Investing in the Hawaii market or try going out-of-state

[Account Closed]

Hello! I'm not new to the group and I have been meaning to dedicate some time and effort to do some research and get serious about real estate investing since about 2 years ago... Well, good news is that I am finally ready to get the ball rolling!

I'm currently in Oahu; my husband and I have moved to Oahu about 3 years ago and we own a house in Pearl City. We both have a full time job, making pretty good money, which puts us in the 24% tax bracket. We initially decided real estate investment would be a good idea to avoid having to pay too much taxes on all the savings at the end of the year and for that reason, we have been paying nearly double the mortgage payment towards our current house. I just think we can do so much better with the money we are making. We began looking at some condos in Honolulu, which averages at about $500,000 for a single bedroom... After talking with some realtors, we found out that the rent we could get for these places is about $2000 a month. And we have to pay the HOA, which is about $500 a month. How can you even make money off of these? We have been looking for nearly three months and we're starting to get discouraged. Is Hawaii just a bad place for investing? Should we consider going out of state? Would out-of-state real estate investing be feasible with full time jobs? Are there other options that we should consider that will possibly give us a tax advantage for high incomers? For people who are familiar with investing in Hawaii, are there locations that will yield better returns? Any and every recommendation will be greatly appreciated!

[Manaia Alalamua]

@Account Closed

I am not an expert at all. However, I have a couple rentals here that cash flow on island. But, talking to local investors in Hawaii, I have noticed a significant portion of that population invest out-of-state for several reasons - mainly price-points (purchases) are lower elsewhere and cash-flow is better. Per other investors, Hawaii is an 'appreciation' market where returns are not centered on CF, but on the appreciation of the property - therefore, flipping tends to be a great strategy here. 

There are some great folks on Bigger Pockets that can probably give you more insight into your questions. Regarding tax advantages, I am pretty sure I'm not the best person to answer that. Maybe a good place to start is to listen to @Lane Kawaoka and his podcast at Simple Passive Cash Flow. He is a smart man. Best of luck to you and your husband. Reach out if you have any questions, I will be more than happy to help. Aloha.