Know Before You Close: Hawaii

Located about 2,000 miles away from the U.S. mainland, Hawaii has a few unique customs and requirements imposed upon residential real estate transactions in the way of closing fees.

Homeowner’s Exemption🔗

With tourism as its top grossing industry, Hawaii does offer a homeowner’s exemption which may qualify the purchaser for discounted state deed tax rate.

Deed Transfer and Recording Fees🔗

The deed transfer tax in Hawaii is imposed in a tiered amount, based upon the purchase price of the home. The lowest tier is the least expensive, and the tax increases correspondingly for higher purchase prices.

The recording fees are also organized in tiers, based upon the size of the deed itself. While the typical mortgage document in other states tends to average 20 to 30 pages, Hawaii’s mortgage notes are usually closer to 50 pages. Its deeds are also larger. Accordingly, recording fee tiers are based on the size of the deed. For documents 50 pages or less, the rate is flat. However, for notes larger than 50 pages, the fee is higher.