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My husband may be taking a job in Honolulu. I've been reviewing some of the "moving to Hawaii" posts and have found them helpful. But, I haven't seen that much advice for families with young kids, or looking to buy a single family home. For the record, we would not be moving there to live a dream on the beach. We'd be moving there for my husband's job; there is a current need for his work.
So, lay it on me:
We have two kids, 3.5 and 1.5 right now (likely 4 and 2 by the time we move). We'd be looking for a single family house. The job would be permanent. Our HHI would start there at $300-350K if I don't work ($400-450K if I do.)
--Would you recommend renting for a year before buying?
--What neighborhoods would you recommend for families with young children, with single family homes, convenient driving distance to Honolulu? Our budget would be $1m-1.3m. What can we expect to be able to afford? (We do live in a very expensive city now, so you can be honest and you probably won't shock me, but I just want to be prepared.)
--We're also seeking school -- preschool and elementary school-- recommendations. My daughter would be starting pre-K in the fall at a private elementary school where we live now, but it's not clear to me whether pre-K is common there. I am vaguely familiar with the Punahou School, as we have several friends who grew up there and graduated from Punahou. (Obviously, I will pick their brains for answers to these questions as well, but right now we're keeping the job possibility on the down low until we know for sure.) Any input on Punahou, public schools, or other schools in the area would be greatly appreciated!
Hawaii is really a beautiful place to live. For me the only downside is traffic which peaks from 5:30am-8:30am, lunchtime, 3:30pm-6:00pm which is similar to LA traffic or worse. I think that with your housing budget and income you should be fine finding the ideal house for your family. I would recommend that you look into Hawaii Kai (near town) and Kailua (reasonable commute, great community, schools) as areas to live in. The public school system is terrible which is why private schools thrive, I would say most of them hold the standards you would expect of a public school in the mainland. There is Le Jardin in Kailua and Punahou, Iolani, La Pietra and numerous others in Honolulu depending on what you are looking for in a school.
Steffle, thank you for giving me a good start with neighborhoods and schools to look at! Sorry if it seems like I haven't done much research. This possibility has been thrust upon me in the past week!
Oh, one more thing? In one of my searches on these forums, I saw passing reference to a 50% down payment requirement, but it wasn't clear in the context? Is that the case, or is it the usual 20%? We would be buying a single family home for a primary residence.
--Would you recommend renting for a year before buying?
YES...and this is not Hawai'i specific advice. Real estate is not a liquid investment and as you know, start-up costs are really high and if you HATE where you have moved to, you either have to suck it up and stay, or hope to make back enough on a sale not only to cover selling and closing costs on the sale, but also closing costs on the recent purchase. RE is going up a bit so maybe you would get lucky and make a windfall, but...maybe not.
We've been renting here for close to five months now, and we really love that we are not tied down to any purchase made from afar or made in haste. We actually don't want to buy but that's just us. A friend who moved here a couple of weeks after we did does plan to buy, and she spends weekends scoping out different areas and neighborhoods. When she's ready to write that down payment check, she'll be pretty sure that she's made the right selection.
Oh, one more thing? In one of my searches on these forums, I saw passing reference to a 50% down payment requirement, but it wasn't clear in the context? Is that the case, or is it the usual 20%? We would be buying a single family home for a primary residence.
Never heard of that, but when I've looked at online RE listings, the mortgage calculators usually show a 20% down payment. You want at least that anyway to avoid PMI.
Get on the phone, call a couple of banks in Hawaii and ask to speak to their mortgage department. Instead of guessing, ask the guy who is handing out the money how much down is required.
I would guess that 20% for a house would do it. The higher down is probably for a condo in a building that contains units that are used as rentals. But since I haven't taken out a mortgage in Hawaii this year, I am just guessing.
Oh, one more thing? In one of my searches on these forums, I saw passing reference to a 50% down payment requirement, but it wasn't clear in the context? Is that the case, or is it the usual 20%? We would be buying a single family home for a primary residence.
The same loan programs available on the mainland are available in Hawaii. 20% for a jumbo loan is the norm.
You are already coming from a city with comparable expenses (SF is only 4% less expensive than HI) so that helps a lot.
I would think you would want the Hawaii Kai area or Kailua. There are a bunch of sub neighborhoods that would work in Honolulu too, but I think your realtor will be able to help you there. With your budget you have options. You definitely want a private school. I have relatives in Hawaii Kai that send there kids to Sacred Hearts, and friends in Kailua with kids in Le Jardin.
Ironically, we will be leaving Hawaii in a few years for San Francisco.
Food for thought: The Waterfront at Pu'uloa is a former military housing area. It is a gaited community that encompasses two preschools and an elementary school. Security patrols fairly continuously. You get MUCH more square footage for your money. There's a marina there.
There are pro's and con's to everything and I'd be fighting traffic every day if it weren't for the gray boat that goes to the base every day. Another BIG con for most would be the flight path to the airport. They generally don't fly over during quiet hours at night but it takes some getting used to.
We'd love a little more space yard-wise and privacy but I recently moved from 4 acres in MS. Can't have that! There are some beautiful areas here but they're pricey. We won't be here long enough to purchase. Not seeing it at this point in time.
If you're bringing a dog, get that required serum test done asap because it takes 120 days after the blood is recieved at the lab before they can enter HI. (Mine will be here in March)
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