The Ulu Team
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Buying on Oʻahu

Know the number before you fall in love.

Most buyers on this island start by looking at homes. That is backwards. Start with what you can carry, and the search gets short, honest, and a lot less painful.

Run your numbersGet new listings by email

Where you’re starting from

Four ways people buy here

They are not the same purchase, and they should not get the same advice.

First home

You have never done this before and the numbers keep moving. Start with what you can actually carry.

Military or PCS

Orders came in and the clock started. We work VA loans and compressed timelines constantly.

Moving up

You own already and need the sale and the purchase to line up without you being homeless in between.

Investment

Cash flow on Oʻahu is a math problem before it is a property search. Bring the math first.

Affordability

What it actually costs per month

Move the sliders. This includes the two things online calculators usually skip on Oʻahu — your real property tax class, and the maintenance fee.

$900,000
20% · $180,000
6.50%
Will you live in it?

This changes your tax class, not just your paperwork. Honolulu taxes a non-owner-occupied home assessed at $1M or more as Residential A, at a higher rate.

Estimated monthly

$4,895

$180,000 down · $720,000 financed over 30 years

Principal & interest
$4,551
Property taxResidential · 0.30% eff.
$228
Insurancehazard + hurricane
$117
Of that, building equity$651/mo
Real monthly cost of owning$4,244

Year one — the principal portion of your payment is savings, not spend.

Cash to close$193,500–$202,500$180,000 down + closing costs (1.5–2.5%)

Rent vs. buy

Estimated market rent for a ~$900,000 home.

Owning runs about $1,344/mo more than renting, before the $651/mo you’d build in equity.
Rent$2,900
Own (net)$4,244

Estimates only — not a lender quote. Property tax, insurance, PMI, and HOA vary by property, lender, and the day. Talk to a lender for real numbers.

The process

Five steps, in order

  1. 01

    Talk before you look

    A conversation about what you want and what you can carry. Twenty minutes, no obligation, and it saves months.

  2. 02

    Get pre-approved

    Not pre-qualified — pre-approved, with a lender who knows Hawaiʻi. Sellers here can tell the difference and it decides offers.

  3. 03

    See homes that fit

    We send what matches, you react, we adjust. You will look at fewer homes than you expect and like them more.

  4. 04

    Write an offer that holds

    Price is one term of many. Timelines, contingencies, and how the offer is presented often matter more.

  5. 05

    Close, and then some

    Inspections, appraisal, escrow, keys. Your coordinator runs the calendar so no date is ever a surprise.

Listing alerts

New homes, before the open house.

Tell us the neighborhoods and the ceiling. We will send what matches as it lists — written by a person, not an automated blast.

  • Kailua
  • Kakaʻako
  • Kapahulu & Diamond Head
  • Mililani
  • Pearl City & ʻAiea
  • Waipahu

Your agent

Who you’ll be working with

Buyer-side agents on this team, each licensed and each carrying their own files.

The whole team →
Hunter Tipold

Hunter Tipold

Buyer Specialist

REALTOR® (S) RS-88231

Works with military families and first-time buyers.

Call808.292.4243Emailhunter@uluteam.com
Dominique Unrein

Dominique Unrein

Buyer Specialist

REALTOR® (S)

Buyer-side across the Windward coast and town.

Call808.265.8999Emaildominique@uluteam.com

Questions

The ones we get most

How much do I need for a down payment?
Less than most people assume. VA loans can go to zero down, FHA to 3.5%, and several conventional programs sit at 3–5%. What changes with a smaller down payment is your monthly cost and whether you carry mortgage insurance — not whether you can buy.
What should I budget for closing costs?
Roughly 1.5–2.5% of the purchase price on Oʻahu, plus your prepaid taxes and insurance. On a $900K home that is usually somewhere between $14,000 and $23,000 on top of your down payment.
What is the difference between fee simple and leasehold?
With fee simple you own the land. With leasehold you own the building but lease the ground under it, and that lease eventually ends. Leasehold homes list well below comparable fee simple ones, which is exactly why the term deserves a real conversation before you tour. It changes financing, resale, and long-term value.
How long does it take to buy here?
From accepted offer to keys is typically 30–45 days. The search before that is the variable — some buyers find it in three weeks, some take a year. Inventory in the neighborhood you want matters more than how fast you move.
Do I pay you?
Compensation is negotiable and gets agreed in writing before we tour anything. We will walk you through exactly how it works on your file, in plain language, before you sign a thing.

Next step

Start with a conversation, not a listing.

Twenty minutes on the phone will tell you more than a month of scrolling. We’ll be straight with you about whether now is your moment.

Get listing alertsBrowse homes first