Is This Realistic - Retire To Maui? (condos, mortgage)

[MitchTempo]

I go thru a broker so they shop for me. But they ask the place the car is parked and where you work to find out how much you travel regularly. If they have that info from you they might already include that in the rates.

[TwoByFour]

Originally Posted by 8o8state

I would like to know what insurance carrier you have as my current carrier and all the others I have spoken with told me the amount of miles I drive has no affect on my rates.....

Makes sense - the more you drive, the more likely an accident may happen. My previous carrier gave me a discount for not driving the car to work. I now have Geico which never asked about driving to work or number of miles.

[MauiPartTimer]

Originally Posted by TwoByFour

Makes sense - the more you drive, the more likely an accident may happen. My previous carrier gave me a discount for not driving the car to work. I now have Geico which never asked about driving to work or number of miles.

I believe it's not one of those things insurance companies don't often factor in anymore as it's pretty tough to hold people to whatever amount they say.

[WaikikiBoy]

Originally Posted by visitingagain

Is this realistic, to be able to retire on Maui?

Details:
- Me, 65, wife, 62
- Will buy 1 bedroom lower-mid level condo in West Maui for cash
- Will buy used car for cash
- will have $48,000 year income (Soc. Sec.)
- will have small cash reserve
- no debt

Visited Maui about 14 times over past 30 years ... love it!

Concerned whether SS income is enough?

Comments?

Mahalo!

My short answer to your question is "yes" I think you could retire to Maui under the conditions you've noted above. Particularly given you will not have a house payment, car payment or any other debts. As others have mentioned, Medical will likely be your largest expense.

There are people living in Maui right now who earn less than you will be receiving and they still have a house payment. They're just not living well. On your income there are other places where you could live more comfortably or you could simply buy a house elsewhere and just come over every year for a 6 month rental term.

But generally, I think you could retire to Maui under those conditions. You just won't be living lavishly for sure.

I assume you've already been living on that income in retirement so you have an idea about what your lifestyle expenses are. Anyway, best of luck to you.

[tdr22]

I assume maybe you have not been living on this income & it doesn't really matter since youv'e not done it here.

Medical costs, that's the main main thing you need to check out before coming here.

Everything else you'll either like & find acceptable or will hate & find you want to return to the mainland to live, that's all.

[tamic59]

We are planning the same thing for the year 2017. We will have about $60,000 a year income. We were thinking of renting first so that it would give us time to find an area that we like and to determine if there are any foreclosures we can purchase. I do hope to continue teaching for about 5 years so we will have at least $110,000 income the first five years. How expensive is the monthly electric and utilities?

[TwoByFour]

Originally Posted by tamic59

We are planning the same thing for the year 2017. We will have about $60,000 a year income. We were thinking of renting first so that it would give us time to find an area that we like and to determine if there are any foreclosures we can purchase. I do hope to continue teaching for about 5 years so we will have at least $110,000 income the first five years. How expensive is the monthly electric and utilities?

Electric bill will vary by a large amount. We average about $80/month, but our stove is gas, we have new efficient dishwasher, washing machine, and refer. For us, the biggest suck is the hot water heater. If you have A/C, expect it to go way up. We do not have A/C, don't really need it in Haiku. I hear about people with $300 monthly electric bills.

As to living expenses - we are almost retired (my wife is, I still work 2 days a week) and was curious about expenses so have been recording everything we spend for the last 3 months. For us, it is averaging $4000/month. That includes food, wine, gasoline, car maintenance, car insurance (2 cars), utilities, DirecTV, entertainment, some sporadic hired help around the yard, recreation, eating out, medical, pharmacy, medical insurance, and some classes my wife takes. It also includes $500 for mortgage that I will pay off shortly. We mostly eat at home, eat well/healthy. That does not include taxes (income and property), travel, replacing cars every few years, and big house projects. I estimate that will add an average of $3000/month to our expenses. So, total that all up and it comes out to $7k/month. If you don't travel and don't constantly do remodel projects like we do, your total might be 5k/month, or 60k/year. One car rather than two will save money also.

Hope this helps.
Aloha,
2X4

[maui-intoxicated]

Originally Posted by visitingagain

Is this realistic, to be able to retire on Maui?

Details:
- Me, 65, wife, 62
- Will buy 1 bedroom lower-mid level condo in West Maui for cash
- Will buy used car for cash
- will have $48,000 year income (Soc. Sec.)
- will have small cash reserve
- no debt

Visited Maui about 14 times over past 30 years ... love it!

Concerned whether SS income is enough?

Comments?

Mahalo!

Certainly possible. My budget is under this threshold. Please tell me you have something other than SSI for your retirement income.

[davephan]

Originally Posted by visitingagain

Is this realistic, to be able to retire on Maui?

Details:
- Me, 65, wife, 62
- Will buy 1 bedroom lower-mid level condo in West Maui for cash
- Will buy used car for cash
- will have $48,000 year income (Soc. Sec.)
- will have small cash reserve
- no debt

Visited Maui about 14 times over past 30 years ... love it!

Concerned whether SS income is enough?

Comments?

Mahalo!

That sounds possible if you have no debts and can buy the fee simple condo for cash. However, some condos have very high maintenance fees, which could be a problem. I assume that the condo is not a leasehold. Otherwise, that could be a problem. The high cost of electricity could become a problem, since you have no way to benefit from solar power. No cash reserve is a problem. You need to have an emergency fund for unexpected problems.

We have been living below our means on about the same amount for years with no debts in Minnesota, although our income is several times that. I think it would cost us much more than $48K a year to live in Hawaii, even if we paid for the house with cash.

Have you budgeted about $10K to $20K for the move? Do you have any chronic health issues that might be a problem with the health care available in Maui? I don't see SSI as a problem for our generation, so that shouldn't be an issue. The income taxes aren't a problem with your SSI, but you need to make sure that the property taxes are not too high. I think your biggest concern is the lack of an emergency fund.

[MauiTony]

48k a year if you plan to simply enjoy the beach, shop with the locals and live a simple life. you guys are still young, so maybe you can pick up a part time gig for spending cash. if you plan to move to maui you should have started saving and investing a long while ago... you don't have a 401k or IRA to draw from? You will have to consider medical as well given that care is not the best in hawaii.