Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm single and will be earning about $70,000-$75,000 after taxes in Hawaii. What are some solid, safe, "affordable" neighborhoods for me in Honolulu? I'm looking to purchase a condo (maximum budget in the range of $350,000), preferably in a high rise, and have been virtual house hunting to great results. Still, I'm not sure how my online results (mainly via Zillow and similar sites) match up with the reality on the ground.
I'd appreciate any and all help on the matter. So excited for the move!
I'm single and will be earning about $70,000-$75,000 after taxes in Hawaii. What are some solid, safe, "affordable" neighborhoods for me in Honolulu? I'm looking to purchase a condo (maximum budget in the range of $350,000), preferably in a high rise, and have been virtual house hunting to great results. Still, I'm not sure how my online results (mainly via Zillow and similar sites) match up with the reality on the ground.
I'd appreciate any and all help on the matter. So excited for the move!
The best site for on-line search of real estate on Oahu is Oahu Real Estate in my opinion. They give a lot more information than any other site.
With a condo, a big part of your monthly expense will be the monthly HOA Fee and those can vary quite a bit from one condo building to another on Oahu.
A second thing to be aware of when you are looking for a property in Hawaii is the difference between a "Leasehold" property and a "Fee Simple" property. This is likely something that they do not have in your current town.
Basically, with a "leasehold" condo, you do not own the land under your condo. And you then must pay a monthly "lease" fee to the actual land-owner in addition to the monthly HOA Fee. And there will also be a defined Lease period. Once the lease period is up, the lease owner can decide not to renew your lease and take possession of the condo. The Leasehold units cost less to buy because they are limited ownership.
"Fee Simple" is the more traditional form of ownership that you would be familiar with and you would own both your unit and the land under your unit. I personally would only look into Fee Simple Properties.
Most of the best area's won't have any Fee Simple condo units in the under $350,000 range.
Where will you be working ? If you are working from home it gives you more options. If you are commuting to a job, you should look around your job.
Most people will recommend that you rent for at least 6 months before buying so that you can figure out what area best suites your lifestyle and I think that is a good idea.
You might look in Kaneohe area but it will be slim choices.
If it were me, I'd stick with the Waikiki, Ala Moana, McCully, Kapiolani, Holiday Mart area's as a best bet to find a lower cost condo in an area that has easy access to downtown, shopping and beaches.
If you head East you could find something, but there are not a lot of high rises as you move east.
But you likely won't find anything in your price range in Kakaako, Diamond Head, Hawaii Kai, Ko'Olina, Kailua, etc.
The best site for on-line search of real estate on Oahu is Oahu Real Estate in my opinion. They give a lot more information than any other site.
With a condo, a big part of your monthly expense will be the monthly HOA Fee and those can vary quite a bit from one condo building to another on Oahu.
A second thing to be aware of when you are looking for a property in Hawaii is the difference between a "Leasehold" property and a "Fee Simple" property. This is likely something that they do not have in your current town.
Basically, with a "leasehold" condo, you do not own the land under your condo. And you then must pay a monthly "lease" fee to the actual land-owner in addition to the monthly HOA Fee. And there will also be a defined Lease period. Once the lease period is up, the lease owner can decide not to renew your lease and take possession of the condo. The Leasehold units cost less to buy because they are limited ownership.
"Fee Simple" is the more traditional form of ownership that you would be familiar with and you would own both your unit and the land under your unit. I personally would only look into Fee Simple Properties.
Most of the best area's won't have any Fee Simple condo units in the under $350,000 range.
Where will you be working ? If you are working from home it gives you more options. If you are commuting to a job, you should look around your job.
Most people will recommend that you rent for at least 6 months before buying so that you can figure out what area best suites your lifestyle and I think that is a good idea.
You might look in Kaneohe area but it will be slim choices.
If it were me, I'd stick with the Waikiki, Ala Moana, McCully, Kapiolani, Holiday Mart area's as a best bet to find a lower cost condo in an area that has easy access to downtown, shopping and beaches.
If you head East you could find something, but there are not a lot of high rises as you move east.
But you likely won't find anything in your price range in Kakaako, Diamond Head, Hawaii Kai, Ko'Olina, Kailua, etc.
Thanks! Yes, I've definitely been careful to avoid the leaseholds during my virtual house-hunting. And I don't necessarily have to live in "the best" areas, but want to live in generally safe, solid areas. The listings I've seen within my price range that caught my eye were along Ala Moana Blvd and/or in the Waikiki and Kapiolani areas, so its good to see that you've mentioned those areas!
I was also told by a local about Ewe Beach, but was cautioned by others that there are some shady parts of Ewe Beach and that I'd need to be careful. Do you have any insight into this area?
Also, I'll definitely check out that source that you posted!
Waikikiboy really summed things up, for some first hand experience, I loved my place at Discovery Bay, Ala Moana and Hobron. Convenient location, very walkable and at the time, perfect for what I was looking for.
If you're working at home, Ewa Beach might be a good area. But if you have to commute, it would be a terrible location. Get housing as absolutely close to your employment as possible. The traffic on Oahu is horrendous. Spend hours in traffic horrendous and who wants to live in their car parked on the highway?
