Honolulu relocation (Kailua, Makaha: to rent, condo, mortgage broker)

[swimmer33]

I am 33 years old and will soon be married. No children yet. I have been asked to take a job in Honolulu by the company I work for. I would work from home in honoulu but provide after hours coverage via the internet for the east coast US division and essentially work daytime hours in Hawaii.

I don't know anyone there. I have visited hawaii 2 separate times( maui and Honolulu). I have traveled around the world alot and am fairly flexible with living in new places. I love outdoor activities.

Whenever I tell anyone about this job opp they seem really excited to come visit. I am unsure about where I could or would want to live. Even with my salary, I may have trouble getting a loan for a "nice" house beacause of the current loan crisis. I have impeccable credit. I would like to live in Kahala based on what I have read. My fiance visited several neighboorhoods when we were there a few months ago, including kahala and really liked it.

On a positive note, my salary is about 350,000 per year and will increase each year substantially. I will probably start with about a 100K for a down payment on a condo or home when leaving the US mainland.

Any suggestions about where to live, whether to rent at first or buy , and whether I could really afford a home in a great area? Should I work for a couple of years to save for a down payment on a more expensive place? My ideal house in kahala is about 2 million.

Where would you suggest living on a salary of about 350,000?

I have thought alot about what moving would mean and realize that living there is not vacationing. there are traffic problems , drug problems, cost of living issues. Basically I am hoping to avoid alot of problems by spending a ton of money to live in a better area and work from home to avoid traffic.

[cynmkolohe]

I've sent you a DM with a few thoughts, but want to add that you may want to consider going ahead and contacting a local lender to run through a pre-qualification process. (Not pre-approval necessarily, but based on the information you provide before your credit report is pulled.) Get a sense of the rates and loan programs available.

Would this be your first home purchase? There are some advantages for first time home buyers right now--these will probably last through June 2009. Also good to get information about the upper limits on conventional loans in Hawaii--it's different than most areas of the mainland. Though from your post, you may exceed the upper limit easily.

Talk with a local bank as well as a local mortgage broker to compare their loan packages.

[JLeez808]

With that salary I think u could also consider Hawaii Kai or Waikele. Both have traffic issues but, like u said, u'd be working from home.

Hawaii Kai is a nice neighborhood with great access to beautiful beaches, Koko Marina shopping center, Kahala Mall, boating/diving, restaurants, etc.

I don't know as much about Waikele but I think its got great shopping too. The closest beaches would be Makaha or Barbers Point (I might be wrong). Lots of golf out on that side too if that's ur thing.

[HankDfrmSD]

Originally Posted by swimmer33

Where would you suggest living on a salary of about 350,000?

I am reminded of the question:

"Where does the 700 pound gorilla sit?"

Answer: Anywhere he wants!

Hank

[Judy Barrett]

I will probably start with about a 100K for a down payment on a condo or home when leaving the US mainland....
Should I work for a couple of years to save for a down payment on a more expensive place? My ideal house in kahala is about 2 million.

Its tough to find a lender willing to go 5% down on a jumbo loan these days, even with flawless credit and solid debt/loan ratios. A year ago it would have been a piece o' cake.

Any suggestions about where to live, whether to rent at first or buy , and whether I could really afford a home in a great area?
Where would you suggest living on a salary of about 350,000?.

In addition to Waialae/Kahala areas, you might consider Kailua and, as someone else suggested, Hawaii Kai.

By renting, you can give yourself time to get a better feel for neighborhoods. The downside is the longer you wait, the greater the risk of even tighter restrictions and higher interest rates reducing your buying power further. (By the way, prices in the top areas of Oahu are, remarkably, still rising. There is no end of competition for those prize properties.)

If you are flexible and can imagine yourself living in something less than your dream $2M Kahala home, you could buy something a bit more modest in a solid area, grow some equity AND add to savings, and move up in 2 or 3 years.

If you do invest wisely now, you'll at least have your foot in the door. This is a fabulous market for buyers and investors!

If you're working from home, you will not have much difficulty with traffic regardless of where on the island you plant yourself. You learn to work your trips to town during off-peak hours. You learn to avoid Costco and the H-1 on Saturday mornings, too!