, or maybe even up near Kahului.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Mahalo.

How can you survive on Oahu with an income of only $55K? The cost of living is higher on Oahu than Maui. How are you able to rent an apartment on Oahu with a bad credit rating? Are you thinking about what your life will be like in 20 or 30 years? Have you saved anything for retirement? My impression is that you really want to live in Hawaii badly, but you don't have enough income to live in Hawaii and save enough money to survive in retirement, unless you are betting the farm that you will die young.

How much does your girlfriend earn? If she doesn't earn much, can she educate herself so she can earn a good income. She should be thinking in the long term too.

I agree with the others that you should concentrate on building up your credit score and starting a credit history for your girlfriend. You certainly shouldn't be planning a family any time soon, because you can't afford it, unless you move to the mainland in a much lower cost of living location.

Maybe you can scrape by renting a room or sharing a house with someone. But that only barely gets you by in the present, without any thought about your long term financial future. Do you have an emergency fund to get you by 6 months to a year without a job. My guess is that you don't have an emergency fund. It sounds like you are very close to the edge. If something happens to your job, you are probably in deep trouble, one step away from being homeless.

[whtviper1]

$55K is quite doable Dave - we call that Ewa Beach, West Side, or roommates

[bnjforever]

There are not too many formal APARTMENTS per se on Maui, however, those that ARE here WILL check your credit. We never used any of them. None of the places we lived in on Maui EVER actually checked our credit (ranging from a small Ohana to a tri-plex/townhouse). The landlords we encountered rented to us based on our situation (employed, no pets, non-smokers) and whether they LIKED us or not. We met and talked story with them all and got each place we applied for. It certainly helps if you have the entire deposit NOW (not "in installments later") and first month's rent. Also come prepared with references typed up in advance. A letter from your employer verifying income also helped us. The lowest we've paid for rent was $1100 for a 500sf ohana & the most was $1850 for a 750sf triplex. Good luck to you OP!

[davephan]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

$55K is quite doable Dave - we call that Ewa Beach, West Side, or roommates

Maybe it is "doable" if you don't include saving anything! You need to have your credit cards paid off every month, and no other debt other than a mortgage, and maybe car loans. The mortgage should be 15 years and the car loans shouldn't be upside down, and shouldn't be rule of 78 interest. You need to have an emergency fund of 6 to 12 months. You need to save enough for retirement, which generally means at least 10% if you start in your 20's, which almost no one does. If you are in your mid 20's to 30's, that needs to be 20%. For an income of only $50K, those percentage numbers are low, and need to be higher. Living in that manner might be "doable" in the short term, but it is not sustainable in the long term.

The problem is the long term financial planning. It doesn't exist for most people. That's why the majority of the American population have little to no retirement savings. People simply refuse to look at their long term futures. Many people talk about $1M to $2M as a general goal if you don't have a pension. If you have a pension, you can retire with less. Of course, it's possible to retire with much less savings, but you would have to live in a very low cost of living area and you will have a very low standard of living. There's no way to get anywhere near that goal with that income level and the extremely high cost of living.

Not everyone can be a high income earner. However, even at a lower wage rate, it is possible, but it requires extreme effort and sacrifice. My brother in law has a friend that used to work as a bus driver in San Francisco. I would guess that a bus driver isn't making a high income, although maybe there is a pension with that job. That guy worked as a bus driver for decades till his late 50's and then retired early. He owns 3 homes in San Francisco and rents them out besides his own home. He retired a multi-millionaire, working as a bus driver, in a high cost of living city.

I don't know anyone at my work that maximizes their retirement savings, even though most people I work with have incomes that are considered high incomes. You might find it interesting to try to determine how many people in Hawaii actually save money for the long term future. I'm guessing the number of people and the amount of savings is extremely low, since the cost of living is so high. I think it's very bad advise to give someone to spend all their money they earn, and save nothing for the long term future, unless for some reason, they are absolutely certain that they will die young.

[Koale]

Originally Posted by vin1127

Aloha guys,

I am looking to move to Maui with my gf this year. I have a bad credit score (around 500), from a bad financial situation a few years back. She has no credit.

We have lived on Oahu for over 10 years. I am coming with a local HI job that pays 55k that I can work remotely. I have 2 or 3 solid references from past landlords on Oahu. No kids, No pets. Just the two of us.

How difficult would you say it is to find a decent apartment, say in the $1,400 to $1,600 range. How strict are the landlords regarding credit scores. We would be pretty flexible on the area of the island to live, but areas we probably would prefer would be more of the south - Kihei to Lahaina, or maybe even up near Kahului.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Mahalo.

If you concentrate your efforts on Private Landlords, and ignore the property management trap, it should be relatively easy for you to land a nice place for your suggested rent amount. Two of the complexes I'm familiar with are Kihei Villages and Southpoint. Both off of Kenolio Road in North Kihei. Both allow pets. Both offer fenced yards for dogs, if you have them. Both have affordable and nice units regularly available. Both have good management. I found both rentals via a personal ad I placed on CL. I know the Southpointe keeps a list of available units both current and future availabilities. Best of luck to you.
Koale

[Koale]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

500?

Instead of spending money moving, focus on fixing your credit.

I can't imagine anything but the more dumpy places available to you with your credit score.

Alternatively, find another girlfriend with better credit.

Aren't you a bundle of helpful hints? Maybe if you dig a bit deeper you could be a bit more rude and unwelcoming, huh?
K

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by Koale

Aren't you a bundle of helpful hints? Maybe if you dig a bit deeper

My, my, my, Perhaps if you dug a bit deeper.......

You could always check craigslist and see 1) the listings are out of the ops budget - and 2) and prominently state credit check required.

http://honolulu.craigslist.org/mau/apa/5500712030.html