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Your mention of Section 8 was not "noise". That can be a very real factor to anyone thinking of moving to Hawaii. You must be aware of how hard it is to get Section 8 vouchers, especially for someone who isn't even here yet. So, yes, it did cause us to respond because we are warning you about how unrealistic your expectations might be. We aren't jumping on you because you rely on Section 8; we're telling you what it is actually like here in Hawaii.
Same thing with your desire to be in a quiet, rural area with space and solitude. Just trying to explain to you how that might not be achievable in Hawaii since you don't drive.
Ok, so you want to do no research whatsoever or even try to find rentals? I see. Given at any given time there are usually only a handful of rentals on the island it doesn’t seem unreasonable you can do some upfront work. That just shows me you aren’t serious and our time is valuable.
As far as Section 8 - it’s a non starter in Hawaii hence my suggestion to leave it out as you don’t stand a chance using a voucher since people who already live there can’t use one. So yes, it becomes unnecessary noise.
Gosh, why can’t people google some stuff first. Then say, how about x, y, or z - what do you think.
Actually, I spent days researching before I came here, and intended to do more with any suggestions I might have gotten.
I didn't mention the names of the couple places I have come across in articles that sounded promising because first, there isn't a lot of "what's this place really like?" information out there (it's mostly "the beaches and schools are nice and there are great food trucks on Fridays"), and second - the main reason - I wanted a blank slate for any suggestions anyone may have. Which, as I said, I then intended to run with doing more research.
I appreciate your clarification, especially because it was given after you'd gotten the impression I just wanted someone else to do my work for me. It helps paint a picture of the situation out there, which is part of what I needed.
Ok, so you want to do no research whatsoever or even try to find rentals? I see. Given at any given time there are usually only a handful of rentals on the island it doesn’t seem unreasonable you can do some upfront work. That just shows me you aren’t serious and our time is valuable.
As far as Section 8 - it’s a non starter in Hawaii hence my suggestion to leave it out as you don’t stand a chance using a voucher since people who already live there can’t use one. So yes, it becomes unnecessary noise.
Gosh, why can’t people google some stuff first. Then say, how about x, y, or z - what do you think.
Actually, I spent days researching before I came here, and intended to do more with any suggestions I might have gotten.
I didn't mention the names of the couple places I have come across in articles that sounded promising because first, there isn't a lot of "what's this place really like?" information out there (it's mostly "the beaches and schools are nice and there are great food trucks on Fridays"), and second - the main reason - I wanted a blank slate for any suggestions anyone may have. Which, as I said, I then intended to run with doing more research.
I appreciate your clarification, especially because it was given after you'd gotten the impression I just wanted someone else to do my work for me. It helps paint a picture of the situation out there, which is part of what I obviously needed.
Your mention of Section 8 was not "noise". That can be a very real factor to anyone thinking of moving to Hawaii. You must be aware of how hard it is to get Section 8 vouchers, especially for someone who isn't even here yet. So, yes, it did cause us to respond because we are warning you about how unrealistic your expectations might be. We aren't jumping on you because you rely on Section 8; we're telling you what it is actually like here in Hawaii.
Same thing with your desire to be in a quiet, rural area with space and solitude. Just trying to explain to you how that might not be achievable in Hawaii since you don't drive.
I completely misread. I'm grateful more people were willing to step forward and set me straight.
I've lived in three states under section 8 now, and I understand the general negative light its recipients are viewed in. People hear "Section 8" and make assumptions about a person. That can be a challenge as a tenant, yes, but the worse I've seen it by far is where I live now. Landlords and even small property management companies outright say up front, "We don't accept Section 8," which is impressive, because that's illegal. But having lived here almost a year now,I get it. HUD's portion of my rent went unpaid for almost three months, it's never been paid on time, they have all kinds of clerical errors....
Is that the problem in Hawaii? Or is it that so many people are looking, landlords can afford to be as picky as they want, or some combination?
Landlords and even small property management companies outright say up front, "We don't accept Section 8," which is impressive, because that's illegal. But having lived here almost a year now,I get it. HUD's portion of my rent went unpaid for almost three months, it's never been paid on time, they have all kinds of clerical errors....
Is that the problem in Hawaii? Or is it that so many people are looking, landlords can afford to be as picky as they want, or some combination?
Lets assume you can transfer your Section 8 voucher to Hawaii and you don't need to worry that they aren't issuing new vouchers in Hawaii and you can't even waitlist.
The issue is this: The economy is booming in Hawaii. Hawaii unemployment ranges from #1 in the nation to #3 in the nation any given month - it is very very low, like 2.1% low. Essentially anyone who wants a job can get a job - it might not be the job they want - but employers are struggling finding employees.
