Average maintenance fees for Kihei vacation condos

What is the average maintenance fee for a vacation condo in Kihei?

Before you invest in any Maui vacation rental condo it’s important to know that all condo complexes charge owners a monthly maintenance fee. Typically those maintenance fees cover complex upkeep, condo association reserves, on-site staff, landscaping, and amenities (if offered by complex, i.e. pool or gym).

Our Kihei listing of Maui Kamaole C-206 has a maintenance fee of $657/month.

As a general guide, the maintenance fees for Kihei condos are usually lower than the fees for Wailea condos. In both areas of South Maui, the monthly fees vary widely from complex to complex based on several key factors which we’ll detail further below.

maintenance-fees

Whether you’re looking at Wailea condos for sale or Kihei condos for sale, it’s important to look carefully at the listing data to find the maintenance fee line so you can know whether it’s higher or lower than the average.

Kihei average condo maintenance fees

We’ve done extensive research looking at MLS records from July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016 gathering maintenance fee info specific to vacation rental condos. Using that info, we found that the average maintenance fee for Kihei vacation condos is $614. Bear in mind that the average is for all unit sizes and configurations. The actual range is between $487.14 and $948.75. We have detailed analysis below in which we break down maintenance fees based on unit size.

Kihei vacation condo maintenance fees

This chart shows the average monthly maintenance fees for Kihei vacation rental condos.

Studio units in Kihei pay on average about $487/month in maintenance fees. One-bedroom units are slightly higher at $570/month but the real large price increase is for two-bedroom units which pay an average of $692/month.

Key factors for Maintenance Fees

There 4 main factors that will affect the maintenance fee for any Kihei Vacation rental condominium:

The size of the unit
The density of units in the cimmunity
The amenities that exist on site
Which utilities are included in the maintenance fee

Unit size affects the maintenance fee

Smaller unit = lower maintenance fees
Larger unit = higher maintenance fees

Why? The square footage of a unit determines the percentage of interest that the owner has in the common areas. Larger condo units have a higher percentage interest in common areas and are charged maintenance fees that are proportional to that interest.

The relaxing pool area at Hale Kamaole with ocean views just in the back

A good example of this is at Hale Kamaole: One bedroom units are 778 square feet and have 0.046% interest in the common areas which means they pay about $447/month in maintenance fees. Two bedroom units are 1,112 square feet and have 0.0635% interest in common areas which means they pay about $645/month in maintenance fees.

Density

Because common area maintenance is a fixed cost, the amount paid will be affected by density (amount of units per acre at the complex). Density and maintenance fees are inversely related; as one goes up, the other goes down.

Great ocean views from Maui Banyan has a density score of 29.48 (256 units on 8.68 acres)

With a high density in a complex, total maintenance costs will be spread out across more owners resulting in lower monthly maintenance fees. Low density communities are exactly the opposite, maintenances costs spread across a fewer owners results in higher maintenance fees.

Amenities

All South Maui vacation rental complexes follow a similar format, however, they are not created equal and each provide a different range of amenities. There are some complexes that have multiple pools or some that just have one. Other condos may have a gym on site, some may have no gym at all. The more amenities a complex has, the higher the maintenance fees will be in order to ensure all of the amenities are well taken care of.

Aerial view of Maui Vista

For example, a complex like Maui Vista, which has 3 pools and 6 tennis courts, will require higher maintenance fees than other complexes because of the amount of amenities to maintain.

Don’t forget that landscaping is an amenity

When you think of amenities you probably think of features that you can interact with such as the pool, tennis and BBQ areas. Actually, landscaping is an important amenity that adds real aesthetic value to the community but can represent a significant expense. Kamaole Sands does have fairly high maintenance fees and landscape upkeep is definitely a key factor at that particular complex.

Kamaole Sands apartment complex across from Kamaole Beach Park III

From aerial pictures, you can see that the 15-acre Kamaole Sands property requires a vast amount of landscaping work with a multitude of trees, expansive green lawns that need moving and tropical plants that need tending. It’s no surprise that their annual budget for landscaping services can be as high as $340,000 which represents about 40% of the total maintenance budget and almost 14% of the cost for owners monthly maintenance fee.

Utilities

Almost all condos wrap basic utilities like water and trash service into their maintenance fees, but some Kihei condos include significant additional utilities/services bundled right into their maintenance fees which can increase the cost. An example of a complex with utilities included in maintenance fees is Sugar Beach Resort in North Kihei, the maintenance fees cover the basics like water and trash as well as these additional services:

Electricity
Air conditioning
Basic TV cable
High speed internet service
Telephone service including long distance to USA & Canada

Anthony@DanoSayles.com

The Maui Real Estate Blog

Average maintenance fees for Kihei vacation condos