Recently got into the market in Hawaii. $3,500 mortgage for every 400k. Most homes in Hawaii are 1 million for a 3bd 2ba. Rent on an equal property is $3,000-$3,500 a month. Buying is much more expensive than renting but owning in Hawaii will build equity at an “almost” guaranteed 10x over the 30 years. Sit down and talk to core team, they are honest and will hold your hand, no matter how long it takes for to buy.

The best time to buy in Hawaii was 89 years ago

My former in-laws sold their Bay Area home and moved to Hawaii. They didn't have that much equity in their home, but thought they had enough to get a house on Maui. They rented a shoebox apartment, saying they would buy a house in a year. The year became 2, became 3. Then former father-in-law had health problems. He passed away and former mother-in-law moved back to the Bay Area and moved in with my former brother-in-law. I knew when I saw the tiny apartment that they would never end up buying. You confirmed why.

I always said when I lived in Hawaii… That the best thing about living in Hawaii was telling people that you live in Hawaii. 😉🤙🏻 I also lived ocean front in Kaneohe. The rust on my appliances and vehicles was definitely a “Con”.

even back in 1975 Cali was an overcrowded rat-race. So we moved to Honolulu,( thought I'd died and gone to heaven)-cheap rent, cheap everything back then. Union construction tradesman- Stayed 30 yrs. Made good living, saved money, retired age 55, sold up, moved away. But not back to the US mainland. Retired to SE Asia now for going on 20yrs. Two of the best decisions in my life: leave Cali for Hawaii/retire to Thailand to live out my time on earth in comfort.

Back in the early 1990’s, I became frustrated with my Bay Area intensive care nursing job. I had visited the various Hawaiian islands over the years. I loved the islands and the people living there. I took a week off from my job to visit Oahu and the Big Island, with job hunting intentions. I was shocked to discover how poorly paid Hawaiian ICU nurses were. They were making about half the hourly wages I was paid on the west coast mainland. Housing costs were even higher than California real estate, which was already very pricey. I was offered two jobs during my Hawaii nursing job hunt-night shifts in ICU’s, with starting benefits and without the privileges of seniority. I had expected to make some sacrifices in order to start over in Hawaii. But basically, I would have been paid half of what I was earning on the mainland while needing to pay out more than double in expenses. That math was a no-go. I’m glad I did my in-person research before I committed to the move!

I wish I had rented first. I bought a townhouse but pretty quickly learned I didn’t like the neighbors, the commute, the vibe. By the time we sold, we were much better equipped to choose a neighborhood. Rented for 8 years because we couldn’t afford to buy in the area. So building equity is not necessarily to road to happiness. Big lesson for everyone living in Hawaii is not the same as vacationing in Hawaii. I love Hawaii but everything said in this video is 100 percent true.

I have lived in many parts of the US and have never experienced more property crime or disregard for quiet than here in Hawaii. I have seen mopeds chained to a tree be stripped for parts overnight. Friend has been robbed of his bike twice, while he is riding it. Stereos blasting regardless of whether it bothers others or not are a common thing. Street racing in Waikiki and vehicles with no mufflers is a norm. Angst against mainlanders is palpable. Then there are the trucks with train air horns. I have heard more explosions here than anywhere in my life. Its actually quite ridiculous behavior. Weather though is perfect.

Lived in Hawaii for a few years. Loved it very much. I love the food, the culture, the dance and music. I then moved to the Philippines. It is like Hawaii x10 at 1/10 the cost

Thanks for being so real. I’m also a cancer survivor. It’s my dream to be a homeowner in Hawaii 🤙

