Rental Management

[VancouverIslander]

Hello everybody.

My wife and I are coming to the Big Island for a vacation for 2 weeks in April and have been looking at possibly purchasing property in Puna in order to take advantage of the current market conditions and then rent it out for 6-10 years. As a mainlander (well, technically we're not - we live on your nearest neighbouring Island to the North East) we'd be needing local management to screen tenants, arrange any maintenance required and check in on things. Does anyone have any experiences in this or advice on the topic? Any outfits with good reputations (or to avoid)?

In 6-10 years, we'd be considering living part time on the BI. Our goal is not so much creating an income stream as much as making a longer term investment that will pay off when we retire. Puna is our main target due to very attractive pricing. For me, the opportunity to grow some coffee in my retirement would be a bonus, which could be done by buying property around 2000' altitude or by buying/leasing land later after I retire. We've researched BI and Puna extensively (and lurked around this forum for quite a while as part of it).

The big question for us right now is finding the right on Island management for a rental in case we pick up a house on our holiday. Someone who will have the patience to pick good tenants, treat them well and keep a good eye on our investment for us.

Thank you very much for your time answering this.

[jackson]

I think Clark Realty is now doing long term rentals and management. In my opinion they are superb.

[hotinhawaii]

In the lower Puna area, Juan D'Armas does an excellent job and lives in the area so he can easily pop in for any needs that arise.

[missydog1]

How is the rental market now? I would think there are a lot more nice new homes sitting empty than there are good tenants, but I don't know where it's at right now (and would like an opinion from those who are involved).

[nani1970]

I am a good tenant.

[pslamont]

Lots of empty rental units here these days. Be prepared.

I want to be the kind of woman that, when my feet
hit the floor each morning, the devil says

"Oh Crap, She's up!"

[coppercoin40]

Try Mark & Ron at :
http://www.hawaiiparadisevacationrentals.com/

We have had excellent success utilizing their services. They can make sure all the needs of home are being cared for and also manage rental listing on VRBO.com as well as their own website.

They have been very responsive to our requests concerning our 6 week stay at Hale Kauka

islandgirl

[dwedeking]

anecdotal: went to look at a house yesterday. Private person (not a management company). She had 20 people call from her craigslist ad. 12 stated they would look at the property. 6 showed up. Out of that she said she narrowed the list between us and one other prospective renter. One thing I've noticed since moving to the Big Island 2 years ago is the gap between those more well off and the working poor. My personal opinion is that you have to decide which market you are going to after and buy/build properties specific to that market (higher end/vacation vs those that live and work here on the east side).

http://www.wedekingphotography.com

[Kapohocat]

Interesting thing happening down here. 5 houses went into escrow in last 8 weeks. FIVE. Yes, 1 was a foreclosure but the others were not.

I dont know what to make of it exactly.

Someone I know was looking for a place to rent in Kapoho in the $1000 range for 2 people/no pets and found almost nothing available under $1500. And everything booked through mid-April it seems for the vacation rentals.

Is it possible that the spec houses are finally starting to disappear?

[csgray]

This is purely anecdotal but the house next to us and the one catty corner behind us are both rentals that are now sitting empty, and have been for months. In both cases the last round of tenants trashed the places and did not pay the rent for months. It was very difficult for the property owners to evict them and they have had to spend more money than they grossed in rent last year to return them to a rentable condition. The 3rd rental in our vicinity is slowly being trashed by the tenants, every screen is busted from their kids breaking in when they forget their key, they just ripped off a chunk of siding to set up their satellite dish, the back half of the acre is slowly filling up with busted toys and furniture, and the property management company hasn't shown up since the day they handed over the keys. The owners in California have no idea that their $400,000 investment (they bought at the top of the market) is now worth $185,000 tops.

Landlord tenant law in Hawaii has many protections for the renter, and few for the landlord, you have to give tenants 45 days notice to evict them, and then it can take months more to finally get them out. You can also charge no more than 1 months rent for deposits, so you cannot even protect yourself by charging first/last/and deposit. If you do not have deep pockets to absorb unpaid rent and damages I would hesitate to invest in rentals as an off island landlord.

Carol