New person on Maui who can offer advice (apartments, rental)

[norman_w]

Sharks are starting to become a major issue in Hawaii. Never any shark attacks in Hawaii. That was in Florida. Now the sharks are coming in.

[John7777]

I ran across this thread after thinking about moving to Hawaii. I'll be moving in five months or so and I'm trying to dream up a new adventure. I never really thought much about moving to Hawaii, but then again, why not?

One thing I've noticed so far, in looking at the real estate listings, is that some properties are built on a leasehold. Maybe that's fairly common? Anyway, I'd feel better having the Fee Simple.

[hotzcatz]

Leasehold is becoming much less common than it was before. 'Before' being sometime around 1970 or 1980 or so, I forget exactly when. Cheaper places are available under leasehold, but a lot of it depends on how much the lease rental is and how much longer the lease has to run.

Why are you choosing to move to Hawaii? Usually folks have a more compelling reason than 'why not' since there's usually drawbacks involved in moving to an archipelago 2,500 miles from any major shipping point. So, generally there's a compelling reason to offset the drawbacks.

[John7777]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

Leasehold is becoming much less common than it was before. 'Before' being sometime around 1970 or 1980 or so, I forget exactly when. Cheaper places are available under leasehold, but a lot of it depends on how much the lease rental is and how much longer the lease has to run.

Why are you choosing to move to Hawaii? Usually folks have a more compelling reason than 'why not' since there's usually drawbacks involved in moving to an archipelago 2,500 miles from any major shipping point. So, generally there's a compelling reason to offset the drawbacks.

Well, so far I haven't "chosen" to move to Hawaii. I'm just thinking about it.

I'm 64 and retired nine years ago. I originally moved to Phuket. Fun place, but I decided I'd be better off living somewhere in the USA and just taking a few long vacations a year. I've also spent time traveling around since I retired. Anyway, I'm getting ready to move again and I can pretty much go anywhere I want, within reason.

I've spent a lot of time looking at houses in the USA. I can spend up to $400K - $500K cash, which pretty much means I can go anywhere except NYC, the beach areas of California, etc. So far, so good, but somehow, sitting around in the typical house in the typical US suburb doesn't sound like all that much fun. On the other hand, living somewhere like Maui might be enough of a change to make it interesting.

I realize that housing is expensive there, but there's nothing that says I have to have a house. From what I've seen of the listings online, a person can buy a condo in the $300K to $400K price range. A smaller one, to be sure, but I'm single and I think I could make that work.

I've read that HOA fees can be expensive. Perhaps as much as $800 a month. Fine, but I wonder about homeowners insurance. Expensive there? My other expenses would be minimal and within my budget.

Electricity, car insurance, gas, internet, phone. And of course, food. After taxes and health insurance, I guess I'd have about $4500 a month coming in. I already have a car and all the toys a person could want, plus more furniture than I know what to do with. I'd have to get rid of a lot of it. I wouldn't have to buy much.

The bottom line is that I think it's possible.

[mauialoha]

John,
You are on the right track. Ever visited Maui? We've vacationed here for the past 12 years or so and really like it.

Six months ago my wife and I bought a small two bedroom condo for a little over $300k. It's in West Maui.
We made an appt with a realtor for when we would be visiting last May, had some places chosen to look at, and found one we liked.

The really updated, or those oceanfront will go for lots more, but our place is quite nice. We have it rented for 2K per month.

Home owners insurance for condos is quite low as is tax. Assoc fee for our place is $650
We hope to move there when I retire in 2017.
mauialoha

[John7777]

Originally Posted by mauialoha

John,
You are on the right track. Ever visited Maui? We've vacationed here for the past 12 years or so and really like it.

Six months ago my wife and I bought a small two bedroom condo for a little over $300k. It's in West Maui.
We made an appt with a realtor for when we would be visiting last May, had some places chosen to look at, and found one we liked.

The really updated, or those oceanfront will go for lots more, but our place is quite nice. We have it rented for 2K per month.

Home owners insurance for condos is quite low as is tax. Assoc fee for our place is $650
We hope to move there when I retire in 2017.
mauialoha

Sounds good. You'll be retired before you know it.

So for me, once I buy a place, the big expense is the HOA fee. Not bad. And no, I've never visited Maui. My friends keep telling me I need a vacation, and I have all sorts of frequent flier miles, so I could probably fly there for free. Still, if I ever want to move, I've got lots to do here over the next few months.

[artistx]

After getting scammed on Craigslist I bowed out of moving there.

[LovingMaui16]

Originally Posted by artistx

After getting scammed on Craigslist I bowed out of moving there.

Question: Would you have been scammed if you followed the advice on this page? :

https://www.craigslist.org/about/scams

[Kokoleka1]

If a bit of a craigslist scam keeps you from moving here, then you were probably not meant for the islands.

[2girlsnpup]

We are planning to move to maui; however, need a good lead for a rental that accepts our adorable lab. (6 years old) thank you for your post.