This market on Oahu is crazy as we are all aware.  It’s really a great time to be a Seller for many reasons during these times.

My concern is with our Buyers, specifically our VA Buyers who are doing 100% financing as most VA Buyers do and then needing to leave on PCS orders in 3 years.

We have no idea how long this Sellers market will last and when it will swing back in favor of Buyers.  Once the market shifts back to a Buyers market, there is more competition amongst Sellers to attract Buyers and one of the ways they do that is by offering things such as lower price and paying for some or all of the Buyers closing costs.

If our VA Buyers are unable to sell their homes because they would have to come out of pocket with cash in order to sell, then their next logical choice is to turn it into a rental property.  That is great as long as the Owner is able to “eat” the shortage each month.

For example, let’s say Sergeant Smith buys a condo in Ewa Beach for $425,000 with 100% financing.  The maintenance and HOA fee is approximately $550 per month.  The mortgage payment would be about $1,625 per month.  That’s $2,175 total.  Those units rent for about $2,000 per month.   The property manager gets $200.  The GET that the owner pays is $120 per month.  This means that Sergeant Smith would be upside down by $495 per month and that doesn’t include any repairs that might need to be made.  

Please think about your future when purchasing a home rather than just jumping in without the knowledge of what could potentially happen in the future.

The 2012 Hawaii BAH rates, (HONOLULU COUNTY) for Service members stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hickam AFB, Pearl Harbor (Joint Base Pearl Harbor), Tripler Army Medical Center (TAMC), Camp Smith, Barbers Point and Marine Corps Base Kaneohe have been published.

For most ranks, the BAH is decreasing for 2012.

Here are the amounts of increases (+)/decreases (-) for the WITH DEPENDENTS RATES:

E-1 , E-2, E-3 and E-4:  – $156  ($2016 down to $1860)
E-5:  – $141  ($2040 down to $1899)
E-6:  + $102 ($2385 up to $2487)
E-7:  + $57  ($2580 up to $2637)
E-8:  + $9  ($2793 up to $2802)
E-9:  – $36  ($3015 down to $2979)

O-1E:  + $45  ($2625 up to $2670)
O-2E:  – $12  ($2889 down to $2877)
O-3E:  – $48  ($3072 down to $3024)
O-1:  – $114  ($2079 down to $1965)
O-2:  + $96  ($2379 up to $2475)
O-3:  – $18  ($2916 down to $2898)
O-4:  – $78  ($3246 down to $3168)
O-5:  – $120  ($3477 down to $3357)
O-6:  – $123  ($3513 down to $3390)
O-7:  – $126  ($3549 down to $3423)

W1:  + $99  ($2391 up to $2490)
W2:  + $36  ($2667 up to $2703)
W3:  – $21  ($2928 down to $2907)
W4:  – $42  ($3048 down to $3006)
W5:  – $69  ($3192 down to $3123)

For more information on how to use your BAH to purchase a home in Hawaii along with information on VA Loans in Hawaii, contact Hawaii Military Realty, Inc.  We are your number one source of Military taking care of Military on the island of Oahu.  Nobody knows the Military Family the way another Military Family does.