So - this means: When a property comes on to the market to rent, the landlord is typically overwhelmed with applicants - therefore, illegal or not, the landlord can pick and choose among qualified applicants that don't have Section 8. People already in Hawaii with Section 8 vouchers can't find Section 8 friendly housing, let alone someone from out of state and disabled, it is what it is.
The same goes for most rentals in Hawaii are not pet friendly. They don't have to be as it is a landlord market.
Section 8 only becomes a viable option in Hawaii when the economy sours - and it has been a good 10 years since that time.
The point being, even if you have a voucher you can transfer, you practically have no chance to ever get to use it. Right now, I see online less than 10 Section 8 friendly rentals on the Big Island - for which there are likely thousands of people who may attempt to get those units.
Accepting section 8 is not mandatory for property owners. It is a process where a landlord or property owner applies and gets accepted or denied. Most choose not to go through this process for all kinds of reasons. So when a Landlord says they don't accept Section 8 it is not illegal for them to do so. They are simply informing you the subject property is not Section 8 approved and/or they dont intend for it to be.
I completely misread. I'm grateful more people were willing to step forward and set me straight.
I've lived in three states under section 8 now, and I understand the general negative light its recipients are viewed in. People hear "Section 8" and make assumptions about a person. That can be a challenge as a tenant, yes, but the worse I've seen it by far is where I live now. Landlords and even small property management companies outright say up front, "We don't accept Section 8," which is impressive, because that's illegal. But having lived here almost a year now,I get it. HUD's portion of my rent went unpaid for almost three months, it's never been paid on time, they have all kinds of clerical errors....
Is that the problem in Hawaii? Or is it that so many people are looking, landlords can afford to be as picky as they want, or some combination?
Nope, Hawaii landlords are not required to accept Section 8 vouchers. From what I've heard the major reason they don't want to deal with it is not because of the folks on the program but dealing with the program itself. Also a lot of houses in Hawaii wouldn't be acceptable by HUD standards even though they're good houses for Hawaii.
Here's a search engine for finding HUD homes, Affordable HUD Home Search That link is for a search of Hawaii island housing.
There's about twenty of them listed for the island of Hawaii. Most of them are elderly housing or group homes, I don't think any of them are single family homes set off in a rural area.
We have some elderly housing in our town but there's a several year waiting list to get in. Not sure if all of them have a waiting list, but I'd expect so.
In general, housing in Hawaii is very expensive. If there is any inexpensive housing, it is usually traded between friends and relatives and usually goes to folks already here and already known or recommended to the landlords. A lot of houses are sold that way, too, although you're looking to rent and not buy.
We have two rental houses and when we want new renters, we tell everyone we know when it will be available and generally new renters will show up using nothing more than the coconut wireless. If we do list it on Craig's List, there will be forty to sixty applicants. Among that group, there will be folks with Section 8 vouchers as well as mainland folks with Section 8 vouchers asking about it. But, since we're not part of the Section 8 program and the house has not been approved by Section 8, we can't accept them unless we got the house past the approval process.
I've read the cautions: moving away from the people you know, cost of living, that I'll be a minority (I am the whitest white lady), island fever, all that. I get the impression, though, that Hawaii is more about who you are than what you have, and that if you're a decent person with a good spirit, that's what matters.
I am not sure I agree with ^^^^. Hawaii is not an easy place to live but the ease of living here is proportional to how much money or income you have, your resources (work, friends, family) on the island, and whether there is something unique about the place other than the elusive "magic". By the latter I mean, are you a fanatic about golf and want to play all year round, or are you a fanatic about ocean sports like surfing and wind surfing, or diving or deep sea fishing?
The magic that draws so many people to move here is not lasting, it wears off quickly and then you are just living someplace. But that someplace happens to be one of the most expensive places to live, with poor public transportation (on Maui at least), poor medical care due to severe doctor shortage, a culture that many people find a little hard to break into, and not all that much to do if you are not into one of the activities I listed. Of course you can surmount all those things, but that is where money comes in since it makes everything easier.
So, sorry to throw cold water at your plans and perhaps you will be fine but you should consider what I wrote.
I've always heard that are almost literally no Section 8 housing available here. You would need to know availability before anything else.
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All I'm looking for are recommendations for quiet places to live. Small towns with good people, out-there communities, things like that.
OK, so you will forget about the section 8 housing and the residence being up to code, right? No car, disabled but no mobility issues? Hmm, sounds like a few Punatics I'm familiar with.
Check out the Pahoa area, but be advised that even being a bum in Hawaii is expensive.
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