Any advise on owning a vacation rental in Hawaii?

[alf]

Sooo here I am sitting on a beach on Maui and thinking of buying a rental condo. Anyone here got/had one? Any advise? Referral on a Realtor?

[equality72521]

Take LOTS of money.

[dad911]

If you do, I'll trade you time in Key West for time in Hawaii....

If you are serious, do it 'cause you can afford it and only go around once on this planet, so you plan to enjoy it. If you want an income property, buy closer to home.

The real question is why do you have a laptop instead of a drink in hour hand?

[p911dad]

It is a tricky time to be buying in HI. The condos where we have been going each winter(Oahu) have fallen from the highest 300,000's to down into the 200,000's in a relatively short period. I can't believe Maui is any different trend-wise. It is a lovely place and I totally understand why you would want to grab a piece for your own. Make a promise to come back next year and see if you still feel the same, then maybe it's for you.

[911Rob]

Originally Posted by Wayne at Pelican Parts

Nah, I personally think it's better to rent a timeshare each year from someone else who has bought one. The reasons are many, but I wouldn't want to be hammered down into a single place year after year, *or* have the hassle of trading for another location. You can always find people willing to sell their weeks...

-Wayne

Seems Wayne likes renting? Ha, ha.
I can attest to what he is saying though; I own my summer and winter vacation spots and they do tie you down. First, they are not cheap; so you're investing your ca$h into these place, you darn well better be using them.

I force my family to sit on a beach at the Shuswap all summer long; we move into our cabin on July 1 until Sept 1; so it does limit you. The odd year we've gone away a week here or there, but you feel stupid for doing it.

Our winter condo rents easy; so we just figure our personal use weeks and leave the rest to the rental company. During the Spring and Fall we like to travel a bit; places like Vegas, Florida are fun. I've only been to Hawaii once, but isn't it kinda far away? My cabin is 10 minutes from my home and my ski condo is 1 hour. It's part of my "investment in my life" strategy; worse case I'm enjoying the day to day; life goes faster than my TT.

[alf]

I am not looking for income just a place to stay when I visit and rent it out the rest of the time. I hate paying rent and even when the hotels are free, I still prefer a condo.

This is my second time back here this year, come at least once a year the last 5 years. So yeah, do plan on coming here lots. Having a condo here would mean I will visit more often

Soooo, dad911 is it a pain in the ass to own a vacation rental?

[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by alf

Any advise?

Yea, buy it 10 years ago. Hold onto it for 15 years then subdivide in half and retire on the half which you kept after selling the remainder for 1000% profit.

Was in Lihue not too long ago and the inflation on land was something like 78% a year....

[dad911]

Originally Posted by alf

Soooo, dad911 is it a pain in the ass to own a vacation rental?

I don't rent it. I bought it to preserve my sanity, and escape the jersey winters. I go about once a month. But I am self employed, and can leave when it is slow. So I have a reason to take the vacations that I haven't taken for the last 20 years.

Interview property management companies first. A good manager will be able to outline realistic rates, expenses, and occupancy.

On the purchase, don't be afraid to throw out low offers. Mine was 100k below market, agent was reluctant to present.

I haven't been to Maui since our honeymoon in '84. Fairly deserted back then. Could have bought a 40 acre farm for $200k, on the road to Hanna.

[sammyg2]

Are you talknig about buying a condo and renting it out? Long distance landlord can be a real PITA. About as much fun as a root canal. You can hire a management company to take care of everything for you, that's about as profitable and going to see your attourney three times a week.
If you're talking about a timeshare, I've never met ANYONE who had bought a timeshare and made out well. A couple of them kind of made it cound like they did OK but the truth was that is sucked.
It's much better to rent someone else's headache and then give it back after a week. If you take care of it you can rent it every year if you want, but don't buy a timeshare.

[911Rob]

=sammyg2;3581638 Rental Mgmt...... that's about as profitable and going to see your attourney three times a week......

Oh, that is too funny!

I'll concur, but I always use my condo in the peak times too.
Cost me about 40% of the take.