What are the benefits of only "Snowbirding"? (rentals, condo)

[HostelDweller]

Long time visitor, lived in Waikiki for a year and spend 2-4 weeks a year there. Been to the major islands, all are great but I'm an Oahu guy. While planning for retirement, I've realized that I won't have a career, purchase a home or have school age kids to worry about. That takes 3 huge issues off the table. Although full time living is the fantasy, part time may be the reality.

Also, as a reader for several years, I still can't believe people have their heart set on moving to HI and have never even visited. Guess it's the marketing?

Thanks

[PaliPatty]

And your point is??

[mdand3boys]

Originally Posted by HostelDweller

Long time visitor, lived in Waikiki for a year and spend 2-4 weeks a year there. Been to the major islands, all are great but I'm an Oahu guy. While planning for retirement, I've realized that I won't have a career, purchase a home or have school age kids to worry about. That takes 3 huge issues off the table. Although full time living is the fantasy, part time may be the reality.

Also, as a reader for several years, I still can't believe people have their heart set on moving to HI and have never even visited. Guess it's the marketing?

Thanks

A downside to snowboarding is that you are coming to the islands during the rainy season...

[Dthraco]

We know an older couple in our building that "Snowbird" from the Midwest. They are here from mid February to late April. They own their unit and a few rentals in town. From time to time they have friends stay in their condo during the rest of the year. But for the most part their unit is vacant.

If you have the re$ource$ "Snowbirding" would probably be pretty fun. If you are like the rest of the 99%, I think the hassle of finding a rental year after year would eventually become a hassle.

[HostelDweller]

Sorry, wasn't clear, it was 4:55 AM. What I meant to say was, what are the benefits of this lifestyle?, such as: part time may be cheaper, get the best of both worlds, spend my limited HI time only doing enjoyable stuff, etc.

[hotzcatz]

Well, you don't have to worry about building maintenance.

If you don't like the area or the area changes, it's really easy to relocate.

If you are an annual and "official" snowbirder, then you'll make more friends than if you are just a one shot visitor. We have friends who split their time between Hawaii and Maine. If it weren't that they would be coming back each year, they'd not be invited over for parties and such. As a pure "tourist" you don't get the social ties that a snowbirder can have.

You can time your trips to take in the seasonal things you prefer in each of the areas you live in. Our friends have some festivals they like to go to on the mainland as well as some here. They also have a seasonal business there selling things to summer tourists in Maine. I guess Maine doesn't have as many tourists in the winter so they'd have their business closed then anyway which is partly why they snowbird to Hawaii.

Loads of Alaska folks are here in the winter, I'm not sure if it is the weather (understandable) or seasonal businesses (hadn't considered it before) or perhaps more likely, both.

Probably the benefits of snowbirding will be different for each person?

[WaikikiBoy]

One advantage to snowbirding via a rental property is that you do not have the large cash outlay needed to buy a property. Your cost for a 20% down payment plus costs will alternatively pay for many months of renting.

You also have the flexibility to come as long or short as you like and to easily go somewhere else if you choose.

But you will likely be paying double rent while you are in Hawaii to pay for your snowbird months while retaining your permanent mainland residence.

[LagunaLady27]

If you can rent out your home short term, you may offset the higher rent that snowbirding (renting a furnished place) will entail. It all depends upon where you live now, and any cold season recreational activities in the area (like skiing), or warmer weather. If you do this, be sure to check out snowbird rentals, and not the normal rental rates. Vacation or snowbird rental rates are much higher! You might also want to see if there is a management company in your area that handles snowbird rentals. They charge a fee, but are usually experienced and know what they are doing. This way, you would not have to deal with minor problems while away.

[davephan]

I think snowbirding is a good way to transition into retirement. That's what we plan to do. There are problems with it though. You have to have enough money to keep your current snowbelt home, plus buy a second home or do vacation rentals. You have to buy at least one additional car, so you have cars in both locations. If your current home already has a paid off mortgage, that will be helpful. However, you need to put in a security system, cameras, fire alarms and temperature monitoring in your snowbelt home, so you can keep an eye on it from a distance. Plus, you need family or friends that can check on the snowbelt home when you are gone. You would need to do the same thing for the home in Hawaii if you don't use vacation rentals and simply rent or buy.

In some states, like Minnesota, there are huge tax advantages to being a snowbird. If you are out of Minnesota for 6 months plus 1 day, there's no Minnesota income tax to pay. This is huge if you have a lot of retirement income. The tax savings could pay for several months of snowbird rentals or help you rent or pay for the second home. However, it's expensive to snowbird in Hawaii, especially Oahu, but may be worth the cost. If you have enough money, you can't take it with you when you die and you certainly shouldn't save it for the nursing home.

In the end, it all comes down to how you want to spend the early years in your retirement and if you have enough money saved up to do it. For us, we saved a lot for retirement over the years, living well below the standard of living we could have with our income level. We have no debts, no mortgage, no credit card balances longer than the current month, no car loans, and no student loans. There is absolutely no way I will be living in the snow and cold during winters in retirement. However, we do not want to sell our Minnesota home because about half of the year is nice here, plus we have a very nice property and gardens. I think eventually we might sell our Minnesota home and permanently move to a warmer climate, but we will snowbird for at least several years when we start our retirement. We've been planning and counting down for at least a decade now and talk about retirement every day. The vast majority of the US population is totally unprepared for retirement financially. If you are not one of those people, then snowbirding may be an option for you.