My sister was born in Honolulu 1950’s. I retired on Maui 13 years ago and bought a home. Home is a liability until you sell, then you find out if an asset or not. Meanwhile taking money out of your pocket vs money in your pocket every month like stocks or rental property. Maintenance is 3 times or more on a house in Hawaii as expensive labor. Constantly replacing appliances, roof repair, gecko damage, remodeling cost. You’re using investment money if retired for maintenance. Plus last 3 years terrible inflation compounded yearly not ending soon. Average affordable home 1.3 million. You need solar and an electric car cuz of high energy prices. I saved $500/month with solar/ev. Hawaii is not a tax friendly state. Most people live in multigenerational homes like Mexico. 15 people in 2000sf with 7 bedrooms with 6 cars out front. Huge divide rich and poor as not enough money to invest. Working 3 jobs with no benefits vs 1 job with benefits. I remember a beach in front of Sheridan Waikiki in the 60s, but that’s not the case now due to sea level rise. Hawaii is like a ship in the middle of the ocean with all the hazards of a ship. Maui already lost 20% of its beaches with the other 80% threatened by erosion as ocean able to make it over the reef with sealevel rise. Hawaii becoming warmer with more A/C’s installed with increased energy costs. The future with sealevel rise is what cities should we save or not with levies. Tsunamis are something to think about. The closer to the ocean the higher home owner insurance costs. We decided to leave Maui this year and our home up for sale moving to Nevada, the 9th island. The Lahaina fire changed everything. As climate change causing increased fires and other issues. This out of control inflation from all the QE money(another fancy word for inflating monetary system) is wrecking havoc on already an expensive state. One reason people leaving Hawaii, West coast, and New York to tax friendly states with less crimes, homelessness, high taxes, and poverty. More actual Hawaiians live in Nevada than Hawaii. You can own a home, higher salary, and visit Hawaii. Rebuilding Lahaina will take years. No cheap places to rent or cheap restaurants for mainland workers to help rebuild Lahaina. I thought a tsunami would be the first to wipe out a town not a fire. More hurricanes as water warms. It will be astronomical to rebuild cities. Food shortages in just a few days with major disruptions due to disasters.

That salt spray goes up mauka for a few blocks when the surf is big. Even Kona has bad traffic now. I live 3 miles from where I surf. In the morning before sunrise, it may be an 8-minute drive. Coming home can be 30 - 40 and you idle the entire way. I would add don't buy next to a house with a pool. Especially if it's a vacation rental. Living next to smokers sucks. Like the video. I might add don't move here to change Hawaii. I moved to the Big Island in 91 for what it was. Not what I thought it should be.

On Oahu, I saw a lot of homes that looked right out of Compton - chain link fence, pit bulls, junk cars, and hoarding. I’m not paying over a million to live in a rat’s nest. If you choose to buy a condo, you get stuck with sketchy land leasing problems and huge HOA fees, not to mention giant bills to keep the a/c running. Good luck !!!!!

I lived a very good lifestyle on the big island of Hawaii for 23 years. Ocean front very successful, very blessed. Loved it, but decided retirement will be better in Florida, Naples area and honestly I could not be happier, so much better. As expensive as Naples Florida is, it’s still light years cheaper than Hawaii. Hawaii taxes everything and sadly you get nothing for your tax dollars. It all goes somewhere, but not to the residents and native people, and certainly not the infrastructure. Government in Hawaii is a horrible joke. Tax and spend state. Aloha and Mahalo Hawaii, glad I experienced it, just so I could appreciate better. 🤙

My stepsister married a Hawaiin man when she was fairly young. She has told me stories about life there, random Hawaiin women slapping her in the back of the head just while waiting in line at a store, being called "white whore", you name it. She is now in her 50's, still in Hawaii, said that the best part of her life is her husband and kids, but the worst part is having to live it all in Hawaii. She has a lot of Hawaiin friends now, they aren't all racist and filled with hate, so it's better, but she said do NOT bother living in Hawaii if you are not Hawaiin, unless you are RICH as hell and even then, don't mind people keeping you at arm's length socially if they are Hawaiin.

I had friends on the crew shooting Hawaii 5-0. My joke for them was that you NEVER saw the boys stuck in traffic on H-1. I wanted to know where all these backroads were they took from one side of the island to the other!

My first visit to Hawaii I thought I wanted to move there. But upon my first visit to a grocery store, sticker shock arrived. Everything was anywhere between 30-60% higher depending on what you wanted. So folks who don't also incorporate this weekly needed cost into their budgets are going to be woefully surprised. I still love it there, but now I am happy just visiting every few years for a couple of weeks.

I grew up in London, moved to NZ for my work, discovered Kailua Oahu and decided that’s my place. Followed condo market for 30 years and finally bought a 2bd condo in 2015. Immediately found a tenant to share, the rent covers the maintenance fee. The property tax is low. I don’t need or own a car, because everything you need is walking distance in Kailua. You don’t need a family cos you make friends on the beach which is 10 mins by bike. I have a very different story from this video. Ps. I managed to get US per res so all is very cool.

