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rya96797, I agree with your points. But I was trying to provide accurate information. When I realized I estimated high, I went back and changed it. That is when I was insulted because I corrected my initial mistake. I do agree a move here is serious and I was trying to provide the most accurate information possible, even though I did make a mistake initially. I would never mislead anyone intentionally about anything.
I would hope anyone moving here would speak to a lender prior to coming here. To make a decision based on some advice in a forum would not be wise. While it is OK to ask here, once it gets more serious talking a Hawaii based lender is a must in my opinion.
I have no problems with anyone debating my advice. If I say he can afford X, you are welcome to say he can only afford Y and here is why. That is a good debate and good manners. However, there is no need to insult me just because you do not agree with me.
Before I posted anything I read thru the rules to make sure I did not do something that would get me banned. One of the rules I read is:
Be civil, no personal attacks, flaming, or insults. We may attack ideas (politely) but we do not attack the speaker of the idea.
I think this is a great rule. You are welcome to attack and debate my ideas, but no need to personally insult me.
Please check with a good Hawaii based lender before making any final decisions. I think you should use a lender based here as they are more familiar with our market and expenses here vs. a mainland lender.
You can also scan Craigslist for rentals if you want to rent for a while before buying something. However, there is a lot of fraud on Craigslist so be careful. Realtors can also supply you with a list of rentals from the MLS that are accurate and not a fraud. You might use airbnb to rent something temporarily while you look for a more permanent rental to live in because the only way I know of to know there is no fraud with a rental from Craigslist is to visit it. Another option with less if any fraud is VRBO.com for short term rentals.
I agree with hotzcatz, yes you can, but your lifestyle will be different vs. living on the mainland. For many it is worth it, and for many it is not, so they move to the mainland. It really depends a lot on your priorities in life.
If swimming at a beautiful beach is in December sounds like a priority, then it might make sense. If having the nicest home possible for the money with a big yard is a priority, then it would not make sense.
One other consideration is family. If your family lives on the mainland, you have to prepare yourself for travel to go back there and see them as desired.
If I choose to recommend a buyer talks to an expert lender when they want to talk about getting a mortgage, that is just the way I do business. I don't see any harm that comes out of it, and I believe it is their best path forward. Many home buyer guides talk about one of the first steps to buying a home is to speak with a lender, and I agree with this approach.
If you disagree with this approach then fine, but it does not mean it is wrong, or that I am not a good Realtor, there is more than one approach that works with many things in life.
If I choose to recommend a buyer talks to an expert lender when they want to talk about getting a mortgage, that is just the way I do business. I don't see any harm that comes out of it, and I believe it is their best path forward. Many home buyer guides talk about one of the first steps to buying a home is to speak with a lender, and I agree with this approach.
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I've been doing this 20+ years and never try to discuss lending with a Buyer. There are too many variables in todays market especially after all the lender / govt reforms over the last 8 years.
Talking to the lender is the 1st thing they should do after talking to me.
Curious is it possible to survive on a net income of 4800 month in Hawaii with a wife and kid? I remember I ask this while back about southern cali and got mixed reviews, I ended up not going to cali and am thinking Hawaii, but Hawaii is pricier than southern cali., but I was just curious is it possible to live a comfortable life in Hawaii on this income?
Quote:
Originally Posted by OahuRE
whtviper1, please stop continuing to insult me.
If I choose to recommend a buyer talks to an expert lender when they want to talk about getting a mortgage, that is just the way I do business. I don't see any harm that comes out of it, and I believe it is their best path forward. Many home buyer guides talk about one of the first steps to buying a home is to speak with a lender, and I agree with this approach.
If you disagree with this approach then fine, but it does not mean it is wrong, or that I am not a good Realtor, there is more than one approach that works with many things in life.
The OP never said the $4800 included rent or mortgage. I took his question as to $4800 a month for cost of living expenses. In any event, he never asked advice on mortgage info. You're too sensitive. Whtviper1 has a dry, non nonsense type of humor, from my viewpoint. You're probably looking for another way to find clients thru this forum in my opinion.
You can live on $4800, but the question is should you? Probably not.
In addition to the costs discussed up thread for housing, it will probably be a townhouse or condo, so now you can add $400 ++++++ for maintenance fees. Add poor public schools and traffic.......
Is that worth beaches and weather? Maybe, maybe not. I would think about that very carefully.
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You can live on $4800, but the question is should you? Probably not.
In addition to the costs discussed up thread for housing, it will probably be a townhouse or condo, so now you can add $400 ++++++ for maintenance fees. Add poor public schools and traffic.......
Is that worth beaches and weather? Maybe, maybe not. I would think about that very carefully.
I've heard that Hawaii public schools are generally terrible, but what exactly makes them so? Is it lack of quality teachers? Children coming in unprepared due to family-social environment/upbringing, which has significant ramifications for educational outcomes? Poor test scores/graduation rates as a result of lack of home support? I'm genuinely curious.
I ask because I often heard the same about NYC schools. But I found that folks generally made such assessments based on test scores/graduation rates (which were often tied to lack of academic support from parents/family prior to getting into the school system), failing to acknowledge the quality of the teaching, etc., on matters. I found that if you took basic steps to ensure that your child was in an intellectually challenging environment (i.e. reading to the child, teaching the child mathematics and science well before the child was ready for school, enrolling the child in free or low cost academic enrichment programs, etc.), your child could thrive even among the masses of children whose parents didn't provide all of the above for them. This was even more so the case with honors and other "gifted and talented" programs that were available even in the "worst" schools. More on this point: there is a school in my old neighborhood in NYC that used to be known as a "terrible" school (primarily due to low standardized test scores) for years. Once gentrification took hold, however, and a "new" crop of children who were raised by parents willing to provide the kind of enrichment described above entered the school and test scores rose (same teachers, mind you), the school is now all of a sudden the "go to" school with an extensive wait list. This is a public school, mind you.
We generally score low on whatever markers they are currently using.
MY personal opinion comes from talking and working with high school graduates. The lack of writing skills and such is horrendous. They push through students that should NOT be graduating.
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It's why after high school, there's a plethora of sub 100 level college courses that some students are required to take in community college. They couldn't place into the basic university courses, and need to take a year or two of remedial courses just to get up to entrance college level.
Of course, on the other hand, there's many high school students that have earned many AP credits before graduating. I think if you're an achiever type, you'll do fine in hawaii public schools, but if you need more instructor initiated "guidance", you're really not going to find it, hence the low markers and graduation rates.
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