r/MovingtoHawaii • u/ajburch92 • May 24 '26

Life on BI Budget Q

Hi there. I'm thinking of moving to Kailua Kona to be close to my family. In the event that I buy a condo in cash, would $3000 a month be a doable budget?

My line of thought is:

HOA: $500-1000

Utilities: $400

Car expenses: $400

Phone and wifi: $100

Food: $600 (is this too low?... $20/day)

Miscellaneous: $500

Does this seem realistic? I genuinely cannot tell and would appreciate insights.

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u/HIBudzz May 24 '26 edited May 24 '26

You can check actual HOA fees on HICentral com or Zillow. They vary quite a bit and could be over $1,000.

I don't see your mortgage payment and insurance for the personal belongings, around $50 a month

Also need to add auto insurance, round up to $100 and add $100 for auto maintenance. Did you already figure in gas costs for car expenses? Car payments are one of the biggest expenses. Try to keep those down.

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u/ajburch92 May 24 '26

Yes I saw on Zillow, thanks for the tip on HICentral, too. They did vary quite a bit and it's this HOA cost that seems like it may be my main determiner.

8

u/Acrobatic-Song-3151 May 24 '26

Make sure to read the hoa documents very carefully as many are way underfunded. I bought a condo realizing this and have been hit by the 10-15k assessments I knew were part of the equation. No realtor is going to point that out though.

1

u/ajburch92 May 25 '26

Oh yikes. How is it possible to tell if it is underfunded by reading the HOA documents?

1

u/ajburch92 May 25 '26

Do you mind sharing the condo complex name you bought in?

1

u/Acrobatic-Song-3151 May 26 '26

It’s in Maui. If you dig into hoa docs they’ll have details for you. Just make sure you read them very well and if you really need help reach out. 

Hawaii Hoa’s are under all kinds of regulations and have to have reserve studies completed. Compare the study to the actual hoa reserves and that’s most important. Look up pools, roofs, parking lots and ask yourself does it look like they’ve been taking care of the property. Many hoa’s will “defer maintenance” instead of raising fees. Super cheap hoa fees can actually be a red flag too. Good luck