Moving into our Hawaii home
The purchase is done and you're moving into your new home! What needs to be done?
It depends... Are you moving into a house, townhome or condo? Most houses do not include any utilities and you'll need to contact the respective companies for service. Some townhomes and condos include basic cable tv in the maintenance fee. If you're okay with basic cable you don't need to add that feature. Some condos include electricity and gas too. Check with Mike if you're not sure what utilities are included with the property.
Hawaii Utility Companies
- Hawaiian Electric - Oahu - 548-7311 Maui - 871-9777 Hilo - 969-6999 Kona - 329-2584 Kauai - 885-4605
- Hawaiian Telcom - featuring phone service with great packages for local, long distance and DSL internet. Phone - 643-3456
- Oceanic Cable TV - offering basic cable, enhanced services and digital phone services. Phone - 643-2337. Digital phone does not support faxing. If you need fax service, consider Hawaiian Telcom or us e-fax to supplement your Oceanic Cable service.
- Honolulu Board of Water Supply - For resale homes, the Board of Water will normally send you a card requesting info to establish an account. Should your water be disconnected, call 748-5030.
Homeowners Insurance
Most Hawaii condos and townhomes include insurance for the building and common areas in their maintenance fees. Insuring the interior of a residence and its contents is the buyer's responsibility.
Single family homes in Hawaii generally have no coverage until the buyer obtains it. Your lender may have made insurance a condition of the loan and include a policy premium in an "impound account" - so that the premium is paid as part of your monthly loan. Check with your lender for details.
Hurricane Insurance
Hurricane insurance is required by many lenders. The annual premium for a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house is around $1,000 per year. Certain subdivisions, such as Waikele and Ewa by Gentry, include hurricane insurance in their monthly association fees. This can be good for homeowners since the associations can generally negotiate a lower rate for all owners, rather than each homeowner obtaining hurricane insurance on his own.
Note: Hawaii has experienced two hurricanes in recent memory. Hurricane Iwa visited in 1982 and Hurricane Iniki arrived in 1992. Both hurricanes did some damage to Oahu but Kauai was hit the worst.
Hawaii insurance companies we have experience with:
- Bishop Insurance Agency - A subsidiary of American Savings Bank. Phone: Oahu - 536-7351 Maui - 877-7647 Hilo - 935-8508 Kona - 327-4290 Kauai - 245-8802.
- State Farm - Lawrence "Larry" Welsch - 944-3450 larry.welsch.prej@statefarm.com
