When people come to visit the Big Island of Hawai`i it’s not uncommon for them to fall in love with Paradise after the first visit. Many times, this results in return trips year after year where they make fantastic memories. At some point in those return visits there’s a conversation about what it would be like to buy a second home here. Some people think a second home is just for their use; others think it would be a good idea to short term vacation rental the property when they’re not here to offset some of the expenses. In either case they start the process of looking around the island, exploring what is available, where, and for what price.
This is usually where I enter the equation; they contact me to look at homes and seek my advice about what to do because after doing some searching on their own, they are perplexed. And here’s what they are perplexed about: They’re unsure whether to buy a single-family home or a condo. In addition, they are unsure about whether the residence should be a single-family home up the mountain a little bit on some acreage or do they get a condo down in one of the resorts. They are unsure about whether they want to live the beach resort lifestyle or the Hawaiian micro farm lifestyle. I get it, it’s a tough choice. Both options offer an awful lot, but both options are very different. It’s not uncommon for tourists who are vacationing here to be looking at both products and at the end they walk away uncertain.
Then, they utter this very common phrase, “Dan, what should we do or what would YOU do?” And I tell them what I see most people do very successfully is take the Kona test drive. So now you’re asking yourself, “what is the Kona test drive?”
I tell people they should buy a moderately priced condo in one of the resorts and begin living the Hawaiian lifestyle (moderately priced in Hawai`i means $1 million). I tell them to start with a small, two-bedroom condo. Start traveling back and forth from the mainland to your condo and find out if you really use it and can come here more than once or twice a year. The next step is to short term vacation rental the unit and go through that process and see what it’s like. Does it rent for a good nightly rate? Is there a good occupancy rate? Do you like your management company, and do they do a good job? Has managing this from afar been relatively easy? Do you like living in the resort? Do you like that lifestyle, the convenience to the beaches and the amenities, or does the transient tourists bother you? I would say within a year to 18 months you’re going to know whether the resort condo lifestyle is for you.
Here’s the thing this test drive does best. It gives you an opportunity to come back and forth to figure out whether you really like owning a second home in Hawai`i. And if you do like owning a second home, it also gives you the opportunity to get out and explore the island, figure out the spots and areas where you might like to put down more permanent roots.
For example, some people get out here and they do the condo lifestyle for two years and then they say, “Dan, I would really love to get a bigger property up the mountain, single-family home with some acreage and some fruit trees because we’re going to be spending more time here, and we may end up retiring here.” Sure, no problem, I get it. I hear that a lot. So now when you come and stay at your condo, you have the time and the freedom to explore the next step which is that larger single-family home with acreage. When you move to this next step you must understand it comes with a lot more responsibility. A single-family home with acreage is not a lock and leave property. There’s a lot of maintenance to consider while you’re gone. Who is going to do the maintenance? And how much is that going to cost you? What types of things do you need to be concerned about if the property is left for two or three months. These are all questions you can ask, answer and get worked out while you’re enjoying your condo in the resort.
This is why I tell people your first purchase should be a small condo in the resorts so you can experience the Hawai`i lifestyle. It is a test drive. And if you like it, it gives you the affordability of time to figure out where your second move could be. Hope this helps. Feel free to reach out to us anytime at The Hawai`i Team if you’d like to talk more about this or any other topic regarding buying, selling or investing in real estate on the Big Island.
Dan Polimino is the owner of the Hawai`i Team in Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i. He and his team are the luxury residential experts for the Big Island. If you are thinking about buying or selling in Hawai’i, then please reach out to us at team@thehawaiiteam.com or call 808-913-0899.
