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What's gonna happen to those houses trapped in the middle of lava field? Will they just become unaccessible and decay away?
Nah, probably not. They're nice homes, and the people who own them probably can't afford to just walk away. Most of them will find ways to get to and from. I remember one guy who was cut off a couple of miles from the road, and he used to use a dirt bike to get out there.
Edit: Oh, i just looked closer. There's already an existing road over the older flow. They'll be fine.
All of us, myself included, who live on the flanks of an eruption volcano know that we are gambling in the lava casino. Cheap real estate on one hand, uncertainty on the other. Before we bought I did as much research as was practical and ruled out lava zones 1 and 2, and further tried to choose a location in LZ3 that seemed liked it could dodge Kilauea and Mauna Loa. Maybe I was right, maybe I'll be wrong. But for now at least, I'm appreciating the research that I did for steering me away from those areas. In the meantime, at least in LZ3 our mortgage and insurance situation is no different than anywhere else on the mainland. If Llyods's of London is your only insurance option the risks are high.
You were smart to do research. Glad you're safe and hope you never have lava.
Heartsick about Kapoho, we've many happy memories of our stays there on Wai 'Opae Road over the years. Our kids grew up with a real respect and caring for the marine life living in the tide pools in the sanctuary. The home we used to stay in is on the destroyed list, so sad for the owners.
Came here and asked many questions, some about the lava risk. I remember thinking to myself... "What are the odds that it can get covered by lava in my life time?! Seems a safe bet."
But I never took action. Prices were too high.
Now, a property that was once listed for $12 mil, is completely covered by lava.
I'm just shocked. It was such a beautiful place.
What was the listing like when you were considering it? For $12M, it must have been a massive amount of land, or a very fancy home, or both! What’s the property probably worth now? Close to zero?
If you’re budget for a property is in the multiple millions, it would be very easy to find a very beautiful home at a good location on the Big Island, or another island in Hawaii. If you can spend close to that much on a property, then you’ve been so successful in life that you can easily afford to fly in private jets, instead of flying commercial. If you’re not already flying in private jets, you don’t have enough net worth to buy a property anywhere close to $10M. If I was that wealthy, I’d never fly commercial again.
No question about it, there are very beautiful, lush, and tropical areas of the Big Island, that are also affordable for people without sky high budgets. But the risks are just too high in the lava zones 1 and 2, and perhaps other lava zones close to those high risk areas. I think the best solution, which seems to be totally ignored, is using manufactured homes, which are capable for being moved. If you could move your home, which could cost several thousand dollars, could prevent a total loss if your property was impacted by a lava flow in the future, unless the lava flow was too fast to get your home moved, before the home was destroyed.
What was the listing like when you were considering it? For $12M, it must have been a massive amount of land, or a very fancy home, or both! What’s the property probably worth now? Close to zero?
If you’re budget for a property is in the multiple millions, it would be very easy to find a very beautiful home at a good location on the Big Island, or another island in Hawaii. If you can spend close to that much on a property, then you’ve been so successful in life that you can easily afford to fly in private jets, instead of flying commercial. If you’re not already flying in private jets, you don’t have enough net worth to buy a property anywhere close to $10M. If I was that wealthy, I’d never fly commercial again.
No question about it, there are very beautiful, lush, and tropical areas of the Big Island, that are also affordable for people without sky high budgets. But the risks are just too high in the lava zones 1 and 2, and perhaps other lava zones close to those high risk areas. I think the best solution, which seems to be totally ignored, is using manufactured homes, which are capable for being moved. If you could move your home, which could cost several thousand dollars, could prevent a total loss if your property was impacted by a lava flow in the future, unless the lava flow was too fast to get your home moved, before the home was destroyed.
My budget was only 700-800K. But I wanted it to be oceanfront, therefore I was limited to just the Puna section of Bid Island among the entire state. In my search I looked at EVERY oceanfront property in Puna. I bet if you show me the shape of an oceanfront property I can identify where it is.
This once-$12 mil property encompass about 1/5 of the east side of Kapoho Bay, plus a big chunk of shore land, hence the high price. I am just marveling at the scale of asset loss on this particular one. I hope the owner has insurance. This property is completely under lava now.