For ocean front property, that is true even here in California. We have cliffs that erode in bad weather and floods are a problem along with fires. Every place, even ‘paradise’ has its downsides. People routinely ruin paradise by wanting to take with them or build everything they had in their non-paradise location!

I grew up in Haiku, Maui. I lived in Maui until I retired and moved to Oregon and then Virginia. Hawaii has cars that are dirty everyday. Here, if its not pollen season, our cars just don't get that dirty. I left when I had to retire due to disability and my broken down house I owned in Kahului had a mortgage over $500k. Disability led to foreclosure and bankruptcy. Bank wouldn't work with me and instead sold that broken down home for $350k to a Filipino family that combine income and could afford it. It was over $600k at on time when I looked back. Now that Lahaina burned down, most people I grew up with left or got caught up in drugs and many died, there isn't much to come home to Maui anymore. I do have family, but I prefer the freedom of Virginia and have since gotten my myself up above 750 credit score, bought 1.6 acres and raise chickens, turkeys, geese and ducks. I love the place and am able to go on road trips. I could go on and on about how Hawaii has changed for the worst and has been taken over by developers and speculators, but I'm going to go do some yard work and enjoy the beautiful weather here today.

If you are watching Hawaii 5-0 reruns from 1969 - it's not the same. At all.

I think one important thing you missed is pest. Roaches, Ants, and termites. I hate ants in my kitchen. I really enjoy your videos, btw. Keep it up.

I remember sleeping over a friend's house right on the beach. You wake up with a layer of salt. That layer is hard to remove from electronics and cars.

Shipping. The cost to ship things to the mainland or from the mainland can be so much more. One thing I didn't consider, but probably should have, is how many places dont even ship to Hawaii. You go shopping online and then you hit the dreaded "We only ship to the continental US." Also, the time difference needs to be considered. If you're into any mainland sports teams you watch in the morning or afternoon instead of at night. If you trade stocks you gotta be up early in the morning when the market opens. Then, for daylight savings, you gotta adjust your time differences for everything because Hawaii doesn't do daylight savings.

Recently been involved in a family estate issue where a house on Oahu was sold. Coming from the rural mainland myself, and having to visit Hawaii a few times as part of the process... you forgot the major thing that will give many shock. The cost of living difference. From my rural mainland (low cost of living) perspective, everything in Hawaii was 150% to 200% (on average) of my expected prices in stores, at restaurants, etc. Everything. Plan for this if you intend to move to "paradise". It costs a lot, daily.

Haha! Yeah, all so true. I never bought real estate when I was in Hawaii. A decade ago, I rented a 1,000-square foot guest house from a wonderful co-worker and her husband for a low $1K a month in Pauoa. I couldn’t save enough to buy property but I was able to invest in other assets that have since gone up in value.

One thing that I didn't know before moving to Hawaii is the number of homes that don't have AC and reliance on the tradewinds to cool the home. Then, if you do have AC, how much your energy bill is gonna be if you run it most of the day.

Don't forget to check for location of the house on the lot, and the street. Just on the opposite side of the street make a big difference in good living or paying for AC on all the time. (No trade wind)

Ocean view homes will be worth more than ocean front in the future. Our dream home is on the cliffs of Diamond Head or Black Point. Elevated enough at 50-100 feet so as not to be in mother nature's way but close enough where you can still smell and hear the ocean. And make out details in the waves and a surfer's shaka. One day...one day.

Good job, Your truth is real. The dark side of Hawaii is coming to light as more and more people move in. Its the poor Vs the rich , homeless, so sad. Love Hawaii but it is not the paradise it used to be.

I live in Ewa, about a mile from the ocean. 12 years and dont have half the problems he mentions

Appreciate the Channel. Video made me nostalgic - 8:00 see my old condo in the Salt Lake neighborhood - Century West. I left in 95 and when I visit, everyone says .... "Those were the good old days" - which they were when you look at the Traffic, lack of parking and Cost of Living. Your grocery prices are much higher than the Mainland. I feel for the old Mom & Pops businesses - their overhead is so much higher than before. I feel for your young adults Starting Out. Life in Paradise is getting too expensive. You got to be super smart and lucky with your money to get housing you can afford and hope you got a good paying job paying $100K minimum.

