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Hey, I used to rent a house from Ardie Harms!! She was so cheap, I remember the rumor was that she killed two of her carpenters for ripping her off for just one dollar. The headline in the Hilo Tribune read "Ardie Chokes Two For A Dollar".
We live in Ocean View and do quite a bit of scuba diving around Miloli'i. The area has seen quite a bit of construction lately. It always seems to have two or three lots buzzing with construction activity.
Wondering if the OP ever made it to the BI. Moved out here with my GF and we're loving it. Even got her Mom out from Alabama 6 months ago and she's loving it too.
Found 3 acres in Fern Forest Vacation Estates(FFVE, or "Fern Forest"), on pavement, at about 2200' elevation. Off grid with 500w solar array(which regularly puts out over 600w), 10 golf cart batteries, and getting 150-300 amp hours per day. Enough for the fridge and freezer, wifi, and computers. Solar lights (motion sensor) with magnets glued to the back work great for lighting. Soak up sun outside during the day and stick them on the walls of the container at night. 300gal IBC tote for a catchment with another 230gal one for supply on top of the container. Outdoor shower works great.
I have a 5 chickens in the pen, a couple dozen apple bananas and about 70 white pineapples in the ground. Watermelons are struggling, but the tomatoes are growing like crazy. Scored some unused trusses for a song and I'm taking them apart for lumber to build a 600 sq. ft. "ag buiilding". Still tenting after 9 months, so a roof is desired.
Ultimately, Milolii would be our first choice and this is a location that we already own and love, and we would be a lot closer to our friends. However, the cost is a huge factor for us. I currently work for Safeway Inc. As we get closer to our move date, I will see if I can potentially get a transfer to one of the Safeway’s on the Island and that could potentially determine which side of the island we’d end up on. However, if a transfer is not available, we will most likely make the move and stay with a friend for a couple of weeks in the Kona area until we find out where we can find work, and then make our move from there. We have faith that everything will work out the way it supposed to. Please, any and all advise is always greatly appreciated.
What have you done to make the move?
What would you have done different?
Who did you use the transfer your vehicle and how long and how much did it cost?
Which Veterinarian did you use for Rapid Release at the Airport and what was the cost?
Is it feasible to build any type of structure at this time considering our budget, versus, purchasing a new plot of land elsewhere, and remain renting, and letting it appreciate for consideration of sale for a profit in the future, instead? Location Location Location!
Ultimately, Milolii would be our first choice and this is a location that we already own and love, and we would be a lot closer to our friends. However, the cost is a huge factor for us. I currently work for Safeway Inc. As we get closer to our move date, I will see if I can potentially get a transfer to one of the Safeway’s on the Island and that could potentially determine which side of the island we’d end up on. However, if a transfer is not available, we will most likely make the move and stay with a friend for a couple of weeks in the Kona area until we find out where we can find work, and then make our move from there. We have faith that everything will work out the way it supposed to. Please, any and all advise is always greatly appreciated.
What have you done to make the move?
What would you have done different?
Who did you use the transfer your vehicle and how long and how much did it cost?
Which Veterinarian did you use for Rapid Release at the Airport and what was the cost?
Is it feasible to build any type of structure at this time considering our budget, versus, purchasing a new plot of land elsewhere, and remain renting, and letting it appreciate for consideration of sale for a profit in the future, instead? Location Location Location!
What are things we should bring with us?
Etc, etc, etc……
Mahalo all!!! I look forward to your replies
IMHO, by far the best option for you is to stay on the mainland, have a career, save up your nest egg until you have $500K or so in the bank, and move after you retire. I am sure this is NOT what you want to hear, and others may think it is bad advice, but I have to be honest. I think you would be throwing your future away in order to play frontiersman for a few years, if you followed your plan.
Since one of your main reasons for not moving is no longer applicable, now may be the time to relocate, although with changed economic circumstances, the plan will have to change to match.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hjmontijo
We hope to be on the Island sometime between August and October of this year with our two small dogs. We have a home here in Las Vegas that we currently have rented out. Our tenants lease is up in August and we plan to sell and use the profits towards our Big Island home.
