Author Topic: Making it work in Hawaii  (Read 5558 times)

clarkfan1979

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3352
  • Age: 44
  • Location: Pueblo West, CO
Making it work in Hawaii
« on: December 10, 2018, 05:07:33 PM »
We purchased a fixer in Koloa, HI on Kauai for 603K in June 2018. We got in under contract in March 2018. There was flooding in April 2018 which damaged many homes on the north shore and put a squeeze on an already tight housing market. The median price of a single family home has increased 15% since the flooding.

We just finished turning our basement into a mother-in-law suite rental. The home is on a hill and the basement has a walk-out separate entrance.

We spent 28K on renovating the already existing basement and another 5K upstairs for ourselves. My original budget was 30K total, so I went over by 3K. I was also trying to complete it in 4 months, but it took closer to 6 months. The job itself didn't necessarily take longer. I was just unable to help out as much as I originally planned. I was originally thinking I was going to be able to put in 20-25 hours/week, when in reality it was 10-15 hours/week.

We put 20% down when we bought it, so our total PITI is $2700/month. We just signed the lease to the couple that is going to be renting the basement. The rent is $1600/month including utilities and internet.

The utilities are around $175/month for electricity, $55/month for internet, $35/month for propane and $35/month for water.

Upstairs is 1850 sq. ft. (3 bed/2 bath/2 car garage). Upstairs also has 600 sq. ft. covered deck. Downstairs is a 1 bed/1 bath that is 675 sq. ft. Total lot is 17,000 sq. ft. Tenants have their own separate fenced yard that is 750 sq. ft. Upstairs has a distant ocean view from the kitchen.

I know $1600/month sounds steep for a basement rental, but the median house price for our neighborhood is 805K. The median house price for the island is 728K. We are going to spend another 15K upstairs, so we are around 50K total for rehab. House should be worth about 800K.


clarkfan1979

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3352
  • Age: 44
  • Location: Pueblo West, CO
Re: Making it work in Hawaii
« Reply #1 on: December 10, 2018, 05:24:21 PM »
I apologize for the double post. I didn't realize the first one posted. I tried to make it shorter.

August26th

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 142
  • Location: Beautiful Colorado
Re: Making it work in Hawaii
« Reply #2 on: December 11, 2018, 12:47:16 PM »
I like the longer version better. Good work in finding a way to live relatively cheaply in such an expensive area. Sounds like a sound investment to me.

ericbonabike

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 148
Re: Making it work in Hawaii
« Reply #3 on: February 05, 2019, 08:35:38 AM »
nice.  I've spent a fair amount of time in poipu area for work.  Used to bring my bike to island and biked around koloa, Port Allen, etc quite a bit. 

$1600 a month is super cheap for that area.

When I biked around, I always noticed how many cars were parked in the homes.  Eventually, I figured that most homes in Hawaii are multi-generational.  So, you have to have 2 or 3 incomes to split the mortgage payments.   Only way to make it work unless you're independently wealthy.

Sand101

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 20
Re: Making it work in Hawaii
« Reply #4 on: February 21, 2019, 09:24:17 PM »
Used to bring my bike to island and biked around koloa, Port Allen, etc quite a bit. 

We were there in November and, as a cyclist, I regard that island as just about the most cycling unfriendly place I've been.  Besides a bit in the south there and the big climb in the west there isn't much else.  The main road is a deathtrap - we had a good laugh at the random "hey you can start cycling here" signs on that road.   Loved the island for hiking, though.  Overall one of the true gems of the US - breathtaking spot and good on the OP for finding a way to get a place there.