Derek, great comment about how Mother Nature can erode homes that are near the ocean. It’s not just the outdoor fixtures, it’s the roof, it’s the windows, getting sandblasted at times. It’s part of the price you pay to live next to the ocean. Great video. You did good here Derek. Best wishes from Oregon, my friend, Larry

I stayed on the Big Island for 10 days in March, 2024. A few locals told me that at least 30% of the local population are on food stamps.

The locals hate us.

I grew up on Oahu, but live on the mainland now. Being able to live on several acres has spolied me to a point I cannot move back and retire because there's no space and privacy in Hawaii. Living on the islands exposes you to all of everything all the time.

Moved here 1970. Some really dumb things have been done with traffic, namely dumb, dumb bus system. Used to take my girl over an hour to commute to school 10 miles away by bus. I drove her the first 3 miles in my car. Still one more hour left. Look at the freeway. See any busses? Just one bus on the freeway would remove 20 to 50 cars. But, no, gotta build rail that nobody, no, nobody will want to use. Dumb, again, and a boondoggle. This is my home, though, my forever home. You take the bad with the good and deal with it.

You are right about all the thieving. They cut my catalytic converter…..WITH A SAWZALL……out and ransacked my piece of crap frontier!🤙makes me think twice about parking in those nice little beach front trailheads

Great presentation thanks. You make many good points. One that a lot of people don't think about until they're confronted with it is the wind. My wife and I are from Oahu, and at one point we lived in Kaaawa/Hau'ula on the beach. It was great, but there's a reason they call it the "Windward Side". The wind is usually direct onshore and it will wear you down. Also, the windward side weather is usually cloudy because of the proximity of the Koolau mountains. I actually preferred living in town on the leeward side as the trades didn't bother me unless they were really blowing. Also, as much as I loved surfing Crouch, my home spots were in MBay (used to surf big NShore but those days are over).

Please mention how ridiculous to get a permit to get anything done. It takes years and the more the Mayor gets involved the longer it takes.

I thought Honolulu was LA with a crowded beach. But back in 79 Kawaii was beautiful with only two stoplights on the island and no hotel higher than three stories

I was stationed at Schofield 97-2000, and lived in Mililani a while. I was searching for beachfront till I saw the waves wash over the roads a few times on North shore (washed out the road completely in like 2000). Then I was fine making the short drive for my surfing 😂

1⃣ Schedule your free consultation with us www.coreteamhawaii.com/ 2⃣ Use Core Team Hawaii for all your Hawaii real estate needs: (808) 202-9194 support@coreteamhawaii.com

I have lived in Hawaii for years now, and I love your videos!

MAHALO FOR THIS VIDEO. WE HOPE THIS TURNS OFF PEOPLE FROM MOVING HERE. DON'T MOVE HERE!

Brah keepin it real🤙Like the river metaphor Derek. Mahalo

I appreciate your honesty! You are spot-on about all of your topics! Mahalo for your transparency.

Went to Maui in the spring of 2005, when even the cheapest crap white bread was over $5 a loaf. Probably $10 now. Locals went to the grocery with calculators even then to find the lowest prices on everday items. The sadest part were the young women on the beach who were hooking to pay rent. Probably off-islanders who got "stranded in paradise."

I rented in Kapolei for 3 years, then bought home on Big Island, been here a total of 11 years. One negative you did not mention is homeless population. The climate is conducive to it and it is a problem. I now live across road from Ocean and yeah, outdoor rusting is real!

My sister lived close to the beach and always had damp linens. Bath towels were never dry and were musty. She washed and dried them then bagged them in spacebags

Very insightful stuff, appreciate all the great info. We visit every year, and when we retire in 8-10 years we’d love to live there at least a couple months out of the year.

Came to Kauai after Hurricane Iniki in ‘92 to help rebuild the island. I finally bought a house up out of tsunami zone in 2020. That’s more important than ocean front property. My stuff doesn’t corrode as bad away from the beach. Don’t come to Kauai it’s still nice hopefully it stay that way.

