Step By Step: How To Buy A House In Hawaii From Top Local Real Estate Agents

2. Determine your budget:

Buying a house in Hawaii is a significant investment, so it's important to have a clear idea of how much you can afford to spend. Take into account your income, savings, and any potential mortgage financing you may be eligible for.

When you speak to a member of our team about your budget we like to talk in terms of your "ideal monthly housing expenses" and reverse engineer that into a home purchase price. There are other factors to consider in your total monthly housing budget (expenses) such as property taxes, homeowners association dues, and any other applicable fees that may apply.

Homeowners Associations In Hawaii And Their Fees

Homeowners associations in Hawaii can be pretty expensive. this is something that can play a huge Factor in terms of your ideal monthly housing budget but also your  loan qualification.

Now when we say homeowners associations and their fees we are talking about the actual homeowners association fee plus what is considered the maintenance fee. we typically umbrella these all together when we say HOA fees.

When it comes to single family homes we typically HOA fees less than $200 a month. but this is always something that is community dependent so always double-check  when searching for homes. 

Condos and townhome communities are where we start to see  HOA fees really get more expensive and impact your budget.

 it is not uncommon to see these in townhome communities upwards of $500 a month.

And For condos around the island it is not uncommon to see fees upwards of $800 a month.

Now why are fees in condos and Townhomes so much more expensive?

Typically condos and townhome communities offer more than some single-family home communities. For instance having a community pool, area beautification, Community Center, and what is called an ho6 insurance policy that covers everything from the walls out of the structure. 

You may also find that some of your utilities are included in the monthly fees. Now this is not all the time but utilities that are common to see included in the fees are sewer and water. What that means is you will not have a separate water and sewer bill. That is included into the HOA fees regardless of how much you use. 

So when you're searching homes a lot of your favorite home search websites will show you the fever will not always tell you what encompasses that fee. When working with our team we will always show you the back end MLS of what is listed to include those fees.