moving to maui and buying a condo? (Kahului, Kihei: real estate market, foreclosures)

[AryssainAustin]

hello all,
my husband and I are thinking about moving to maui next year. I have 2 small children ages 2 and 5. We are thinking about living in the island for 2 to 3 years so should we buy a condo or should we just rent?
Are there any condos that are priced under $200,000? The only ones I see online are at Harbor Lights in Kahului. Does anyone know anything about this place? We are looking for something affordable because we are concerned about the cost of association fee. We used to owned a condo back in Anchorage and association fee was well over $200 a month and it covered only water and waste. We have heard that some condos there have association fee that covers everything(electric, water, cable)?
We are not looking for anything fancy, just decent.
We don't need alot of space because we are very active and don't think we will be bringing anything with us.

My husband will be working at the airport so we would prefer to live close to it but we don't mind commuting. We live here in Austin,TX and he commutes at least 40 minutes to work but if gas price is so high in Maui it would make more since to not commute as much.

one last question...Are milk really $7 a gallon and bread $5 a loaf?LOL

Thanks!

[mauidude]

Harbor Lights (Frights) is the Ghetto of Maui. It used to be a lot worse but I hear it has gotten a little better. Less fights, domestic violence and less drug problems now.

Look to spend about $300K + for a decent two bedroom condo.

Milk is between $4-$5 dollars a gallon.

[AryssainAustin]

thanks Mauidude...what area would you recommend?

[mauidude]

Best bang for your buck would probably be in Wailuku at Iao Parkside or in Kihei at Kihei Villages.

The weather in Wailuku is a little nicer but in Kihei you are closer to the beach. Prices have been falling for a few months. I would wait a year and you could probably pick up a decent 2 bedroom condo for under $300k. Right now they are still over inflated.

[AryssainAustin]

"Harbor Lights (Frights) is the Ghetto of Maui"
LOL..mauidude, if you've never been to Oakland, Fresno or Chicago..you wouldn't know what getto is. I've lived in all these places when I was a kid and trust me I don't think I'll ever see anything as bad.
How are crimes there in Maui anyway?

[Jungjohann]

Most people that come here on vacation, if staying on a second or third story condo, will leave their sliding glass doors open at night. So some enterpriseing burglar/meth addicts, went out and got a 20' extension ladder, and started breaking into condos, from the lanais. I don't think crimes any worse here than elsewhere, but tourists are pretty easy pickins for any crook. And I agree about buying a condo on Maui right now, I'ld wait at least a year, but I doubt if you'll ever see a "decent" 2 bedroom condo for less than $300,000.00

Aloha,
Thomas Praetzel

[mauidude]

Originally Posted by AryssainAustin

"Harbor Lights (Frights) is the Ghetto of Maui"
LOL..mauidude, if you've never been to Oakland, Fresno or Chicago..you wouldn't know what getto is. I've lived in all these places when I was a kid and trust me I don't think I'll ever see anything as bad.
How are crimes there in Maui anyway?

I used to live in Fresno. Harbor Lights used to be a very scary place. Nightly muggings, drug deals, and domestic violence. Its better now but I could not recommend it to anybody in good conscience.

Its not a Oakland or Fresno but its the closest thing to it on Maui.

[mauidude]

Originally Posted by Jungjohann

Most people that come here on vacation, if staying on a second or third story condo, will leave their sliding glass doors open at night. So some enterpriseing burglar/meth addicts, went out and got a 20' extension ladder, and started breaking into condos, from the lanais. I don't think crimes any worse here than elsewhere, but tourists are pretty easy pickins for any crook. And I agree about buying a condo on Maui right now, I'ld wait at least a year, but I doubt if you'll ever see a "decent" 2 bedroom condo for less than $300,000.00

Aloha,
Thomas Praetzel

Don't be so sure....On the news tonight they said there is an all time record of foreclosures in the United States. In Nevada for example 1 in every 150 homes is in forclosure. Hawaii is usually 6-12 months behind California. Its the calm before the storm. Hawaii currently has a record amount of homes on the market and NOBODY is buying.

[Jungjohann]

I've been here for a number of years, since 75 as a matter of fact, foreclosure rate on the mainland is primarily due to homeowners taking out second mortages on existing properties in order to make a down on a new home and then try to "flip" it. You get caught in the wrong side of a down market and you will definitely get burned. I bid, as a subcontractor, on the Ho'olei project in Wailea a few years back, they were all pre-sold, starting at well over one million per, there are now buyers backing out. Real estate market is surely pau over here, but a decent 2 bedroom condo for under $300,000.00 is something I don't think you'll see again. Hell I paid $52,000.00 for my one bedroom condo above Kam 1 in 1979, thought it was way too expensive back then, looking back should have bought 4 of them, aint hindsight wonderful!

Aloha,
Thomas Praetzel

[pj737]

Originally Posted by Jungjohann

Real estate market is surely pau over here, but a decent 2 bedroom condo for under $300,000.00 is something I don't think you'll see again. Hell I paid $52,000.00 for my one bedroom condo above Kam 1 in 1979, thought it was way too expensive back then, looking back should have bought 4 of them, aint hindsight wonderful!

Aloha,
Thomas Praetzel

You would actually have done MUCH, MUCH better if you invested in the stock market in 1979. During the same period, your $52,000 would have ballooned to well over $1,200,000 today!!! I highly doubt your one bedroom is worth anywhere near that much. I don't think the real estate market is overpriced in Hawaii. Yes, we had one heck of a big run up in a very short period but if you consider how artificially low prices were 10 years PRIOR to the boom, we aren't too far off from a safe growth over the long term (growth over the last 30+ years). I predict prices will moderate, dip slightly or stay flat for 3-4 years, and then slowly start ticking upwards again in year 4 or 5. I've seen stuff in the mainland triple and quadruple over the last 6 years. At least from what I've seen here on Oahu, the average was more like double your property value in 6 years. Nothing compared to the huge run up in prices like in some parts of the mainland, which are currently crashing. You could always rent but rents will only keep going up, even if home prices drop.