How realistic is a move for us? (Waimea: health insurance, how much)

[zenapple]

Blind Cleric, I just looked up Naalehu on Google Maps and.... from what I can tell from purely "driving through" it looks pretty promising to look into.

How much work would a house similar to this take to get move-in ready, do you think? 95-5885 Mamalahoa Hwy LOT 3, Naalehu, HI 96772 | MLS #291957 | Zillow Obviously that's just going off a 30 second search and Internet photos and all, but would a house like that need a lot of repairs / updating, do you think?

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

My mailing address is Na'alehu, although I live five miles away from town in a subdivision called Discovery Harbour. There are very affordable homes in Na'alehu town, which are mostly old sugar plantation homes. There are also other subdivisions such as Green Sands, Mark Twain, etc., that have a real variety of sizes and livability and prices. And just down the road a few miles is the huge subdivision of Ocean View (aka HOVE).

It would be really hard to answer your question about that specific house. I couldn't find it on the link you posted, but who knows what previous owners have down on the inside. Especially if they did the work themselves without permits, which is highly likely.

[Arktikos]

Looks like a very nice place. Probably ready to move into, but agree with DOH that it's hard to say.

Naalehu, Wood Valley, Green Sands, Discovery Harbor and Mark Twain are all worth looking into, in my opinion.

I just visited Green Sands for the first time this past summer. It's the "poor" side of Discovery Harbor, with limited or no

electric service and dirt roads, but it nevertheless left me with a favorable impression.

HOVE is affordable, but would be drier, have Vog (volcanic smog) and a much higher risk of lava flow, so probably not what you're looking for.

Perhaps it'd be worthwhile contacting a realtor in the area.

[davephan]

Originally Posted by zenapple

Blind Cleric, I just looked up Naalehu on Google Maps and.... from what I can tell from purely "driving through" it looks pretty promising to look into.

How much work would a house similar to this take to get move-in ready, do you think? 95-5885 Mamalahoa Hwy LOT 3, Naalehu, HI 96772 | MLS #291957 | Zillow Obviously that's just going off a 30 second search and Internet photos and all, but would a house like that need a lot of repairs / updating, do you think?

That house looks very old, run down, and dumpy for $369K! Look at the kitchen! It looks like a disaster for $369K! The lot isn't that big, but it does seem to have a great view of the ocean. Maybe the price is that high because it is a prime lot. Sometimes people will buy old houses on prime lots, just to get the lot. They knock down the old home and build a nice new home. But that is very expensive way just to get the land!

The same $369K could get you a beautiful new or nearly new open floor plan home near the gulf in SW Florida. Nice granite counters, new or close to new appliances, and nice finishes. I think that same level of home in Naalehu, would be less than $100K in SW Florida. So, there is a huge difference in cost! I've seen 2 or 3 bedroom condos for about that $369K price range in Waikoloa Village. The interiors look drastically better! However, you're stuck with about a $500 monthly maintenance fee with a condo. You've got to really want to live in Hawaii bad enough to be willing to spend what it takes, which is a lot more than $369K, or lower your expectations. But not everyone is the same. Some people would think that house is nice. It depends on what is good enough for you. I'm just saying that $369K is a lot of money for that house, compared to what $369K could buy you elsewhere.

The most important consideration for you, since your income depends on an Internet connection, is to find a location that has good Internet service. If you cannot have a good internet connection, you cannot make an income (if your income is based exclusively on the Internet)!

[zenapple]

We've spent some time living in FL. There were 3500+ square foot houses with decent quality construction going for about 400-425 k on gated communities, with pools etc. (Of course, that was in 2011 so prices may have gone up since.) It's true enough that your money would go further. We are considering that state as well as we still have some friends there but there are a lot of downsides to Florida as well. Everywhere has its positives and negatives.

I grew up in a part of CT where right now, 400 K wouldn't even buy a 1 bedroom condo. Right now we live in a much larger new construction for 250K... pretty immaculate... but it's also in the middle of a cornfield where we can't leave the house for about 8 months of the year. Again, positives and negatives. (And for what it's worth, we do have an open floor plan and I can't stand it, lol. To each their own!)

With kids, we'd prefer to have a detached home, not necessarily for space but for noise considerations. They're not particularly noisy but still.

Speaking of the Internet... how IS the Internet? My work does depend on it somewhat, but I mostly do my work offline and can get by with outages as long as I can get on a few times a week. My kids do watch a lot of Youtube videos for their learning though, documentaries and the like. For that matter, how are the libraries? I found a site which lists all of the branches, and there appear to be quite a few, but libraries vary greatly depending on the area.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Libraries vary by location. Na'alehu library is quite small, but you can order books from their county wide system. They have two computers for public use.

Internet accessibility also varies by location, even within one subdivision. Some properties in our subdivision do not get cable, and broadband depends on line of site.

[Arktikos]

Originally Posted by davephan

That house looks very old, run down, and dumpy for $369K! Look at the kitchen! It looks like a disaster for $369K..

A restored, plantation style home, with hardwood floors on a prime lot in Na' alehu.

Well, to each his own, but I don't think a new condo in Waikaloa deserves mentioning in comparison to this place. Or anyplace in Florida, for that matter.

My concerns would be if the plumbing and electrical have been upgraded, and if there's any termite damage.

The living space may be a bit cramped for a big family. Love the covered lanais though.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

I just looked at the link on a different computer and saw the house. I know which house it is -- on the highway between Na'alehu and Waiohinu. The owners have made major improvements on the exterior, including that beautiful rock wall fence. It is an older house, built in the 20's, and some of the finishes look really nice. I agree that the price seems high, especially since it is only a third of an acre. It will be interesting to see what it sells for.

Dave, the more you write on here, the more I'm sure that Hawaii is not the place for you. Particularly rural Hawaii. I think you'll like Florida a lot more.

[zenapple]

The yard looks bigger than our current one, but angles are tricky sometimes. 1600 square feet sounds good but of course depends on the layout. And I wonder if they factor the large lanai into the square footage. There are no photos of the bedrooms either...

Anyway, since we're not planning on moving tomorrow I'm not hung up on this particular house (although I do like the style). It's mostly to just get a reference point for prices, etc.

[eureka1]

You don't save for retirement? Do you plan to die young?