Mortgages and lending in HI

[WaikikiBoy]

In general, I'm a pretty big believer in renting for a little while to be certain you will stay put and to learn the market. But I also believe pricing in general has stabilized in most places, moving up in some places and I feel, personally, the 5 to 10 yr outlook is quite positive. So while I'd agree with some other posters that you should rent first, I'd make it a short term rent with a goal of finding something something to buy within 3 months. And do a lot of area research in the mean time. Purchase something that would be a bit easier to rent out also in the event you decide to leave Hawaii and move back to the mainland.

I purchased a Condo in Waikiki a little over a year ago and it's been a good investment with prices going up. I also just purchased another house in Portland Oregon and I'm bullish that it will be a good investment also. But I am sure the Hawaii property is likely a better long-term investment.

I won't comment specifically on lending or lending requirements because there has been a lot of good information already posted on the subject. The only thing I'll add is that most loans are underwritten under specific debt to income ratio's and other criteria (that has been posted already) so that the loans are conforming and able to sold to other banks. In Hawaii there are some banks that will underwrite "portfolio loans". And those loans do not necessarily conform to normal underwriting guidelines. And those loans are written, funded and held directly by the bank and not sold (because they don't conform to normal guidelines). I"m not saying that is something you'd want or need. It's just another nuance in lending that is out there. I've seen it offered particularly on condo projects that aren't approved for normal lending ... like condotel's. But that doesn't mean it's easier to qualify for a portfolio loan. It's actually likely more difficult. But that is something that you might run into while looking for a property.

[MitchTempo]

Originally Posted by CyberCity

My screen only shows "© 2013 Streetdirectory".

One good thing thing about C-D, people can post ideas, information, links, personal stories, etc, and the reader can then do their own investigation and make their own decisions. Some of us have nothing to sell, just thoughts to offer for the taking (or not).

This is true, but I feel the need to point out that the article was written by an author back in 2008 for search engine rankings for his now out of business mortgage company. The owner of the article which was a broker somewhere on the east coast has since disappeared. The information isn't reliable both because of the time it was written (things have changed), and who it comes from.

Copyright info at the bottom of the screen does not timestamp the article, like this forum for example is 2005-2013, if the forum didn't have timestamps from individual posts we wouldn't know when the info was from.

I'm not saying its bad to pull information, but we need to point out if there is something not quite right with that info. Especially if it involves someone putting in a large amount of money for something. They have a right to know that info is outdated. The advice given in that linked article wasn't bad either, I'm just pointing out that the source you pulled it from is not a reliable source.

[CyberCity]

A good general guideline is for the readers of everything posted on C-D to do their own followup research, and to not make decisions solely based upon what they read on an internet forum.

[MitchTempo]

Originally Posted by CyberCity

A good general guideline is for the readers of everything posted on C-D to do their own followup research, and to not make decisions solely based upon what they read on an internet forum.

True that