Hawaii Real Estate 2025 | Maui, Oahu, Kauai, Big Island - Top 10 Tips

Hey, aloha guys, Eric West here, hawaiirealestate.org. Welcome back to the channel. If you're new, I'm all about teaching you everything you need to know about Hawaii and it's real estate, but you can't find in the listing. And today I'm going to give you my top 10 tips when buying real estate in Hawaii. These are things that I've learned since I've started practicing real estate here back in 2012. Prior to that, I was a farm and ranch and luxury real estate broker in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Kansas. So I'm bringing to you about 20 years worth of experience that I think will definitely help you. So whether you're looking to buy an ocean front home, like the one that's here behind me in Oluwalu on Maui, or maybe a hundred thousand dollar leasehold condo on Oahu, I think these tips will serve you very, very well. So my number one tip is work with a local real estate expert. Now, obviously here on the beautiful island of Maui, I'd love to be your guy if you're looking to buy or sell, but the tips I'm going to give you here would apply to any of the islands and actually would apply anywhere on the mainland as well, but it's really, really important here in Hawaii because a lot of people just maybe moved here or just kind of do real estate part-time and don't really know what they're doing. So it's really important that you interview, I'd say at least one or two or three buyers agents to make sure that they're the right fit for you as far as personality goes, but also that they have a portfolio of transactions that are in line with the type of property that you're looking to purchase. You don't want them to practice on you, right? So number one tip is work with a consummate professional who has a good reputation and has a good portfolio of transactions that have already transpired in their career because it's that bank of experience that will help them help you make the right decision so that you don't get caught in a bad situation. So number one tip, find a local expert to work with and interview a number of them before you settle on the one. And then when you do settle on that perfect real estate agent to work with, make sure you commit to them, sign a buyer's agency agreement, say, Hey, I want you to work for me, but I'm going to work with you exclusively. Now, because a lot of people kind of hop around and you just don't get the best bang for your buck. I believe until you have someone committed and they know that you are committed to that relationship. Tip number two, two is know the difference between leasehold and fee simple. It's pretty easy to understand the leasehold. Somebody else owns the land at the home or condo sits on, and a fee simple is you own the land, but there's a lot of nuances when it comes to the types of leaseholds because there are actually a few that I recommend, but definitely one of those things you want to know if the price is super low and it looks like a great deal, it's probably a leasehold, but make sure you understand and find out what are the best leaseholds to actually purchase that don't have the risk of a vacancy clause. Tip number three is zoning and regulations. Hawaii is very different than the mainland that there can be an ever changing, um, political winds that are affecting the zoning and regulations for certain properties. So again, it's very important to work with a local expert that keeps their ear to the ground and knows certain things that are coming up, but it could be simple things like when will the septic system be required to be installed if it has a cesspool, is there a vacation rental ban that's on the horizon that could affect the property that you're thinking about buying, or maybe it's just in a pet policy or an AOAO or an HOA rule that could affect the type of, um, things that you can do on the property. So it's really good to know that ahead of time, do your research and your diligence. And again, have that local real estate expert that hopefully has helped someone purchase the property in that condo or that neighborhood in the past. Number four, get pre-approved for your financing ahead of time. Why do I say that? Number one, you don't know some of the details as far as the payment, the insurance, the, uh, the cost of the loan until you go through that process. You don't want to be shopping for something and later on find out that it costs more than you can afford. And then number two, working with a lender and committing to a lender, just like you commit to your buyer's agent, helps them know that they're working for you and you're not going to shop them around. So it's very important to work with a lender that's experienced, preferably one that's local to Hawaii. I would not recommend using a mainland lender and ask them as many questions as you can. Have they loaned in this neighborhood? Have they loaned in this complex before? And get as many of those questions answered ahead of time. There's no surprises why you're an escrow. Number five, consider all of the costs of the purchase. It isn't necessarily just the purchase price that you'd be concerned with. There is this thing called the estimated settlement statement, and I would highly encourage you to get one from the closer, the escrow officer, uh, before you close, obviously, but even while you're in the shopping process and you haven't finalized your acceptance of that contract, get that estimated settlement costs ahead of time. Be sure to ask for the carrying costs of the property, which would include obviously all of your utilities, but also homeowner's insurance is a big one. That's a rising cost. Always in Hawaii. Make sure you get a bid for what will it cost you to insure that home or condo once you purchase it. Number six, evaluate the infrastructure and the environment in which the property is located. And what do I mean? Things like accessibility to water. Is it a private water system? Is it a public water system? Is it a catchment system? And talk to the neighbors. If it's like a catchment system, is there enough rain? How often have you, have you had to purchase water? If it's, uh, water from a public or a private water system, maybe consider getting that water tested, but one of the best resources is to talk to the neighbors and find out, Hey, what's the story with the infrastructure and access to these different resources. Another big one is internet. You know, sometimes in Hawaii, a neighborhood can be completely full of internet subscribers and there's no more access to the internet through the normal, you know, uh, fiber optic or cable. Good news is today