Took a couple of trips to Big Island to scout out this and other vacant land properties, because I had also hoped the property would come with larger acreage for me to build a homestead. The jungle gave me a lot of reservation because it looked like just too much work. Then, in the midst of thinking, a suitable oceanfront property popped up in California and I ended up buying in CA. The above Kapoho property is now also under lava.
I really dodged a bullet. It still gives me a chill to think about this.
My budget was only 700-800K. But I wanted it to be oceanfront, therefore I was limited to just the Puna section of Bid Island among the entire state. In my search I looked at EVERY oceanfront property in Puna. I bet if you show me the shape of an oceanfront property I can identify where it is.
This once-$12 mil property encompass about 1/5 of the east side of Kapoho Bay, plus a big chunk of shore land, hence the high price. I am just marveling at the scale of asset loss on this particular one. I hope the owner has insurance. This property is completely under lava now.
Took a couple of trips to Big Island to scout out this and other vacant land properties, because I had also hoped the property would come with larger acreage for me to build a homestead. The jungle gave me a lot of reservation because it looked like just too much work. Then, in the midst of thinking, a suitable oceanfront property popped up in California and I ended up buying in CA. The above Kapoho property is now also under lava.
I really dodged a bullet. It still gives me a chill to think about this.
I can’t imagine for the person who did purchase that house and didn’t dodge the bullet. Impossible for me to even wrap my head around; my heart breaks for them.
Would never even cross my mind to purchase in lava zone 1 or 2, and I would now reconsider 3. Along the Hamakua coast would be our preference on the BI and a much less lava risk. If my wife gets offered a position on Kauai, we will jump on that first, but a job offer on Kauai seems to be a long shot.
"Would never even cross my mind to purchase in lava zone 1 or 2, and I would now reconsider 3. Along the Hamakua coast would be our preference on the BI and a much less lava risk."
When one gambles in the Lava Casino they need to look at it with perspective. In the state of Louisiana alone, 1.7 million people were supposed to evacuate ahead of Katrina. The state of Hawaii only has 1.4 million people in it. The current lava flow has destroyed about 500 homes, compared to 300,000 homes destroyed or rendered inhabitable from Katrina. The amount of evacuees housed by FEMA from one storm that blew through in more or less a single day exceeds the number of residents on the Big Island. Katrina killed nearly 2,000 people. Nobody is known to have died yet from the current Kilauea eruption. One tornado can destroy 80 homes, and there are about 1500 tornadoes in the USA per year.
I agree, no LZ 1 or 2 for me. Any zone above that, in a way is irrelevant because the insurance fees are comparable to the mainland. Historically, lava flows give as much, or more time to evacuate than from a hurricane. You could buy a more expensive home in the Hamakua area and feel pretty good about being in LZ 8. Then maybe the following year a hurricane comes in and destroys your house. Maybe then you'll be staying in a shelter in LZ 3.
Try to get over the stunning visual effect of the lava destruction, and keep in mind its affecting a minuscule amount of the real estate here. Those fissures opened up a few miles from the ocean and then flowed into it. Yes, incredibly devastating, but so far, nothing that compares to tornadoes, hurricanes, wild fires, San Andreas faults, Los Angeles riots, etc.
That's what I was thinking. You can see well developed roads on the old flow. It looks like the current lava flow is going to completely overtop the 1960 flow. That picture sure puts it in perspective. I don't think any of those houses have a chance, unless the lava stops very soon. Which doesn't seem likely.
"Would never even cross my mind to purchase in lava zone 1 or 2, and I would now reconsider 3. Along the Hamakua coast would be our preference on the BI and a much less lava risk."
When one gambles in the Lava Casino they need to look at it with perspective. In the state of Louisiana alone, 1.7 million people were supposed to evacuate ahead of Katrina. The state of Hawaii only has 1.4 million people in it. The current lava flow has destroyed about 500 homes, compared to 300,000 homes destroyed or rendered inhabitable from Katrina. The amount of evacuees housed by FEMA from one storm that blew through in more or less a single day exceeds the number of residents on the Big Island. Katrina killed nearly 2,000 people. Nobody is known to have died yet from the current Kilauea eruption. One tornado can destroy 80 homes, and there are about 1500 tornadoes in the USA per year.
