Purchasing property in Hawaii
 

Hawaiian is hands down my first choice for my career. I am doing all I can professionally to build my qualifications as a pilot - currently a regional Captain, but I want to figure out how to stand out otherwise. I figure buying a 'cheap' condo might help show how serious I am. If for some reason HAL doesn't call, I still travel to the islands often and a place to stay / airbnb out isn't a bad deal for me. I have spent fourteen of the last fifteen years in the SF bay, and what I can get for a dollar on the islands is better than anything in the bay, so if I'm going to invest in property, might as well be Hawaii. COL is technically lower (by 1 whole percent).

Thoughts? Better ways to stand out?

I had considered getting a job flying the Dash at one of the Island private dash operators, but was told sticking where I am now is the better choice.

I thought you couldn’t buy unless you’re a resident.
But I’ve been wrong before.
Some restrictions on real estate ownership though.
I know that much.

You can buy in Fee Simple, which is how I'd want to buy anyway.

What they have is not uncommon. Fee Simple for most property (which is what you think of when buying property) and leaseholds for the rest. For example, in Palm Springs, if you buy on any of the Native American land, it is not Fee Simple, it's a Leasehold. Cheaper but you don't actually own the land, just the improvements. And you renegotiate the contract every X years, so buying a leasehold that is coming up for renegotiation can be risky. A foreigner can't buy a leasehold, but those aren't that common in Hawaii.

The only restriction is the price.
You can get older one bedrooms in town for about $300k+.
Careful of the lower prices, the neighborhoods may not be where you want to live.

Do you need a place to use as just a rental property to show your address as Hawaii? Seems like a lot of work, to buy a condo just for a potential job. I'd make sure that it would be in your benefit to own and or make a profit from your investment.

In Hawaii, you must be kidding! The only thing you need is money. You don’t have to even be a US citizen let alone a resident of Hawaii.

Absolutely don’t need a Hawaii address to apply and get selected for an interview. Given the schedules on the 321, general lack of movement on the seniority list and probably being in the tail end of the recruitment drive (PLUS the insane first year pay) one would think you wouldn’t have that much competition...

When does the attrition start increasing over there?

2020...Maye between 2-3% per year.. some years up to maybe 25 retirements, other years 15 or so... Think I was looking at moving up 100-110 numbers in the next 5 years.

HAL retirements over the next 10 years......


2019: 4
2020: 13
2021: 11
2022: 21
2023: 20
2024: 18
2025: 20
2026: 30
2027: 27
2028: 29
2029: 23

Projected total pilots on property September 1 2019: 829