moving to honokaa (real estate, rental, houses)

[coachsean]

We are retiring in the next few months and would like some feedback /reviews on living in honokaa...weather, people things to do etc. best places to buy land or a house..mahalo for your time

[CyberCity]

No matter where you decide to settle and buy, I would recommend living in the area first in a rental unit/house. Once you are here and can connect with a realtor, you will learn 100 times more by visiting the area(s) than you ever could online . You can do online research from where you are now, and make email/phone contact with a few realtors, and have someone lined up to help you before you arrive.

Happy retirement.

[OpenD]

Aloha.

There's a ton of information already here in the archives that will be helpful. If you go to the Advanced Search link at the top of this page, in the center, then enter a keyword (such as honokaa) and highlight Hawai'i as the forum to search in, you'll see dozens, sometime hundreds of different threads listed that touch on your specific area of interest in one way or another.

I'll echo CyberCity in saying that you need to spend time in the area before you make any significant decisions. Plan to visit in person any place you expect to spend more than a couple of weeks in before making a longer term commitment.

[HiloDiver]

Originally Posted by CyberCity

No matter where you decide to settle and buy, I would recommend living in the area first in a rental unit/house. Once you are here and can connect with a realtor, you will learn 100 times more by visiting the area(s) than you ever could online . You can do online research from where you are now, and make email/phone contact with a few realtors, and have someone lined up to help you before you arrive.

Happy retirement.

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And it doesn't matter if you're moving to Hawai'i or Kansas or Wyoming...this is GOOD INFORMATION.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Reasons why your are considering Honokaa? What are you looking for in your retirement home and community?

[coachsean]

we are looking at setting up a self sustaining farm/ranch. we want to slow down and enjoy ourselves and do some volunteer work within the community. We are hoping Honokaa is the place for us..

[CyberCity]

Wow, you are undertaking quite a dream. Make sure you check the county/state records for prior use of the land, including pesticide use, etc. And, check the water situation.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by coachsean

we are looking at setting up a self sustaining farm/ranch. we want to slow down and enjoy ourselves and do some volunteer work within the community. We are hoping Honokaa is the place for us..

Go for it Coachsean! What an adventure!

[coachsean]

We are currently looking for the right piece of property, somewhere around 15-20 acres. if anyone knows of something to check out please let me know. I will be meeting with a real estate person in Honokaa later this month. What are the opinions of the forum about Haina camp area??

[hotzcatz]

Unless you have some reason to have to invest money right away, move over and rent for about six months before buying anything. You'll get a much better piece of property that way.

What are you planning on growing? Haina is at about 500-800 foot elevation and has an entirely different climate than somewhere such as Ahualoa which is a mere two or three miles away. Entirely different things grow in the two areas and they aren't that far apart.

For retirement, 15 to 20 acres is way too big, IMHO. That will be a huge amount of work unless most of it is fenced pastureland. You can be self sustaining on a much smaller portion of land and then you won't be fighting acres of guinea grass. Things grow here 24/7/365 and there's no winter to knock back the insects and other pests. There are also farm leases available in the area if you needed more space, although you can't live on the farm leases.

There is a lot of information online about growing things in Hawaii. CTAHR is a huge resource although it's hard to find specific stuff on their website.

Most of Haina camp is old plantation housing with tiny lots and small houses. It is on a hillside, too, so level land is at a premium. Depending on what you were growing, that may or may not be a problem.