I bought my house in Makakilo back in 2011 when I was stationed in Hickam AFB. I received orders for a remote duty to Kunsan AB Korea in 2014 (My family stayed here). I retired from the US Air Force in 2016 and returned to Oahu. IMHO, I think that was the best decision ever. Take advantage of the BAH while on active duty instead of trowing all that money away in rent. Mahalo for the video!

I just subscribed. I like your no nonsense straight talk. It's what I want to hear.

People move to Hawaii and complain about the rent. They call the locals greedy and feel entitled to pay a rent they feel is fair.

I recently visited Oahu. Kinda upset me that the locals seemed to be priced out of the real estate market.

My brother and his wife upon retirement moved 3 years ago from the San Francisco Bay Area to Maui & bought a 3 bdrm home in a great community overlooking the Kaanapali golf course They love living there and have he wherewithal to travel back to Calif. often to visit family & friends. They are both healthy but I wonder if they’ll regret not being close to major medical services if their health takes a downward turn in the future.

The first oops is mistaking Oahu for the Hawai'i experience. You are lucky to find that on the outer islands as well, Choose wisely and even then, the experience might not be for you. We are hardly a part of America and a completely different culture. Don't be on Oahu if SHTF either. It will be chaos in 3 days. Show respect and practice Kina'ole at every opportunity. Aloha.

In Texas we have the perfect middle class cure to the conversation about car port vs garage and theft. We park our cars in the driveway and keep $100 worth of garage sale crap in the garage. That way our worthless crap is safe and our vehicles are the targets of break ins.

I’m actually from Hawaii. Lived in Vegas for 23 years. I actually would love to move back but only way I’m doing it is if I’m only able to buy a home straight up. Can’t survive with a high mortgage.

Good job discouraging the main-landers from moving there. I don’t blame you

In relative terms, Hawaii has always been expensive. Ever since Captain James Cook first arrived, everything had to be imported. In the novel _From Here to Eternity_ author James Jones described how the soldiers were effectively confined to base because, unless they saved up, they usually couldn't afford to go out into town.

Live in the far western Pacific and am often in Hawaii. Have been going to Hawaii since the 1970s and the difference between then and now is like day and night. The impact of climate change and poor land use/development choices are blatantly apparent, homelessness and property crime driven by meth addiction appear out of control. While some locals are tolerant, friendly and welcoming, many are not (especially to mainlanders). I was on Oahu last week and had a young local raise their voice at me and call me a “colonialist oppressor.” 🤣

Yes, please mention the permit processing is absolutely ridiculous. The mayor should be held responsible because he hasn’t fixed them damn thing. Have a good day my love All talk no action.

Before you buy ocean front call your insurance agent.

Great video, just a clarification: homeowners can't 'defend' their home because hardening the coastline worsens coastal erosion and beach loss.

*Hawai’i and thank you for talking about this. I am a native hawaiian (Kanaka Maoli) and I appreciate you talking about this :)

So true. Mainlander’s think we all have an ocean front view. It’s the paradise only for the rich.

Typically Oahu point of view, each island is quite unique.....

I like renting because maintenance is DONE for you, and there is always a handyman around to do something for a Senior Citizen.

Wow, an honest realtor. You don't see many of those.

Thank you for this realistic video about the paradise.

You are correct, Bought a home in Singapore. Same concept, better to buy now than to wait and that was just what I did before inflation kicked in which raised the home prices up further.

The river metaphor was dope 🤙

My wife and I used to talk about moving to Maui and by the 5th time there we stop waxing poetic about it. The last time we were there was 10 years ago gas was $6 a gallon. I remember seeing a pack of cigarettes for $18.95. Neither of is smoke but,that's just indicative of how expensive things are on the islands. She died 8 years ago this July 20th. Boy am I glad we didn't move there when we first thought about it. And then I remember talking to a couple who did just what we wanted to do. Manassas have you ever lived on an island even for 6 months all you can do is drive around the island and I've worked with a quite a few people from the Hawaiian Islands who got off the islands and said the same thing man all you can do is drive around the island and you're limited on what you can make per hour or in salary.

Everybody here talking bout “the downsides” either should have known what they signed up for or found out. Bugs? Rust? High rent? Local boys like party in the carport? NO SHIT! All G don’t come here.

These are the types of things that people need to know. Thank you.

