Mortgages? (real estate, lease, HOA)

[honeyimhome]

For those of you that pay a mortgage, what are you paying? What size is your house? What area is that house in? What is your interest rate? I'm looking to be a first time home buyer could ya tell?! Any other advice for me? Thank you! My bad if this has been posted...

[WaikikiBoy]

People's individual mortgages, payments, interest rates, etc. really won't help you much because those all vary significantly depending on when in the past a person has purchased, their downpayment, etc.

You really only need to know what interest rates are being charged TODAY. You can go to First Hawaiian Banks web site or Bank of Hawaii's web site and see current rates.

Then you can go to the link below and search homes or condos (on Oahu at least) and use the mortgage calculator to see what any specific property would cost you based on YOUR down payment and current interest rates. Then you'll have an idea of the cost per sq ft of the properties, taxes, HOA fee's and your Principal & Interest on your loan.

Oahu Real Estate Condo Instant Search

You'll want to learn the difference between leasehold properties and fee simple properties as well.

[honeyimhome]

Originally Posted by WaikikiBoy

People's individual mortgages, payments, interest rates, etc. really won't help you much because those all vary significantly depending on when in the past a person has purchased, their downpayment, etc.

You really only need to know what interest rates are being charged TODAY. You can go to First Hawaiian Banks web site or Bank of Hawaii's web site and see current rates.

Then you can go to the link below and search homes or condos (on Oahu at least) and use the mortgage calculator to see what any specific property would cost you based on YOUR down payment and current interest rates. Then you'll have an idea of the cost per sq ft of the properties, taxes, HOA fee's and your Principal & Interest on your loan.

Oahu Real Estate Condo Instant Search

You'll want to learn the difference between leasehold properties and fee simple properties as well.

Thank you. I know there is so much to learn and I haven't the slightest clue about any of it. You advice is appreciated. I had no idea there was even a term leasehold. Thank you.

[Joliefille]

Google real estate seminars for first time buyers. I saw a RE co sponsoring one. Can't remember which company, though. That'd be a good place to start.

[Joliefille]

Originally Posted by WaikikiBoy

Oahu Real Estate Condo Instant Search

You'll want to learn the difference between leasehold properties and fee simple properties as well.

Our first house was a leasehold in Palm Springs, CA. Every other block belonged to the Aqua Caliente tribe. I remember it was $37 per month!

[hotzcatz]

Last spring, 5% interest rate through the credit union and they are going to hold the mortgage for the life of the mortgage (no selling it to anyone else). We put 20% cash down ($36K) and mortgaged the rest. The house is on the Big Island on the Hamakua coast, just over 1,000 square feet on a town sized lot and by the time the mortgage, insurance and annual taxes are paid, it's about $1,100 per month. The other house is now rented to help offset that.

[whtviper1]

Wife is a loan officer - FHA loan in Oahu it is 5% down + fees is about 4% interest rate up to $793,000 or so loan. Your experience may vary on credit history, etc....

The challange is most condos dont qualify as building must be over 50% owner occupied,

[PaliPatty]

Originally Posted by honeyimhome

For those of you that pay a mortgage, what are you paying? What size is your house? What area is that house in? What is your interest rate? I'm looking to be a first time home buyer could ya tell?! Any other advice for me? Thank you! My bad if this has been posted...

Here is a real estate site with a massive amount of information for each property.
Tax info, mortgage tables, floor plans, photos. Really gives you an idea of what's out there and what it will cost.
Have fun shopping:

Oahu Real Estate

And, current mortgage rates offered by quite a few different lenders:

http://www.hicentral.com/MortgageRates.asp (broken link)

[sbartist]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

Wife is a loan officer - FHA loan in Oahu it is 5% down + fees is about 4% interest rate up to $793,000 or so loan. Your experience may vary on credit history, etc....

The challange is most condos dont qualify as building must be over 50% owner occupied,

Does this mean if the building is not over 50% owner occupied that you cannot get a loan to buy a place?

[WaikikiBoy]

You can get loans on condo's that are not 50+% Owner-Occupied. You just won't get one for 5% down. From my recent experience in Waikiki specifically, you should expect down-payment requirements between 20% to 50% depending on zoning of the building and owner-occupancy.

Some buildings won't even qualify for a loan. But these are mostly small condo-tel units that do not have a full kitchen. They are really just hotel rooms with a college refrig & hot-plate.

But I found most condo buildings in Waikiki can get a loan for between 20 to 35% down.

The way it was explained to me is that each building is underwritten based on it's own specific situation.

Leasehold -vs- fee simple properties also can have an impact on your ability to get a loan depending on the number of years left on the lease.

It really is a very interesting market.