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My husband is talks of taking a job at hnl airport. Scary thought thinking how much stuff we have now and moving across the ocean. We have visited several times but never more than a week at a time. He would have pretty good income (150k) but not sure if I would be able to keep my at home job or not. What are the best areas as far as commute to airport? We have a 17 year old ... Not out of school yet... He is struggling with that here is vegas schools are so overcrowded with some classes having 45 students per class. They do offer online schools where they go in and meet teachers a couple of times a week so we had considered that if we were here next year so I don't know what options we will have on oahu or maybe having smaller classes he would do better. It would be a corporate move so they would pay entire move. We are divers we love the ocean and have always wanted to live on an island or by the ocean so this job opportunity just may be a good fit. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated. I have read don't lock yourself into long term just not sure which area to start in.
I live in Mililani and work in Mapunapuna (Airport) and it takes me about 40 minutes, sometimes a little less.
Mililani is a pretty middle class, planned community and I like it here.
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With that kind of income you could afford Kailua, 30 minutes to the airport, 25 minutes to downtown, 30 minutes to Hawaii Kai. Good schools and walk to the beach or very short car ride.
Last edited by whtviper1; 04-12-2014 at 03:23 PM..
I see some $100,000 salary single people since I have rentals in Waikiki and Diamond Head. They seem to struggle with $2,000 range rentals. A quick peek at a realtor site leads me to believe that a starter home of about 1200-1600sf would be in the $600,000 range in Kailua. Assuming they were bringing maybe $150,000 equity from their probably 2,500-5,000sf Vegas home they are probably limited to that value.
They could probably live a higher lifestyle by renting in the short term but what about the future? With the 17 year old I would assume the necessity of two cars. I think it could be a very good life for the parents if they are willing to make concessions but then they've admitted their liking for "stuff". I would assume the kid will leave shortly for a mainland college so it could be an interesting year for him.
whtviper, what lifestyle picture would you paint for this family of three on $150,000 in Kailua?
I think a lot depends on how much equity they are bringing with them, or even if they plan to rent or purchase.
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I see some $100,000 salary single people since I have rentals in Waikiki and Diamond Head. They seem to struggle with $2,000 range rentals. A quick peek at a realtor site leads me to believe that a starter home of about 1200-1600sf would be in the $600,000 range in Kailua. Assuming they were bringing maybe $150,000 equity from their probably 2,500-5,000sf Vegas home they are probably limited to that value.
They could probably live a higher lifestyle by renting in the short term but what about the future? With the 17 year old I would assume the necessity of two cars. I think it could be a very good life for the parents if they are willing to make concessions but then they've admitted their liking for "stuff". I would assume the kid will leave shortly for a mainland college so it could be an interesting year for him.
whtviper, what lifestyle picture would you paint for this family of three on $150,000 in Kailua?
Well - couple of things here.
A single person making $100K a year should easily afford a $2K rental unless there is some other high underlying debt or other circumstances in play.
$600K isn't going to get you anything decent in Kailua - if that was the budget, I wouldn't recommend Kailua. At best, you'd get something rough around the edges at that price point - a fixer upper or not in a good location.
Assuming money exists for a down payment, you should be able to find a decent place in the upper $700K range assuming they don't have a lot of debt. Or rent in the $3,500/month range, you can also get something decent at that price point.
A single person making $100K a year should easily afford a $2K rental unless there is some other high underlying debt or other circumstances in play.
$600K isn't going to get you anything decent in Kailua - if that was the budget, I wouldn't recommend Kailua. At best, you'd get something rough around the edges at that price point - a fixer upper or not in a good location.
Assuming money exists for a down payment, you should be able to find a decent place in the upper $700K range assuming they don't have a lot of debt. Or rent in the $3,500/month range, you can also get something decent at that price point.
Yeah, I totally agree with you as far as being able to rent with $100,000 but these are single people in their late 20's, early 30's and may have some student loan debt, but also car payments, cell phone plans and some single life credit card debt. These people are paying rent but aren't candidates for home ownership and retirement plans are definitely on the back burner.
Now assuming the OP is in their 40's with a 17yo then if they are planning to be here long term then home ownership should be in the plan and their time frame for retirement planning is shorter. I'm familiar with Vegas real estate since I've held property there since 1994 before the boom and bust so I may be even more generous if my assumption of $150,000 equity and assuming limited debt I figured three times salary as the amount they could qualify for a mortgage. That's where I came up with the $600,000 for a small starter home. That would not be acceptable to a lot of people. Now if she could bring in $50,000+ with the home business I think the lifestyle picture would be much rosier.
I reread the OP and it seems the 17yo may be unmotivated in school. I think Hawaii would be the wrong place for him. They are far ahead of a lot of people who successfully come here with the higher paying job and moving support from the company. I would still make sure I had an exit plan and be aware of their potential lifestyle compared to Vegas.
Thank you for all the responses. I appreciate all the advice we can get. We hope to have a for sure decision in the next couple of weeks if everything is a go. To answer some questions .. My husband just turned 50 and I am a few months from 47 so we are nowhere close to retirement. We have always owned a home so that would be a preference once we lock down an area. We wouldn't want to rush into one then have regrets. He would certainly go first while our son finishes this year and we sell the house. Another issue with renting is we have 2 dogs ..boxer and Yorkie that probably couldn't come with us if we decided to rent. Luckily the vegas market is getting much better so we should have some good equity in our home. We know we will have to live a much simpler life style to afford expense of island living and bigger mortgage. My first thought was Kailua but I didn't know about the commute and looking at the homes on the market I just can't imagine buying a 5-600k fixer upper. I know we can't afford to be on the beach but I would love love to be walking or very short drive to the beach. If I am able to keep my job as a freight broker I would have to have t1 Internet available. Not sure what the best option for my son is but the over crowded vegas system isn't working either and this job opportunity doesn't come around everyday. He certainly has been told he has to make more of an effort for a couple of years now.
My first thought was Kailua but I didn't know about the commute
The commute to the airport from Kailua is one of the easiest on island. Usually 30 minutes door to door.
Although if $500-$600K is your max budget, you might find something in Kaneohe. Otherwise, you'll need to head west of the airport - and then the commute really starts getting bad.
I was going to recommend looking into Aiea, which is where i live. I work at Pearl Harbor so its a 10 min drive to work in the am. In the afternoon the run home takes 20 min, without accidents. However there are two construction projects going into the Aiea area:
Honolulu Rail Project Honolulu Rail Project - Honolulu Civil Beat
which has started and already Kam Hwy is being worked on the install phase of the pilings for the rail project. The traffic gets real bad at times. The project is suppose to be finished in 2019, but i have my reservations about that date being the delays that we’ve already seen.
You also have the:
Development at old Kam Drive-in site receives initial ... www.kitv.com/.../hawaii/development...kam-d...
Which will produce more traffic and congestion in the area on Kam Hwy, Moanalua Rd which parallels Kan Hwy the street above, and Kanuku St which connects Kam Hwy and Moanalua Rd, during construction phase and after. This project has not started yet.
But do look into the Aiea area as a possibility, it's in the middle between downtown and West Oahu, and close to your husbands work.
Best of luck in your search, and good luck in the job offer.
Scott
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here is vegas schools are so overcrowded with some classes having 45 students per class. They do offer online schools where they go in and meet teachers a couple of times a week so we had considered that if we were here next year so I don't know what options we will have on oahu or maybe having smaller classes he would do better. It would be a corporate move so they would pay entire move. We are divers we love the ocean and have always wanted to live on an island or by the ocean so this job opportunity just may be a good fit. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated. I have read don't lock yourself into long term just not sure which area to start in.