Derek knows his stuff. His knowledge about finance, listen up. He's got em licked.

One of the best agent introductions, appreciate the candid discussion. I live oceanside in Taiwan. I enjoy it, but also challenges you must know before you buy

Never had the urge to go to hawaii. I do like hawaii 5.o.

Commission breath. That's a good one!

I've lived all over in Hawaii. Pearl City, Honolulu, Ewa Beach, Maui. Everything you said is spot on.

Great video! Outstanding analysis of the actual risk of waiting to buy in areas with long records of appreciation.

Accidents happen almost every day on H1! 😂😂 Fireworks go off every other day at the least where we live in Waipahu! A typical house you could buy for $250,000 on the mainland is almost $1,000,000 here. A two bedroom apartment that is decent will cost you $400,000 at the least here to buy. That is outside of Honolulu. It is ridiculously expensive here compared to the mainland. When they say it’s the price of paradise they mean it! 😂😂

I’m from Florida currently in Kansas. My boyfriend is in Waianae. He inherited his grandparents condo in makaha valley. Every time I go there it reminds me of rural north Florida where I grew up but with less hand sizes spiders and no alligators or raccoons getting into everything. A lot of the houses with plyboard make it look like my hometown too. I guess to me it’s like home but less dangerous. Less crime, animals, hurricanes, and tornadoes. If my job wasn’t so good in Kansas I’d move. We’re still trying to work out where we should live. He owns that place there and I rent here but my job is better. I also can’t drive because disability and Hawaii has better public transport.

Most the most part, you are addressing problems people can run into Oahu, not the other islands. Other islands have their share of problems, but things there are not the same.

Hey I’ll be moving to Hawaii in September, I seen your ad on indeed for a photo/video person. Would love to work with you guys in September. Love watching your videos!

I love dogs too.Just not other people's dogs

I am Swiss, currently living in Burbank CA, tne best small city in the US (my opinion !) I am in my 80s and still travel like crazy ... my motto is: visit and enjoy the craziest places in tne world but have a home in the most stable environment !

Oahu is overcrowded and priced out. Big island is where it's at.

My buddy has been on the big island 3 years now, says he cant wait to get back to Oregon.

Never really had a thing about going to Hawaii and over the years hearing the downsides likely will never go.

Wish I could get back to HI. I miss it every day.

Nice video. I grew up in the border of Kaimuki and Kahala so my home is walking distance from Kahala Mall. It is comparably modern in aesthetics to the homes in Kahala. We do have a carport but we also have a gate to block thieves and intruders. We have a Pomeranian and she stays in doors at all times but there are many dogs in my street that are left outside in their yard by the owners.

We just returned from Hilo a couple days ago. Our Daughter and her partner have built an "off grid - tiny home" on some acreage. It's in a lush rural area with a water catchment system for water, solar panels with a backup small generator for power. They recently added a small "guest house" for their visitors. They can see the ocean from their location although it is quite a few miles away. Many varieties of mature fruit trees line their property. Security is a big issue. Thievery is common everywhere on the island. It is important to know your neighbors and look out for each other. One, two, and three acre tracts can be found for $20k and up. Partially finished project homes come up for sale occasionally for under $100k. Humidity is high and rain comes and goes often. Insects are minimal from what I saw. We thoroughly love to visit the area but aren't too interested in moving there at this point. We visit for a few weeks per year and enjoy every minute of it. Mahalo

Traffic jams on H1 is fucking horrible.

My name is Karen Petersen and I was the victim of salacious discrimination by SOME locals who took it upon themselves to 'get rid' of me because I was from the mainland, worked in HR management and tried to help with their employment challenges. I'm in the process of writing a series of articles about my experiences living and working on Oahu (Life on Maui was great!) If there's anyone interested in talking with me about their experiences adjusting to life on Oahu I'd like to hear from you. I'll be checking this You Tube video frequently for responses as long as they are respectful and truthful. Mahalos

EXPENSE is a relative term. If it's worth it to you, it ain't "expensive"....

Thanks for video. I sometimes need my fix of Hi world. Was stationed at KBay and for years I could move back. But videos and TV shows help me so much.

A good friend moved to Oahu 20 years ago. He loves it. I went to visit him 5 or 6 times. Generally speaking, Oahu is a ghetto.