Since the majority of transplants move back to the mainland within 1-2 years, I'd rent before purchasing - because if you do move back, between closing costs, money you paid in maintenance fees realtor commissions, etc - will make it difficult to recoup your investment.
Regardless, there are plenty of 40-600 sq ft places for sale in the $350K price range around Waikiki/Ala Moana
Renting before purchasing is a great idea, especially if you will be new to the island. This way, you can scope out the different neighborhoods and commuting times. Also look at any planned construction near your new place. It'd horrible to live through construction next door.
The best site for on-line search of real estate on Oahu is Oahu Real Estate in my opinion. They give a lot more information than any other site.
With a condo, a big part of your monthly expense will be the monthly HOA Fee and those can vary quite a bit from one condo building to another on Oahu.
A second thing to be aware of when you are looking for a property in Hawaii is the difference between a "Leasehold" property and a "Fee Simple" property. This is likely something that they do not have in your current town.
Basically, with a "leasehold" condo, you do not own the land under your condo. And you then must pay a monthly "lease" fee to the actual land-owner in addition to the monthly HOA Fee. And there will also be a defined Lease period. Once the lease period is up, the lease owner can decide not to renew your lease and take possession of the condo. The Leasehold units cost less to buy because they are limited ownership.
"Fee Simple" is the more traditional form of ownership that you would be familiar with and you would own both your unit and the land under your unit. I personally would only look into Fee Simple Properties.
Most of the best area's won't have any Fee Simple condo units in the under $350,000 range.
Where will you be working ? If you are working from home it gives you more options. If you are commuting to a job, you should look around your job.
Most people will recommend that you rent for at least 6 months before buying so that you can figure out what area best suites your lifestyle and I think that is a good idea.
You might look in Kaneohe area but it will be slim choices.
If it were me, I'd stick with the Waikiki, Ala Moana, McCully, Kapiolani, Holiday Mart area's as a best bet to find a lower cost condo in an area that has easy access to downtown, shopping and beaches.
If you head East you could find something, but there are not a lot of high rises as you move east.
But you likely won't find anything in your price range in Kakaako, Diamond Head, Hawaii Kai, Ko'Olina, Kailua, etc.
Great post. I'd like to add that not all leasehold properties are created equal. There are leasehold properties where the fee is immediately available for purchase (in which case you can roll the cost of the fee acquisition concurrently at closing of your mortgage) or available for purchase during a preset period depending on the specific lease terms (which vary from property to property).
You can get a little risky and buy leasehold property where the HOA/mgmt has had promising discussions with the fee owner to allow fee purchase. I have purchased several properties in the past knowing the fee availability was imminent (pseudo-insider information). Saved tens of thousands because most buyers won't even look at LH - the audience is much smaller and this translates to potentially much lower prices.
There are also properties where the fee owner has sold off only a percentage of the land (e.g. maybe 20 or 30 out of 100 condo owners in a building). These are good bets because the landowner cannot rightfully evict all the owners at the end of the lease and take back their land it its entirety (that's the ultimate fear of LH ownership). It's almost inevitable that the fee will become available in the future again to those owners that are in LH position... albeit the price could be high. The good thing is fee owners can't just charge whatever they want. They need to have it appraised and the AOAO/mgmt can elect to acquire their own appraisals to contest any fee-owner provided appraisal.
At the end of the day, you want to own the fee. LH property will eventually be entirely worthless as you only own a depreciating asset. If the chance of achieving fee ownership at some point is low, you should definitely steer clear of those properties. It also takes a higher level of sophistication to intelligently acquire LH properties; it's definitely not for everyone. But if done right, the added risk can yield some pretty nice returns.
Since the majority of transplants move back to the mainland within 1-2 years, I'd rent before purchasing - because if you do move back, between closing costs, money you paid in maintenance fees realtor commissions, etc - will make it difficult to recoup your investment.
Regardless, there are plenty of 40-600 sq ft places for sale in the $350K price range around Waikiki/Ala Moana
That would be me.
The thing to ask yourself is: Do I want to be there forever? I'd say you really can't answer that question if you've never lived there. Ergo, rent. ETA: On your income there will be no way to get ahead. You'll spend it all to survive, imo. Which is fine since you'll be surviving in paradise! As long as you don't have any long range financial goals.
I did live in Ewa and I did sit in many hours of traffic. I have to say Atlanta traffic is worse by the sheer size difference but that's another subject. Besides I've left Atlanta.
I have dear friends who would never live anywhere but Hawaii. I loved it but my soul needs the pine and oak forests. And ready access to my family.
Thanks for all of the replies. I'd think that my salary before taxes (about $115,000) should be enough to go about things as I am single, etc. I'm certainly frugal with other things, so won't be splurging. When I do leave Honolulu, I hope to hire a property management company and rent the place out. My other expenses would be a car payment and insurance (which would be about $79 per month). FYI, I'll be working near Pearl Harbor. From talking to some friends in similar situations as I'm going to be in, they have had a lot of success in renting out their places (and profitably so) when they left Hawaii!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
That would be me. 
