The search for a new home

Meet Ed and Maile Sugimoto, who are looking for a new home. You can’t tell from this photo, but they’re expecting their first child, which was the impetus for starting their search.

I’ll be following the Sugimotos each week as they search for their new digs so we can get to know the thought process and challenges behind finding a home in Hawaii. Hopefully they find something before the baby arrives!

Ed lives and works in Central Oahu, which is very convenient for him, but Maile works in town and has to fight traffic every day. If they move to town, it will be easier for Maile, and Ed will actually be driving against traffic each way so he’ll have fewer hassles commuting than she currently does.

Another benefit to moving: both their parents live in town and have offered their babysitting services.

"Then, there’s the question of whether to buy or rent," Ed said. "We know for sure we’d like to keep our current house and rent it out if possible.

"If we bought another place in town, our entire savings would be wiped out to pay for the down payment and closing costs," he explained. "If we rented, we could continue to save every month while leaving our savings untouched. It also leaves our options open in case we want to move elsewhere."

Join me and the Sugimotos on their house-hunting adventure in the coming weeks! If you have any leads or tips for them, share them here!

Note: Ed has a real estate license, so will be representing himself, but he is the Wireless Manager at Oceanic Time Warner Cable. He is not in real estate sales.