Unreal Estate Game: Hawaii

[Rain Man]

Okay, we've all been waiting for this one. You know the rules:

Honolulu (Oahu) - http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/425-South-St-Apt-4101_Honolulu_HI_96813_M88169-71680

Kailua-Kona (Hawaii) - http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/73-4433-Nehiwa-St_Kailua-Kona_HI_96740_M77443-62995

Kapaa (Kauai) - http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/6200E-Helena-Ln-C_Kapaa_HI_96746_M70723-91282

Kihei (Maui) - http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/30-Poailani-Pl-4_Kihei_HI_96753_M77233-58822#photo30

Lahaina (Maui) - http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/3543-Lower-Honoapiilani-Rd-302L_Lahaina_HI_96761_M71334-33814

[Oz_Chief]

The Honolulu property is relatively cheap. It is very easy to find $1 million+ properties, so I am surprised it is less than 1 million.

[Rain Man]

My rankings:

Kapaa - Is this a real place, or is it the set of a Disney film? Why do I not live here? This should be where I live. I was born to live here. It's not close to anything so you'd need a car, but ... come on. Look at it.

Honolulu - Holy fork. Look at that place. It's big enough to live in comfortably and those views are amazing. You take the elevator down and you can get to a dozen restaurants and a cupcake store within a stone's throw. If it faced anyone but Kapaa, it would win. Holy fork.

Lahaina - Fantastic location. It's near all sorts of good stuff and close to the beach if you want to look at the beach. It's Maui, too, which is all sorts of good. The only challenge is that it's really too small for a long-term residence for the wife and me.

Kailua-Kona - I wouldn't mind having an infinity pool since I've never seen one that didn't have a supermodel in it. The main room is quite nice. However, it's not in a walkable location. That's the only knock, though.

Kihei - It's a nice place. Definitely a nice place. And it's Maui. But it's not quite in the same league as the other places. Plus, I can't seem to spell it right.

[scho63]

Kailua-Kona hands down.

I would NEVER pay 1MM for a 939 sq ft property. That is crazy

[Rain Man]

The Honolulu property is relatively cheap. It is very easy to find $1 million+ properties, so I am surprised it is less than 1 million.

I am unbelievably torn between the Kapaa and the Honolulu properties. It's messing up my whole weekend thinking about it.

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

All down grades from the west Texas panhandle. Not even interested.

[lewdog]

All down grades from the west Texas panhandle. Not even interested.

ROFL

I am waiting for the "give me $50k and I'll stay in Iowa!"

[lewdog]

Either the Kauai or the Kailua-Kona house are pretty awesome.

I love the island of Kauai so I would lean that way, especially with less people on that island.

[RobBlake]

i'll choose every single one if i could lol.

[tx4chiefs]

Voted for Kailua-Kona (Hawaii), because the pool and view are wonderful.

[splatbass]

I chose Honolulu since I already own a home in Honolulu. Not nearly as nice as that one though, but I can drive to that one in less than 30 minutes.

[Why Not?]

Honolulu. Back to the homeland!




Edit: but no way my wife would let me pick anything other than Lahaina

[EPodolak]

Honolulu. Would never get tired of looking out those windows.

[Bowser]

Honolulu. No doubt.

And Kapaa was nice, but I think a literal rain forest was used in making that house.

[RobBlake]

I stayed at the surfrider on wakiki beach and one of the best experiences of my life.

[Bwana]

Kapaa (Kauai)

[ThaVirus]

Kailua-Kona or Honolulu. Both are heavenly.

I think I'd go Honolulu at this point but I'll be back with my final answer.

[wazu]

Honolulu has no outdoor seating. IN HAWAII. How is it still receiving votes?

[TinyEvel]

I think the rules say it would have to be your primary residence, right? otherwise I'd go Lahaina and VRBO the heck out of that place for secondary income. I think I would choose Kona because it's an actual house and while so tor big empty box-isn looking, that pool and the open windows appeal to me.

Otherwise I'd choose Kapaa (Kauai) but I would have to either go full tiki bar and live drunk every day until I die, or go full granola and nature hike and eat papaya and oats my whole life.

[splatbass]

Honolulu has no outdoor seating. IN HAWAII. How is it still receiving votes?

I'm familiar with that building, and its twin next door. Most of the units have big balconies, but when you get to the top few floors they don't. That is a spectacular, huge (for Hawaii) unit, and one hell of a cheap price for what it is. It is essentially a penthouse apartment in a very nice high rise building with a spectacular view near many restaurants and shops and close to the beach. The sunsets from there would be amazing.