we have access to Starlink, but of course the cost and the reliability of that can be a little bit different. So talk to the neighbors and also ask your buyer's agent to do some of this research for you, because again, you don't want to close. And then the day after the closing, you talk to the neighbors. They go, Oh, you didn't know about definitely do your due diligence ahead of time when it comes to accessibility to the various utilities that you need living in the property. Number seven, plan for environmental risks. You know, Hawaii is definitely different than the mainland and that we've got this beautiful ocean right next to us, but that can mean hurricanes that can mean floods and also just wind events. So, and of course, recently, as you know, we've had some fire issues. So definitely take that in consideration and make sure my recommendation is to always get, um, hurricane insurance, fire insurance, and get those quotes ahead of time before you close. Great. Be aware of the market seasonability. You know, Hawaii definitely has trends when the market gets kind of hot and then it kind of slows down. Usually it follows the tourist pattern. Of course, right after COVID we were just hot all the time, but there definitely are good times to buy and good times to maybe wait. So I would definitely talk again to your local expert to find out what are the trends and also make sure that you ask for your agent to pull the most recent comparable sales in that particular area. And maybe not just in the neighborhood that you're looking in, but also a broader search as well. So you get a good feel for the overall market impact of recent sales and also make sure you ask for pending sales. That's one of those things that can have a huge impact on, on your offer price. If there's a home right next door that went pending and look at the price for that particular home and those amenities and the various factors of value that go into that, because really the market value is always looking forward. It's not necessarily always looking past. So make sure you ask about pending sales. Number nine, do your due diligence. It's very, very important. You'd be surprised how many buyers I've worked with over the years. They said, you know what? I just want to make an all cash, quick flows, closing 30 days as is because they're so eager to get the property. And I always recommend that they get a property inspection and not just a property inspection. Once that is done, I would highly encourage you to have specialists. Look at things like the pool, the electrical, the plumbing, not always necessary, but sometimes the general inspection isn't enough to really illuminate the various challenges with that particular property. And don't be afraid to pull out if it's too much. And also don't be afraid to renegotiate the purchase price. If something major comes up that wasn't anticipated, even if you did and as is addendum and my 10th tip, but it's not my final, be sure to watch to the very end. I'm going to give you a bonus after number 10, but my 10 tip is this always be thinking about resale. It's the exit. Make your money on the buy, but always be looking at the exit strategy. And what do I mean by that? Take a look at how long is the average days on market in the specific neighborhood that you're, that you're buying in because that historical days on market can make a huge difference. It can be an indicator of the future days on market. Also, I always like to look at the particular home or condo that I'm purchasing, look and find out how many days on market that one average and how it compared to the market average in the past, because is there something about this particular home or condo that caused it to sell quicker or took longer than before? I'll give you a good example. I recently sold a home here on Maui that prior to me listing it, it was on the market for 17 and a half years. And they had to kind of warn the buyers that bought it after it's on the market for 17 and a half years, that it could take me a little bit longer than the average, because look how long it took to sell it the first time. The good news is that we got it sold within six months. But it's always good to know the historical resale of a particular property and also in certain neighborhoods, because many neighborhoods in Hawaii are almost like custom build neighborhoods. Like every home is a little bit different. We don't have as many lot and block subdivisions like you find on the mainland. So the particular home that you're looking to purchase isn't always necessarily calm cookie cutter like it would be on the mainland. So look and see how the home sold in the past compared to other homes in the neighborhood, because if you're paying a premium, make sure that that home fetched a premium in the past, or maybe you're paying a premium and that previous sales history will show you that for some reason, the home didn't fetch a premium in the past. So some of that historical data can be super. All right, guys, here's my bonus tip. My bonus tip is this information is power. And the more information you have, the better you're able to negotiate a real estate deal. One of my favorite sayings, I don't know if you guys remember this, but back in the day in the magazine, in the airplane, there was an ad. I can't remember who it was for, but it says in life, you don't get what you deserve. You get what you negotiate. And the best way to negotiate a real estate deal, the best real estate deal is to have as much information as possible. And sometimes it's that inside information that you only get when you ask. So definitely work with an agent. That's going to be drilling the listing agent for some of that inside information. And I'm not saying that it's a, that it's like a, it's like something that they can't disclose. They're actually willing to disclose certain bits of information that can help you get a better deal if you have an agent that's asking the right question. So get as much information as you can and utilize that information in the wisest way possible to negotiate the lowest price for your Hawaiian dream home or condo. If you've enjoyed this video, I'd love a thumbs up, a share, a shock, a subscribe. And of course, if you're ever in the market to buy or sell anything here on the beautiful island of Maui, I'd love to be your guy. And also I do personally know agents on the other islands, whether it's Oahu, Kauai, big island, Molokai that I can refer you to. If you're looking for a good agent that I've worked with for over the last decade that I know will do a really good job for you. So thanks again, guys. Until next time, Eric West out.