I agree, no LZ 1 or 2 for me. Any zone above that, in a way is irrelevant because the insurance fees are comparable to the mainland. Historically, lava flows give as much, or more time to evacuate than from a hurricane. You could buy a more expensive home in the Hamakua area and feel pretty good about being in LZ 8. Then maybe the following year a hurricane comes in and destroys your house. Maybe then you'll be staying in a shelter in LZ 3.
Try to get over the stunning visual effect of the lava destruction, and keep in mind its affecting a minuscule amount of the real estate here. Those fissures opened up a few miles from the ocean and then flowed into it. Yes, incredibly devastating, but so far, nothing that compares to tornadoes, hurricanes, wild fires, San Andreas faults, Los Angeles riots, etc.
Perspective.
Believe it or not I am still considering buying something in Hawaii, and preferably oceanfront - if the price is right. If I can get an oceanfront acre in LZ 3 for $100k, I would still do it. I have that much to risk throwing away, in exchange for the opportunity to swim in the Hawaiian water.
"Would never even cross my mind to purchase in lava zone 1 or 2, and I would now reconsider 3. Along the Hamakua coast would be our preference on the BI and a much less lava risk."
When one gambles in the Lava Casino they need to look at it with perspective. In the state of Louisiana alone, 1.7 million people were supposed to evacuate ahead of Katrina. The state of Hawaii only has 1.4 million people in it. The current lava flow has destroyed about 500 homes, compared to 300,000 homes destroyed or rendered inhabitable from Katrina. The amount of evacuees housed by FEMA from one storm that blew through in more or less a single day exceeds the number of residents on the Big Island. Katrina killed nearly 2,000 people. Nobody is known to have died yet from the current Kilauea eruption. One tornado can destroy 80 homes, and there are about 1500 tornadoes in the USA per year.
I agree, no LZ 1 or 2 for me. Any zone above that, in a way is irrelevant because the insurance fees are comparable to the mainland. Historically, lava flows give as much, or more time to evacuate than from a hurricane. You could buy a more expensive home in the Hamakua area and feel pretty good about being in LZ 8. Then maybe the following year a hurricane comes in and destroys your house. Maybe then you'll be staying in a shelter in LZ 3.
Try to get over the stunning visual effect of the lava destruction, and keep in mind its affecting a minuscule amount of the real estate here. Those fissures opened up a few miles from the ocean and then flowed into it. Yes, incredibly devastating, but so far, nothing that compares to tornadoes, hurricanes, wild fires, San Andreas faults, Los Angeles riots, etc.
Perspective.
Excellent points Terracore and thanks for your reply. It’s sometimes harder to see the bigger picture and put those realities into perspective.
How has the air quality been above Leilani Estates?
Purchasing in Puna, you definitely get much more for your money than on the Hamakua coast. That is where I’m so torn. To get the house and amount of land you can get in Puna on the Hamakua coast is not cheap and much more than what I’m comfortable spending. For me, I would rather have more property than 5 to 7 thousand square feet lot. I understand the lots in Puna are 1 acre to 3 acre spaghetti lots, but that is much better than a 7,000 sq ft lot. I know there are differences from Fern Forest northeast up to Hawaiian Acres, but one visit was not nearly enough time to determine those differences. I’m not sure how much the weather varies from one area to the next, crime, temperatures, permitted homes compared to unpermitted homes. It all seems overwhelming and appears to take a lifetime to figure out. What I do know is I want a little property and a home that will not break the bank. I also do find attractive that Puna seems like a place one can disappear into and be weird if you want. The issue is, I’m more open to trying out Puna than my wife is. I think she got a little turned off from seeing the unpermitted homes, shacks, and derelict vehicles parked around off the side of roads in some of the areas we drove through. It’s funny, you can read a thousand posts and talk to a thousand people and it seems one may favor Eden Roc and another may favor Hawaiian Acres, to one who favors HPP. One person may prefer an area with more CCR’s to another person who doesn’t. I know there is no one here who could tell us where best to live. It is only something we can decide for ourselves. Renting first is the more prudent option, but I’m nervous about not finding a place that would take our cat if our cat is still alive. She is getting pretty old.
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