I have a balcony on my condo, looking at rain forest - and I would still take this one without a balcony. Plus it is closer to work and going the opposite direction from the rush hour traffic I have to deal with now. The price is a little steep for my budget though.

These are the buildings. It is the one in back (slightly distorted by Google Street View). You can see on the first building all the balconies, then at the top they stop.

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u279/splatbass/1_zps3gkszfcw.jpg

[wazu]

I'm familiar with that building, and its twin next door. Most of the units have big lanais (balconies), but when you get to the top few floors they don't. That is a spectacular, huge (for Hawaii) unit, and one hell of a cheap price for what it is.

I have a lanai on my condo, looking at rain forest - and I would still trade it for this one.

Interesting. No outdoor seating is a disqualifier for me. Even if it's just the outdoor air of my humble, suburban backyard, that's my happy place.

[splatbass]

Interesting. No outdoor seating is a disqualifier for me. Even if it's just the outdoor air of my humble, suburban backyard, that's my happy place.

But does it have a really nice tropical beach a couple of blocks away? A couple of my favorite restaurants are nearby too. I would definitely live there.

[Rain Man]

I think the rules say it would have to be your primary residence, right? otherwise I'd go Lahaina and VRBO the heck out of that place for secondary income. I think I would choose Kona because it's an actual house and while so tor big empty box-isn looking, that pool and the open windows appeal to me.

Otherwise I'd choose Kapaa (Kauai) but I would have to either go full tiki bar and live drunk every day until I die, or go full granola and nature hike and eat papaya and oats my whole life.

Yeah, no renting it out. It's your primary residence.

I keep rethinking my choice. The Kauai home is amazing, but I feel like you'd have the Lion King cartoons hanging out all the time at your bar. The Honolulu place really speaks to me, even if Honolulu isn't exactly what a person envisions when they think about Hawaii.

I'd certainly strongly consider the Hawaii house, but it would be a pain in the neck to drive everywhere.

I spent a few days on Maui a while back not far from the Lahaina place. I initially thought Maui would be a strong contender, but it must be really expensive there even compared to the other islands. Both of the Maui units are no-gos for me just based on size.

[splatbass]

Yeah, no renting it out. It's your primary residence.

I keep rethinking my choice. The Kauai home is amazing, but I feel like you'd have the Lion King cartoons hanging out all the time at your bar. The Honolulu place really speaks to me, even if Honolulu isn't exactly what a person envisions when they think about Hawaii.

I'd certainly strongly consider the Hawaii house, but it would be a pain in the neck to drive everywhere.

I spent a few days on Maui a while back not far from the Lahaina place. I initially thought Maui would be a strong contender, but it must be really expensive there even compared to the other islands. Both of the Maui units are no-gos for me just based on size.

Yeah, Maui is more expensive than Honolulu. I love Maui, but for a place to live I think Oahu is better. You have both country and big city on the island. I live in the central Oahu suburbs about 15 minutes from the north shore (country), and about 20 minutes from the city (as long as it isn't rush hour). Perfect for me. Best of both worlds.

[Rain Man]

Yeah, Maui is more expensive than Honolulu. I love Maui, but for a place to live I think Oahu is better. You have both country and big city on the island. I live in the central Oahu suburbs about 15 minutes from the north shore (country), and about 20 minutes from the city (as long as it isn't rush hour). Perfect for me. Best of both worlds.

It's kind of a challenge for me in this contest. You can generally (with the exception of Maui) find bigger and nicer houses in more rural areas, but you have much better access to cool stuff in the cities. If you're a rural person at heart, it's an easy decision to go rural. But if you like the city, you have more of a tradeoff. Sometimes I get swayed by a particularly nice house, but I generally will pick a smaller place with better access and walkability.

[Why Not?]

Yeah, Maui is more expensive than Honolulu. I love Maui, but for a place to live I think Oahu is better. You have both country and big city on the island. I live in the central Oahu suburbs about 15 minutes from the north shore (country), and about 20 minutes from the city (as long as it isn't rush hour). Perfect for me. Best of both worlds.

Yeah, when I was a kid we lived in Kahala. During vacation times, we often would rent a house on the North Shore. It was like going to a different world 30 minutes away(give or take). Totally different scenery and feel