You may be able to sell it with the tenants in place, ask a local Realtor. The new buyer may want a rental and /or the buyer may not want to immediately move and having tenants there would be good for them. No telling what a buyer may want, but waiting until August means you'll miss the summer sales.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hjmontijo
We will most likely start off in an apartment or some kind of a rental for the first 6 months to a year. However, we are not 100% sure where we will end up. Yes, we own a 10,000 sqft lot in Milolii and we love the location and would love to build a tiny house there, with ocean views, legally, with permits and all.
Since you've already started in this direction, you own the lot, you have friends nearby and your resource base is now lessened, it might make more sense to continue in this direction since you're already started in this direction and usually changes in direction cost more.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hjmontijo
We would also love to go off-grid on the wet side of the island, on a 2 to 3 acre plot of plant maybe somewhere around Hawaiian Acres Estates, Build something small, unpermitted and hidden to save money and start our own food forest. We’ve talked to a few people and follow people who currently live the off-grid lifestyle on the Big Island and love it. It’s been the biggest debate.
No, no, no! The unpermitted buildings are a thing of the past, they are now being hunted down and they can't hide anymore. Do you really want to invest in a building with very little to no resale value and live a life where any neighbor who makes a complaint can have your house torn down?
'Off grid' is totally different than 'unpermitted'. Be off grid all you want, that's almost inevitable in most rural areas on this island (and most of this island is rural), but do yourself a huge favor and get a permit for whatever you build. You really don't want to build something that can be fined or required to be removed by one complaint.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hjmontijo
We have a lot of our friends who live in the Kona area so we would be a lot closer to them in Milolii. However, we will be limited on funds over $50K with us when we move. Unfortunately, I can’t build unpermitted in Milolii as nothing there is hidden. And stamped plans and permits cost money. Now, if we build on the wet side of the island, we could save a lot more money being hidden and not having to worry about permit costs. If we did go this route, we would also sell our Milolii plot and use that money towards our off-grid build.
A stamp on plans and the permits for a small house should be less than $2,500. Which is more or less chump change when building a house. There's also some small houses that can be permitted without an engineer's or architect's stamp. They're one story, on slab, less than - I forget the exact square footage at this moment - but the details are on the County of Hawaii's building permit website. That would save the $600 - $1,600 for an engineer's or architect's stamp. A small 'efficiency dwelling' to start which could later be turned into a guest house might be the way to go.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hjmontijo
Ultimately, Milolii would be our first choice and this is a location that we already own and love, and we would be a lot closer to our friends. However, the cost is a huge factor for us. I currently work for Safeway Inc. As we get closer to our move date, I will see if I can potentially get a transfer to one of the Safeway’s on the Island and that could potentially determine which side of the island we’d end up on. However, if a transfer is not available, we will most likely make the move and stay with a friend for a couple of weeks in the Kona area until we find out where we can find work, and then make our move from there. We have faith that everything will work out the way it supposed to. Please, any and all advise is always greatly appreciated.
Employment is always good! Can you ask for the transfer now with the move time set for when you want to relocate? That will let you make more plans. There's not a lot of employment near Milolii that I know of, but I'm entirely on the other side of the island.
<SNIP>
Quote:
Originally Posted by hjmontijo
Is it feasible to build any type of structure at this time considering our budget, versus, purchasing a new plot of land elsewhere, and remain renting, and letting it appreciate for consideration of sale for a profit in the future, instead? Location Location Location!
Raw land doesn't appreciate all that much and Milolii lots aren't expensive enough to make that much of a difference even if the price does double in a decade. Also, if it was bought just lately, IMHO, it feels pretty close to the top of the market so you'd have to wait through the next downturn and then back up again to reach the same price let alone much appreciation. But, nothing is certain with real estate prices.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hjmontijo
What are things we should bring with us?
Etc, etc, etc……
Mahalo all!!! I look forward to your replies
Hmm, the best things to bring would be no debt load and some sort of employment if you can. Otherwise, there's loads of household goods here via yard sales, thrift shops, etc. No need to pay to bring over stuff that's already here. Also, houses here - especially if you're going to build a tiny house- aren't as big as the mainland ones so you need less stuff. Bring small things that make you happy, ditch everything with bad memories attached.
Aloha! again. As always, Thank you Hotzcatz for the great advice. We are actually leaning more towards the Milolii property. But I do still have a few questions.
A person that I've followed online and that I've spoken with a few times who lives on this Hilo (Hawaiian Acres) side said there is nothing to worry about. Him and his wife live on in a 40-foot shipping container that they converted into their off-grid home. They saved a lot of money with not having to permit and they use a composting toilet which also allowed them the forgo the septic tank costs. The property has a "no trespassing, private property" sign at the entrance. He stated there is no reason to worry about the drones and satellites. If a drone or satellite was to see a building on ones property, they can simply state that the building is a storage shed as long as the footprint is under 600 square feet.
I have a friend who lives out in Kalapana who said that when he told the county that his home was a glorified dog kennel, and they left him alone! and I spoken with a few other who just built unpermitted within the last year or two with no issues.
Just trying to get a little more insight on this as I'm getting half the people I talk to saying unpermitted is a bad idea and other who are saying they wouldn't have done it any other way. They say unpermitted allowed them to save money and do things they way they wanted them done. I was told that the building code requires you to overbuild the home with more than what is necessary, therefore accruing more unnecessary costs.
What are your thought? anyone else have experience with unpermitted and off-grid living (Yes I am aware they are not the same thing)
The biggest issues with unpermitted structures come down to: A neighbor turns you in or the County finds out you have an unpermitted home and the problems start. And, you can't get bank financing.
A friend built a shed up in Royal Hawaiian Estates and he went up there one day to find an inspector who wanted to see his shed. There had been a complaint from the neighbors that he was living in the shed. When the inspector saw the interior of the shed and it was obviously a shed and not a dwelling, that was the end of that. He built the shed several years ago, so it can take awhile before any complaints are made or inspectors show up.
The biggest issues with unpermitted structures come down to: A neighbor turns you in or the County finds out you have an unpermitted home and the problems start. And, you can't get bank financing.
That, and the entire mindset of lawlessness. It's time for them folks to grow up, man up and understand it takes money to live, and to stop trying to get by on the cheap. It is a disgusting attitude. Get the means, the wherewithal, and then do it right. If money is a problem, don't engage until it isn't a problem.
That, and the entire mindset of lawlessness. It's time for them folks to grow up, man up and understand it takes money to live, and to stop trying to get by on the cheap. It is a disgusting attitude. Get the means, the wherewithal, and then do it right. If money is a problem, don't engage until it isn't a problem.
Well, a mindset of lawlessness is no good, but sometimes folks have to try to live cheap in order to get anywhere. There's a lot of folks who live in a tent for a few months to a year (which still isn't technically legal but is less illegal than no permit for building) while getting their first small house built. Many, if not most, of them have permits to build the house so once the house is done, they're no longer living illegally.
Used to be, the first thing would be a driveway. Then a cesspool - back when cesspools were allowed. Then a toilet would be placed on the top of the cesspool with a couple walls around it. That would be the toilet until the building was finished. It would also provide a bit of roof to catch water. It could take a year to finish the house since folks wouldn't have enough money for the entire thing at the beginning. BUT! By living 'sub-standard' and building their own house, their net worth would increase considerable and they don't have to pay rent while building. They can also keep the construction materials from walking off while they aren't on site.
Sometimes that little extra 'being cheap' allows folks to do something that will pay off at the end and upgrade their life a lot. If you build your own house paying cash, that can avoid the entire mortgage morass. Grow enough food on it to make the taxes be 'agriculture' instead of 'residential' and that will lower things by a hundred or so dollars a month. Catchment systems mean no water bills. Solar electric means no electric bills, although there are occasional maintenance expenses.
The general issue I have with many folks who have the attitude of "living cheap" is sometimes they forget to do it with style. Living well while being very inexpensive can be quite different than living cheap. Since most if not all 'living cheap' involves small houses, then the small houses can be built nicely instead of as an echoing barn. As a homeowner, they don't have to pay someone by the hour to build, so they can build in cabinets, router the edges of door frames, even build a sash window if they want. All those are craftsman type details and most folks using a contractor can't afford to have them because of the amount of time involved to create them.
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